Nylacast fined £293k after flying part kills worker

A 52-year-old employee of Nylacast Limited had been removing a cast plastic rod from a casting machine. The rod was secured by a pressurised piston, which should have been depressurised before the rod was removed.

As the employee went to remove the part, the metal retaining end cap and rod were forcibly ejected, with the rod hitting him in the chest. He died the next day in a hospital from a heart attack due to his injuries, according to the Leicestershire Live website which reported on the case at court. The worker had suffered a “blunt force impact” from the flying part, which cracked his breast bone and jaw.

HSE found the company failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the long length rod machine in order to ensure that all foreseeable hazards had been identified.

Nylacast Limited of Thurmaston Boulevard, Leicester, was fined for breaching regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 12 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined with costs of £10,205.61 at Leicester Magistrates’ Court in December 2018.
Investigating HSE inspector Alex Nayar said “Those in control of work equipment have a responsibility to undertake a suitably robust assessment in order to ensure that all foreseeable hazards have been identified.
“Had this hazard been identified, suitable engineering controls could have been devised and implemented to minimise the risk, therefore this death could have been prevented.”