Cramlington firm Gates Engineering is hit with huge fine for industrial accident involving 60-metre lathe

The 22-year-old employee had only recently started working as a manufacturing operative for Gates Engineering and Services UK Limited, when the accident happened.

He was undergoing training on November 12, 2021 and was assisting another worker on the company’s 60-metre lathe at the firm’s site in Bassington Drive, Cramlington.

The man, from Newcastle, was working at the rear of the lathe when the rubber material he had just applied fell from the steel mandrel.

He instinctively reached to grab the material, and at the same time the lathe started, pulling him into the machine. This resulted in his left arm being broken in two places.

The machine was used to wrap rubber and other materials around a steel mandrel to form hose bodies for industrial hoses.

The system of work at Gates Engineering involved one employee working at the front of the machine operating the controls, with a second employee assisting from the rear, helping to manually position the rubber materials being applied.

However, the manufacturer’s manual for the machine stated that the lathe should be enclosed with a fixed perimeter guard, and that access to the work area by persons other than the machine operator prevented.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to take effective measures to prevent access to the dangerous parts of the lathe, and that its system of work required employees to stand in an area that was meant to be enclosed by guards.

Gates Engineering and Services admitted breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £3,653.70 costs following a hearing at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court.

HSE inspector Stephen Garner said: “After this accident, the company was able to install perimeter guards to prevent access to the rear of its 60-metre lathe, and altered its system of work so that operation of the lathe could be carried out from the safe area at the front of the machine – as intended by its manufacturer.

"This accident could have been prevented if action had been taken earlier.

“A third-party safety audit commissioned by Gates Engineering, dated January 16 2018, identified that there was access to moving parts at the rear of the machine due to inadequate guarding.

"Although this report failed to recommend any remedial measures, taken in combination with the information in the machine’s manual, this represented a missed opportunity to properly safeguard the machine before an accident occurred.

"Ultimately, this accident was both foreseeable and preventable.”

Gates was founded in Denver, Colorado, in 1911.

On the company’s website it lists its core values, of which accountability is one. It states: “Reputations are not built overnight. Over the last 100 years, we've built ours with integrity, a strong sense of personal responsibility, and a dedication to working safely.”

More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk/