Forge company fined £750,000

A West Midlands forge has been fined £750,000 after an employee sustained fatal injuries when he became entangled in a lathe while using handheld emery cloth. HSE guidance on using emery cloth on metalworking lathes states that it is never acceptable to apply emery cloth by hand to a rotating component, as there is a risk of the operator becoming entangled or dragged into the danger zone. https://www.hse.gov.uk/engineering/lathes.htm