Drill-spin ordeal of worker ends in fine

THE core drill at the centre of the incident

AN OLDHAM construction site manager has been fined after a worker was left with permanent damage to his arm after being told to use a heavy-duty core drill by hand.

The 32-year-old worker from Rochdale was spun around and suffered a double compound fracture to his right arm and head cuts.

He had been instructed by site manager Matthew Saville to remove a 34 kilogram, one-metre high, diamond core drill from its stand and hold it by hand to tackle a job at a site in Huddersfield. The drill’s instructions specifically prohibited hand-held use.

As it was in use, the rotating core of the drill snagged on the blockwork and the body of the drill began to rotate, spinning the man. He was in hospital for 12 days, had three operations on his arm and now has plates inserted permanently.

Huddersfield Magistrates Court heard the injured man was part of a construction team working at the former Somerfield store site in Milnsbridge, when the incident happened in August, 2009.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mr Saville, of Bridgefield Crescent, Oldham, for failing to properly manage the construction site under his control.

Mr Saville, who pleaded guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £2,388 in costs yesterday.

HSE Inspector Martin Hutton said: “Mr Saville allowed his eagerness to get a job done to take priority over the safety of a worker.

“He failed to pause for a short time to consider the potential risks associated with using the drill in this way.

“Ultimately, this has led to a serious injury.

“Construction has one of the highest fatality and injury levels of any industry.

“This incident, and others like it, could have been prevented by taking a few simple steps to identify and control the risks involved.

“Professional site management includes responsibility for managing the building process to ensure it is carried out without risk to health and safety. We will continue to take enforcement action against those who fail to take measures to prevent those risks.”