Inspections challenge construction sites to ‘Think Health’
- Poor working conditions likely to lead to ill health on building sites will be targeted this month as work continues to reduce death, injury and ill health in the industry.
For every fatal accident in the construction industry, it is estimated that a worker is at least 100 times more likely to die from a disease caused or made worse by their work.
During a concentrated two-week drive the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will make unannounced visits across the country, focusing on ill health on construction sites.
Inspectors will be looking in particular at respiratory risks from dusts including silica materials; exposure to other hazardous substances such as cement and lead paint; manual handling, noise and vibration.
In 2012/13, 39 construction workers were killed. However, more than 500 deaths a year are due to silica exposure alone.
HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, Heather Bryant, said:
“The construction sector has made good progress in reducing the number of people killed and injured by its activities. We need to tackle where workers are unnecessarily being exposed to serious health risks, such as silica dust, which can have fatal or debilitating consequences.
“This initiative provides a chance to engage with these firms to help them understand what they need to do, so they can put in place the practical measures needed to keep people safe.
“However, let me be clear – poor risk management and a lack of awareness of responsibilities is unacceptable.
“Companies who deliberately cut corners can expect to feel the full weight of the law.”
Worker’s injury reveals factory’s ‘appalling’ safety
During a concentrated two-week drive the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will make unannounced visits across the country, focusing on ill health on construction sites.
Inspectors will be looking in particular at respiratory risks from dusts including silica materials; exposure to other hazardous substances such as cement and lead paint; manual handling, noise and vibration.
In 2012/13, 39 construction workers were killed. However, more than 500 deaths a year are due to silica exposure alone.
HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, Heather Bryant, said:
“The construction sector has made good progress in reducing the number of people killed and injured by its activities. We need to tackle where workers are unnecessarily being exposed to serious health risks, such as silica dust, which can have fatal or debilitating consequences.
“This initiative provides a chance to engage with these firms to help them understand what they need to do, so they can put in place the practical measures needed to keep people safe.
“However, let me be clear – poor risk management and a lack of awareness of responsibilities is unacceptable.
“Companies who deliberately cut corners can expect to feel the full weight of the law.”
Worker’s injury reveals factory’s ‘appalling’ safety
- A packaging firm has appeared in court after an investigation into a worker’s injury revealed safety standards described as ‘appalling’.
Europlast (Blackburn) Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an employee had part of a finger amputated after his left hand became trapped in unguarded machinery in June 2012.
HSE discovered that two other workers had been injured in similar machinery incidents less than nine months earlier, numerous safety guards were missing or disabled on machines, and workers had not been given suitable training.
Preston Crown Court heard that the 26-year-old employee from Blackburn, who has asked not to be named, had been working on a machine used to produce bubble wrap when the incident happened at the plant at Shadsworth Business Park on 6 June 2012.
The worker was trying to remove small pieces of plastic which had become stuck when his hand was pulled in between two rollers. It remained trapped for several minutes before another employee eventually found the emergency stop button.
He suffered burns and crush injuries to his hand, required skin grafts and had to have the top half of his middle finger amputated. The court was told two other workers had also suffered injuries when their hands became trapped in machinery in April 2012 and September 2011.
HSE first made Europlast aware of the need to guard dangerous machine parts during a visit to the site in September 2009. This warning was repeated in July 2011 when an external health and safety consultant highlighted ‘intolerable risks’ from missing guards on machines at the factory.
The consultant stressed the importance of implementing his findings when he returned to the site later in the year, after it became clear that no action had been taken.
Europlast (Blackburn) Ltd, of Duttons Way in Blackburn, was fined £50,010 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £23,102 after admitting breaches of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Mike Sebastian said:
“The injured worker has only ever carried out manual work but his prospects of employment are now severely affected, as he can no longer use to his hand to hold, grab or lift anything properly.
“When we visited the factory following the incident, we found an appalling state of health and safety with no safe system of work in place for any of the machines.
“What’s even more shocking is that the company had failed to take any action to improve safety despite receiving numerous warnings and at least two other workers also suffering injuries.
“There appears to have been a complete absence of any attempt to organise or control health and safety at the factory, with the company apparently showing a total lack of care about the safety of its employees.”
HSE discovered that two other workers had been injured in similar machinery incidents less than nine months earlier, numerous safety guards were missing or disabled on machines, and workers had not been given suitable training.
Preston Crown Court heard that the 26-year-old employee from Blackburn, who has asked not to be named, had been working on a machine used to produce bubble wrap when the incident happened at the plant at Shadsworth Business Park on 6 June 2012.
The worker was trying to remove small pieces of plastic which had become stuck when his hand was pulled in between two rollers. It remained trapped for several minutes before another employee eventually found the emergency stop button.
He suffered burns and crush injuries to his hand, required skin grafts and had to have the top half of his middle finger amputated. The court was told two other workers had also suffered injuries when their hands became trapped in machinery in April 2012 and September 2011.
HSE first made Europlast aware of the need to guard dangerous machine parts during a visit to the site in September 2009. This warning was repeated in July 2011 when an external health and safety consultant highlighted ‘intolerable risks’ from missing guards on machines at the factory.
The consultant stressed the importance of implementing his findings when he returned to the site later in the year, after it became clear that no action had been taken.
Europlast (Blackburn) Ltd, of Duttons Way in Blackburn, was fined £50,010 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £23,102 after admitting breaches of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Mike Sebastian said:
“The injured worker has only ever carried out manual work but his prospects of employment are now severely affected, as he can no longer use to his hand to hold, grab or lift anything properly.
“When we visited the factory following the incident, we found an appalling state of health and safety with no safe system of work in place for any of the machines.
“What’s even more shocking is that the company had failed to take any action to improve safety despite receiving numerous warnings and at least two other workers also suffering injuries.
“There appears to have been a complete absence of any attempt to organise or control health and safety at the factory, with the company apparently showing a total lack of care about the safety of its employees.”
Van maker in court over serious safety failings
- A vehicle manufacturer has been told to pay nearly £180,000 in fines and costs for safety failings after a crane operator suffered severe crush injuries in a lifting operation at the company’s press shop in Luton.
The worker, who does not wish to be named, suffered multiple injuries including fractures to the upper left arm, breastbone, right collarbone and ribs; as well as collapsed lungs.
The incident, on 1 July 2011 at IBC Vehicles Ltd factory in Kimpton Road, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who prosecuted the firm.
Luton Crown Court heard the employee had lowered an eight-tonne die block – used to make van parts – into its storage position, and was unhooking it from the crane’s lifting chains when the 50-tonne crane started to move, dragging the block towards the worker and crushing him against another block behind him.
The crane operator was hospitalised for two weeks and has had numerous operations since, but has not been able to return to work.
HSE found a protective frame around the control levers of the crane designed to prevent inadvertent operation was missing. There were also serious shortcomings with the company’s maintenance of lifting equipment and management of lifting operations, including the provision of training and information for crane operators.
The court was told that a number of the ten cranes in the press shop at the factory had previously missed annual examinations by as much as 12 months, and that some failed to have identified maintenance issues acted upon. In addition, the provision of training and information for employees was inadequate to ensure that lifting operations were carried out safely.
IBC Vehicles Ltd, of Kimpton Road, Luton, was fined a total of £155,000 and ordered to pay £22,795 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and two breaches of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
After the case, HSE Inspector Stephen Manley, said:
“There were multiple failings on the part of IBC Vehicles Ltd. Cranes had not been maintained or inspected properly, operators had not been given adequate information or regular training, and lifting operations were not properly planned, including in particular the systems for daily checks on the equipment, to ensure the lifts were then carried out safely.
“Although only a small number of these failings may have contributed towards the incident in July 2011, as a whole they had the potential to create a serious risk to which many employees at the company would have been exposed for some considerable time.”
Joinery firm in court after worker crushed by falling MDF
The incident, on 1 July 2011 at IBC Vehicles Ltd factory in Kimpton Road, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who prosecuted the firm.
Luton Crown Court heard the employee had lowered an eight-tonne die block – used to make van parts – into its storage position, and was unhooking it from the crane’s lifting chains when the 50-tonne crane started to move, dragging the block towards the worker and crushing him against another block behind him.
The crane operator was hospitalised for two weeks and has had numerous operations since, but has not been able to return to work.
HSE found a protective frame around the control levers of the crane designed to prevent inadvertent operation was missing. There were also serious shortcomings with the company’s maintenance of lifting equipment and management of lifting operations, including the provision of training and information for crane operators.
The court was told that a number of the ten cranes in the press shop at the factory had previously missed annual examinations by as much as 12 months, and that some failed to have identified maintenance issues acted upon. In addition, the provision of training and information for employees was inadequate to ensure that lifting operations were carried out safely.
IBC Vehicles Ltd, of Kimpton Road, Luton, was fined a total of £155,000 and ordered to pay £22,795 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and two breaches of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
After the case, HSE Inspector Stephen Manley, said:
“There were multiple failings on the part of IBC Vehicles Ltd. Cranes had not been maintained or inspected properly, operators had not been given adequate information or regular training, and lifting operations were not properly planned, including in particular the systems for daily checks on the equipment, to ensure the lifts were then carried out safely.
“Although only a small number of these failings may have contributed towards the incident in July 2011, as a whole they had the potential to create a serious risk to which many employees at the company would have been exposed for some considerable time.”
Joinery firm in court after worker crushed by falling MDF
- An Essex joinery firm has been fined for safety failings after an employee was crushed by half a tonne of fibreboards (MDF) at its premises in Basildon.
The 50 year old worker from Rayleigh, Essex, suffered two collapsed lungs, a broken collar bone, five broken ribs and a gash to his head following the incident on 26 September 2013. He was hospitalised for two weeks and returned to work on light duties in January 2014.
Specialist Joinery Projects Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found that more could and should have been done to prevent the boards from falling on him.
Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard that the employee was working in the joinery shop of the factory, selecting MDF boards to be cut down to size. The boards were stored vertically and leant against racking.
The worker had removed three boards, but as he removed the fourth, a suction effect caused a further 15 of the 30kg boards to topple over on top of him, knocking him over. As he fell he gashed his head on a stack of timber, and was then pinned to the concrete floor under the weight of the boards for several minutes before being freed.
HSE’s investigation found that the MDF boards were unsecured and not racked, and that the total approximate weight of the boards falling on the worker would have been half a tonne.
Specialist Joinery Projects Ltd of Bowlers Court, Honywood Road, Basildon, Essex, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £598 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Kim Tichias said:
“The risks from falling timber and board material in the wood-working industry are well-known. There have been a number of incidents in recent years, including fatalities, where poorly-stored and unsecured boards have fallen on workers.
“Specialist Joinery Projects should have ensured boarding was secure and that there was a safe process for using and handling boarding for employees to follow. Simple and relatively inexpensive control measures, such as racking, would have prevented this incident and the serious injuries incurred by this worker.”
Specialist Joinery Projects Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found that more could and should have been done to prevent the boards from falling on him.
Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard that the employee was working in the joinery shop of the factory, selecting MDF boards to be cut down to size. The boards were stored vertically and leant against racking.
The worker had removed three boards, but as he removed the fourth, a suction effect caused a further 15 of the 30kg boards to topple over on top of him, knocking him over. As he fell he gashed his head on a stack of timber, and was then pinned to the concrete floor under the weight of the boards for several minutes before being freed.
HSE’s investigation found that the MDF boards were unsecured and not racked, and that the total approximate weight of the boards falling on the worker would have been half a tonne.
Specialist Joinery Projects Ltd of Bowlers Court, Honywood Road, Basildon, Essex, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £598 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Kim Tichias said:
“The risks from falling timber and board material in the wood-working industry are well-known. There have been a number of incidents in recent years, including fatalities, where poorly-stored and unsecured boards have fallen on workers.
“Specialist Joinery Projects should have ensured boarding was secure and that there was a safe process for using and handling boarding for employees to follow. Simple and relatively inexpensive control measures, such as racking, would have prevented this incident and the serious injuries incurred by this worker.”
Firm fined after worker loses leg in scaffold fall
- A worker who had no recognised training as a scaffolder had to have a lower leg amputated after he fell from unguarded scaffolding, a court has heard.
Andrew Gore, 37, from Mountain Ash, was helping to dismantle the scaffolding outside a nursing home in Merthyr Mawr Road, Bridgend, when he fell around four metres to the ground.
The incident, in June 2013, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted his employers, Mills Scaffold Company Limited, at Bridgend Magistrates.
The court heard that the scaffold, erected by Mills Scaffold Company Ltd, was three lifts high and Mr Gore was working on the second lift. Another scaffolder was on the lift above, passing down parts of the scaffold to him, which he, in turn, passed on to a labourer on the ground.
Mr Gore was not wearing a harness and the lift was just two boards wide. The firm had failed to put any guardrails in place. Mr Gore had undone the swivel coupling at the bottom of a brace, which he then inadvertently leaned on. The brace moved and he fell to the ground, causing severe injuries. Since the incident, he has spent most of the last year in hospital and undergone a number of operations.
The incident was only reported to HSE six months later, when he made an insurance claim after he had to have his lower leg amputated because of an infection following the injury. The company was issued with a Prohibition Notice by HSE in 2012 for a similar offence.
HSE’s investigation found that Mr Gore had not been given training in the safe erection or dismantling of scaffolding.
Mills Scaffold Company Ltd of Church Street, Mountain Ash, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height regulations and Reporting of Injuries Regulations, as the incident was not reported to HSE. The company was fined a total of £15,000 and ordered to pay £1,118 in costs.
HSE Inspector Hayley Healey, speaking after the hearing, said:
“Mr Gore has suffered a great deal of pain and life changing injuries. As a single parent of two young children, one of whom he has custody for, his life has changed dramatically.
“This was a totally needless incident which could have been avoided if Mills Scaffold Company had ensured a safe system of work had been in place. And it was their responsibility to make sure trained workers were used on the scaffolding. There is plenty of industry guidance available about safely dismantling scaffolding.
“If simple methods of work had been followed, levels of competency checked and good supervision in place on site, this work could have been carried out safely. Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction industry, with more than five incidents every day.”
The incident, in June 2013, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted his employers, Mills Scaffold Company Limited, at Bridgend Magistrates.
The court heard that the scaffold, erected by Mills Scaffold Company Ltd, was three lifts high and Mr Gore was working on the second lift. Another scaffolder was on the lift above, passing down parts of the scaffold to him, which he, in turn, passed on to a labourer on the ground.
Mr Gore was not wearing a harness and the lift was just two boards wide. The firm had failed to put any guardrails in place. Mr Gore had undone the swivel coupling at the bottom of a brace, which he then inadvertently leaned on. The brace moved and he fell to the ground, causing severe injuries. Since the incident, he has spent most of the last year in hospital and undergone a number of operations.
The incident was only reported to HSE six months later, when he made an insurance claim after he had to have his lower leg amputated because of an infection following the injury. The company was issued with a Prohibition Notice by HSE in 2012 for a similar offence.
HSE’s investigation found that Mr Gore had not been given training in the safe erection or dismantling of scaffolding.
Mills Scaffold Company Ltd of Church Street, Mountain Ash, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height regulations and Reporting of Injuries Regulations, as the incident was not reported to HSE. The company was fined a total of £15,000 and ordered to pay £1,118 in costs.
HSE Inspector Hayley Healey, speaking after the hearing, said:
“Mr Gore has suffered a great deal of pain and life changing injuries. As a single parent of two young children, one of whom he has custody for, his life has changed dramatically.
“This was a totally needless incident which could have been avoided if Mills Scaffold Company had ensured a safe system of work had been in place. And it was their responsibility to make sure trained workers were used on the scaffolding. There is plenty of industry guidance available about safely dismantling scaffolding.
“If simple methods of work had been followed, levels of competency checked and good supervision in place on site, this work could have been carried out safely. Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction industry, with more than five incidents every day.”
HSE announces results of asbestos management in schools inspections 2013/14
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published the results of its latest asbestos in schools inspection initiative, which took place in 2013/14.
HSE inspected a carefully selected random sample of 153 non-local authority schools between April 2013 and January 2014, which included independent, voluntary aided and foundation schools, free schools and academies.
The majority of schools inspected (71 per cent) required either no further action or were given straightforward, simple advice. However, 29 per cent (44 schools) received written advice from HSE, and 13 per cent (20 schools) were subject to enforcement action, in the form of improvement notices.
The improvement notices set out a requirement for recipient schools to improve arrangements for managing asbestos. Enforcement action was taken over failures such as training staff and producing written management plans – not because staff or pupils were considered at significant risk of exposure, but because these are vital elements of the required control measures.
Compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations in England, Scotland and Wales showed an overall improvement compared with that found in a similar survey and inspection programme of 164 schools outside local authority control in 2010/11 where 41 improvement notices were served on 28 schools..
Geoff Cox, the Head of HSE’s Public Services Sector, said:
“Over the last few years there has been a lot of work by stakeholders across the school sector to raise awareness of the duty to manage asbestos. It is really encouraging to see that awareness of the requirements has increased since our previous inspection initiative.
“That said, schools should not be under any illusion – managing asbestos requires ongoing attention. Schools now have access to a wealth of guidance setting out clear and straightforward steps to achieve and maintain compliance.
“Where duty holders fall below acceptable standards, HSE has taken, and will continue to take, enforcement action”
The inspections revealed a number of common themes in those cases where schools were falling short of the requirements. HSE has published its findings to help share more widely what can be learned from them.
All schools must ensure they have up to date records of asbestos containing materials in their school – this is to make sure that the school knows the location of any asbestos containing materials that could be damaged or disturbed by normal activities, by foreseeable maintenance, or when installing new equipment.
Training is essential for maintenance staff whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos and every school needs a robust system to alert anyone who may disturb asbestos at the school. The key group of personnel at risk from asbestos is tradespeople – particularly those undertaking maintenance activities. It is vital that schools ensure that anyone who may disturb asbestos is made aware of its location and condition.
Asbestos which is in good condition and remains undamaged and undisturbed does not pose any significant risk to health if it is managed in compliance with the legal requirements and according to HSE’s published guidance.
The majority of schools inspected (71 per cent) required either no further action or were given straightforward, simple advice. However, 29 per cent (44 schools) received written advice from HSE, and 13 per cent (20 schools) were subject to enforcement action, in the form of improvement notices.
The improvement notices set out a requirement for recipient schools to improve arrangements for managing asbestos. Enforcement action was taken over failures such as training staff and producing written management plans – not because staff or pupils were considered at significant risk of exposure, but because these are vital elements of the required control measures.
Compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations in England, Scotland and Wales showed an overall improvement compared with that found in a similar survey and inspection programme of 164 schools outside local authority control in 2010/11 where 41 improvement notices were served on 28 schools..
Geoff Cox, the Head of HSE’s Public Services Sector, said:
“Over the last few years there has been a lot of work by stakeholders across the school sector to raise awareness of the duty to manage asbestos. It is really encouraging to see that awareness of the requirements has increased since our previous inspection initiative.
“That said, schools should not be under any illusion – managing asbestos requires ongoing attention. Schools now have access to a wealth of guidance setting out clear and straightforward steps to achieve and maintain compliance.
“Where duty holders fall below acceptable standards, HSE has taken, and will continue to take, enforcement action”
The inspections revealed a number of common themes in those cases where schools were falling short of the requirements. HSE has published its findings to help share more widely what can be learned from them.
All schools must ensure they have up to date records of asbestos containing materials in their school – this is to make sure that the school knows the location of any asbestos containing materials that could be damaged or disturbed by normal activities, by foreseeable maintenance, or when installing new equipment.
Training is essential for maintenance staff whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos and every school needs a robust system to alert anyone who may disturb asbestos at the school. The key group of personnel at risk from asbestos is tradespeople – particularly those undertaking maintenance activities. It is vital that schools ensure that anyone who may disturb asbestos is made aware of its location and condition.
Asbestos which is in good condition and remains undamaged and undisturbed does not pose any significant risk to health if it is managed in compliance with the legal requirements and according to HSE’s published guidance.
Sussex firm and businessman in court after worker loses both legs
- A scrap metal company and a businessman have been sentenced for serious safety breaches that led to a site worker losing both legs as the doors of a 16-tonne baling machine closed on him.
The 42-year-old worker was dealing with a problem inside the five-metre long baler at H Ripley & Co’s site in Westfield, East Sussex, when the doors of the machine began to close. He tried to use a remote control to stop them, but it failed to respond.
The man, now living in Pontypool, Wales, made a desperate attempt to escape in the remaining seconds, but the force of the jaws hit his legs as he scrambled away. One leg was severed and the other severely crushed and was amputated later in hospital.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated the incident, on 24 May 2011, found the company’s isolation procedure for the baler was totally inadequate. It also found the remote control, built by co-defendant John Platt, of Thakeham, West Sussex, was seriously flawed.
Lewes Crown Court heard that it was possible for the baler, used to compact scrap metal, to take only one minute and 15 seconds to go from ‘car to cube’. The maximum force of its doors was some 180 tonnes.
HSE’s investigation identified that a lack of suitable controls meant workers were able to get too close to the crushing and shearing hazards presented by the machine.
H Ripley & Co, which has three sites in East Sussex and two in Kent, had bought the baling machine in 2008 second-hand and fire-damaged and needed to get the radio control system re-built.
HSE found the remote control, manufactured and installed by John Platt, had several serious flaws. As a result, once the baler doors started closing, the remote control failed to activate to stop them. In addition the remote was not robust enough for the demands of working in a scrap metal yard.
H Ripley & Co. of North Street, Hailsham, West Sussex, was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £34,633 in full costs after admitting breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
John Platt, t/a John Platt Services of Bramble Lane, Thakeham, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 6(1) of the same Act. He was fined £10,000 with £5,000 to pay toward costs.
After the court hearing, HSE Inspector Stephen Green said:
“This was a horrific incident in which a worker suffered the loss of both legs, endured a sixth-month period in hospital and who will now spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
“It was also entirely preventable, H Ripley & Co had completely neglected to consider the risks and identify control measures needed to operate the machine safely. It had failed to ensure that there was a system to isolate the machine from power before anyone could get inside.
“It appears that no thought was given to the safety aspects of the remote units for the baler or the way they worked. Had original remotes been sourced or had John Platt manufactured fully functional alternatives, it is likely the incident would not have happened.
The man, now living in Pontypool, Wales, made a desperate attempt to escape in the remaining seconds, but the force of the jaws hit his legs as he scrambled away. One leg was severed and the other severely crushed and was amputated later in hospital.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated the incident, on 24 May 2011, found the company’s isolation procedure for the baler was totally inadequate. It also found the remote control, built by co-defendant John Platt, of Thakeham, West Sussex, was seriously flawed.
Lewes Crown Court heard that it was possible for the baler, used to compact scrap metal, to take only one minute and 15 seconds to go from ‘car to cube’. The maximum force of its doors was some 180 tonnes.
HSE’s investigation identified that a lack of suitable controls meant workers were able to get too close to the crushing and shearing hazards presented by the machine.
H Ripley & Co, which has three sites in East Sussex and two in Kent, had bought the baling machine in 2008 second-hand and fire-damaged and needed to get the radio control system re-built.
HSE found the remote control, manufactured and installed by John Platt, had several serious flaws. As a result, once the baler doors started closing, the remote control failed to activate to stop them. In addition the remote was not robust enough for the demands of working in a scrap metal yard.
H Ripley & Co. of North Street, Hailsham, West Sussex, was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £34,633 in full costs after admitting breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
John Platt, t/a John Platt Services of Bramble Lane, Thakeham, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 6(1) of the same Act. He was fined £10,000 with £5,000 to pay toward costs.
After the court hearing, HSE Inspector Stephen Green said:
“This was a horrific incident in which a worker suffered the loss of both legs, endured a sixth-month period in hospital and who will now spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
“It was also entirely preventable, H Ripley & Co had completely neglected to consider the risks and identify control measures needed to operate the machine safely. It had failed to ensure that there was a system to isolate the machine from power before anyone could get inside.
“It appears that no thought was given to the safety aspects of the remote units for the baler or the way they worked. Had original remotes been sourced or had John Platt manufactured fully functional alternatives, it is likely the incident would not have happened.
