Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
 |
| [relatedPosts title=”Related Posts”] |
|
|
Man’s fingertip sliced off at stoke factory
An air conditioning manufacturer has been fined after a man’s fingertip was cut off by a circular saw at the company’s factory in Stoke-on-Trent.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Eaton Williams Group Ltd – which trades under the name of Colman Moducel – following the incident at its premises at Oldfields Business Park, Birrell Street, Fenton.
Fenton Magistrates’ Court heard how the 41-year-old employee, who has asked not to be named, was using the saw to trim metal parts for a louvred screen when he touched the blade, which cut off the tip of his right middle finger, on 16 February 2011. Although doctors managed to repair his finger and he has returned to work, he has been scarred.
HSE’s investigation into the incident found that the system of work used to operate the saw was unsafe, the top guard was incorrectly positioned and basic protection devices such as jigs and push sticks were not being used.
Workers also had not received proper information, instructions, training or supervision in operating the saw, the court heard.
The investigation also revealed problems with the machine – an emergency stop control button on the machine did not work and ineffective braking meant the blade continued to spin after it should have stopped.
Eaton Williams Group Ltd, which has its registered office in Fircroft Way, Edenbridge, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £4,105 costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Workers seriously injured after eight metre fall
Two workers fell eight metres from a temporary structure that collapsed while they were upon it, Cheltenham Magistrates Court heard.
Spencer Gosney from Yeovil, and Matthew Brewer from Nottingham, had been sub-contracted to build a concrete core as part of a new factory building at GlaxoSmithKline’s premises in Coleford, Forest of Dean. Chalcroft Ltd was the principal contractor on site.
On 12 August 2009, the two men were building the core using a large piece of climbing form work, a type of frame used to set the concrete in place. As the tower got higher, the form work was lifted up and fixed in place enabling the men to work at the top to set more concrete.
However, one of the anchor points holding the section of form work where the men were standing came out of alignment before the concrete was poured in. The men used a bolt not suited for this use in its place, but fixed it at an acute angle. The bolt was unable to withstand the weight of the concrete and broke, tipping the platform upon which the men were standing, sending them falling to the ground.
Mr Gosney suffered a laceration to his head and severe bruising to his internal organs and leg. Mr Brewer fractured his hip and pelvis. Mr Brewer’s injuries were so severe that he has still not returned to work.
Chalcroft Ltd, of Keytec 7 Business Park, Pershore, Worcestershire, admitted breaching Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 Reg 22 (1)(a) and was fined £14,000 with £23,236.28 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Unsafe asbestos removal put people at risk
A building company in Bradford-on-Avon has been fined after it removed an asbestos insulation board (AIB) ceiling in an unsafe manner, leaving workers and residents at risk of exposure to asbestos fibres.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told Chippenham Magistrates’ Court that D B Construction (West Wilts) Ltd carried out unsafe work while refurbishing a house in Bradford-on-Avon between 29 November and 10 December 2010.
An AIB ceiling was removed in an uncontrolled manner, which put employees, subcontractors and the homeowners and their young children at risk of asbestos exposure.
The court heard an electrician on site raised concerns the ceiling boards being removed from could contain asbestos and he arranged for the material to be analysed before beginning work.
An analyst visited the site and advised work should cease until the contaminated area had been cleaned of asbestos debris. HSE later confirmed the ceiling boards contained both white and the more hazardous brown asbestos.
HSE found that DB Construction had failed to investigate whether asbestos was present in the building before work started and when removing the ceiling boards its employees and sub contractors failed to identify the material and broke up the boards releasing airborne asbestos fibres. The boards and debris were then removed in open bags and left in the garden in a breach of safety rules.
D B Construction (West Wilts) Ltd, of Frome Road, Bradford-on-Avon, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and was fined £7,000 with £3,617.50 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Two companies fined after fatality in Brentford
Two construction companies have been fined a total of £65,000 after a man was killed when a steel beam weighing more than a tonne fell on him while it was being unloaded from a lorry.
Fisher Engineering Ltd and CM Structural Services Ltd had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 over the June 2008 incident.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced its intention to prosecute the two companies as a result of the incident which resulted in the death of a French national Hugues Makambila, 35 who was working as a cleaner on the construction site at Harlequin Avenue, Brentford.
On the morning of 5 June 2008, a lorry load of steel beams arrived on site and parked adjacent to a pedestrian walkway in an area not designated for unloading.
An HSE investigation found that a company director of CM Structural Services Ltd had noticed a steel beam was hanging over the right side of the lorry, but no measures were taken to restrain the load or to prevent the beam from falling.
CM Structural Services Ltd began unloading the steel using a forklift truck but it did not put any measures into place to prevent people walking down the pavement nor did it put up any signs warning people that unloading was taking place.
During unloading, a steel beam weighing 1.382 tonnes fell from the lorry onto the pedestrian walkway and onto Mr Makambila, from Bordeaux, who was on the pedestrian walkway of the site. He died instantly.
Fisher Engineering Ltd was responsible for the manufacture, delivery and installation of the structural steelwork. In turn Fisher Engineering had contracted CM Structural Services Ltd to erect the steelwork.
Fisher Engineering Ltd, of Ballinamallard, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £16,595. CM Structural Services Ltd, of Killynure Road, Carryduff, Northern Ireland was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,692.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Bradford man prosecuted for illegal gas work
A gas fitter from Bradford has been sentenced after leaving an elderly woman at risk when he fitted a new boiler at her home.
Gareth Harland, of Milligan Avenue, carried out the work between 19 and 27 February at the woman’s home but failed to seal the flue to the building. Unhappy with the work, the woman called Gas Safe and found out he wasn’t registered. A Gas Safe inspection later classified the work as ‘at risk’. The woman was able to stop her cheque for the work.
Around the same period, between 2 January and 2 February 2011, he fitted a new boiler for a couple in Otley. They also discovered he wasn’t accredited by the Gas Safe Register when he failed to contact the manufacturer about the boiler warranty. As a result of the complaints, an investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Bradford magistrates heard that Mr Harland had been a registered gas engineer for several years and had been employed by some large companies before setting up as a sole trader. He let his registration lapse in June 2010 but carried on working as a gas installer.
The court was also told Mr Harland re-registered in March 2011 when his work was under investigation. In June, while he was under the supervision of Gas Safe Register, he installed a gas boiler at a commercial firm in Bradford which Gas Safe inspected and found to be unsafe.
Gareth Harland of Milligan Avenue, Bradford, admitted four charges under the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. He was given a 12 months community order of 200 hours unpaid work, ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a further £350 in compensation to the Otley householder for work that had to be re-done.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Company fined £133,000 after unguarded machinery death (COPFS release)
- failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the risks to employees when cleaning axles on a lathe;
- failing to implement a safe system of work in that the chuck of the lathe was unguarded when employees were working close to it; and
- failing to provide adequate information, instruction, training and supervision on the use of the lathe;
Bus company prosecuted after worker is crushed
A tour bus operator has been fined after a mechanical engineer suffered serious injuries while working underneath one of its vehicles.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted The Original London Sightseeing Tour Limited for failing to prevent the incident, which happened on 21 October 2009.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the 58-year-old employee was working underneath the vehicle at a bus depot at Ferry Lane, Rainham, Essex while reseating an airbag on one of the firm’s open topped London buses. The vehicle had been raised approximately two feet off the ground and was supported on its axles by wooden blocks and column vehicle lifts.
The court was told the man, who does not want to be named, was being assisted by a colleague who was raising and lowering the bus using the vehicle lift control on his instruction. However, one of the wooden blocks broke and the axle dropped onto the mechanic breaking his pelvis and several ribs. He was hospitalised for two weeks, could not work for six months, and still suffers from pain.
The HSE investigation found risk assessments for the site had not been properly reviewed, nor were site engineers involved in the risk assessment process. Had this been done, the company could have used another set of vehicle lifts available at the time of the incident or taken the tri-axle buses to another depot where there were numerous vehicle pits.
The Original London Sightseeing Tour Limited, registered at Admiral Way, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear was fined £10,500 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Illegal Gloucestershire gasman lied about credentials
A Gloucestershire man has been prosecuted for carrying out remedial gas work at a restaurant in Cheltenham while falsely claiming to be registered with Gas Safe Register.
Timothy Smith from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, inspected and tested gas pipework and appliances and issued the owner of the Raja Balti restaurant in North Street, Winchcombe, with a gas safety inspection report and certificate.
However, during the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Gloucestershire Magistrates’ Court heard he was not suitably qualified to undertake the work he carried out at the restaurant between 25 October and 2 November 2010.
After the work was complete, enquiries were made with Gas Safe Register, and it was discovered Mr Smith had falsified his documentation to include the number of a registered business with a similar trading name and also used the ID card number of a registered engineer with the same surname.
The court was told Mr Smith did not hold the correct competencies to carry out the work, was not registered with Gas Safe, and purposefully went out of his way to make it appear as if he was a registered engineer.
Timothy Charles Smith of Queen’s Road, Tewkesbury, was charged with contravening 3 (3) and 3 (7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He pleaded guilty and was given a 22 week curfew order and ordered to pay costs of £450.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
