Components manufacturer fined after faulty grinding wheel fractures workers skull

Wyman-Gordon Ltd, of Wiggin Works, Holmer Road, Hereford, had not trained the worker in the safe use of hand held grinders and the precautions to be taken changing grinding wheels, the court heard. The 20-year-old agency worker suffered a fractured skull and severe facial injuries when a defective grinding wheel broke on a hand-held grinder he was using at the Tower Works site of Wyman-Gordon Ltd of Spa Road, Lincoln on 20 October 2010. This defect may have been identified had the agency worker received the correct abrasive wheels training. The investigation also found that he was not adequately supervised when carrying out work with the grinders. HSE inspector Scott Wynne said: "It is vital that workers who use hand-held grinders get appropriate training in their safe use and in how to change the grinding wheels properly. Most importantly operators need to know how to identify defects. Had this worker undergone such training, he may have been able to identify the defective wheel prior to using it. This was a preventable incident." The man, who doesn't wish to be named, underwent significant treatment for his injuries, including a five-hour operation to remove a piece of bone which was touching his brain, before further reconstructive surgery could be carried out. The man has since returned to work. Wyman-Gordon Ltd, of Hereford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £16,500 and ordered it to pay full costs of £6,178. Further information about health and safety in the manufacturing sector is available at www.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing