A manufacturing company has been fined after failing to protect two of its workers from exposure to vibration.
The two staff members at Ross & Catherall Limited – a company that manufactures and supplies metal bars for the aerospace and automotive industries – worked at the firm’s Forge Lane site in Killamarsh, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in 2019.
The two employees carried out a variety of tasks, which included the use of vibrating tools, throughout the company’s manufacturing process.
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.
Hand-arm vibration comes from the use of hand-held power tools and can lead to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). HAVS can lead to the loss of strength in the hands as well as tingling and numbness in the fingers – both of which can affect the ability to do work safely.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found there was no hand-arm vibration risk assessment in place to identify what level of vibration the operators were exposed to. There were also no control measures in place to reduce exposure levels, with reasonably practicable measures only being implemented following HSE’s intervention. Health surveillance was also inadequate.