Engineering firm ignored safety guard rules for eight years

London - The case of a North West engineering company, which persistently refused to use safety-guard on its machinery, has prompted a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warning to plant owners in the region.

The HSE prosecuted Crest Engineering Co. Ltd after finding safety guards missing or not in use on several milling machines. The company had previously been ordered to replace the guards on the machines at its factory in Hyde, Manchester, but they were later removed or unlocked.

Crest Engineering, which is based in Stalybridge, pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences at Trafford Magistrates Court on 23 June. It was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,003. The company was prosecuted for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees.

HSE Inspector David Norton said: "Crest Engineering took a deliberate decision to remove the safety guards on the machines despite receiving a formal warning from us about the issue ... We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who persistently ignores the rules, and I hope this case will act as a warning to companies who do not take health and safety seriously."

The HSE first served Crest Engineering with an Enforcement Notice in 1999 for failing to have a safety switch on a piece of machinery. When inspectors visited the site again in 2001, they served eight enforcement notices after finding safety guards missing on several machines.

Witness statements given to the HSE revealed that, although the guards were initially provided following the visit, they were removed or put out of use within a few months. Inspectors decided to prosecute the company after revisiting the site in May 2007.