A woodworker who use an unguarded circular saw has been fined £4,000 after risking serious injury to himself and an employee.
IOSH reported that Dewsbury magistrates heard that Asif Iqbal ignored safety advice at the workshop he runs in Ravensthorpe and was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for allowing access to the crown of the spinning blade.
HSE inspectors issued two Prohibition Notices to stop Iqbal using the saw at the Riverbank Enterprise Centre workshop on Scout Hill Road. He complied with the first, served in March 2010, but the guard he fitted broke and was not replaced. Inspectors visiting again in October realised the saw was again being used in a dangerous unguarded state.
Iqbal admitted breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 for not adequately guard the dangerous part of the machine. He was ordered to pay £1,305 in costs.
Source: IOSH
