Risk, Health and Safety Information

Health and Safety in the news this week

 

Producers of Star Wars plead guilty

Foodles Production (UK) Ltd has today pleaded guilty to failing to protect actors and workers following an incident in which actor Harrison Ford was seriously injured during the filming of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Foodles Production (UK) Ltd is based in Queen Caroline Street, London, and appeared at Milton Keynes Magistrates Court on 26 July, pleading guilty to two charges. The case has now been transferred to Aylesbury Crown Court, date to be confirmed.

Mr Ford suffered a broken leg and other injuries when he was struck by a metal door on the set of the Millennium Falcon. The incident happened on 12 June 2014 at Pinewood Studios.

A spokesman for HSE said:

“During the filming of Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens, the actor Harrison Ford was badly injured after he became trapped under a rapidly closing metal-framed door. The power of the door’s drive system was comparable to the weight of a small car.  This was a foreseeable incident.  Foodles Production (UK) Ltd has accepted it failed to protect actors and staff and HSE welcomes the firm’s guilty plea.

Every employer in every industry has a legal duty to manage risks in the workplace. Risks are part and parcel of everyday life, and this is acknowledged by health and safety law – but they still need to be identified and managed in a proportionate way.

The British film industry has a world renowned reputation for making exceptional films. Managing on-set risks in a sensible and proportionate way for all actors and staff – regardless of their celebrity status – is vital to protecting both on-screen and off-screen talent, as well as protecting the reputation of the industry.”

HSE prosecution round up:

Worker dies from toxic gas

A medicinal herbal manufacturing company in Lincolnshire has been fined after a worker died from exposure to a toxic gas.

Leicester Crown Court heard Karl Brader, 50, was working for Herbs in a Bottle Limited. He was using cleaning chemicals to clean a changing room when he was exposed to a toxic gas (likely to be chlorine) and died at the scene.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which occurred on 2 September 2014, found that Mr Brader had not been trained in the safe use of chemicals and no company Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) assessment had been carried out.

Herbs in a Bottle Limited, of Bourne End, Essendine, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and Regulation 6(1)(a) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, and was fined £45,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £4,842.

HM Inspector Stephen Farthing said:

“This was a tragic industrial incident that was entirely preventable had suitable precautions been taken. Karl Brader had not received any training in the safe use of hazardous chemicals and as a result died from the exposure to a toxic gas.  Companies should ensure that they assess all the risks associated with the use of dangerous chemicals and that exposure to their employees is either eliminated or minimised.”

Bradford firm fined after worker fell through skylight

A company which manufactures signage and displays for high street retailer was sentenced today for safety breaches after a worker fell to his death through a roof light.

Richard Perry, 43, was working with a colleague covering roof lights with blackout vinyl in June 2014 at Whiteghyll Plastics Ltd.  This was in an attempt to block out the sunlight to reduce the heat within the factory.  Mr Perry fell 5.5 metres through a fragile roof light to the fabrications department below.

The company failed to adequately supervise Mr Perry and another employee.  There were several missed opportunities by a number of managers to stop them from working on the roof.  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the firm over the incident.

Whiteghyll Plastics Ltd of City Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £120,000 with £37,655 costs by Bradford Crown Court.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Andrea Jones commented:

“Two employees were on the roof for some time with no precautions in place to prevent falling through fragile roof material or off the open edge of the roof.  This accident would not have happened if these two employees had been appropriately supervised by management.  Falls from height, particularly from roofs is the highest cause of fatal accidents.”

Richard was a father of two, his wife was pregnant with their second son when he died. His wife, Samantha, said:

“Richard was so looking forward to meeting his second son. Sadly he never got the chance to do that. Every time I look into his eyes I feel an immense sadness that he never got to meet his amazing Daddy.  Not only did my boys lose their Daddy but I lost my husband, my best friend and my soul mate.  I feel as if my heart was ripped out and died with him.  I kissed him goodbye on Friday 13 June 2014 and he never came home.

I never expected this to happen.  Nobody should die at work and leave behind a young family and wife. He had his whole life ahead of him.”

Firm sentenced after worker’s arm severed

A Bristol based manufacturer of concrete products has been fined after a worker’s arm was torn off when it was pulled into the rotating tail pulley of a conveyor belt.

Bristol Crown Court heard the injured man was making adjustments to a misaligned conveyor belt at Concrete Fabrications Ltd plant in Henbury, Bristol on 18 May 2015.

The court heard that to do this, the man, who does not wish to be named, had to adjust tensioning rods which were located inside the machine’s guards, in close proximity to the conveyor belt and rotating tail pulley.

The worker noticed that aggregate had built up on the tensioning rod and he tried to knock off the material with a hammer so he could use a spanner to adjust the rod. However, the hammer was dragged into the rotating machinery along with the employee’s arm which was severed between the shoulder and the elbow.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting, told the court that Concrete Fabrications Ltd should have had adequate guards on dangerous parts of machinery.

It said clear procedures should exist regarding maintenance and adjustments of machinery and arrangements should be in place to ensure that machinery is not run without the necessary guarding in place, and that clear isolation and lock off procedures exist.

An unsafe system of work existed for the maintenance of machinery, in so much that the dangerous moving parts of the machine were exposed during maintenance operations.  A sufficient risk assessment would have identified the risks associated with tracking conveyor belts, and identified appropriate control measures.

Concrete Fabrications Ltd of Cole Road, St Phillips, Bristol, United Kingdom, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 and was fined £100,000 with £7758 costs awarded to HSE.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Matthew Tyler said:

“Companies need to ensure the risks associated with maintenance tasks are adequately assessed, and effectively controlled, through adequate guarding of dangerous parts of machinery, and the existence of clear robust procedures in respect of maintenance and adjustments of machinery, including isolation and lock off requirements.  The consequences of not doing this are clear to see here today.”

National Steel firm fined £1.98 million for safety failings

Tata Steel has been fined after two workers suffered injuries to their hands in two separate incidents involving machinery.

Northampton Crown Court heard how a 26-year-old employee lost two thirds of his left hand and his middle and ring fingers whilst trying to clear a blockage on a steel tube manufacturing line which had unsuitable guarding, and in a separate incident, a 52-year-old team leader lost part of his little finger when his left hand was caught, again in an inadequately guarded machine, whilst he was receiving refresher training.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incidents, which occurred on 12 September 2014 and 19 February 2015, found that there was a failure to appropriately guard and manage the risks arising from dangerous parts of these items of machinery.

Tata UK Limited, of Millbank, London, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined a total of £1.98 million (£185,000 was for the first offence and £1.8 million for the second offence) and ordered to pay costs of £22,500.

HSE inspector Mark Austin said after the hearing:

“Guarding of dangerous parts of machinery is a fundamental of ensuring workers’ safety.  HSE will not hesitate to hold those accountable who do not fulfil their legal obligations, especially if that results in someone receiving life changing injuries.”

Company dismantling HGV fined for safety failings

A North Lincolnshire company has been fined after a worker was injured whilst dismantling a HGV tipper lorry.

Scunthorpe Magistrates’ Court heard how two employees of R Martinson Limited were dismantling an HGV lorry using a telehandler like a mobile crane for lifting operations.

One employee operated the telehandler to remove a metal rail weighing about 44 kg from the chassis when it struck the second employee, 68-year-old George Henry Johnson. He suffered a traumatic skull fracture that have left him with permanent injuries and reliant on other family members for his care.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred in April 2015 found that the company failed to adequately plan, organize, control and monitor the way in which the operation was undertaken.  Using a telehandler to lift and move parts like a mobile crane is a high risk activity and the company failed to apply basic principles of health and safety management to reduce the risk of serious personal injury.

R Martinson Limited of Havering, The Bays Shore Road, Garthorpe, North Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £53,300 and ordered to pay costs of £1,293.10.

Agency worker injured at Malting factory

A malting company based in Suffolk has been fined after an agency worker was injured when he fell from a ladder.

Scarborough Magistrates’ Court heard how an agency worker employed with Pauls Malt Limited at their West Knapton malting factory, near Malton, was injured when he fell approximately two metres from a ladder. He sustained two fractures to his right foot and bruising to his chest and head injuries.

He was in the process of checking the fill level of the malt in a container that he was loading for export prior to closing the hopper feed.  The container was fitted with a full-size fabric liner with a high level loading flap which would be zipped up once the container was full.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 6 May 2015 found that the company had not carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the work at height involved in closing the zipped flaps on the fabric liners used to line containers that were being loaded with malt for export.

A system of work had developed which involved propping a 4-metre long ladder against the rear of the container to gain access to the zip-up flap. The ladder was too long for this purpose and was propped at too shallow an angle.  The ladder slipped outwards at the foot causing the agency worker to fall with the ladder.

Pauls Malt Limited (trading as Boortmalt), of Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,257.

Source: www.hse.gov.uk