Firms in court after worker killed in quarry
A quarry operator and contractor have been ordered to pay a total of £237,500 in fines and costs after a worker was killed when he became trapped under a large stone crushing machine.
The injured party was working for Ward Bros (Plant Hire) Ltd as a mechanical fitter when the incident occurred in February 2009. The incident took place at Divethill Quarry in Northumberland, which is owned by CEMEX UK Materials Ltd.
The Court heard how the worker was told there was a problem with the conveyor on a large mobile crushing machine. He went underneath to identify the cause of the problem and while he was there the crusher moved, trapping him. The worker subsequently died from asphyxiation.
A HSE investigation found the movement of the machine was caused by a failure of the insulation on an electrical control wire causing a ground fault. This would have been prevented if the machine had been isolated or locked off from its power source before any maintenance.
The quarry rules required a permit for the work being undertaken, which would have meant the crusher had to be isolated and signed off by a supervisor or manager. No permit was issued and it was discovered there was no lock off facility on the machine.
HSE also established that there was no effective supervision of the work by either company.
The investigation also found that the crushing machine was in a poorly maintained condition, some of the workers using the machine were not qualified to operate it, and that safety records for some Ward Bros (Plant Hire) Ltd employees were not up to date.
Ward Bros (Plant Hire) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £85,000 and ordered to pay £55,000 in costs.
CEMEX UK Materials Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £37,500 in costs. The court accepted the breaches CEMEX UK admitted to were not causative of Mr Ward’s death.
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Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”
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Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
Packaging firm in court over worker’s injuries
An Ebbw Vale-based packaging company has been has been fined after a delivery driver was hit by a forklift truck at its premises.
The Court heard that the injured driver attended Platt Packaging Ltd on 7 October 2013 to collect palleted products for distribution.
While his lorry was being loaded the driver was on a telephone call with his employer when he was suddenly struck by a reversing forklift truck and knocked to the ground. He suffered a double fracture to his left ankle, damage to his leg and spent over a month in hospital. He has been unable to return to work.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Platt Packaging had no formal safe system of work in place for delivery operations. The company also failed to provide instructions for delivery drivers to be in a place of safety while the forklift truck was in use.
Platt Packaging Limited was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay £4,663 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
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Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
Recycling giant fined £150k for worker’s death
A global metal recycling company has been fined £150k for safety failings after a worker was killed when part of a 33-tonne metal barge he was dismantling collapsed on top of him.
The employee sustained catastrophic crush injuries in the incident at European Metal Recycling Ltd’s (EMR’s) Kingsbury depot in Warwickshire on 12 October 2011.
The recycling company was jointly sentenced after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified serious flaws with the method of work being used to dismantle the barges.
Warwickshire Crown Court heard that the worker was working alongside others to cut and dismantle two large steel barges using oxy-acetylene torches.
The worker had finished cutting through the outer skin of the barge’s hull and had moved inside the now unsupported structure to cut some supporting braces when the side collapsed in on him. The married father of two died at the scene.
EMR failed to do enough to protect the workers, and ensure that burning contractors were competent and working safely.
European Metal Recycling Ltd was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
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Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
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