Heavy equipment 'must be adequately guarded'

Categories: General Health and Safety |


Heavy equipment 'must be adequately guarded' Companies where employees often use heavy machinery have been warned that such equipment must be safe to use and carry safety guards if necessary by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The reminder comes after a quarry owner was fined more than £7,000 for failing to comply with a prohibition notice issued for an unsafe machine.

Inspectors found the sand and gravel plant was poorly maintained and did not have adequate guarding to prevent harm to people in the event of a fall.

HSE inspector Jo Anderson commented: "By failing to maintain the guards or, worse still, provide any at all, [the owner] was putting himself and his employees at risk.

"The fact that the guards had again been removed after we had issued the prohibition notice, and given him advice on what he needed to do to bring it up to standard, shows a blatant disregard for health and safety," she added.

Equipment such as Arco's range of safety signs, which include posters and pipe-markers, could be used to inform employees of hazards around the workplace.
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