Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
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Firm fined for unsafe roof work
Three roofers were spotted working on top of a Nottingham cash and carry store without any safety equipment by a passing HSE inspector, a court heard.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today fined roofing contractors SPV Road Carpet Ltd after the men were found risking their lives at the store on the Lenton industrial estate on 20 May 2009.
SPV employee, Lewis Male, was also prosecuted for failing to take reasonable care of himself and others. The court heard Mr Male was replacing sky lights with two others on the roof when he was spotted by a passing HSE inspector.
The inspector noticed the workers were using no safety equipment, edge protection or harnesses to prevent falls. It was discovered this unsafe system of work had continued over a period of three weeks, risking injury to the roofers and to employees and customers inside the store.
SPV Road Carpet Ltd, of Aldridge, Walsall pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to protect their own employees and members of the public in the store at the time. It was fined £14,000 with £6,659 costs.
Mr Male, of Parsons Cross, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £480 and ordered to pay costs of £650.
Read full story here.
Engineering firm fined for safety breaches
A precision engineering company has been fined for failing to prevent access to dangerous parts on one of its machines, even after several warnings at its site in Hailsham, East Sussex.
The HSE prosecuted Metaltech Precision Engineers Ltd for failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery or stop the movement of dangerous parts of machinery before it could be accessed by any person at its Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining centre facility in Diplocks Way, Hailsham, East Sussex.
Eastbourne Magistrates’ Court heard that on 12 December 2006, Metaltech was issued with an instant visit report following an HSE inspection which found the interlocks guarding a CNC milling machine had been disabled. On 31 March 2009, an unannounced inspection once again found that interlocking guards had been disabled and the firm was served with an Improvement Notice that required the introduction of a monitoring system to ensure that the interlocks on the machines were working.
During an unannounced inspection on the 23 June 2011, the HSE inspector witnessed that an interlocking guard on a machine had again been disabled and the system put in place to monitor them was not being followed. A Prohibition Notice was served.
Metaltech Precision Engineers Ltd, of Diplocks Way, Hailsham, East Sussex, pleaded guilty to an offence under 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The firm was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,978.
Read full story here.
Firm fined for not insuring employees
A kitchen and bedroom furniture manufacturer from Corby has been fined for failing to insure its employees against liability for injury or disease.
When the HSE visited Alina Trade Limited’s Maylan Road premises on 2 March 2011, the company was unable to produce on request a certificate of Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) to HSE inspectors, which employers are required to hold by law.
Corby magistrates heard that despite letters, and issuing a formal Notice to Produce the ELCI document, Alina Trade did not. HSE visited the company for a second time on 8 June, and again it was unable to produce a certificate.
The company, whose registered address is Dukes Hill, Bagshot, Surrey, pleaded guilty to contravening Section 1(1) of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and was fined £2,000 with £1,567 in costs.
Read full story here.
Trafford contractor fined £145k over worker’s death
A Trafford firm has been fined £145,000 after an employee plunged ten metres through a fragile roof onto a concrete floor, and died two years later from his injuries.
J Mills (Contractors) Ltd was prosecuted by the HSE for failing to put any safety measures in place to stop 32-year-old Alan Kerwin falling while he was replacing a skylight on a warehouse in Ashton-under-Lyne.
Manchester Crown Court heard that the father-of-one from Lower Broughton, Salford, sustained several serious injuries in the fall on 31 March 2007, including a fractured skull.
Mr Kerwin developed post-traumatic epilepsy as a result of his injuries, and was never able to return to work. He died from an epileptic seizure in April 2009.
The court heard that Mr Kerwin’s line manager had received advice from HSE just one week before the incident which could have saved his life. An HSE inspector explained to him how to safely manage work on fragile roofs, but this advice was not acted upon.
The incident occurred at Kayley Industrial Estate on Richmond Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, where Mr Kerwin was working a Saturday shift. He was on the roof with two of his colleagues when he placed his weight on the delicate cement surrounding the glass.
The cement shattered, and Mr Kerwin fell through the gap. The HSE investigation found J Mills had not carried out a risk assessment or put any safety measures in place to protect him.
J Mills (Contractors) Ltd, of Higher Road in Urmston, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by putting workers at risk. The company was ordered to pay £7,700 in prosecution costs in addition to the fine on 31 October 2011.
Read full story here.
Suffolk firm fined after worker crushed to death
A factory worker was killed when his neck was crushed by a pneumatic hatch on a pet food mixing machine, a court heard today.
H G Gladwell and Sons Ltd, which manufactures animal feed and pet food at Copdock Mill just outside Ipswich, was prosecuted by the HSE for failing to ensure the sliding hatch on the top of the machine was safe.
Ipswich Crown Court heard that mill operator/supervisor Terrence Gardiner, 61, who lived in Ipswich was believed to be attempting to retrieve an plastic jug that had fallen into the machine when the incident happened on 19 May 2009.
His workmates found Mr Gardiner lying face down on top of the mixing machine with his head and right arm trapped by the pneumatic hatch. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
H G Gladwell & Sons Ltd of Copdock Mill, Ipswich, admitted breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 11 by failing to ensure effective measures were taken to prevent access to the hatch, but this failure was not the cause of Mr Gardiner’s death.
The company was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay £20,437.40 costs.
Read full story here.
Merthyr company fined over Legionella risk
A Merthyr Tydfil-based recycling company has been fined for failing to take appropriate measures to control the risk of exposure of its workers and the public to the potentially fatal Legionella bacteria.
The HSE prosecuted Merthyr Industrial Services (Biomass) Limited following an investigation of its premises as part of HSE’s response to the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease along the Heads of the Valleys corridor in September 2010.
HSE inspectors visited the Penygarnddu Industrial Estate premises on 8 September 2010 and found that over a period of five weeks, the company had sporadically been operating a cooling tower on site without taking appropriate measures to control the risk of proliferation of the Legionella bacteria.
A Prohibition Notice was immediately served preventing the cooling tower from being used until all appropriate controls were put in place.
Merthyr Industrial Services (Biomass) Limited of Penygarnddu Industrial Estate, Merthyr Tydfil pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, and Regulation 3(1) of the Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations 1992.
On Oct 31st 2011, Merthyr Tyfdil Magistrates’ Court they were fined £600 and ordered to pay full costs of £8,577.
Read full story here.
Gas engineers fined over carbon monoxide poisoning in Cardiff
An engineer called in to investigate a gas leak in an office block was nearly killed by carbon monoxide poisoning following faulty work on a boiler.
Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard John Courtney, 55, from Penarth, was almost overcome by deadly fumes when he was sent to investigate a possible gas leak at Mount Stewart House in Mount Stewart Square, Cardiff on 22 October 2010.
During the HSE prosecution, the court heard Christopher Bates and Lewis John Rees, partners at BR Greenwell Heating and Plumbing Services of Llantrisant attended Mount Stewart House on 21 October 2010 to repair an open flue gas boiler. The men fitted a new gas control valve and left the premises.
The following day, Mr Courtney, an employee of Wales and West Utilities, attended the site following a report of a gas smell. When he entered the cellar to investigate, he suffered the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and was taken to hospital.
When the fire service measured CO levels, they found there was more than 16 times the maximum safe CO level over an eight-hour period.
HSE’s investigation found the gas valve was incorrectly adjusted so the boiler produced high levels of carbon monoxide.
Both defendants were registered with the Gas Safe Register but did not have an appropriate certificate under the Accredited Certification Scheme to confirm competency for work on the gas boiler, which was a commercial gas-fired hot water boiler.
BR Greenwell Heating and Plumbing Services of Castle Hill, Llantrisant pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 3 (1) and Regulation 26 (9) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. They were fined £5,000 in total and ordered to pay costs of £8,000.
Read full story here.
Gas explosion injury at Macclesfield Town’s training ground
A Cheshire builder has appeared in court after a worker was badly burned in a gas explosion at Macclesfield Town’s training ground.
Labourer Stephen Rowley, 43, from Macclesfield, suffered burns to his face, neck and both arms at Egerton Youth Club on Mereheath Lane in Knutsford on 18 September 2009.
His employer, Paul Leonard, was prosecuted by the HSE following an investigation into the cause of the explosion. Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Leonard had been hired to repair a septic tank, and had arranged for a trench to be dug out to gain access.
Mr Rowley was using a power tool in the trench to remove damaged pipework from the tank, when the digger operator struck an underground pipe containing liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Sparks from the power tool set alight the leaking gas and created a fireball in the trench.
Mr Rowley’s clothes were set on fire and he had to struggle out of the trench and then roll in the grass to put out the flames. The court was told Mr Leonard had left the workers unsupervised when the gas pipe was struck.
The HSE investigation found that Mr Leonard had failed to consider that gas pipework might be present, and did not ensure the gas supply was isolated before starting work. He also failed to provide trench supports and there was no means of access, such as a ladder, to get in and out of the trench.
Paul Leonard was found guilty of a breach of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 after he failed to plan, manage and monitor the construction work safely.
Mr Leonard, 43, of Heyden Close in Macclesfield, was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £3,500 in prosecution costs on 4 November 2011.
Read full story here.
Industrial waste firm in court after forklift hits worker
A Trafford firm, which treats industrial waste, has appeared in court after one of its employees suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a forklift truck.
Collier Industrial Waste Ltd was prosecuted by the HSE after the 35-tonne vehicle reversed into a worker at its plant on Nash Road in Trafford Park on 14 January 2010.
The 60-year-old from Wirral suffered severe injuries in the incident, including damage to internal organs and multiple broken bones. He was in hospital for several months and has suffered some permanent injuries.
The HSE investigation found the company did not have sufficient systems in place to protect workers from reversing vehicles on the site. This could have included having marked walkways, a one-way system or making sure any reversing vehicles were guided by another worker on the ground.
Collier Industrial Waste Ltd admitted a breach of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 by failing to make sure pedestrians and vehicles could work safely.
The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £9,410 in prosecution costs at Trafford Magistrates’ Court in Sale on 4 November 2011.
Read full story here.
Vehicle recovery firm fined for breaking prohibition notice
A Barking-based vehicle recovery business has been fined for using a forklift truck after being served with a Prohibition Notice preventing its use.
The HSE prosecuted John Lang, sole trader of J Lang 24HR Recovery, over the illegal use of the forklift truck, which took place at 3.20pm on Wednesday 19 January 2011.
City of London Magistrates’ Court heard that HSE inspectors witnessed Mr Lang driving the forklift truck. The notice had been served at 10.45am on 19 January because the lifting equipment had not been thoroughly examined by a competent person.
John Lang of Barking Industrial Park, Alfreds Way, Barking, Essex, pleaded guilty to an offence under 33(1)(g) the of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
Read full story here.
