Penrith magistrates heard that on the 31 October 2006 an employee was repairing a frame-making machine at the company, which makes doors. Diagnosis of the fault was done with the machine live and his fingers were dragged into the machine resulting in two of them being broken.

The machine had a function to mechanically isolate the machine and which would have allowed the fault to be diagnosed safely, but the company did not make use of it. HSE investigated the incident and served an Improvement Notice on Jeld-Wen UK requiring the company to ensure that its machinery is used safely.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Mhairi Duffy said: “The consequences of this incident could have been far more severe. This piece of equipment had a function, which had it been used, should have prevented this injury occurring. Employers are responsible for ensuring that safe operating procedures are in place for all their employees.”