Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. A selection of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
 |
| [relatedPosts title=”Related Posts”] |
|
|
Transport firm fined over worker’s head injuries
A Suffolk haulage operator has been prosecuted after one of its workers suffered a fractured skull as he tried to recover a 17-tonne abandoned excavator.
Experienced fitter Paul Collins, 51, had worked for Tannington Transport for only three months when he was struck on the head by a heavy-duty vehicle jack when it ‘popped’ out of position.
The incident on 8 September last year triggered an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution against the company for a serious safety breach.
Ipswich Magistrates’ Court was told today (26 June) that Mr Collins, of Walsham-le-Willows, Bury St Edmonds, was one of a team of three employees ordered by the firm to recover an old excavator that had been lying for years in a hedgerow in Chelmondiston.
The three workers located the excavator in fields near Grove Lane but realised it would be impossible to tow with the telescopic handler they had taken with them. Most of machine’s tyres were flat and sunken into the ground, wedging it firmly in place. The men decided to raise it using bottle jacks and to then place metal sheets under the wheels to make it easier to tow.
It was during the lifting operation that one of the jacks ‘popped’ out under considerable force, hitting Mr Collins on the side of the head He was taken to hospital and later diagnosed with a fractured skull. He has since made a good recovery and was able to return to work ten weeks after the incident.
The court heard HSE found Tannington Transport Ltd., which operates across East Anglia, had failed to consider the potential risks or provide a plan to help get the job done safely.
Tannington Transport Ltd., registered at Rendham Road, Saxmundham, and operating from Tannington in Woodbridge, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £3,291 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to lifting operations.
Worker lost finger in wood planing machine
A Hampshire glazing company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker lost part of a finger in a woodworking machine at its factory in Aldershot.
Norbert Pietrzkiewicz’s little finger on his right hand was drawn into a cutting block rotating at 7,000 rpm as he worked on reducing the thickness of lengths of timber at the Total Installations Ltd factory on 18 February last year.
The rotating blades of the cutting block shaved down his finger resulting in it being amputated just below the first joint.
The company was prosecuted at Aldershot Magistrates’ Court today (26 June) after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found it had failed to ensure adequate safeguards were in place to prevent workers from coming in contact with dangerous parts of machinery.
The court was told that Mr Pietrzkiewicz, of Aldershot, was using a planer-thicknesser to work on three-metre lengths of timber. The machine had been set up by an untrained operative resulting in wood shavings blocking the revolving knife block. At the time of the incident Mr Pietrzkiewicz was sweeping shavings from the table with his hand and his glove was drawn into the rotating block.
Total Installations Ltd, of North Lane, Aldershot, pleaded guilty to two breaches of health and safety legislation. It was fined a total of £12,000 and ordered to pay £3,791.50 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to machine safety.
Amputation leads to fine for kennel firm
A Staffordshire kennel company has been fined after a worker amputated his finger on a circular saw.
Antony Capewell, of Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent was working at Ultra Kennels Limited at its Chesterton site when the incident happened on 11 May 2011
He was using a circular table saw to make angular cuts to lengths of timber, without the use of any jigs or support to guide the wood through. When making one of the cuts, Mr Capewell’s left hand came into contact with the rotating blade. His index finger was amputated just past the first knuckle and he suffered severe lacerations to his middle finger and thumb.
Mr Capewell, who was 22 at the time of the incident, was signed off work for six months. He returned to work in March this year, but as a building site labourer for a different company.
A subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Mr Capewell was not trained in the use of woodworking equipment and had no previous experience of working on a table saw.
South Walls magistrates were told the equipment was not suitably adapted for the task it was being used for, employees had no formal training and Ultra Kennels had no system to ensure workers could demonstrate competency when using woodworking machinery.
No risk assessments had been completed to identify any hazards or control measures at the company, specifically for when using the circular saw to make angular cuts, there was no health and safety management system or anyone responsible for managing health and safety.
Ultra Kennels Limited, of Loomer Road, Chesterton, Newcastle, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Today, South Walls Magistrates’ Court fined the firm £4,000and ordered it to pay costs of £2,500.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to the safe use of circular saws.
Scottish Ambulance Service Board fined after death of May Jean Morris (COPFS release)
Firm fined after 16-year-old worker’s finger amputated
A West Midlands food production company has been fined after a 16-year-old worker had to have his finger amputated.
The teenager, who cannot be named, was clearing a blockage on a biscuit crumbing machine at Phoenix Brands Ltd in Bilston on 25 November 2011.
He reached too far into the hopper and his right hand was pulled into a screw conveyor, a machine which uses a rotating screw blade to break biscuits as they travel up a tube.
He injured a number of fingers but his middle finger was so badly damaged it had to be amputated.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought a prosecution against the firm after its investigation found that both the hopper and the screw conveyor were unguarded, and had been since the machine was bought several years earlier.
Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court was told that the worker, who is now 17, left the company following the incident as it was only intended to be a part-time job until he started a college plumbing course. He missed two months of the course but has since made good progress and is catching up with his peers.
Phoenix Brands Limited, of the Atlas Trading Estate, Cross Street, Bilston, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Wolverhampton magistrates fined the company £7,000 with full costs of £4,000.
Speaking after today’s hearing, HSE inspector David Evans said:
“To be injured so seriously just a few weeks into his working life has been profoundly upsetting for this young man. The incident was entirely avoidable. The risks of clearing blockages had not been properly identified. If they had been, workers would not have been able to access dangerous moving parts of machinery.
“The company has since fitted a guard. It is just a shame they did not do this before someone suffered life-changing injuries.”
British Standards relating to machine safety.
Edgware contractor prosecuted after workers put at risk
An Edgware contractor has been fined after the routine inspection of a construction site discovered dangerous working conditions.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors saw contractors working some three metres above ground without measures in place to prevent them from falling. HSE visited the construction site at Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, Essex on 10 February 2010, as part of its annual proactive targeted programme of construction site inspections.
A Prohibition Notice was immediately served on the Principal Contractor Mr Isidor Cata, of Colchester Road, Edgware, Middlesex, preventing further work at height until adequate safeguards were in place.
In a prosecution brought by HSE (26 June), Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that a follow-up inspection of the site later the same day, found working at height was still continuing, but no measures had been taken to comply with the Prohibition Notice.
Mr Isidor Cata, 48, trading as Doru Construction, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £2,000, and ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to working at heights.
Maintenance firm fined for unsafe working at crematorium
A company installing fans on the roof of a South Wales crematorium endangered workers and members of the public with a haphazard approach to safety.
Employees of IFZW Maintenance Ltd were allowed to work on the roof of Morriston Crematorium in Swansea without any protection from falls – a risk to their own safety and to members of the public attending funeral services.
Swansea Magistrates’ Court heard on 27 June that IFZW was installing fans as part of a mercury abatement system when an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive carried out an unannounced visit on 15 August last year.
Two employees were seen working on the flat roof without any edge protection. They were using an unsecured ladder leaning on the wall to gain access, with members of the public walking past.
The company had already been served with a Prohibition Notice by the HSE for working on top of cremator equipment without fall protection at a site in Sheffield nine weeks previously.
IFZW Maintenance Ltd, of High Street, Biggleswade, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 for its failings, and was fined £11,500 and ordered to pay £3,208.30 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to working at heights.
Company fined after worker hurt in machinery
A Derbyshire window manufacturer has been fined after an employee’s arm was dragged into a poorly guarded machine.
Wayne Marshall, 29, of Eastwood, was using a corner cleaning machine at Frame Trade UK Ltd in Langley Mill when the incident happened on 13th May 2010.
A build-up of plastic debris had covered a sensor and prevented the machine from operating correctly. Mr Marshall went inside the machine to clear the sensor of debris, but his sleeve got caught on a high speed cutter that is used to remove surplus plastic.
He suffered serious lacerations to his left forearm, damaged tendons on two fingers and was off work for several weeks. He has since returned to work for a different company.
Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard today (28 June) that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and found the machine wasn’t adequately guarded.
HSE enquiries also revealed that Mr Marshall had not been shown how to correctly isolate the power to the machine.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Berian Price said:
“Employers have a duty to make sure machinery is adequately guarded so that staff cannot access dangerous moving parts.
“Although the corner cleaning machine had side panels, these were not fixed in place and staff were able to easily remove them or, if they had already been removed, just reach straight in.
“Mr Marshall had not been shown how to correctly isolate the power to the machine so that cleaning activity could be carried out safely. He was not aware of the dangers and suffered some particularly nasty injuries as a result.”
Frame Trade UK Ltd, of Joshua Business Park, Cromford Road, Langley Mill, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 for its guarding and training failures. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered it to pay full costs of £6,541.
Since the incident the company has bought a new machine with interlocked guards.
British Standards relating to machine safety.
Cornish bakery fined for worker’s injuries
A night shift cleaner got caught-up in the unguarded machinery of a moving conveyor belt at a Cornish bakery and had to be released by co-workers.
Wioletta Drozdz, 27, from Newquay, had both forearm bones broken in her right arm when the incident happened in the early hours of 10 December 2010.
Bodmin Magistrates fined Ms Drozdz’s employer, Crantock Bakery Ltd, of Indian Queens, a total of £14,000 and ordered them to pay £15,000 in costs in a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today (29 June).
The court was told that Ms Drozdz was part of a team cleaning the production equipment at the company’s bakery. Ms Drozdz had been instructed to clean the ‘No.2’ conveyor production line by the previous shift cleaning supervisor, who had left site a few hours before the incident.
The line was running when Ms Drozdz began working on the conveyor. She started cleaning dough from a moving steel pressure roller on the end of the conveyor using a metal scraper blade. The scraper slipped and her gloved right hand and arm were drawn into the nip or ‘pinch point’ between the steel roller and the rubber belt of the conveyor.
The HSE investigation revealed that the fixed guard that should have been in place on the equipment had been missing for a considerable period of time, at least a year before the incident happened. Ms Drozdz had also not received training on how to clean the conveyor safely, nor had she seen the machine’s cleaning instructions.
HSE found that Crantock Bakery’s training systems, staff training records and cleaning instructions were inadequate, inconsistent and confusing. Whilst some staff cleaned the ‘No.2’ conveyor when it was stopped, others cleaned the roller in the same manner at Ms Drozdz.
Magistrates heard there had been a previous incident and a number of near-misses relating to the unguarded rollers, which management was not aware of. The cleaning staff had been exposed, over many months, to a serious risk due to the missing guard and incomplete training procedures.
Speaking after the investigation, HSE Inspector David Cory, said:
“This serious incident at the bakery was a classic ‘accident waiting to happen’.
“Machinery such as conveyors should be fitted with a guard to prevent this sort of accident happening. There is plenty of well established guidance from the HSE and the industry on how machinery can still be properly cleaned with appropriate guards in place.
“HSE produced specific guidance on flat belt conveyor safeguarding as this causes over 30 percent of all food industry machinery accidents – more than any other type. Many of these accidents happen during normal activities like cleaning, as in this case.
“Ms Drozdz had surgery on her broken arm and has experienced a great deal of pain and discomfort through her ordeal. It has taken a considerable period of time since the accident for her to recover to a more normal situation with her injured right arm. The company has provided physiotherapy and supported the rehabilitation of Mrs Drozdz and she remains an employee.
“Employers should avoid the risks of serious accidents by ensuring appropriate guards are fitted and used along with safe working procedures. Good training for all staff is vital and should ensure tasks can be done safely. Crantock Bakery fell short of what their health and safety responsibilities required.”
Crantock Bakery Ltd of Lodge Way, Indian Queens, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and guilty to breaching Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
British Standards relating to machine safety.
Company boss fined after worker left paralysed
A demolition boss has been prosecuted after a worker was left paralysed following a fall from the roof of a Sunderland pub.
The 67-year-old injured man from Sunderland, who has asked not to be named, was working for David Brian Riseborough, trading as The North Eastern Demolition Company, when the incident happened on 29 June 2010.
Mr Riseborough’s firm was demolishing a pub in the city’s Cox Green Road and had chosen to remove the slates and timbers of the pitched roof by hand. A mobile access platform was used to provide access for the workers and act as a barrier to prevent falls from the roof edge.
However, as the platform did not cover the whole length of the roof, Mr Riseborough should have implemented additional controls to provide a safe system of work but many of these controls were lacking, or where provided, not effective.
While working on the roof the worker fell two-storeys, around 18-20 feet to the ground below. He suffered serious injuries including several fractures to three vertebrae, his right elbow and both bones of his lower right leg. He also suffered a dislocated right hip and his right lung collapsed.
As a result of the terrible injuries to his spine, all his limbs are now paralysed and he requires permanent care in a nursing home.
Keith Partington, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), told Sunderland Magistrates’ Court it was unnecessary for any work at height to be carried out at all, as the demolition could have been done using a 360 degree mechanical excavator that was on site.
HSE’s investigation also found the way in which the work was carried out was unsafe as the instruction and supervision of the employees was not suitable and sufficient.
David Brian Riseborough, 67, of Willow Green, Ashbrooke, Sunderland was fined a total of £20,000 (£10,000 on each charge) and ordered to pay £7,434 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 6(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to working at heights.
Two firms fined for Telford incident
Two companies have been fined for safety failings after an employee lost three fingers and part of his thumb.
The 37-year-old man, who does not wish to be named, had been working with another employee for O’Neill Concrete Pumping Ltd to pump concrete into a garden in Wrockwardine, Telford, on 27 February 2010.
When the job was finished he went to clean the hopper and lifted the automatic locking hopper grille. As he did, the swinging tube, which is part of the pumping mechanism, moved and trapped his right hand, crushing his fingers. He was taken to hospital and had three fingers and part of his thumb amputated. The employee needed extensive surgery and has been traumatised by his injuries.
During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Telford Magistrates’ Court heard that Transcrete (GB) Ltd supplied the concrete pump to O’Neill Concrete Pumping Ltd. There were defects found with the machine supplied.
Following the incident Prohibition Notices were immediately served on two lorry-mounted concrete pumps owned and used by O’Neill Concrete Pumping Ltd due to the failure of the interlocking system on the hopper.
HSE found that O’Neill had failed to ensure that effective measures were taken to prevent access to dangerous parts of the hopper of the lorry-mounted concrete pump and that Transcrete had failed to ensure that it was designed to be safe when it was being cleaned or maintained.
O’Neill Concrete Pumping Ltd, of Wellington Road, Bilston, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £3,000 with costs of £2,000.
Transcrete (GB) Ltd, of Pool Lane, Winterley, Sandbach, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 6(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the concrete pump supplied was safe between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2006. They were fined £4,000 with costs of £2,000.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British Standards relating to machine safety.
