Father and son fined for undertaking illegal gas work at residences in Cheshire
An unregistered gas installer and his father have been sentenced for carrying out illegal gas work.
An HSE investigation found that the son installed new boilers at two houses in Northwich in April 2022 and December 2022. However, he was not registered with the Gas Safe Register.
On one of those occasions, his father, a registered gas engineer, signed off the work and commissioned the boiler on his son’s behalf. The father did this without attending the property to check the boiler was safe.
When one of the homeowners complained to the Gas Safe Register, an inspection was carried out by a qualified engineer. Defects were identified resulting in the boiler being classed as at risk and a danger. This included a lack of support for the chimney and flue system, which carried the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Undertaking gas work without registration is illegal and potentially dangerous. Unqualified work can lead to gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Breach
The son pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998:
- Regulation 3(3) prohibits employers from allowing employees to carry out work relating to a gas fitting or service pipework and no self-employed person shall carry out such work unless authorised as a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the HSE.
The father pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
- Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires self-employed persons conduct their undertaking in a way to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, they and other persons (who are not employees) who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Penalty
The son was given a 12-month community order and complete 200 hours of unpaid work. He was also told to pay £2,500 in costs. The son must also pay £1,460 to one of the affected homeowners, which covered the cost of the work.
The father was given the same sentence as his son and ordered to pay the same in costs.
Timber product manufacturer sentenced after a worker lost a leg as a result of an accident
A wood products manufacturer based in Shropshire has been fined after an employee received life-changing injuries when working at their premises in Ellesmere.
In May 2021, the worker suffered the injuries when clearing a jammed log on a machine. The man climbed onto a stationary conveyor bed and used a metal pole to move a log. The conveyor started to move unexpectedly, dragging his legs across the moving chains and trapping them against a stop plate.
Subsequently, the man had his right leg amputated below the knee and sustained significant injuries to his left leg.
An HSE investigation found that E.T.C. Sawmills Limited had failed to adequately assess the risks. The employer had failed to devise and implement effective measures to prevent access to the dangerous moving parts of the Quad Saw machine or to stop the movement of the dangerous parts before people entered the danger zones. Additionally, the company failed to provide employees with safe systems of work or suitable and sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision to enable safe operation of the machine.
Breach
E.T.C. Sawmills Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
- Section 2(1) applies a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
Penalty
E.T.C. Sawmills Limited was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,395.51.
Firm in Berkshire fined after apprentice suffered serious injuries
A manufacturing company in Newbury has received a six-figure fine after an apprentice was drawn into machinery.
On 10 July 2023, the apprentice, who was 18 years old, was working as a machinist for Power and Energy International, manufacturing industrial valves and filters. The apprentice had been working for the company for less than a year and was still learning how to operate the different machines involved in manufacturing. The apprentice’s shirt was caught in a radial-arm drill, pulling him into the machine.
The apprentice was left with a large piece of skin removed from his chest, was hospitalised for five days and was unable to work for six months. He suffered three broken ribs and needed skin grafts.
An HSE investigation found that Power and Energy International had failed to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of their employees. The company’s radial-arm drills did not have adequate guarding. Machine operators, including the apprentice, had not been properly trained on using the safety features in place. The company was also found to have made modifications to the radial-arm drill, which increased the risk of operators getting caught and pulled into the machine.
Breach
Power and Energy International Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Penalty
Power and Energy International Ltd was fined £187,600 and was ordered to pay £7,464 in costs.
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