A timber specialist supplier has been fined for repeatedly failing to protect workers from dust exposure, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.
It revealed that manufacturing firm Timbercraft Windows & Doors Ltd had been fined £4,000 for three breaches over a 12-year period.
According to the HSE’s investigators, the firm, based in Colchester, Essex had failed to adequately control and prevent employees breathing in wood dust.
Its statement said the failures included inadequate local exhaust ventilation to remove airborne contaminants from the workplace.
Timbercraft also failed to ensure its employees were face-fit tested for their respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and allowed dry sweeping of wood dust instead of vacuuming.
Another process failure highlighted by the HSE was employees using compressed air lines to clear wood dust from machines.
The HSE statement said: “Each visit by HSE inspectors during the past 12 years had resulted in improvement notices being issued, along with other action taken. However, despite this, the company still failed to act, including to provide its workers with suitable RPE.”
It added that Timbercraft Windows & Doors Ltd, of Crowborough East Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(2), 11(1) and 7(1) of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
The HSE said the company was fined £4,000 and was ordered to pay £2,792 costs at a hearing at Colchester Magistrates Court on 16 January 2025.
HSE inspector Tom McQuade said: “Just seeing the piles of wood dust lying around gave us an indication of how much workers would have been exposed. The risks from exposure to wood dust are well known and exposure can cause irreparable harm.
“The fine imposed should highlight to employers in the woodworking industry that the courts and HSE take failure to control exposure to harmful substances, such as wood dust, extremely seriously.”
The HSE highlighted the relevant guidance is provided free of charge on the HSE website.
