Dangerous scaffold costs firm owner
- The owner of a small construction firm in Portsmouth has been fined after he erected a series of scaffolds in and around the town over several months in late 2013 that were riddled with dangerous faults.
Graham Pedaltey, trading as Graham’s Scaffolds, put workers lives at risk by putting up scaffolds several metres high for them to work on but with potentially lethal defects that could have seen builders fall from unguarded platforms or through rotting wooden planks.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mr Pedalty at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court for safety breaches after investigating a particularly hazardous scaffold that he was responsible for in North End Avenue last year. HSE attended as a result of a complaint made by a member of the public.
The court heard that the scaffold, erected on 18 October, had numerous faults:
• It was not tied to the building so was insecure and more liable to collapse
• It lacked baseplates on many uprights, meaning that the scaffold could have sunk into the ground or ‘punched through’ any drains or cavities it was erected on
• There were few, if any, guardrails on the lifts – or working platforms – to prevent falls from height
• There was no bracing on the middle scaffold on the middle working platform giving rise to serious stability issues
• Many of the boards were rotten and damaged and could have broken under workers’ feet, sending them falling to the ground below.
Despite remedial work requested by HSE being carried out on the scaffold by Mr Pedaltey, there were still defects.
The court was told that Mr Pedaltey had received previous advice from HSE on poor scaffolding twice during the previous month of September 2013.
Graham Pedaltey, trading as Graham’s Scaffolds, of Queens Road, Portsmouth, was fined a total of £1,600 and ordered to pay £600 in costs after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Peter Snelgrove said:
“Mr Pedaltey not only erected numerous unsafe scaffolds, but also relied on his knowledge from training delivered in 1979 – more than 30 years earlier. He has now been prohibited from erecting scaffolds until he has completed further training to acquaint himself with up-to-date safety legislation and scaffolding standards.
“His failings created a risk of death or serious personal injury. Scaffolds are temporary structures and their integrity and safety must be ensured to, in turn, safeguard the workers and passers-by.”
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mr Pedalty at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court for safety breaches after investigating a particularly hazardous scaffold that he was responsible for in North End Avenue last year. HSE attended as a result of a complaint made by a member of the public.
The court heard that the scaffold, erected on 18 October, had numerous faults:
• It was not tied to the building so was insecure and more liable to collapse
• It lacked baseplates on many uprights, meaning that the scaffold could have sunk into the ground or ‘punched through’ any drains or cavities it was erected on
• There were few, if any, guardrails on the lifts – or working platforms – to prevent falls from height
• There was no bracing on the middle scaffold on the middle working platform giving rise to serious stability issues
• Many of the boards were rotten and damaged and could have broken under workers’ feet, sending them falling to the ground below.
Despite remedial work requested by HSE being carried out on the scaffold by Mr Pedaltey, there were still defects.
The court was told that Mr Pedaltey had received previous advice from HSE on poor scaffolding twice during the previous month of September 2013.
Graham Pedaltey, trading as Graham’s Scaffolds, of Queens Road, Portsmouth, was fined a total of £1,600 and ordered to pay £600 in costs after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Peter Snelgrove said:
“Mr Pedaltey not only erected numerous unsafe scaffolds, but also relied on his knowledge from training delivered in 1979 – more than 30 years earlier. He has now been prohibited from erecting scaffolds until he has completed further training to acquaint himself with up-to-date safety legislation and scaffolding standards.
“His failings created a risk of death or serious personal injury. Scaffolds are temporary structures and their integrity and safety must be ensured to, in turn, safeguard the workers and passers-by.”
Construction firm in court for health and safety breach
- An Essex construction firm has been fined for failing to provide adequate sanitation facilities for its workers.
An inspector from the HSE visited the company’s site at Camper Road in Southend on 26 March 2014 and issued an Improvement Notice after finding sub-standard facilities for workers on site.
Dantel Construction Ltd was prosecuted at Southend Magistrates’ court today (7 Jan) after it failed to respond to HSE’s enforcement action by improving the welfare facilities for workers. Two months after the date of compliance of the Improvement Notice, they still hadn’t brought standards up to an acceptable level.
Dantel Construction Limited, of Wantz Road, Dagenham, was fined £ 2,000 and ordered to pay £1,940 in costs after pleading guilty to a breach of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work act.
Health and Safety Inspector Adam Hills said:
“Construction workers have the right to sanitary and welfare facilities including having an adequate supply of hot and cold running water. There is really no excuse to subject workers to pre-Victorian conditions. Sadly, however, these basic requirements are too often neglected.
“A cold water tap and toilet on their own are not adequate. Decent facilities will positively benefit health and well-being and help prevent ailments and infection.”
Dantel Construction Ltd was prosecuted at Southend Magistrates’ court today (7 Jan) after it failed to respond to HSE’s enforcement action by improving the welfare facilities for workers. Two months after the date of compliance of the Improvement Notice, they still hadn’t brought standards up to an acceptable level.
Dantel Construction Limited, of Wantz Road, Dagenham, was fined £ 2,000 and ordered to pay £1,940 in costs after pleading guilty to a breach of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work act.
Health and Safety Inspector Adam Hills said:
“Construction workers have the right to sanitary and welfare facilities including having an adequate supply of hot and cold running water. There is really no excuse to subject workers to pre-Victorian conditions. Sadly, however, these basic requirements are too often neglected.
“A cold water tap and toilet on their own are not adequate. Decent facilities will positively benefit health and well-being and help prevent ailments and infection.”
Manufacturing firm fined over worker’s death
- A West Yorkshire company has been sentenced after a worker died when he was crushed beneath a one tonne silo of varnish that slid from the tines of a forklift truck and toppled onto him.
Wayne Potts, 39, of Dalefield Avenue, Normanton, died from his injuries hours after the incident on 25 March 2011 at Gardiner Colours Ltd’s factory in Ripley Drive nearby.
The HSE prosecuted the company, which makes inks, varnishes and coatings, after an investigation highlighted several safety failings, crucially the failure by Gardiner’s to spot risks to its workforce.
Leeds Crown Court was told that a customer of the company had returned part of an order as it couldn’t decant varnish from a silo and had asked for the liquid be re-sent in 10kg plastic containers.
Because of difficulties in changing the order, workers were tasked with decanting the varnish directly from the silo into the containers via a tap at the base of the silo, which had been raised on the tines of the forklift.
As Mr Potts worked on the decanting, the silo slid down the tines and fell directly onto him. He died in hospital later the same night.
HSE found a combination of the creeping heavy load, the downward tilt of the forks, and the valve being used frequently from below, had caused the silo to fall.
HSE said Gardiner Colours had failed to assess the risks to workers of the decanting operation. As a result, employees were operating without a system of work in place to help them do the job in safety.
The court also heard it had been dangerous for the forklift to be used to balance heavy loads for extended periods – a job it was not designed for.
HSE said the failures by Gardiner Colours Ltd to provide a safe working environment had exposed employees to serious risk and led to Mr Potts’ death.
There was evidence that this was not the only incident at Gardiner Colours that had involved a load falling from the tines of a forklift truck; this near-miss ought to have alerted the company to the risk of a silo falling.
The company, of Ripley Drive, Normanton, near Wakefield, was fined £66,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 in costs after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the hearing, the investigating HSE inspector Phil Burgess said:
“A system that involves a person standing in the immediate vicinity of a suspended load on a forklift truck, which had no driver, is inherently unsafe. The forklift is not capable of holding elevated loads for long periods yet it was a system that had been allowed to develop over time, despite there being readily-available, safe alternatives.
“Every worker should quite rightly expect that they will return home safely from work every day. Sadly this did not happen for Wayne Potts that day but there is no doubt that his death was avoidable had Gardiner Colours effectively managed the health, safety and welfare of its employees and learned lessons from previous incidents and near-misses.”
The HSE prosecuted the company, which makes inks, varnishes and coatings, after an investigation highlighted several safety failings, crucially the failure by Gardiner’s to spot risks to its workforce.
Leeds Crown Court was told that a customer of the company had returned part of an order as it couldn’t decant varnish from a silo and had asked for the liquid be re-sent in 10kg plastic containers.
Because of difficulties in changing the order, workers were tasked with decanting the varnish directly from the silo into the containers via a tap at the base of the silo, which had been raised on the tines of the forklift.
As Mr Potts worked on the decanting, the silo slid down the tines and fell directly onto him. He died in hospital later the same night.
HSE found a combination of the creeping heavy load, the downward tilt of the forks, and the valve being used frequently from below, had caused the silo to fall.
HSE said Gardiner Colours had failed to assess the risks to workers of the decanting operation. As a result, employees were operating without a system of work in place to help them do the job in safety.
The court also heard it had been dangerous for the forklift to be used to balance heavy loads for extended periods – a job it was not designed for.
HSE said the failures by Gardiner Colours Ltd to provide a safe working environment had exposed employees to serious risk and led to Mr Potts’ death.
There was evidence that this was not the only incident at Gardiner Colours that had involved a load falling from the tines of a forklift truck; this near-miss ought to have alerted the company to the risk of a silo falling.
The company, of Ripley Drive, Normanton, near Wakefield, was fined £66,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 in costs after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the hearing, the investigating HSE inspector Phil Burgess said:
“A system that involves a person standing in the immediate vicinity of a suspended load on a forklift truck, which had no driver, is inherently unsafe. The forklift is not capable of holding elevated loads for long periods yet it was a system that had been allowed to develop over time, despite there being readily-available, safe alternatives.
“Every worker should quite rightly expect that they will return home safely from work every day. Sadly this did not happen for Wayne Potts that day but there is no doubt that his death was avoidable had Gardiner Colours effectively managed the health, safety and welfare of its employees and learned lessons from previous incidents and near-misses.”
Worktop firm in court after man loses finger in unguarded machine
- A worktop manufacturer has been fined after an employee had to have two fingers amputated when they came into contact with an unguarded cutting blade.
The 28-year-old can no longer play the guitar , use a keyboard or tie his shoelaces as a result of the incident at Worktop Fabrications Ltd on 25 June 2012. He was unable to work for seven months and may require further surgery.
He was operating an edge banding machine when his hand came into contact with a blade that is used to create the finished edges on worktops.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard today that he had been working for the company for 13 weeks as an agency employee but had been made permanent on the day of the incident.
An investigation by the HSE investigation found the machine had three sections, each enclosed by an interlocked hood. The hoods should have been lowered , forming an effective guard, but, according to the company, the interlocks were disconnected and replaced with locks and keys in 2008 or 2009. The keys were left in the hoods, meaning the machine was able to run with the hood guards open.
Worktop Fabrications Ltd, of Wingate Close, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was today (9 Jan) fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,574.
After the hearing HSE inspector Judith McNulty-Green said:
“This man’s painful and life-changing injuries were borne out of a catalogue of failings on the part of Worktop Fabrications Ltd.
“In 2010, a year or so after the company thinks the interlock was removed, it undertook a risk assessment of the machine to identify whether the health and safety risks associated with its operation were being properly managed. That assessment failed to identify the machine was unguarded, so no steps were taken to correct the problem.
“The risks associated with cutting machinery are well known in the industry, and so are the measures that should be taken to minimise or remove those risks.”
He was operating an edge banding machine when his hand came into contact with a blade that is used to create the finished edges on worktops.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard today that he had been working for the company for 13 weeks as an agency employee but had been made permanent on the day of the incident.
An investigation by the HSE investigation found the machine had three sections, each enclosed by an interlocked hood. The hoods should have been lowered , forming an effective guard, but, according to the company, the interlocks were disconnected and replaced with locks and keys in 2008 or 2009. The keys were left in the hoods, meaning the machine was able to run with the hood guards open.
Worktop Fabrications Ltd, of Wingate Close, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was today (9 Jan) fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,574.
After the hearing HSE inspector Judith McNulty-Green said:
“This man’s painful and life-changing injuries were borne out of a catalogue of failings on the part of Worktop Fabrications Ltd.
“In 2010, a year or so after the company thinks the interlock was removed, it undertook a risk assessment of the machine to identify whether the health and safety risks associated with its operation were being properly managed. That assessment failed to identify the machine was unguarded, so no steps were taken to correct the problem.
“The risks associated with cutting machinery are well known in the industry, and so are the measures that should be taken to minimise or remove those risks.”
Sheffield firm owner in court for repeat safety breach
- A Sheffield businessman has been fined after he failed to heed warnings from safety experts to properly guard dangerous machinery.
Peter Herring, who trades as A W Parish in Princess Street, was prosecuted by the HSE after an inspector carried out a routine visit to the company on 11 September 2013.
Sheffield Magistrates heard that the inspector noted during the visit that a radial arm drill was unguarded. A telescopic guard was available for the machine but could not be fitted as it was damaged.
HSE served a Prohibition Notice on Mr Herring to prevent use of the drill until it was properly guarded. The court was told that Mr Herring had been served with a similar enforcement notice by HSE in 2003 and a further letter needed to be sent in 2009 when the same radial arm drill was found unguarded.
HSE prosecuted the company, which makes fire escapes, balustrades and other metalwork, for failing to ensure that effective guarding was in place to prevent operators from getting too close to the rotating parts of the machine.
Peter Herring, trading as A W Parish, of The Level Works, Princess Street, Sheffield, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £585 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
After the case, HSE inspector Andrew Gale said:
“Fortunately, no one at the factory was injured but this was down to chance rather than any good management. Any one of Mr Herring’s employees could have been seriously injured as a result of operating an unguarded radial arm drill
“The risks associated with these particular drills have been well-known for decades. Mr Herring would have been well aware of those risks but he still chose to ignore them.
“While he had complied with the prohibition notices within the specified timeframe, he neglected safety again and again, and disregarded any lesson he should have learned from previous enforcement action on the exact same machine.
“Employers of whatever size must ensure that effective measures are taken to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of machinery.”
Sheffield Magistrates heard that the inspector noted during the visit that a radial arm drill was unguarded. A telescopic guard was available for the machine but could not be fitted as it was damaged.
HSE served a Prohibition Notice on Mr Herring to prevent use of the drill until it was properly guarded. The court was told that Mr Herring had been served with a similar enforcement notice by HSE in 2003 and a further letter needed to be sent in 2009 when the same radial arm drill was found unguarded.
HSE prosecuted the company, which makes fire escapes, balustrades and other metalwork, for failing to ensure that effective guarding was in place to prevent operators from getting too close to the rotating parts of the machine.
Peter Herring, trading as A W Parish, of The Level Works, Princess Street, Sheffield, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £585 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
After the case, HSE inspector Andrew Gale said:
“Fortunately, no one at the factory was injured but this was down to chance rather than any good management. Any one of Mr Herring’s employees could have been seriously injured as a result of operating an unguarded radial arm drill
“The risks associated with these particular drills have been well-known for decades. Mr Herring would have been well aware of those risks but he still chose to ignore them.
“While he had complied with the prohibition notices within the specified timeframe, he neglected safety again and again, and disregarded any lesson he should have learned from previous enforcement action on the exact same machine.
“Employers of whatever size must ensure that effective measures are taken to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of machinery.”
Waste company fined over worker’s life-changing injuries
- A nationwide waste management company has been told to pay nearly £170,000 for safety failings after an employee suffered multiple injuries when he was crushed between a truck and a skip at a site in Essex.
The 29-year-old worker from Canvey Island, was caught between the skip loader truck and the skip he was preparing for pick-up at the-then May Gurney household waste recycling centre in Canvey Island on 26 January 2013.
The skip loader was manoeuvring into position for the pick-up but struck the worker as it was being driven through a narrow route between the full skip and a fence.
The operative, who does not wish to be named, suffered life-threatening injuries including having all his ribs broken; back and shoulder injuries; injuries to the top of his left leg; a chip to the back of his skull and a number of cuts and bruises.
He was taken to the Royal London hospital where he suffered two collapsed lungs and was put into an induced coma for three days. He was in hospital for a total of 17 days and needed considerable physiotherapy after he regained consciousness, after which he spent eight weeks at his parents for further monitoring and care.
He has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by his GP and has not been able to return to work. The incident has also had profound effects on his family, partner and children.
The HSE prosecuted Kier MG Ltd at Chelmsford Crown Court after an investigation found that the company didn’t have sufficient procedures in place to keep workers safely away from vehicles moving around the site.
The court was told that the company, which acquired May Gurney in July 2013, had put in place strict measures to segregate visitors from moving vehicles but had not extended them to ensure the safety of its workers.
Kier MG Ltd, of Tempsford Hall, Sandy, Bedfordshire, was fined a total of £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,809 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. 1974 Act and a breach of Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
After the case, HSE Inspector Edward Crick, said:
“This was an entirely preventable incident caused by Kier MG Ltd’s failure to recognise the hazards to workers arising from skip loading operations at their Canvey Island recycling centre, despite tackling the hazards to members of the public.
“The consequences of this were devastating for a young man, who will now have to cope with life-changing injuries for the rest of his life.
“The risks to pedestrians when they are near operating work vehicles are very serious, but also well-known within industry. There is no excuse, therefore, for companies to disregard vital elements of workplace safety.”
The skip loader was manoeuvring into position for the pick-up but struck the worker as it was being driven through a narrow route between the full skip and a fence.
The operative, who does not wish to be named, suffered life-threatening injuries including having all his ribs broken; back and shoulder injuries; injuries to the top of his left leg; a chip to the back of his skull and a number of cuts and bruises.
He was taken to the Royal London hospital where he suffered two collapsed lungs and was put into an induced coma for three days. He was in hospital for a total of 17 days and needed considerable physiotherapy after he regained consciousness, after which he spent eight weeks at his parents for further monitoring and care.
He has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by his GP and has not been able to return to work. The incident has also had profound effects on his family, partner and children.
The HSE prosecuted Kier MG Ltd at Chelmsford Crown Court after an investigation found that the company didn’t have sufficient procedures in place to keep workers safely away from vehicles moving around the site.
The court was told that the company, which acquired May Gurney in July 2013, had put in place strict measures to segregate visitors from moving vehicles but had not extended them to ensure the safety of its workers.
Kier MG Ltd, of Tempsford Hall, Sandy, Bedfordshire, was fined a total of £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,809 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. 1974 Act and a breach of Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
After the case, HSE Inspector Edward Crick, said:
“This was an entirely preventable incident caused by Kier MG Ltd’s failure to recognise the hazards to workers arising from skip loading operations at their Canvey Island recycling centre, despite tackling the hazards to members of the public.
“The consequences of this were devastating for a young man, who will now have to cope with life-changing injuries for the rest of his life.
“The risks to pedestrians when they are near operating work vehicles are very serious, but also well-known within industry. There is no excuse, therefore, for companies to disregard vital elements of workplace safety.”
Unregistered gas work leads to fine for fitter
- An unregistered gas fitter has been fined for illegal gas work that potentially endangered lives at a home in Staffordshire.
Self-employed trader Andrew Houghton, 47, of Morden, Surrey, installed a boiler at a home in Alrewas near Burton-on-Trent, between 15 and 21 August 2013 without being Gas Safe registered – as the law requires.
Stafford Magistrates’ Court heard that a subsequent inspection of the boiler by Gas Safe experts found a number of faults with the installation, including inadequate flues, an absence of a thermostat and a wrongly positioned condenser drain, and classified the boiler as ‘immediately dangerous’.
His illegal handiwork was investigated by the HSE, which found that Mr Houghton was not a registered Gas Safe engineer and therefore should not have carried out any work on gas fittings.
Gas Safe Register maintains the register of businesses and sole operatives who are competent to undertake gas work in Great Britain. Mr Houghton should have been assessed by and registered with Gas Safe Register for the work that he did at this property.
Andrew Dennis Houghton, of Bolton Drive, Morden, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined £2,800 and ordered to pay costs of £868.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Wayne Owen said:
“Andrew Houghton potentially put lives and property in danger by flouting the laws that are designed to protect people from substandard and faulty gas work carried out by unregistered fitters.
“It is fortunate his illegal work did not result in injury or death. Anybody who carries out work on gas pipes or appliances without being on the Gas Safe Register is breaking the law. All gas engineers should be Gas Safe registered and qualified to perform gas work.”
On average, each year around 10 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gas appliances and flues that have not been properly installed, maintained or that are poorly ventilated. Many more people suffer serious health effects from breathing in carbon monoxide, including paralysis and brain damage. Fire and explosion is also a major risk.
Stafford Magistrates’ Court heard that a subsequent inspection of the boiler by Gas Safe experts found a number of faults with the installation, including inadequate flues, an absence of a thermostat and a wrongly positioned condenser drain, and classified the boiler as ‘immediately dangerous’.
His illegal handiwork was investigated by the HSE, which found that Mr Houghton was not a registered Gas Safe engineer and therefore should not have carried out any work on gas fittings.
Gas Safe Register maintains the register of businesses and sole operatives who are competent to undertake gas work in Great Britain. Mr Houghton should have been assessed by and registered with Gas Safe Register for the work that he did at this property.
Andrew Dennis Houghton, of Bolton Drive, Morden, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined £2,800 and ordered to pay costs of £868.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Wayne Owen said:
“Andrew Houghton potentially put lives and property in danger by flouting the laws that are designed to protect people from substandard and faulty gas work carried out by unregistered fitters.
“It is fortunate his illegal work did not result in injury or death. Anybody who carries out work on gas pipes or appliances without being on the Gas Safe Register is breaking the law. All gas engineers should be Gas Safe registered and qualified to perform gas work.”
On average, each year around 10 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gas appliances and flues that have not been properly installed, maintained or that are poorly ventilated. Many more people suffer serious health effects from breathing in carbon monoxide, including paralysis and brain damage. Fire and explosion is also a major risk.
Court for chocolate maker over worker’s injury
- A Leeds-based chocolate and fudge manufacturer has been fined after an employee lost a thumb while cleaning an unguarded stirring machine.
Maria Pirie, 46, from Sherburn-in-Elmet, was cleaning the chocolate hopper at the end of a trial product run at Pecan Candy Deluxe (Europe) Ltd’s site in the Moor Lane Trading Estate when the incident happened.
Ms Pirie, who was not fully trained and was cleaning the machine by herself for the first time, moved the stirrer using the control buttons. Her left thumb was sliced off as the stirrer moved, trapping it between the side of the vessel and the stirrer.
The HSE investigated and prosecuted Pecan Candy Deluxe for failing to properly guard the machine’s dangerous moving parts.
Leeds Magistrates heard the incident, on 25 January 2013, could have been prevented by a simple interlocked guard, which the company had fitted quickly afterwards.
Ms Pirie’s thumb was surgically re-attached but will never function as before. Being left-handed she has had to relearn how to write and has difficulties with everyday tasks.
The court was told the company had been served with an Improvement Notice by HSE in January 2012 regarding the guarding of mixers following a proactive visit by an inspector.
Pecan Candy Deluxe (Europe) Ltd, of Moor Lane Trading Estate, Sherburn-in-Elmet, was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £627 in costs after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the incident, HSE inspector Rachel Brittain said:
“This incident need not, and should not, have happened. The company could easily have prevented access to the dangerous parts of the chocolate hopper by making sure it was effectively guarded. It did not and Ms Pirie has suffered a painful and lasting injury as a result.
“Preventing workers from getting too close to moving parts of machinery is vital. Pecan Deluxe Candy had subject to an enforcement notice on guarding before this incident but obviously didn’t sustain the improvements required.
“Too many are injured, limbs are lost and even fatalities can and do happen because employers fail to guard machinery adequately. Employees must also be well trained and supervised.”
In the food and drink industries, machinery and plant cause more than 30% of fatal injuries and more than 10% of major injuries each year.
Ms Pirie, who was not fully trained and was cleaning the machine by herself for the first time, moved the stirrer using the control buttons. Her left thumb was sliced off as the stirrer moved, trapping it between the side of the vessel and the stirrer.
The HSE investigated and prosecuted Pecan Candy Deluxe for failing to properly guard the machine’s dangerous moving parts.
Leeds Magistrates heard the incident, on 25 January 2013, could have been prevented by a simple interlocked guard, which the company had fitted quickly afterwards.
Ms Pirie’s thumb was surgically re-attached but will never function as before. Being left-handed she has had to relearn how to write and has difficulties with everyday tasks.
The court was told the company had been served with an Improvement Notice by HSE in January 2012 regarding the guarding of mixers following a proactive visit by an inspector.
Pecan Candy Deluxe (Europe) Ltd, of Moor Lane Trading Estate, Sherburn-in-Elmet, was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £627 in costs after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the incident, HSE inspector Rachel Brittain said:
“This incident need not, and should not, have happened. The company could easily have prevented access to the dangerous parts of the chocolate hopper by making sure it was effectively guarded. It did not and Ms Pirie has suffered a painful and lasting injury as a result.
“Preventing workers from getting too close to moving parts of machinery is vital. Pecan Deluxe Candy had subject to an enforcement notice on guarding before this incident but obviously didn’t sustain the improvements required.
“Too many are injured, limbs are lost and even fatalities can and do happen because employers fail to guard machinery adequately. Employees must also be well trained and supervised.”
In the food and drink industries, machinery and plant cause more than 30% of fatal injuries and more than 10% of major injuries each year.
Directors fined after young worker crushed by dumper
- A 20-year-old man died on his first day at work for a new company when the four-tonne dumper he was driving toppled over a bank and crushed him.
Daniel Whiston, from Dulverton, was allowed to drive the dumper, which had a number of serious defects, before it overturned down the embankment at Sweetings Farm, near Tiverton, on 27 October 2009.
The HSE investigated the incident, and prosecuted Mr Whiston’s employers, company directors William Friend and Robert Plume, at Exeter Crown Court.
The court heard that Plume and Friend’s company, Wedgewood Buildings Ltd, had been contracted to expand a pond on the farm, which involved excavating and moving spoil around the site.
Mr Whiston received about 30 minutes’ training from a more experienced colleague, who was also operating an excavator and filling the dumper, before he started his first day’s work. During the afternoon, the excavator operator, who was the only other worker on site saw the fully-loaded dumper driven by Mr Whiston topple off the side of the causeway and down the 60 degree slope, turning over and crushing him underneath.
HSE’s investigation found a number of serious failings on the site:
HSE Inspector Jonathan Harris, speaking after the hearing, said:
“The very serious failures to manage this job properly contributed to the tragic and needless loss of a young man’s life.
“Workers have a right to expect that the equipment they use is appropriate for the task, properly maintained and in a safe condition.
“Mr Whiston was not given suitable basic or advanced training under the industry’s Construction Plant Competence Scheme and was, instead, given a short briefing by a worker who himself had no formal qualifications for driving the dumper.
“Anyone in control of construction projects must ensure the work is properly planned and risk assessed to avoid similar tragedies in the future. Knowing what needs to be done is not the same as knowing how it should be done safely.”
Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard that Lifting Systems Ltd had contracted Durasteel Services Ltd to refurbish an asbestos cement roof at its Crown Works in Far Cotton.
When inspectors from the HSE visited the site on 22 October 2013 to check the work they found asbestos insulation board had been removed and stored on the premises, and that debris had been placed in waste skips around the site.
A Prohibition Notice was served to immediately stop any further work.
A subsequent investigation found that although Lifting Systems Ltd was the client, the company had undertaken a lot of the refurbishment work, including the removal of the majority of old asbestos cement roofing panels. It did not have an up to date asbestos register and did not carry out a demolition and refurbishment survey, which would have highlighted areas of asbestos to be considered during the refurbishment.
Durasteel Services Ltd failed to carry out an assessment to identify the potential for asbestos to be disturbed and put effective control measures in place.
The court was told that neither company had a licence to remove asbestos.
Lifting Systems Ltd, of Crown Works, Main Road, Far Cotton, Northampton, was fined a total of £14,000 and ordered to pay £523 in costs after pleading guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Durasteel Services Ltd, of Kingsfield Way, Kingsfield Heath Industrial Estate, Northampton, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £523 after admitting one breach of the same regulations.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Sam Russell said:
“This case highlights the importance of businesses having strong policies to enable identification of asbestos as part of their normal working practices. The refurbishment work started three months before HSE visited the site, so the risks from asbestos had not been controlled for some time.
“Lifting Systems Ltd made little effort to survey or identify asbestos in the premises before starting work, so failed to identify the presence of asbestos insulation board lining panels underneath the asbestos roofing sheets. The panels were broken up and placed in skips, putting construction workers and other employees at risk of exposure to carcinogenic asbestos fibres. An asbestos survey had been carried out by the previous owners of the premises and highlighted the asbestos which was removed. However, the premises had been derelict for a period of time and the infrastructure had been damaged and vandalised meaning the old survey was not current and fit for purpose and a new one was required.
“Durasteel Services Ltd was complicit in the removal of asbestos insulation board during the refurbishment. The company should have conducted an assessment to see if any work it undertook would have the potential to disturb asbestos materials and taken appropriate action to introduce control measures.”
The HSE investigated the incident, and prosecuted Mr Whiston’s employers, company directors William Friend and Robert Plume, at Exeter Crown Court.
The court heard that Plume and Friend’s company, Wedgewood Buildings Ltd, had been contracted to expand a pond on the farm, which involved excavating and moving spoil around the site.
Mr Whiston received about 30 minutes’ training from a more experienced colleague, who was also operating an excavator and filling the dumper, before he started his first day’s work. During the afternoon, the excavator operator, who was the only other worker on site saw the fully-loaded dumper driven by Mr Whiston topple off the side of the causeway and down the 60 degree slope, turning over and crushing him underneath.
HSE’s investigation found a number of serious failings on the site:
- The excavator driver was not trained to teach Mr Whiston how to use the dumper and was not competent to supervise him.
- The dumper had a number of serious defects, including steering failure, defective and inoperative front braking and a non-functioning handbrake with worn-out parts.
- No suitable or sufficient risk assessments had been carried out for the work and no safe system of work was used.
- The causeway used by the dumper was too narrow for a front-tipping dumper to be positioned and safely tip the load down the embankment.
HSE Inspector Jonathan Harris, speaking after the hearing, said:
“The very serious failures to manage this job properly contributed to the tragic and needless loss of a young man’s life.
“Workers have a right to expect that the equipment they use is appropriate for the task, properly maintained and in a safe condition.
“Mr Whiston was not given suitable basic or advanced training under the industry’s Construction Plant Competence Scheme and was, instead, given a short briefing by a worker who himself had no formal qualifications for driving the dumper.
“Anyone in control of construction projects must ensure the work is properly planned and risk assessed to avoid similar tragedies in the future. Knowing what needs to be done is not the same as knowing how it should be done safely.”
Firms fined for asbestos failings
- Two Northamptonshire firms have been fined after a routine safety inspection revealed serious asbestos-related failings.
Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard that Lifting Systems Ltd had contracted Durasteel Services Ltd to refurbish an asbestos cement roof at its Crown Works in Far Cotton.
When inspectors from the HSE visited the site on 22 October 2013 to check the work they found asbestos insulation board had been removed and stored on the premises, and that debris had been placed in waste skips around the site.
A Prohibition Notice was served to immediately stop any further work.
A subsequent investigation found that although Lifting Systems Ltd was the client, the company had undertaken a lot of the refurbishment work, including the removal of the majority of old asbestos cement roofing panels. It did not have an up to date asbestos register and did not carry out a demolition and refurbishment survey, which would have highlighted areas of asbestos to be considered during the refurbishment.
Durasteel Services Ltd failed to carry out an assessment to identify the potential for asbestos to be disturbed and put effective control measures in place.
The court was told that neither company had a licence to remove asbestos.
Lifting Systems Ltd, of Crown Works, Main Road, Far Cotton, Northampton, was fined a total of £14,000 and ordered to pay £523 in costs after pleading guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Durasteel Services Ltd, of Kingsfield Way, Kingsfield Heath Industrial Estate, Northampton, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £523 after admitting one breach of the same regulations.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Sam Russell said:
“This case highlights the importance of businesses having strong policies to enable identification of asbestos as part of their normal working practices. The refurbishment work started three months before HSE visited the site, so the risks from asbestos had not been controlled for some time.
“Lifting Systems Ltd made little effort to survey or identify asbestos in the premises before starting work, so failed to identify the presence of asbestos insulation board lining panels underneath the asbestos roofing sheets. The panels were broken up and placed in skips, putting construction workers and other employees at risk of exposure to carcinogenic asbestos fibres. An asbestos survey had been carried out by the previous owners of the premises and highlighted the asbestos which was removed. However, the premises had been derelict for a period of time and the infrastructure had been damaged and vandalised meaning the old survey was not current and fit for purpose and a new one was required.
“Durasteel Services Ltd was complicit in the removal of asbestos insulation board during the refurbishment. The company should have conducted an assessment to see if any work it undertook would have the potential to disturb asbestos materials and taken appropriate action to introduce control measures.”
Recycling company in court after worker fell from conveyor belt
- A Lincolnshire metal recycling firm has been prosecuted for safety breaches after a worker was left with broken ribs when he fell from a sloping conveyor belt.
The worker, 49, from Deeping St Nicholas in Lincolnshire, suffered multiple rib fractures following the incident at BW Riddle in Bourne on 7 February, 2013.
Lincoln Crown Court heard that the worker was carrying out maintenance on the conveyor belt, leaning over the top end while working on the bearings. When the main power was switched on again, the whole line, including the belt, reactivated.
The man fell from the belt onto a heap of scrap metal below, and then onto the concrete floor, breaking ribs on both sides of his body.
An investigation by the HSE found the conveyor belt had not been isolated.
The court was told HSE had taken previous enforcement action against the company. In August 2010 it was found there were no formal procedures for isolating the conveyors during maintenance. An Improvement Notice was issued and complied with.
Further enforcement action was taken in 2010 relating to failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, and again in 2011.
BW Riddle, which has been established 50 years and has sites in Boston, Corby and Peterborough, was fined £70,000 and ordered to pay £18,000 in costs for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company, of South Fen Road, Bourne, had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Neil Ward said:
“The incident could easily have resulted in a death and only luck saved this worker from more serious injury.
“Had the company put in place the correct, formal procedures for locking off and isolating the conveyor belts, this incident could have been prevented entirely.
“However, it is clear that while BW Riddle had complied with previous enforcement action, the firm neglected safety again and again, and disregarded lessons that should have been learned from previous HSE interventions.”
The gap remained unguarded following the incident until HSE enforcement required that further protective measures be provided. The area of conveyor was enclosed with fixed perimeter guards by Jaguar Land Rover and a robust key exchange access system introduced.
Lincoln Crown Court heard that the worker was carrying out maintenance on the conveyor belt, leaning over the top end while working on the bearings. When the main power was switched on again, the whole line, including the belt, reactivated.
The man fell from the belt onto a heap of scrap metal below, and then onto the concrete floor, breaking ribs on both sides of his body.
An investigation by the HSE found the conveyor belt had not been isolated.
The court was told HSE had taken previous enforcement action against the company. In August 2010 it was found there were no formal procedures for isolating the conveyors during maintenance. An Improvement Notice was issued and complied with.
Further enforcement action was taken in 2010 relating to failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, and again in 2011.
BW Riddle, which has been established 50 years and has sites in Boston, Corby and Peterborough, was fined £70,000 and ordered to pay £18,000 in costs for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company, of South Fen Road, Bourne, had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Neil Ward said:
“The incident could easily have resulted in a death and only luck saved this worker from more serious injury.
“Had the company put in place the correct, formal procedures for locking off and isolating the conveyor belts, this incident could have been prevented entirely.
“However, it is clear that while BW Riddle had complied with previous enforcement action, the firm neglected safety again and again, and disregarded lessons that should have been learned from previous HSE interventions.”
Jaguar Land Rover prosecuted over worker’s ‘horrific’ injuries
- Jaguar Land Rover Ltd has been fined for safety breaches after an employee suffered life-threatening crush injuries when he was dragged into inadequately guarded machinery.
The 57-year-old maintenance electrician from Northfield, Birmingham, who has asked not to be named, punctured both lungs and broke ten ribs, his breastbone, two bones in his spine and two in his right hand. He had blood clots on his heart and kidneys and was in an induced coma in intensive care for 12 days. He was in hospital for a further seven days but was back at work within 17 weeks.
The incident happened in the paint shop at the company’s Lode Lane site in Solihull on 14 June 2013.
Birmingham Crown Court was told a HSE investigation found that following the latest in a series of frequent production line stoppages the employee approached a gap in the perimeter guarding that surrounded the vehicle body lifting equipment so he could witness the troublesome process in operation.
As he watched he was hit by an empty vehicle body carrier on a circulatory chain conveyor that was travelling through the gap. He was knocked to the ground and forcibly dragged through the gap into a restricted processing area where he was severely crushed.
Jaguar Land Rover Ltd, of Abbey Road, Whitley, Coventry, was fined £40,000 with £13,474 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
Passing sentence, His Honour Judge Carr said Jaguar Land Rover “fell far short of a safe and reasonable standard”, adding:
“This was an entirely reasonable, foreseeable situation. The breach was an ongoing failure and an accident waiting to happen.”
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector John Glynn said:
“The incident was entirely preventable. Although the gap was minimally sized to allow empty carriers into the restricted area, it also allowed access to dangerous moving parts within the production process while in itself creating a crush hazard with the moving conveyor.
“Jaguar Land Rover has extensive safety systems in place and the Lode Lane plant had other facilities with similar processes that are guarded much more effectively. The company should have ensured the same level of protection at this location. It didn’t and as a result a man suffered horrific injuries. It is remarkable that he recovered enough to return to work within 17 weeks. The incident could very easily have ended his life.”
