Company director fined for obstructing the HSE
A construction company and its director have been fined for a range of health and safety failings.
On 13 January 2022, HSE inspectors visited a timber-frame housing development under construction by Amro Construction Ltd in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent.
In court, the HSE enforcement lawyer said that the regulator had identified several health and safety failings, including the presence of an open flame gas stove amongst large volumes of combustible material, a lack of fire precautions, poor site security and inadequate washing facilities.
The HSE investigation found that Amro Construction Ltd had also failed to assess the on and off-site fire risks, despite it being a timber-frame project in a highly residential area. This was despite previous advice and enforcement from HSE in relation to the matter. As a result, the company failed to implement measures to prevent a fire from occurring or spreading, putting workers and members of the public at risk. The investigation also found the company had received previous enforcement in relation to the provision of adequate washing facilities.
During the course of the HSE investigation, the managing director of Amro Construction Ltd deliberately obstructed the inspector by refusing to provide information requested as part of his enquiries, causing a delay of several months.
Breaches
Amro Construction Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(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.
- Section 3(1) requires that employers ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons they do not employ who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health and safety
The director pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33(1)(h) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
- Section 33(1)(h) makes it an offence to intentionally obstruct an inspector exercising or performing their powers or duties.
Penalties
Amro Construction Ltd was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,587.
The director was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,935.
Farm fined after fatal electrocution by overhead power line.
A farm has received a fine after a tipped lorry operator was fatally electrocuted.
On 13 May 2021 the man was operating a tipper lorry at VB Farms LLP’s Littlecombe Farm in Crediton, Devon. The man was delivering stone that was going to be used to repair farm tracks by VB Farms LLP, when the hydraulic arm of the tipper lorry came into contact with an 11kV overhead power line. The man was electrocuted after exiting the lorry.
An HSE investigation found that VB Farms LLP had failed to carry out an assessment of how the work could be completed safely and did not consider the dangers involved with working near an overhead power line.
Overhead power lines typically carry electricity at voltages similar to the 11 kV in this case, but can go up to 400 kV. The HSE is concerned about a nationwide trend of farm machinery getting bigger, increasing the risk of contact with power lines.
Breaches
VB Farms LLP was found guilty of breaching Regulation 3(1) and Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 following a trial at Exeter Magistrates’ Court:
- Regulation 3(1) makes it the duty of every employer and self-employed person to comply with the regulations in so far as they relate to matters that are within their control.
- Regulation 4(3) requires that every work activity, including operation, use and maintenance of a system and work near a system, shall be carried out in such a manner as not to give rise, so far as is reasonably practicable, to danger.
Penalty
VB Farms LLP was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,715.
Manufacturer fined after worker seriously injured through entanglement in a machine
A manufacturing company has been fined after a worker became entangled in a machine.
The man had been working for Mountfield CNC Ltd at the firm’s site in Droitwich when the incident took place on 4 January 2022. The man had been setting up a CNC machine when he became entangled with the machine’s rotating saw. This led to the man suffering a fractured neck, resulting in him becoming paralysed from the chest down.
An HSE investigation found that Mountfield CNC Ltd had failed to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of the CNC machine. The machine was fitted with interlocked guards, but the interlocks had been defeated before the incident, allowing the machine to move without guards in place. The company should have identified the need for effective interlocking guards and monitored safeguards to ensure they had not been tampered with.
Breach
Mountfield CNC Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Penalty
Mountfield CNC Ltd was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,094
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