Construction company fined after employees were exposed to asbestos
MS Properties (Northern) Ltd has been fined after employees were exposed to asbestos when removing false ceiling tiles during a shop conversion in Hull.
The Court heard that the company had not commissioned a refurbishment asbestos survey prior to the work commencing in 2019. Employees removed over 1000m2 of asbestos insulation board (AIB) ceiling tiles in an uncontrolled manner, exposing them to asbestos.
An HSE investigation found that the company’s director, and the casual labourers they employed, spent approximately three to four weeks removing the suspended ceiling, along with the ceiling tiles which contained asbestos. This work was undertaken to install new stud walls to divide the shop floor into separate units.
The labourers were unskilled and untrained. They were provided with a claw hammer to knock the tiles down. The asbestos-containing tile debris was then shovelled or collected into approximately 62 one tonne bags.
Breach
MS Properties (Northern) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012:
- Regulation 5 requires that employers do not undertake work in demolition, maintenance or other work which exposes or is liable to expose employees to asbestos unless:
- a suitable and sufficient asbestos as to whether asbestos, what type of asbestos, contained in what material and in what condition is liable to be present in the premises; or
- If there is doubt as to whether asbestos is present in those premises, the employer assumes that asbestos is present (and is not chrysotile alone) and observes applicable provisions of the regulations.
Penalty
MS Properties (Northern) Ltd was fined £16,000, ordered to pay £3,011.87 in costs and a victim surcharge of £190.
Food manufacturer fined after employee was crushed in a cooking machine
A food manufacturer in Lincolnshire has been fined after an employee sustained two broken ribs whilst working to clear a blocked water inlet.
The employee was crushed in the industrial cooking machine after its safety systems were over-ridden and the machine was worked on whilst it was live. It should have been isolated before work on it began.
An HSE investigation found that the task was carried out by the employees in this fashion regularly and that the company should have been aware of this.
No risk assessment had been undertaken of the task and a safe system of work was not provided to carry it out. The lack of a safe system of work and the company’s failure to monitor how the work was done led employees to devise their own way of conducting the procedure: this included over-riding the safety systems and using unsafe working practices.
Breach
Bakkavor Fresh Cook Ltd of Spalding pleaded guilty of one breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
- Section 2(1) requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.
Penalty
Bakkavor Fresh Cook Ltd was fined £130,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2607.10.
Luxury yacht manufacturer fined after employee was seriously injured during lifting operation
A yacht manufacturer from Northamptonshire has been fined after a worker suffered serious crush injuries during a lifting operation.
On 3 December 2018 an employee was using an overhead crane to lift a storage cage at Fairline Yachts manufacturing facility in Oundle. This approach was taken as there was no goods lift in the manufacturing unit. As the cage was lifted it began to tip and fall in the direction of the employee. The cage trapped his hand against a boat trolley causing serious crushing injuries to the employee’s dominant right hand.
An HSE investigation found that the lifting operation was not properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised or carried out in a safe manner.
Breach
Fairline Yachts Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Penalty
Fairline Yachts Limited was fined £230,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,410.
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