The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a Surrey company after a worker was seriously injured when large sheets of MDF (medium density fibreboard) fell on him.

The incident occurred in May 2008 at Thistle Woodworks Limited in Lightwater, Surrey.

The company had on site a number of MDF panels measuring more than two metres long and over a metre wide, which were stacked vertically against the closed door of a workshop. 

When they were disturbed by an employee, some of the panels fell and he sustained fractures to the left side of his forehead, eye socket, cheekbone and left arm.

On Friday (05/02/10) at North West Surrey Magistrates’ Court in Woking, Thistle Woodworks Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 10(4) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The company received a three-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay costs of £1,544.40.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Suzanne Matthews said that the company ‘had failed its employee’, who had suffered several serious injuries as a result.

‘This method of stacking boards was inherently unsafe and injuries were inevitable if the stack was disturbed,’ said Ms Matthews. 

‘Boards should never be stacked on their edge without adequate support – they should be stored flat or in a ‘pigeonhole’ or ‘toast rack’ arrangement, with staff clearly told about the dangers of propping boards with inadequate support.’

Regulation 10 (4) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 states that employers shall ensure that materials and objects are stored so as to prevent risk to any person resulting from ‘the collapse, overturning or unintended movement’ of the materials or objects.

More information about safety in the woodworking industry is available from the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/PUBNS/woodindx.htm.

Information about how to stack or store timber or boards safely can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/PUBNS/wis2.pdf. 

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