Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. A selection of the latest prosecutions by the HSE. Where possible, links are provided to relevant British Standards, guidance and publications.
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Yorkshire ice cream maker in court
A North Yorkshire ice cream manufacturer has been sentenced after a factory worker had his forearm broken when it got caught in a conveyor belt.
Sam Goodall, 20, of Northallerton, was working on the ice cream production line at R&R Ice Cream Ltd, in Leeming Bar, when his glove got caught and his arm drawn into an in-feed conveyor belt.
He managed to pull himself free, but suffered two broken bones in his right arm and a dislocated wrist. He was off work for six weeks.
The incident, on 8 August 2011, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive, which prosecuted R&R Ice Cream for two safety breaches.
Northallerton Magistrates’ Court heard today (24 Sept) that the company had removed a part of the line leaving a gap in the side of the conveyor belt. Mr Goodall was working the line and put his hand through the gap to retrieve some trapped lids. His glove became entangled and his arm was drawn into a dangerous moving part of the machine, which was inadequately guarded.
R&R Ice Cream UK Ltd, of Richmond House, Leeming Bar, was fined a total of £10,000 with £3,294 in costs after admitting a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and a second offence of contravening the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
British standards relating to machine safety.
Risk Management of Machinery and Work Equipment by John Glover
Gas leak leads to prosecution
National Grid Gas PLC has been fined after gas leaked into a Halesowen home.
Engineers were replacing the gas supply to a property in Bromsgrove Road, Hunnington, when the leak occurred on 20 August 2010.
The existing supply was connected to a low pressure main on the opposite side of the road so they took the decision to connect it to a medium pressure iron main on the same side of the road as the house.
They then left the street, not realising they had inadvertently drilled through a plastic main contained within the iron main which they did not know was there. Gas leaked out and found its way into another house approximately 150 metres away from the first.
It’s common for plastic mains to be inserted into an existing iron main, when iron mains are replaced. The gas is then contained within the plastic main.
Later that afternoon a member of the public reported a smell of gas and a second team of engineers came out to investigate.
They visited a number of properties and found gas had entered a property some distance away from where the main had been drilled but were unable to gain access to the house as the owners were away on holiday. They inserted a probe through the letter box which confirmed high levels of gas in the house and were in the process of trying to gain access when a neighbour heard knocking and let them in with a spare key.
The escaping gas was finally made safe in the early hours of the following morning.
Today, the Health and Safety executive (HSE) told Dudley Magistrates’ Court that the leak would not have happened had National Grid Gas PLC updated its records to show the existence of the plastic main, which they had known about since 2006.
The company, of The Strand, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £17,500 with £8,192 costs.
Barking garage fined for dangerous repair work
A Barking garage has been prosecuted for allowing workers to continue using unsafe electrical equipment for car repairs.
On 19 January 2011 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) banned M &K Autos Ltd from using a two-post vehicle hoist at premises on the Barking Industrial Estate until repairs were made on exposed live cables and terminals.
However, workers were not instructed to stop using the equipment, which put them at risk of electrocution.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard (26 September) that when a HSE inspector revisited the site in April he found the hoist was still in use and that no remedial work had been undertaken.
M&K Autos Ltd, of the Rippleside Commercial Estate, Ripple Road, Barking, pleaded guilty to breaching the requirements of a prohibition notice served under Section 22 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.
Risk-Led Safety: Evidence-driven Management
St Helens recycling firm sentenced over worker’s death
A recycling company has been ordered to pay £240,000 in fines and costs after a worker was killed at a St Helens factory.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted JFC Plastics Ltd, previously known as Delleve Plastics Ltd, after Steven Bennett died at the company’s former premises at the Neills Road Industrial Estate in Bold.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Mr Bennett, 31, was last seen alive by his colleagues in the early hours of the morning on 24 November 2005.
The HSE investigation concluded that the most likely cause of his death was that he fell into a machine, used to break apart bales of plastic bottles, while checking to see if it was running smoothly.
The court was told JFC Plastics failed to take steps to prevent access to the machine while it was operating, and failed to ensure power to the machine was cut before maintenance work was carried out.
The company also had an inadequate risk assessment in place and its training, supervision and monitoring of the work did not meet acceptable standards.
JFC Plastics Ltd, of Goldicote Business Park, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of employees who were operating the machine.
The company was sentenced following a Newton hearing in which the judge found that its failings were a significant cause of Mr Bennett’s death.
JFC Plastics was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £100,000 in prosecution costs on 28 September 2012.
