Abattoir company fined for the death of an employee
A Galashiels-based abattoir firm has been fined £100,000 following the death of a member of staff.
The employee had been loosening fixings attaching the support frame of a partition door in a container unit. The employee became trapped and was suffocated when the support frame of the door being dismantled collapsed.
An investigation by the HSE identified that the employer had failed to provide proper instruction, training or supervision to the employee, the task was not subject to a safe system of work and a suitable and sufficient risk assessment was not in please. The HSE concluded that the fataility could have been avoided had reasonable precautions been taken.
The employer was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1), Section 33(1)(a) and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Director of building firm charged for workplace welfare failings
A director of a building company from Cheshire has been fined after placing the health of workers at risk for more than three months.
The director was overseeing a project to refurbish a row of houses in Manchester during September 2013. This had involved stripping the houses, plastering them and installing new kitchens and bathrooms.
An inspection of the construction site by the HSE identified that one of the empty houses was being used as a site office and welfare facilities. The inspector identified that there was no hot or warm water supply in this building however.
The director was charged for breaching Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £3,102 in prosecution costs. The court was told that bricklayers and plasterers were placed at risk of skin burns as there was no hot water available to clean themselves. Although a hot water supply was not available for more than three months, the requirement for hot water had been identified in the construction plan.
Two companies in court for safety failings
Two Kent-based construction companies have been charged for safety fallings after a worker was injured in a fall.
The worker had been working on a fragile roof at an industrial site when he lost his balance and landed on a roof nearly two metres below. The worker suffered a broken rib and fractured left wrist in the fall.
The court heard that WW Martin had been contracted by a food packing firm to address a number of roof leaks. WW Martin had hired a specialist roofing firm, Brandclad, to undertake the repairs.
WW Martin received a risk assessment and planned method of work prior to the commencement of the project. This identified dangers associated with the fragile roof, requiring that platforms with handrails be used alongside harnesses for workers.
Despite the controls specified, the HSE identified that platforms provided for the workers were open and unprotected, even following the injury of the worker. The HSE identified that promised safety measures were never delivered. Although WW Martin was responsible for monitoring the work, the company failed to take any action.
The court found that Brandclad was 60 percent culpable and was fined £7,000 with £3,588 in court. WW Martin was fined £10,000 due to its stronger financial position and the same amount in costs.
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Regulation 9(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires that where it is not possible to eliminate work across, near or on a fragile surface this work is subject to suitable and sufficient controls, including measures to minimise the distances and consequences of falls where a fall risk remains.
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