Risk, Health and Safety Information

Skip company fined for storage failings

A London skip company has been fined for dangerous working practices and other failings arising from its storage of skips at a Park Royal goods yard.

Simpson Eco Skips Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after an inspection of the depot on 19 July 2011 identified a number of serious issues.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on arrival at the Western Road site, HSE inspectors witnessed a worker descending a stack of skips some ten metres high with nothing to prevent or mitigate a fall, having initially climbed up - unseen - to attach a crane hook to a shackle.

A second worker then clambered up and down a smaller stack just a few metres away, also seemingly unaware of, or disregarding, the consequences had he slipped.

HSE established that the clearly-dangerous practice was indicative of poor management and a lack of competence and training.

Simpson Eco Skips also failed to produce a valid certificate for the crane in use at the time to confirm it had been properly examined and was in good working order – as is required by law.

Inspectors served a total of five Improvement Notices requiring changes to be made, all of which were subsequently complied with.

Simpson Eco Skips Ltd, registered to Neasden Goods Yard, Neasden Lane, NW10, was fined a total of £30,000 and ordered to pay £1,260 in costs after pleading guilty to single breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

After the hearing HSE Inspector Neil Fry commented:

"Standards for controlling risks arising from working at height, as well as the general management of health and safety, can be pretty poor in the skip hire sector of the waste industry – as was clearly the case at Simpson Eco Skips.

"The failings we uncovered were for technical breaches, but workers could have been seriously hurt or possibly even killed as a consequence of the dangerous practices and lack of safety awareness and provisions.

"The onus is on dutyholders to take proactive steps to protect and safeguard their workforce and others before an incident occurs."