Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
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Firm fined after lack of hygiene facilities for workers
A Bristol building firm has been fined after a court heard it failed to provide basic washing and welfare facilities for workers despite enforcement action at another of its sites.
The Health and Safety Executive visited CR Construction (SW) Ltd on 16 June 2011 at its building site at Pembroke Road in Clifton, Bristol, and found completely inadequate washing and bathroom facilities.
Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard managers of the company knew exactly what the requirements were, as an Improvement Notice was earlier issued at another site run by the company in Thornbury.
On further investigation, the HSE inspectors found the failings had been apparent at the Clifton site for the whole year it had existed. The court heard up to sixteen building people worked on site and facilities were way below the minimum requirements.
CR Construction (SW) Ltd of Tereslake Green, Bristol pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) (c) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 under Section 33 (1) (c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,014.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Death at Hampstead site leads to prosecution
A construction company and director have been fined following the death of a worker at a site in Hampstead.
Father-of-one, Craig Page, of Islington, was working on a building site in Denning Road, when a mini-crawler crane was in the process of lifting a skip onto the site.
The skip, containing liquid concrete, overturned and the boom of the crane struck Mr Page, 26, causing crush injuries to his upper body. He died at the scene.
Harris Calnan Construction Co. Ltd and its director, Neil Harris, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for breaching health and safety legislation.
The HSE investigation showed the company failed to properly plan or supervise lifting operations on the site.
The Central Criminal Court heard the construction site was poorly managed by the company who failed to ensure the lifting operation was carried out safely.
Harris Calnan Construction Co. Ltd, of Parmenter House, Tower Street, Winchester, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 8(1)(c) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £66,244.
The firm’s director, Neil Harris, of the same address, pleaded guilty by virtue of Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to regulation 8(1)(a) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Dover man fined after failing asbestos regulations
A Kent-based partner of a development company has been prosecuted after dangerous conditions were found at a demolition site in Dover.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Allan Smith for failing to undertake an asbestos assessment and for not securing a demolition site.
Canterbury Magistrates’ Court heard on 19 April 2010 that the Royal Oak Public House, Sandwich Road, Whitfield, Dover, was purchased for development. Over the next six months, Mr Smith from ATS Developments acted as the principal contractor to demolish the building.
On 4 October 2010, HSE was contacted by a member of the public who complained that the site was insecure and children were playing on the building site. An HSE inspector visited on 7 October 2010 to find the pub partially demolished and the site unfenced, despite there being a public footpath running across the land.
The HSE investigation found that no asbestos survey had been carried out prior to demolition, which remained the case even after HSE sent a letter to the partners stating that a survey needed to be undertaken. An Improvement Notice was served on 8 October 2010 about site security.
Allan Smith, from Bowling Green Lane, Deal, Kent, pleaded guilty to Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and Regulation 27(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. He was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,000.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Two companies fined over worker’s injury at power plant
Two companies have been fined after a worker at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire suffered a broken foot when a 13kg weight dropped nearly four metres from an overhead crane.
A mechanical fitter, from Scunthorpe, had been operating the 21-ton crane with a colleague and needed it to change direction. Both men were using the steel pole provided to pull down on a chain which operated the steering mechanism.
As they did, the counter-balance weight and chain detached from the crane and came crashing down. At the same time, the 19 year-old worker lost his balance and kicked into his colleague, forcing him out of the way. The weight landed on his right foot fracturing it despite his reinforced safety boots.
Drax Power Ltd which employs 750 workers at the nearby power station and Konecranes UK Ltd, a permanent on-site contractor responsible for maintaining all the cranes and hoists, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an investigation into the incident on 22 March 2010.
Selby Magistrates’ Court heard that specialist HSE engineers found that the 13kg weight was not suitably secured in place and was attached with only a single nut or bolt. They also discovered the crane involved had missed two of its four-monthly services, meaning it was nine months since it was last fully checked.
All six cranes in the mill bay area of the plant were taken out of use after the incident. Three of them were also behind schedule for servicing and numerous defects were found by independent assessors.
Drax Power Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to ensure the crane was in good working order. Konecranes UK Ltd, of West Bromwich, West Midlands, admitted a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Each company was fined £13,300 and ordered to pay costs of £3,151.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Plumber jailed for carrying out illegal gas work
A Suffolk plumber who put lives at risk by illegally working on domestic gas appliances has been sentenced to six months in prison.
Paul Jowett, 40, of Nelson Road, Pakefield, Lowestoft, admitted five breaches of gas and health and safety regulations when he appeared at Ipswich Crown Court today.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Mr Jowett carried out work on gas fittings and appliances at a number of addresses in the Lowestoft area between May 2009 and October 2010 without being registered to do so, a legal requirement for carrying out such work. Mr Jowett falsely told householders he was registered and used an invalid registration number on the safety certificates he issued.
One piece of work carried out by Mr Jowett at the Red Rose Indian restaurant in Lowestoft was judged by a qualified engineer to be so dangerous it represented “an immediate danger to life or property.” As a result of leaking gas, the restaurant was forced to close for two days.
In addition, the court heard that Mr Jowett continued to do work on gas appliances despite a written warning from HSE and being served with a Prohibition Notice on 22 April 2010.
Mr Jowett admitted three charges of breaching Regulation 3 (3) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998, one offence under Regulation 3 (1) of the same regulations, and a separate charge of breaching section 33 (1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was sent to prison for six months.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Farmworker suffered severe injuries in fall
A farmworker suffered severe facial injuries after falling 16ft through a shed roof in Cornwall.
Bodmin Magistrates’ Court heard self-employed worker, James Best, 24, of Blisland was asked to help remove fibre cement roof sheets from a shed at Park Farm, Washaway, near Bodmin on 12 July 2011.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against Martin Dairy, as a result of the incident that left Mr Best with a broken jaw, damaged eye socket and broken arm.
Magistrates were told Mr Best was working on the shed roof for Martin Dairy when he fell 16ft on to the concrete floor below. They heard no plans had been made for the work and apart from a fragile warning sign at the shed and inadequate crawling board, there were no safety measures on site.
The court was told that fibre cement roofs, used in commercial buildings, are known to be fragile and HSE has long established guidance to warn of the fragility of roof sheets and how they should not be expected to support the weight of a person standing on them.
Martin Dairy Ltd of St Mabyn pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,033 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Company fined after worker’s arm is impaled by steel bars
A company in Tonypandy has been fined after a worker’s arm was impaled by two steel bars.
Allevard Springs Ltd was prosecuted for failing to adequately prevent the risk of injury to employees using machinery after Steven Rowe was seriously injured while operating a machine at the firm’s Clydach Vale premises.
Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court was told Mr Rowe, 49, of Pontypridd, was working as one of two shift operators on a bar drawing line machine, used to prepare steel bar lengths for processing into springs.
During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution the court heard that on 28 January 2011, Mr Rowe noticed the bars exiting the straightening machine he was operating were not hitting a sensor, causing problems with the alignment of the bars on the next part of the machine. This could have resulted in the bars jamming.
Mr Rowe entered the machine enclosure via a sliding door to adjust an air pressure regulator in order to correct the stop position of the bars against the sensor.
While adjusting the air pressure, two steel bars of 10.5mm diameter and approximately two metres length shot out of the machine, piercing his right forearm. The court heard Mr Rowe managed to deflect a number of other bars with his left arm before a colleague shut the machine down.
Mr Rowe suffered a broken right arm, had to have 14 stitches to his left arm, and still receives outpatient treatment at hospital.
The HSE investigation found Allevard Springs Ltd had not taken measures to ensure the exposure of a person to the risk of steel bars being ejected was adequately controlled, and that no measures were in place to prevent access to the machine while it was running.
Allevard Springs Ltd of Clydach Vale, Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, pleaded guilty to contravening Regulation 12 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was today fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,786.60.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Unregistered gas engineer left householders in danger
An illegal gas engineer lied to a householder about being registered to the industry body and left one property at risk of explosion after carrying out work at premises in Cheltenham.
Cheltenham Magistrates Court heard Christopher Clark, 39, a self-employed gas engineer, commissioned a central heating system at a residential property in Upper Norwood Road at some time between 1 December 2010 and 28 February 2011.
During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, the court was told Mr Clark was not registered with Gas Safe Register, the official gas registration body as his registration had expired at the beginning of 2010, and therefore could not legally carry out the work.
After completing the work, Mr Clark said he would return with the necessary paperwork. However, when the resident noticed a gas leak and tried to call him to return and fix the leak and provide paperwork, he could not be contacted.
The householder then contacted Gas Safe Register, who visited the property to check the work. A leak was discovered at the boiler connection and the supply needed to be disconnected and a registered engineer carried out remedial work to fix the problem.
The HSE investigation, discovered Mr Clark had also carried out work for the same client (the owner of both properties) at another property in the town, on Fairfield Avenue, on 29 July 2010 while falsely claiming to be Gas Safe Registered.
Christopher Clark, of Withybridge Gardens, Boddington, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to breaching regulations 3(3) and 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and was fined £16,000 with £800 costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
