Risk, Health and Safety Information

Two firms fined after worker injured in fall

Two firms have been fined after a driver was injured when he fell from the top of a heavy goods vehicle.

An employee of the haulage company Yuill and Dodds Limited, was working as a HGV driver at AW Jenkinson (Woodwaste) Limited, operating out of its premises on the Carriden Industrial Estate, Bridgeness Road, Bo'ness.

On 15 November 2010 he drove his vehicle out of the loading shed at AW Jenkinson's premises having had his trailer filled with woodchips ready to be transported. He parked the vehicle alongside the loading shed to fit the fabric cover over the top of the trailer, a task known as "sheeting".

His usual trailer, purchased specifically by Yuill and Dodds for that contract, had been fitted with an automatic sheeting system that could be operated by remote control from the ground. However, on the day of the incident it was not available so he was using a trailer with a manual sheeting system that needed to be operated from its gantry.

He experienced some difficulties sheeting the load and was unsuccessful in fully covering the woodchips and securing the sheet and used a nearby ladder to climb up to the rear of the trailer where the sheet was jamming in order to free it.

In doing so he was unobserved and unassisted. There was a personal fall protection system, consisting of a safety harness and inertia reel, provided at the premises but neither he nor employees of AW Jenkinson were aware of how to use it safely.

While the driver was standing on the top rung of the ladder it slipped and fell from under him. He grabbed the top side of the trailer by his hands but realising that no-one could see him and that he could not hang on until any assistance arrived, he let go and dropped just over two metres to the ground landing on his feet.

He was discovered a short time later by two employees of AW Jenkinson and was taken to hospital with fractures to both heels, one of which required surgery to repair the damage.
He was absent from work for several months and was confined to a wheelchair for a period during his recuperation but has since returned to work with Yuill and Dodds.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard today (4 February) that an investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Yuill and Dodds Limited failed to:

• ensure that measures were in place for employees to manually sheet trailers safely at height if the task could not be completed from ground level.
• agree arrangements for employees to be provided with information about sheeting manual trailers when that could not be done at ground level or from vehicle-mounted gantries.
• properly plan for work at height by considering the differences in work practices for the trailer provided on the day of the incident in order to sheet the load.
• provide appropriate supervision to ensure that work was carried out in a safe way.

The investigation also found that AW Jenkinson (Woodwaste) Limited failed to have effective arrangements in place to ensure employees of other companies using their premises were provided with the necessary information regarding safe working at height in order to sheet lorry trailers, and also that employees who were on site at the time did not have the appropriate level of knowledge to use the personal fall protection equipment specifically provided at their premises for that purpose or instruct visitors in its use.

Yuill and Dodds Limited of Whistleberry Park Industrial Estate, Hamilton, was fined £6,000 after pleading guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 2(2)(a) and (c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

AW Jenkinson (Woodwaste) Limited of Bridgeness Road, Carriden Industrial Estate, Bo'ness was fined £4,000 after pleading guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

After sentencing, HSE Inspector Harry Bottesch, said:

"Falling from a vehicle is a foreseeable risk in the haulage industry, especially when drivers need to work at height to carry out sheeting operations. In this case, both companies had identified the risk but did not take appropriate action to address it.

"It was known that trailer sheeting could become snagged to the extent that drivers may need to access the tops of trailers but Yuill and Dodds Limited did not take sufficient action to ensure that there was a safe method of doing this with the trailer that was provided on the day. AW Jenkinson (Woodwaste) Limited had provided a fall arrest system on the site but did not monitor its use or take sufficient steps to make sure that visiting drivers or its own staff at the site knew how to use it safely.
"Ultimately, the driver suffered significant injuries but it is fortunate that he has been able to make a good recovery and return to work.

"The case has also resulted in improvements being made at the site, with the installation of an overhead gantry which allows HGV drivers to complete sheeting of loads from a safe position."