Firm fined £200,000 after employees left with painful condition due to vibrations

The aerospace manufacturing firm Ross & Catherall, which has a site at Forge Lane in Killamarsh, near Sheffield, was fined following an investigation by the Health & Safety Executive. The employees at the firm, which manufactures and supplies metal bars for the aerospace and automotive industries, carried out a variety of tasks, which included the use of vibrating tools.

The HSE said both operators used these tools for extended periods of time, over a number of years, without adequate systems in place to control their exposure to vibration.

Reports submitted to the HSE by the company in 2019 revealed the two employees had been left with hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), a painful condition which can cause numbness in the hands and arm, as well as causing the fingers to go permanently white.

The HSE launched an investigation which found a number of failings. There was no hand-arm vibration risk assessment in place prior to, and at the time of the workers’ diagnoses, to identify what level of vibration the operators were exposed to.

There were also no control measures in place to reduce exposure levels, with measures only being implemented after the HSE had intervened. Health surveillance was also inadequate, and not carried out annually. There was also no initial health surveillance assessment for new operators. Additionally, referrals were not carried out in a timely manner for those employees displaying symptoms of HAVS.

HSE inspector Lindsay Bentley said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to assess the risk from exposure to vibration, put in controls to reduce this risk and ensure that health surveillance is adequate to identify symptoms in a timely manner.

“HAVS can be a life-changing condition which impacts all aspects of your life. Prevention of vibration damage is key and there is plenty of guidance available for employers to help them protect their employees’ health on the HSE website.”

Ross & Catherall Limited, of Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Burton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £7,605.37 in costs at Derby Magistrates’ Court on July 17.