Aerospace company fined £50,000 after workers struck down by nerve condition
An international aerospace company has been fined £50,000 after 13 employees were found to be suffering varying degrees of a debilitating nerve condition.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Vector Aerospace International Limited, of Gosport, Hampshire, after investigating reports that workers were being diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).
In total, 13 cases emerged of employees who had worked at the same site for between five and 45 years. Two of them were diagnosed at Stage 3 – showing the most severe and painful symptoms.
Portsmouth Magistrates were told that Vector Aerospace, which has a 2,700-strong workforce internationally and 1,100 at Gosport, had surveyed the tools being used by workers in 2007. At that stage they had taken the decision that no controls were needed.
Errors were not identified and the recognised risks of vibration from the use of around 1,600 tools by 400-450 employees on the site was never controlled.
Staff on the site using such tools had not been provided with any information or training about the risks posed from the work they were carrying out. The 13 cases were identified in 2013/14 after improved health surveillance was eventually introduced.
The court was told that serious cases of HAVS result in circulation problems, leaving hands white and dead in the cold and with extreme pain on warming. Nerve damage means those affected find it hard to carry out finer day-to-day tasks needing dexterity and grip.
Vector Aerospace International Ltd of Fleetlands, Fareham Road, Gosport, Hampshire, was also ordered to pay £2,514 in costs after admitting three charges under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Alec Ryan said: “Vector Aerospace had the resources to protect its employees from the well-known effects of excessive exposure to vibration but failed to do so over a significant number of years.
“As a result, 13 employees developed symptoms of HAVS which can affect all aspects of their lives. HSE’s intervention in 2013 was as a result of the company bringing in health surveillance for the first time. Although this identified these cases, it came too late for these workers.
“The company failed to assess the risks and implement the necessary controls. Employers have a duty to provide effective measures to ensure the health of their staff is not seriously or permanently harmed by the work they are asked to do.”
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