Cummins Power Generation fined after decade of HAVS risks 23 July 2014

Cummins Power Generation, in Ramsgate, Kent has been ordered to pay nearly £70,000 in fines and costs after an employee was left with a severe long-term disability following prolonged working with vibrating machine tools.

A further four employees were also diagnosed with early stage HAVS (hand arm vibration syndrome).

Canterbury Magistrates' Court heard yesterday (22 July 2014) that Cummins Power Generation had failed to manage the exposure of its employees to the serious risks of vibration for more than 10 years.

In fact, HSE found the company failed to assess workers' level of exposure to vibration until HSE began its investigation. By this time, some employees were either at or beyond the trigger levels for symptoms.

The firm also failed to put preventative measures in place until HSE served an improvement notice.

Cummins Power Generation admitting a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

"HSE guidance on HAVS was published as long ago as 1994, so vibration risk has been widely known for many years," comments HSE inspector Alison Benfield.

"Cummins Power Generation failed to manage this risk over a significant period of time, from early 1998 to early 2009, across its sites in Ramsgate and Margate," she continues.

"If the use of power tools is not controlled correctly by engineering and manufacturing companies, workers can develop HAVS to a degree that will have a permanent disabling impact on their working and social lives.

"Measures can include purchasing tools with the lowest vibration levels, introducing better systems of work when possible to avoid exposure altogether, making sure workers know how to use tools properly and regular health surveillance."

Brian Tinham

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Health & Safety Executive

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