Health and Safety in the news this
week
Rainbow Waste Update – Unsafe practices led to worker’s death
Further details about the case
have now been published, and the Health and Safety Executive Inspector who led
the investigation into the case has said that senior managers at Rainbow Waste
claimed to be ignorant of hundreds of unsafe practices at their Derbyshire
waste processing plant.
Ashley Morris, 24, was killed
when the bucket of a Bobcat loader he was operating fell on him. At the time, the vehicle’s bucket was raised
with only the hydraulic system holding it up, and Mr Morris was operating the
controls from outside the cab. He
reversed the loader, and the bucket descended, fatally crushing him.
The HSE Inspector said that
this practice was very strange and could not establish why Mr Morris was manoeuvring
the Bobcat in this way. Further investigations
revealed more than 200 examples of unsafe working practices involving the
Bobcat, forklift trucks and skip lorries, and it was decided that Mr Morris
likely did not know any better. CCTV
cameras at the site had recorded people being lifted in the Bobcat, workers
jumping out of the way to avoid being hit as it turned, and workers standing
inside a skip as it was loaded with rubbish.
The HSE concluded that Rainbow
Waste’s training regime was inadequate, which the defence disputed because Mr
Morris was qualified to operate the Bobcat.
The judge concluded that Rainbow Waste “fell far short of the
appropriate standard by failing to put into place recognised standards in the
industry, namely effective monitoring and supervision, and that breaches on the
CCTV were indicative of practices which went on for a significant period of
time”. The judge added that he found the
suggestion that the director of Rainbow Waste was unaware of the practice that
was taking place at his warehouse, just a few yards from his office, as
depicted on the CCTV as “implausible and bordering on incredulous”.Source: www.iosh.co.uk
HSE prosecution round up:
Roofer fined for safety failings
A roofer based in Berkshire has
been fined after disturbing and removing asbestos without a licence.
Reading Magistrates’ Court
heard Michael Wilkie was contracted by a householder to replace the covering of
the flat roof of the garage adjoining their house, and subsequent remedial
work. This included the installation of
a drainpipe through the ceiling below.
The ceiling comprised of
asbestos insulation boards (AIB) which Wilkie cut a hole in for the pipe. He left the debris that contained asbestos in
a waste bag for the householder to dispose of.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred between 21 March
and 16 April 2015 found Wilkie had no experience or knowledge of working with
asbestos containing materials and failed to take suitable measures to prevent
exposure to asbestos fibres.
Michael Wilkie (trading as
Royal County Roofing), of Ploughlands, Bracknell, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to
breaching Regulations 5(1)(a), 11(1) and 16 of the Control of Asbestos
Regulations 2012, and was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £1,023.
HSE inspector Dominic Goacher
said after the hearing: “Contractors have a duty to ensure all work they
undertake is properly planned and takes into account onsite risks such as
asbestos containing materials.”
Company fined for safety failings
A metalwork casting and
machining company has been fined for unsafe work practices after an employee
almost fell through a fragile roof.
Canterbury Crown Court heard
how an employee of M J Allen Holdings Limited of Kent was working on the roof
of the company workshop when he slipped and almost fell through the fragile
roof.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive into the incident which occurred on 19 September 2014
found the company failed to provide suitable working at height equipment to
carry out tasks. Employees had also not
undergone specific related working at height on roof training.
M J Allen Holdings Limited, of
Hilton Road, Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate, Ashford Kent, pleaded guilty to
breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was fined
£160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,767.
HSE inspector Guy Widdowson
said after the hearing: “This incident had the potential to cause significant,
life threatening injuries to the employee who was affected.”
Sentence after worker injured at prison
Four different duty holders
have been fined after a worker was injured while replacing a window at Leeds
prison.
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard
how a window on the third floor at Leeds Prison was in need of replacing. Four parties were involved with the
installation and all were charged with safety breaches for their part in the
incident.
Stuart Tombs was the site
manager via his own company SJT Site management Limited (SJT). SJT was
contracted by Longcross Construction Limited (LCL), the principal contractor
for the window replacement work.
Fewell Engineering Limited
(FEL) were subcontracted by LCL, and it was an employee of FEL who was pushing
a trolley with the new window on it when the incident occurred.
The court heard an employee of
FEL was operating a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) and driving it to the
location of the work when one of the wheels struck the FEL employee and
partially ran over his feet.
The injured man suffered
multiple fractures in his right foot, a fracture of his left ankle and
significant soft tissue damage to both feet.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 8 September 2014
found that Fewell Engineering failed to prepare suitable and sufficient Risk
assessments and method statements for the operation.Longcross failed to check the risk assessment prepared by FEL, and it failed to check that Stuart Tombs was competent to carry out a suitable site safety induction and supervised work with a MEWP.
SJT failed carry out a suitable
site safety induction and supervise the MEWP operation competently.
It was also discovered Stuart
John Tombs forged or fabricated site health and safety documents in an attempt
to deflect responsibility.
Fewell Engineering Limited, of
Salisbury, Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health
and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay
costs of £702.
Longcross Construction Limited,
of Hill House, Little New Street, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section
3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £20,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £303.
SJT Site Management Limited, of
Watling Street, Bridgtown, Cannock, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £600
and ordered to pay costs of £199.
Stuart John Tombs, of Bondway,
Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section
33(1)(l) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £100 and
ordered to pay costs of £149.
HSE Health and Safety Myths Buster
Library will not let users plug their laptops into power sockets
for health and safety reasons
Issue
A Council run library will not
let users plug their laptops into electrical outlets because of a risk of
tripping or in case of faulty laptop charger plugs.
Panel opinion
The council and library seem to
have got their wires well and truly crossed in this case as both the potential
problems appear to have been well under control. Restricting the charging
of the laptop can’t be justified on health and safety grounds in these
circumstances.
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