Leading Fareham firearms firm GMK Ltd fined £800k after woman suffers burns to hands, face and legs
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GMK Limited had not provided the woman with suitable PPE or carried out a risk assessment
A large firearms firm in Fareham has been heavily punished after a woman was seriously injured in the workplace.
GMK Limited, headquartered in Concorde Way, Whiteley, was slapped with an £800,000 penalty following a workplace incident in Lincolnshire. A 36-year-old woman was disposing of waste pyrotechnic material inside a manufacturing facility when it ignited and caused burns to her hands face and legs.
The business was found to have carried out no suitable risk assessment, or safe system of work, after the incident in Faldingworth on January 10, 2023. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an investigation and handed down the punishment.
HSE inspector Philip Smith said: “For a leading company such as GMK to fail in the most basic of ways is hugely concerning. This young woman’s injuries could have easily been avoided with the implementation of safe working practices and use of the correct PPE.”
The injured female had been working alongside a colleague disposing of waste pyrotechnic composition inside a production building. They had been using a metal tray designated for the destruction of excess powders. Some of the pyrotechnic composition came into contact with the hot tray and ignited unexpectedly, resulting in a large flash which caused the burns.
HSE said GMK Limited permitted the woman to carry out a disposal method for waste pyrotechnic composition that had no safe system of work. The company also failed to carry out a risk assessment and the activity was undertaken in an unlicensed part of the building.
The woman was not provided with suitable personal protective equipment (PPE), which may have prevented or significantly reduced the injuries. GMK Ltd had an stablished and recognised method for disposing of the flammable substances and articles, but this was not followed on the day of the incident.
The unapproved disposal method carried out within the production building had been informally used for a number of years and had been undertaken on multiple occasions without proper assessment, controls, or oversight. HSE also discovered that GMK Ltd was in breach of its explosives licence. Pyrotechnics ere stored in unlicensed areas of the production building.
GMK Ltd pleased guilty to to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 7 of the Explosives Regulations 2014. Alongside the fine, they were ordered to pay £10,306 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on October 2.
Mr Smith added: “I hope the scale of fine handed out sends a message to industry that failing to protect workers will result in HSE taking action.”
GMK Ltd provides guns and shooting equipment to UK Law Enforcement agencies - including the Metropolitan Police - and has held contracts with the Ministry of Defence in the past.