Joint venture receives fine exceeding £1m following incidents on Crossrail project
Bam Ferrovial Kier, a joint venture comprising three companies, has been fined after a fatality and two serious injuries during the Crossrail project. All three incidents took place within tunnels around the Fisher Street area.
On 7 March 2014 an employee was working as part of a team enlarging the tunnel by removing rings from the existing pilot tunnel and spraying the walls with liquid concrete. During this activity, a section of the roof collapsed, crushing an employee fatally.
On 16 January 2015 an employee was struck by a reversing excavator when collecting equipment from inside a tunnel. The employee suffered severe fractures to his right leg and crush injuries to his left knee and shin.
On 22 January 2015 an employee within the team spraying liquid concrete lining was assisting with the cleaning of pipes supplying the concrete. Due to communication failings one of the lines was disconnected and the employee was hit by pressurised water and concrete debris. The employee suffered head and hip injuries as well as a broken finger and was hospitalised for six days.
A HSE investigation found Bam Ferrovial Kier had failed to provide an adequate safe system of work in relation to the incidents on 7 March 2014 and 22 January 2015. The HSE also found that the excavator involved in the incident on 16 January 2015 had not been maintained correctly. In all three cases, the HSE found that exclusion zones had not been enforced adequately, which would have helped protect workers from foreseeable harm.
Breaches
Bam Ferrovial Kier pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 10(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 in relation to the incidents:
- Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 requires that principle contractors for projects plan, manage and monitor the construction phase in a way which ensures that, so far as is reasonably practicable, it is carried out without risks to health or safety.
- Regulation 10(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires that where it is not reasonably practicable to prevent (so far as is reasonably practicable) the fall of any material or object, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient steps to prevent any person being struck by any falling material or object which is liable to cause injury.
Penalty
The total fine for the three incidents was £1,065,000, with £42,337.28 in costs.
Fines after scaffold collapses in Dorset
Swanage and Dorset Scaffolding and Roofing has been fined after scaffolding collapsed at an industrial unit in Poole.
The contractor had been employed to erect scaffolding at the unit to provide edge protection for work to be undertaken on the roof.
On 14 September 2015 the scaffolding installed collapsed, narrowly missing an office worker. The collapsed scaffold caused serious damaged to a number of parked cars.
An investigation by the HSE identified that the contractor had failed to ensure the scaffolding was suitably designed and installed to prevent collapse. The HSE found that the scaffolding had not been suitably attached to the building to tolerate foreseeable wind loads.
Breach
Swanage and Dorset Scaffolding and Roofing pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 19(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
Regulation 19(2) requires that any buttress, temporary support or temporary structure is of a suitable design, installation and maintenance to withstand foreseeable loads that may be imposed on it, and that it must only be used for the purposes for which it was designed and installed and is maintained.
Penalty
The company was fined £27,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,051.
Director jailed and company sentenced after continuous failures to comply
Crofty Point Metals and its owner have been sentenced in relation to a number of safety failings.
On 9 July 2013 a fire and explosions occurred as a result of a deliberate arson attack involving used gas cylinders. The incident followed two previous similar incidents.
Visits undertaken by the HSE as part of a subsequent investigation included the delivery of verbal and written advice on security fencing to prevent intruders accessing the site, maintenance of an excavator and inspections of lifting equipment on skip vehicles used on public roads. Several enforcement notices were issued to the company and owner over a three year period.
On 7 December 2016 the HSE attended the site and found it unattended with the gate left open. The site was filled with waste and debris, including loose gas cylinders. Clear, safe pedestrian access around the site was not available. The HSE found that issues previously raised had not been addressed.
Breaches
Crofty Point Metals pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The sites owner, Robert Michael Collis, also pleaded guilty to breaching these sections of the Act and additionally Section 37(1)
- Section 2(1) requires that every employer ensures, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
- Section 3(1) requires that employers conduct their activities in a way to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
- Section 37(1) makes directors, managers, secretaries or other similar officers liable for breaches by a corporate body, if it is proven this was committed with their consent or connivance or if this is attributable to their neglect.
Penalty
Crofty Point Metals was fined £30,000 in total for the breaches, with £8,000 in costs.
Robert Michael Collis was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, with an additional four months in relation to environmental offences brought by Natural Resources Wales. Robert Michael Collis was also disqualified from being a director or manager of a company for seven years.
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