Welcome to the archive section of Health & Safety News.
H&S News December 2010
| Worker paralysed after being crushed by reel of paper. |
| SCA Hygiene Products UK Ltd fined £120,000 and costs of £18,514 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Christopher Shaw, 38, was involved in producing and preparing paper reels. He was using his body weight to slow down a moving paper reel when he slipped. The reel, which was about two metres in diameter, then rolled onto him causing serious crush injuries which left him paralysed from the chest down. |
HSE (National) Press Release LE806W10 3/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Hotels prosecuted for fire safety offences. |
| In one case, Awan Investments Limited (owners of the Venture Hotel) ordered to pay over £27,000 in fines and costs for serious fire safety breaches and its chief executive, Malik Mohammed Bashir, also fined over £5,000 for his role in the failures. Fire officers inspected the hotel following concerns raised by guests. Problems found included the lack of a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, blocked emergency exits and wedged open fire doors. In a separate case, the hotel manager of the Plume of Feathers Hotel near Shrewsbury was ordered to pay £5,355 in fines and costs after the fire alarm failed to go off in the premises. Nine residents were staying at the time that smoke was discovered in a corridor. Although a break-glass call-point was activated, the alarm did not operate and the residents had to be wakened by members of staff. |
Fire Risk Management November 2010:4 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Bill of health. |
| A Private Members' Bill proposing that smoke alarms be made mandatory in all rented accommodation in the UK is currently going through Parliament. (Mike Burroughs) |
Fire Risk Management November 2010:10-13 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Human interest. |
| Looking at human behaviour studies to date. The need for better information and the embracing of new technology to ensure more streamlined evacuation of large buildings. (James Perry) |
Fire Risk Management November 2010:20-23 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Coming clean. |
| Warning of the dangers posed by unclean grease extract systems in commercial kitchens - an argument for better management of the risks and more effective inspections by regulatory agencies. (Richard Norman) |
Fire Risk Management November 2010:52-54 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Struck-by discounts Lidl's profit. |
| Lidl fined £80,000 and costs of £31,500 for failure to provide a safe system of work and having a substandard H&S management system. Sandra Miles suffered serious leg injuries when a forklift truck came through the curtains of a nearby doorway and ran her over whilst she was stock checking goods on incoming pallets. |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:8 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| MPs call for pubco boss to quit over landlord's death. |
| A group of MPs is calling for the chief executive of Enterprise Inns to "take moral responsibility" and resign following the death of a pub landlord. Last month Enterprise Inns were fined £300,000 for breaching Section 3 of the HASAWA 1974 by putting its tenants at risk. Paul Lee, a tenant manager, suffered fatal carbon monoxide poisoning in his pub's sitting room, the chimney was blocked. 394 of the 868 Enterprise pubs requiring annual gas certificates had valid certificates. |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Marriott Hotels' £20,000 bill for hatch fall. |
| Marriott Hotels International fined £15,000 and costs of £4,607 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Margaret David, working for consultancy Sustain, was at the Bristol City Centre hotel to carry out a pipework survey in its plant rooms with a view to improving insulation. She had used a fixed vertical ladder to reach a mezzanine-type floor area, which was a relatively confined space with lots of overhead beams and three loft hatches. As she climbed through a gap, she stepped on one of the closed hatches and fell through to the concrete floor below. She suffered a compressed fracture of her vertebrae and a fractured heel. The hatches had not been identified as a hazard and the associated risks had not been assessed. |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:12 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Legislative calendar. |
| A calendar of new and upcoming legislation - Equality Act, Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regs, Notification of Conventional Tower Crane Regs. |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:12 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Sorting waste. |
| In the first of two articles, the special challenges facing the waste and recycling industry. (Lucie Ponting) |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:16-18 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Private correspondence. |
| The rules for legally privileged documents after an accident. (Kevin Elliott and Paul Verrico) |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:20-21 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Welcome to the machine. |
| Summarising, for NEBOSH students, the requirements, old and new, of the Machinery Directive. (Lawrence Bamber) |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:23-24,26 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| One CDM fits all. |
| A warning that ignoring clients', designers' and contractors' duties on non-notifiable projects is a risky business. (Pat Perry) |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:28-29 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Don't burn after reading. |
| What's new in the revised guidance on fire prevention. (Louis Wustemann) |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:31-32 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Sites for sore ears. |
| The options for noise measurement and hearing protection for building workers. (Sarah Broadbent) |
Health and Safety at Work December 2010:35-36 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Shropshire health trust fined over patient death. |
| Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Trust fined £50,000 and costs of £8,476 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Pensioner Francis Steele died two weeks after falling from his bed after staff left him with only one rail on his bed to prevent him from falling out. A senior nurse decided that Mr Steele needed bed rails but staff could only find one. Nobody made any further attempts to find another rail and the following day Mr Steele was fatally injured when he fell from the open side of his bed. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM288/10 29/11/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| New European rules on notifying chemical substances. |
| The HSE is supporting the European Chemical Agency's (ECHA) campaign to remind companies that new rules on classification, labelling, packaging and notification of chemical substances came into force on 1 December 2010. From then, within one month of placing a chemical substance on the market, all companies involved in their manufacture or import will need to notify the ECHA for their inclusion in the new Classification and Labelling Inventory. |
HSE (National) Press Release 30/11/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Company fined after worker loses fingers. |
| Mersen Scotland Holytown Limited, formally known as Calcarb Limited, fined £160,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s33. Thomas Robinson, 27, was removing a bag from the dust filtration system when his left hand was caught in the rotary valve, severing all four fingers and his thumb. Surgeons have been able to reattach three of the fingers, but Mr Robinson will never regain their full function again. HSE investigated the incident and reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). |
Press Release from the COPFS 30/11/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Demolition firm fined after teenager blinded in one eye. |
| Dovestone Contractors Ltd fined £8,000 and costs of £4,000 under PPEWR 1992. A 19-year-old worker, who had been working for the company for a year and a half, was helping to demolish a mill and was using a pickaxe to lever up wooden floorboards when he was hit in the eye by a splinter. He has not returned to work in the demolition industry as he is now afraid of losing the sight in his other eye. He may also be unable to obtain a driving licence. Had he been issued with safety goggles that would have cost less than £5, the incident may not have happened. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/63Dovestone 1/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Worcestershire care home fined after investigation into fatal fall from window. |
| Heritage Manor Ltd fined a total of £16,500 and costs of £25,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999. Thora Monk, 92, died after falling more than 4 metres from her bedroom window at the Lawns Nursing Home. Her window, as well as others accessible to the elderly residents, could be fully opened. Heritage Manor Ltd had failed to maintain its method of restricting the opening of windows adequately, thus putting residents at risk. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM290/10 1/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Laminate flooring firm sentenced over worker's injuries. |
| Universal Mouldings fined £5,000 and costs of £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and PUWER 1998. Christopher Sillitoe, 22, lost sections of three fingers and broke his thumb after his hand came into contact with a large circular saw. Workers at the factory had been instructed to reach under the guard on the machine to remove laminate material while the 0.65 metre wide blade was still rotating. It had a 27 centimetre gap beneath the guard which allowed workers to reach under it. They were expected to remove the cut laminate to prevent it being damaged. There had been several near-misses in the past. Despite a six-hour operation to reattach the fingers, Mr Sillitoe is unlikely to ever regain full movement in his left hand. He now has difficulty dressing himself and using a knife and fork. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/70UniversalMouldings 2/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Maintenance firm fined after Heathrow incident. |
| Messier Services Ltd fined £7,200 and costs of £11,820 under HASAWA 1974 s2. John Nicholas was helping replace the landing gear at the front of an aircraft. They were using a forklift truck in an attempt to align the barrel of the main landing gear fitting with the socket on the underside of the aircraft. Mr Nicholas realised the alignment was incorrect and, in an attempt to correct it, knelt down on an unsecured pallet designed to support the landing gear, two metres above the floor. The forklift truck supporting the pallet reversed suddenly causing the pallet to drop to the floor. Mr Nicholas fell with the pallet, suffering significant injuries to the left side of his face and fracturing his knee cap. Since the incident, he has needed a number of operations to his mouth and teeth. Investigations found the company had not properly planned the work even though it was a core part of its operations. |
HSE (National) Press Release COILON/0212 2/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Two workers exposed to asbestos at Aston University. |
| Aston University fined a total of £4,000 and costs of £2,000 under MHSWR 1999 and CAR 2006. Access Fire and Security Ltd fined £1,000 and costs of £1,000 under CAR 2006. Two workers, including a 17-year-old trainee, were installing CCTV cameras in the reception area at Aston University's Recreation Centre when they drilled into material containing asbestos fibres. The University failed to follow its own procedures on managing, planning and preparing for the installation, and the arrangements were unclear and not widely known throughout the University. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM292/10 3/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Kent-wide inspection campaign highlights safety concerns in motor vehicle repair premises. |
| As part of the "Common Approach to Vehicle Enterprise" (CAVE) initiative, inspectors from the HSE, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, and local authorities have been looking at areas such as asbestos management, electrical safety, chemical use, and equipment maintenance. Since the campaign began in November, 172 premises have been inspected across the county and, so far, 84 notices have been issued for such things as unsafe electrics and vehicle lifts, and dangerous welding equipment. |
HSE (South East) Press Release 1/12/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Charles Stuart Reich |
| Fined £4,000 under HASAWA 1974 s37. Fatal accident to employee after being trapped in a ribbon blending machine. Interlocked guards unsuitable for purpose and failed to danger. No safe system of work for cleaning the machine. Company director received a number of warnings from H&S consultancy about dangerous conditions on site. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4156396 20/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Mr Atulkumar Ratilal Patel |
| Fined a total of £6,000 under GSIUR 1998. No gas safety certification and unauthorised gas fitting. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4214692 20/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Mrs Chetna Atulkumar Patel |
| Fined £500 under GSIUR 1998. No gas safety certification and unauthorised gas fitting. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4214712 20/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Newhaven Port & Properties |
| Fined a total of £85,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and s33. This case did result from the investigation of the death of Mr Feola. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4175739 21/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Forship SpA |
| Fined £100,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. This case did result from the investigation of the death of Mr Feola. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4175741 21/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| E Leather Ltd |
| Fined a total of £13,500 under MHSWR 1999 and PUWER 1998. Employee was operating a fabric winding machine when his arm became drawn into the roll of fabric causing multiple fractures. Dangerous parts of the machine were inadequately guarded, no suitable and sufficient risk assessment, responsibilities not clearly understood. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4215310 21/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Talisman Energy (UK) Limited |
| Fined £225,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to adequately plan and risk assess the lifting operation to install a Transition Insertion module, resulting in crushing accident. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4071126 23/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Kier Regional Limited |
| Fined £160,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. A labourer working on the first floor of a building fell out of an open window frame when a guard rail gave way. The company had failed to ensure that the guardrail could withstand the weight of a rubbish chute that had been attached to it and the materials being thrown down it. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4193247 23/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Scaldis Salvage and Marine Contractors NV |
| Fined £18,750 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to adequately plan and risk assess the lifting operation to install a Transition Insertion module, resulting in crushing accident. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4223350 23/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Walkers Snack Foods Ltd |
| Fined a total of £200,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Fatal accident where contractor delivering chemicals to site inadvertently mixed the two chemicals which released chlorine dioxide, which the delivery driver inhaled and subsequently led to his death about a month later. Failings related to a lack of co-operation and co-ordination between Walkers Snack Foods Ltd (receiving the chemicals) and the delivery company. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4160550 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Omnichem Ltd |
| Fined a total of £150,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Fatal accident where contractor delivering chemicals to site inadvertently mixed the two chemicals which released chlorine dioxide, which the delivery driver inhaled and subsequently led to his death about a month later. Failings related to a lack of co-operation and co-ordination between Omnichem (delivering the chemicals) and the host company. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4160551 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Autoy Ltd |
| Fined a total of £17,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999. A worker was killed when he became entangled on a one-metre long screw while cutting its thread on a lathe. He had been working alone. Autoy was unable to demonstrate it has assessed the risks faced by employees working alone on the lathe. It should have made sure all workers wore suitable clothing while operating the lathe. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4192173 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| West Ferry Printers Ltd |
| Fined £17,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. An employee of Meta Management Services Ltd had their left leg drawn into a trapping point between two moving conveyor belts resulting in serious injuries. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4204222 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Staffordshire Crystal Limited |
| Fined a total of £3,600 under CLWR 2002 and WHSWR 1992. No current surveillance being undertaken for lead. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4206709 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| WCM Europe Limited |
| Fined £6,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Failure to ensure the safety of their employees when operating the jet circular saw. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4215696 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| BioLab UK Ltd |
| Fined £26,000 under COMAH 1999. When a COMAH lower tier site factory burnt down, fire water run-off affected a water course. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4221620 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Meta Management Services Ltd |
| Fined £17,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee of Meta Management Services Ltd was at West Ferry Printers when they had their left leg drawn into a trapping point between two moving conveyor belts resulting in serious injuries. |
HSE Prosecution Case 4224013 24/9/10 Week ending: 03/12/10 |
| Worker's arm injured by two tonne metal plate. |
| Forth Steel Ltd fined £50,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Ian Sutherland was working with a colleague to mark a delivery of sheet metal plates with unique identifying numbers before they could be accepted into the factory. The metal plates, each weighting more than two tonnes, were placed on top of each other. It was the company's practice for a crane operator to lift the plates by approx 18 inches using bare hooks, a wooden baton would then be placed in between the plates to protect the operators while reaching in to mark the lower plate. Mr Sutherland placed his right arm between the 2 plates to mark the lower plate, when the upper plate slipped from the hook and fell onto his arm. His right arm was broken and needed surgery to insert a 6 inch steel plate to support it. Unsafe procedure in place for lifting the steel plates, suitable assessment of the risks involved when employees worked under a suspended load not carried out, and the crane operator had not received any formal lifting training, despite the company identifying this need some months earlier. |
HSE (National) Press Release SCO/207/10 8/12/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| HSE cuts are the real madness. |
| It cannot be in the national interest to reduce investment in a body whose mission it is to prevent injury and death. (Mike Clancy) |
Safety Management November 2010:3 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| BP bonuses linked to safety. |
| In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster earlier this year, BP will now link staff bonuses to improvements in safety standards. |
Safety Management November 2010:10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Let's see more safety reporting by firms. |
| Company reporting on health, safety and environmental performance plays a vital role in driving improvements in these areas. (Neal Stone) |
Safety Management November 2010:19 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| New chair brings her ideas to the table. |
| Having worked in the oil and gas industry for 35 years, Lynda Armstrong OBE gained extensive experience of managing operations in a safety critical industry. Now retired, she joins the BSC as chair of the board of trustees, and here she talks about her illustrious career and what she hopes to bring to the table in her new role. (Joanna Gurman) |
Safety Management November 2010:32-35 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| The secrets of 40 years' success for Spie WHS. |
| As a major electrical and instrumentation contractor specialising in the industrial market, Spie WHS has a natural exposure to many of the high risks of construction and therefore has to take health and safety very seriously. (Joanna Gurman) |
Safety Management November 2010:37-40 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Chiswick lifeboat - saving lives on the river. |
| How do employers keep their staff safe when their work is among some of the most dangerous these can be? Meeting the crew of RNLI's Chiswick lifeboat, whose volunteers save the lives of people in and around the River Thames. (Amy Liptrot) |
Safety Management November 2010:43-45 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Taking responsibility for the firm's activities. |
| Addressing the social, environmental and economic impacts of a company's operations through a Corporate Social Responsibility programme can reap dividends - both for the organisation concerned and society as a whole. (Paul Gordon) |
Safety Management November 2010:46-49 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Dusting away the risks from silica exposure. |
| Exposure to stone dust during construction and quarrying work can pose a serious risk of fatal lung diseases, but the problem can be tackled by adopting simple control measures. (Jennifer Raymond) |
Safety Management November 2010:51-52,53 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Plumber sentenced for carrying out illegal gas work. |
| Tony MacTaggart (who also t/a TJM Heating and Plumbing) fined £2,500 and costs of £902 plus a Victim Surcharge of £15 under GSIUR 1998. Mr MacTaggart lied to homeowners about being registered with Gas Safe. He installed a gas boiler at a property and the homeowners subsequently complained about his work to Gas Safe, who visited the property and found the boiler in a dangerous condition. The Gas Safe engineer disconnected the boiler and alerted HSE to Mr MacTaggart's deception. HSE found he had been claiming to be Gas Safe registered, carrying out work then tricking registered engineers into signing off the installations by asking them to carry out annual gas safety inspections. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-46 6/12/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Company fined for radiation exposure risk. |
| Schlumberger Oilfield UK PLC fined £300,000 (reduced from £450,000 as a result of their early guilty plea) under HASAWA 1974 s3 and s33. They placed workers from other companies operating on a North Sea installation at risk of exposure to radiation. Schlumberger had been contracted to undertake wireline logging operations as part of the Maersk drilling programme for the Cawdor well. The process involved the lowering into the well of a logging tool, which was fitted with a radioactive source. The purpose of that was for the source to obtain data from the well which was then transmitted to the rig for analysis. During the preparations for the lowering of the logging tool, the radioactive source was not successfully loaded It then lay on the drill floor for approx 4 hours before being found, during which time 14 workers were placed at risk of radiation exposure. |
Press Release from the COPFS 6/12/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Bury firm sentenced after woman's fingers severed. |
| Chadwicks of Bury Ltd fined £22,500 and costs of £8,708 under PUWER 1998. The company makes lids for yogurt pots, ice cream cartons and other food containers. A 51-year-old worker was re-threading silver paper through a machine when the cutting tool restarted, severing 4 fingers on her right hand. HSE found the company had covered the sensors on the machine so it could be used to cut paper instead of foil lids. The sensors would have stopped the machine operating when paper was being re-threaded through the cutting tool, if they had not been disabled. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/65Chadwicks 10/12/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Builder prosecuted for ignoring health and safety rules. |
| Michael Connelly fined a total of £400 and costs of 1,000 under HASAWA 1974 s33 and CDMR 2007. HSE inspectors visited a site where Mr Connelly had employed contractors to convert a house into flats and shops. They found no toilets or washing facilities, live wires sticking out of sockets, unsafe scaffolding, and plaster and rubble scattered all over the site. They deemed it so dangerous that they immediately issued three Improvement Notices and two Prohibition Notices. Despite assurances from Mr Connelly that he had complied with all the Notices, when inspectors revisited the site on several occasions over a 10-week period they discovered that he had still not provided adequate washing facilities for workers, including soap and running hot water. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/58MichaelConnelly 10/12/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| BT sentenced following fatal ladder fall. |
| British Telecommunications Plc (BT) fined £300,000 and costs of £196,150 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Power construction engineer David Askew, 52, suffered fatal head injuries after falling from a wooden ladder at a London telephone exchange. Mr Askew was installing distribution boards and running cabling as part of his work and would have been working at a height of more than 4 metres. He fell from a nine-step wooden ladder, sustaining a serious head injury and died 18 days later. HSE found a number of issues including a failure to ensure the work at height was properly planned, and that Mr Askew was provided with suitable access equipment for work at height. Two wooden ladders found at the scene had not been subject to an annual inspection, contrary to BT's own H&S policy. |
HSE (National) Press Release COILDN/1512 15/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Reasons to be fearful. |
| In years to come, we will probably look back at the month of October - and a seven-day period in particular - as the time when the health and safety landscape started to change fundamentally. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:1 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Master Concrete Limited |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Fall of employee through roof while dismantling building. |
HSE Prosecution 4196996 27/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under CAR 2006. Plumber employed by the council, sent out on his own to a reported leak at a sheltered accommodation. Found leak in ceiling void. Unscrewed ceiling panel/board which fell. AIB debris all over floor, plumber did not realise it was AIB. He proceeded to saw through remaining panel in ceiling where leaking pipe was and was exposed to dust and debris. No PPE worn. The ceiling panel and debris were left unwrapped. The cleaning lady used her vacuum cleaner to "hoover up" debris left. The plumber and some of his colleagues returned to the area some days later, all had received Asbestos Awareness training in the past but none identified the ceiling panels as AIB. Asbestos was suspected as being present when the Supervisor attended the site and looked at the ceiling panels. He raised suspicions with a Council Building Surveyor and was instructed to stop any works. The Supervisor then contacted a Licensed Asbestos Contractor. |
HSE Prosecution 4197032 27/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Crown Chicken Ltd |
| Fined a total of £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Two separate accidents at different times at the company. One where injured person trapped his hand in a de-skinning machine and one where the IP trapped a hand between the mast and guard on an FLT whilst standing on the forks. Both IPs sustained crush injuries. First accident, insufficient guarding of machine, unsuitable personal protective equipment and inadequate power controls. Second accident due to unsafe system of work. |
HSE Prosecution 4211030 27/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Sirane Limited |
| Fined £6,000 under PUWER 1998. Accident involving a Hanbury Engineering 'Autogil' guillotine. The guard at the front of the machine, guarding the blade, was interlocked but there was a gap allowing access under the guard to the cutting area. |
HSE Prosecution 4215100 27/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Saint Gobain Weber Limited |
| Fined £16,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee became entangled in rotary valve whilst carrying out clearing/unblocking tasks. Access to dangerous parts of machinery. Protection did not meet reach distant standards BS EN13857:2008. No other equally effective means provided. |
HSE Prosecution 4208737 28/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Dexion Storage Centre Anglia Ltd |
| Fined £300 under PUWER 1998. Operative using a scissor lift to erect racking and trapped his head in the racking. Broken jaws and ear damage. |
HSE Prosecution 4202015 29/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Mr Michael Searle |
| Fined £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Accident on a Tagada fairground ride. The accident arose due to mechanical defects with the structure of the ride owned by Mr Searle. Members of the public were thrown off the ride during its operation. |
HSE Prosecution 4182476 30/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Fairground Inspection Services Limited |
| Fined £7,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Accident on a Tagada fairground ride. The accident arose due to mechanical defects with the structure of the ride that had been previously examined by FIS. Members of the public were thrown off the ride during its operation. |
HSE Prosecution 4182480 30/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Mr Alan Rodgers |
| Fined £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Accident on Tagada fairground ride. The accident arose due to mechanical defects with the structure of the ride that had been previously examined by Mr Rodgers in his capacity as a director of Fairground Inspection Services Limited. Members of the public were thrown off the ride during its operation. |
HSE Prosecution 4182488 30/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Blue Anchor Leisure Ltd |
| Fined a total of £15,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Fatal accident resulting from fall approx 5 metres through farm shed roof. |
HSE Prosecution 4212410 30/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Ken Bramhall |
| Fined a total of £6,000 under PUWER 1998. Employer Ken Bramhall was prosecuted after an employee was seriously injured twice in less than 2 months at a pine furniture workshop. The employee was cutting a small grove into a pine door when it shot out of the machine, forcing his left hand onto a rotating blade. The employee's index finger was badly cut, most of his nail was removed and the bone was broken. Three weeks before the incident, HSE had issued 7 ENs after the IP suffered similar injuries from a circular saw. Failure to provide suitable training for employees, and not adequately control the risk to workers of being injured. |
HSE Prosecution 4204220 30/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Gill Brown |
| Fined a total of £6,000 under PUWER 1998. Employer Gillian Brown was prosecuted after an employee was seriously injured twice in less than 2 months at a pine furniture workshop. The employee was cutting a small grove into a pine door when it shot out of the machine, forcing his left hand onto a rotating blade. The employee's index finger was badly cut, most of his nail was removed and the bone was broken. Three weeks before the incident, HSE had issued 7 ENs after the IP suffered similar injuries from a circular saw. Failure to provide suitable training for employees, and not adequately control the risk to workers of being injured. |
HSE Prosecution 4218254 30/9/10 Week ending: 10/12/10 |
| Agriculture - awards. |
| The HSE's "Make the promise. Come home safe." agriculture campaign won two prizes at the 2010 "PR Week" awards - the "Public sector PR campaign of the year" and overall "Campaign of the year". |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:4 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Asbestos - schools. |
| Local authority management of asbestos in system-built schools was sufficiently inadequate for HSE inspectors to provide advice to almost three in ten (27 per cent) English councils responsible for providing education. |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:4 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/information.htm#asbestos Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Enforcement - sanctions. |
| The number of prosecutions taken (1,026) and convictions secured (735) by the HSE reached their lowest ever levels in 2009/10. The average penalty per convicted offence however, rose from £14,673 to £15,817. |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:4 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/tables/index.htm Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| The perils of confusing perception with reality. |
| Flawed, disappointing and seminal - a report on the most eagerly anticipated health and safety review since "Revitalising". (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:5-13 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| "Revitalising" targets: ill health, injury and absence go AWOL. |
| Judgment day for the three core 10-year health and safety targets has left the HSE curiously silent. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:14-18 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Economic incentives: UK can learn lessons from Continent. |
| UK employers have few of the health and safety economic incentive schemes available elsewhere in the EU. (Lucinda Ponting) |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:19-21 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Gas appliance safety checks - a matter of life and death. |
| A report on the avoidable poisoning of a pub landlord. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin December 2010:22-24 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Excavator firm fined after worker's fingers severed. |
| Komatsu UK Ltd fined £6,000 and costs of £3,421.10 under HASAWA 1974 s2. John Watson, 55, was drilling holes in steel plates when his right hand became caught in the rotating parts of the machine. Mr Watson needed surgery to completely amputate 2 of his fingers between the first and second knuckle and a bone removed from his hand. He worked for the company for nearly 20 years but has not been able to return to work since. HSE revealed that using the drill was not part of Mr Watson's normal work but at the time of the incident he had been asked to make some storage racking for the factory. At the time of the incident there was no guard on the drill to prevent access to the rotating parts and it was not the first time the drill had been used without a guard. The gloves Mr Watson was wearing became entangled and drew his hand into rotating parts. He had not received training in the use of the drill and the precautions needed to reduce the risk of entanglement. |
HSE (National) Press Release NE/287/10 13/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Scottish Power fined after electricity cable death. |
| Scottish Power UK plc fined £130,000 and costs of £48,000 under EWR 1989. Simon Lines, 20, was killed after he went out onto a road to warn motorists that a power cable had sagged because of high winds. The cable was then struck by a passing van and fell onto the road where a car drive over it, causing it to fly up into the air. The cable hit Mr Lines in the face, seriously injuring him. He died 8 days late in hospital from the injuries caused by being struck by the cable, rather than by electric shock. HSE investigation showed the cable had been attached to a wooden block on the side of nearby property. The block was found to be partially rotten and the deterioration led to the cable becoming detached. Since the incident Scottish Power has removed this type of fixing arrangement from its network. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM295/10 13/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Council fined after sculpture falls onto boy's foot. |
| East Lothian Council fined £6,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A young boy, aged 5 at the time, was injured when an 81kg sculpture near a children's play area fell from its upright position onto his foot, causing multiple fractures. He was playing football with his brother and friends at the time. The sculpture was sited close to the children's play area and had been there for 8? years. HSE discovered that there was no person or department within the Council that had overall responsibility for the inspection and maintenance of sculptures in the area. A specialist metallurgical report carried out as part of the investigation revealed that the sculpture was considerably weakened due to a fatigue fracture that had developed over a number of years and which was consistent with people swinging or rocking it. |
HSE (National) Press Release SCO/208/10 13/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Companies and manager fined £440,000 after worker dies crushing aerosol canisters. |
| Deeside Metal Company Ltd fined a total of £100,000 and costs of £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and MHSWR 1999. Jeyes UK Ltd fined £330,000 and costs of £50,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Manager of Deeside Metal Company Ltd, Mr Robert Roberts, fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s7. The companies failed to have proper controls in place to manage the extremely flammable materials that led to 37-year-old Mark Wright's fatal burn injuries. He suffered 90 per cent burns and died. Mr Wright's employer, Deeside Metal Co, had received the canisters from Jeyes UK who had failed to clearly label and segregate them from less hazardous waste. This meant that employees handling the canisters assumed they were empty when in fact they contained substances which should have been labelled "extremely flammable" and treated as such. Manager Mr Roberts instructed Mr Wright to crush the canisters in a metal baler. When the baler was activated, a canister caught fire, engulfing Mr Wright in flames. Neither company had carried out suitable risk assessments before allowing workers to handle potentially hazardous materials such as aerosols, and both had failed to train or monitor staff in their disposal. |
HSE (National) Press Release 612/W/10 13/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Company fined after man crushed by truck. |
| Trevett Engineering Limited fined £30,000 and costs of £11,630 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Mr Bryn Evans, 52, was acting as a banksman and was guiding a reversing heavy goods delivery vehicle towards a doorway when he was killed. While guiding the lorry into the loading area he became trapped between the back of the vehicle and the building's brick wall. He died at the scene from crush injuries to his chest. Mr Evans had not received training as a banksman. HSE investigation showed there was no specific need for a banksman during the reversing process, it had merely become customary at the site. |
HSE (National) Press Release COISE/1312 13/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Amended press release. Workers' lives put in danger at Manchester Karaoke bar. |
| **Please note, this is an amended version of the Press Release which was distributed on Friday 10 December.** Music Box Karaoke Ltd fined £6,000 and costs of £3,313 under CDMR 2007. Marc Royle fined £450 and costs of £2,710 under CDMR 2007. HSE inspectors visited the site of the K2 nightclub and found large quantities of cardboard and other packaging discarded throughout the site. Potentially flammable materials were piled high to the ceiling in the basement, escape routes were not marked and in some cases were blocked entirely. The building's fire alarm had been switched off and fire extinguishers had not been tested for seven years. Had a fire been ignited at the site, the risk to life would have been extremely serious. The inspectors immediately issued two Prohibition Notices closing the site down until significant improvements were made. It took a total of 14 large skips and several people two days, working through the night, to clear the waste materials. There was a Chinese restaurant open to the public on the second floor and the neighbouring buildings were also occupied. Music Box and Marc Royle both seemed to be ignorant of the H&S laws that applied to them. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/47MusicBox 10/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Firm fined after roofer breaks back. |
| James Thompson, who t/a James Thompson Carpentry and Building, was fined £10,000 and costs of £7,000 under WHR 2005. A roofing contractor broke his back when falling through the skylight of a building extension, after safety procedures were overlooked. The worker fell while removing tarpaulin from the one-storey roof extension. James Thompson was supervising the work on site and the HSE found he could have undertaken a number of measures to have prevented the incident, but failed. The tarpaulin had been put in place to provide the ground floor of the flat with weather protection. The worker was removing this when the tarpaulin snagged. The man stepped on some insulating board that had been laid across the skylight, which gave way under his weight. He fell over 3 metres to the concrete floor below. The injured worker suffered a broken back as a result of the fall and can now only walk short distances and needs to use a walking stick. His condition will not improve and the former judo fighter and rugby player will not be able to return to work in the construction industry again. |
HSE (National) Press Release COILON/1412 14/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Print firm fined after worker hurt in lorry incident. |
| Business Forms Express fined a total of £1,500 per breach and costs of £2,626 plus £500 in compensation to the injured party under PUWER 1998 (two breaches) and MHSWR 1999 (one breach). A 10-year-old equipment fault saw a worker sustain serious injuries after he was caught between a reversing lorry and a loading platform. Nathan Ford, 30, suffered a fractured collarbone and forearm in the incident, when receiving a consignment of paper reels at the company premises. The company supplies commercial stationery products to industry. HSE investigation found that a flap connected to a dock leveller had been broken for a decade. Mr Ford was standing in for the regular storeman and part of his role was to receive deliveries to a raised loading bay. However, the dock leveller, a device used to bridge the gap between the rear of the truck and the loading bay, was not working. A flap was supposed to automatically rise when the leveller was operated but failed, so Mr Ford instead held the flap up manually. When the vehicle began reversing Mr Ford became trapped between the back of the trailer and the front of the dock leveller, causing his injuries. |
HSE (National) Press Release WW1412 14/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Fencing firm ignored safety notices. |
| Andy Sutton Fencing Ltd fined £3,000 and costs of £2,369 under HASAWA 1974 s33. The company ignored orders to provide access to hot running water for staff and to ensure its local exhaust ventilation system was working. The offences came to light following a complaint about the site. HSE served both Improvement and Prohibition Notices ordering the firm to properly protect its workers from wood dust and dangerous machinery at its premises. The Notices covered a range of areas including requiring a thorough examination of a local exhaust ventilation system for the prevention of exposure to wood dust and providing running hot water within reasonable access of the premises. Around a month after the compliance date, the inspector visited the site and found 2 of the INs had not been complied with. |
HSE (National) Press Release WW1412a 14/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Webtool for shops takes worry out of risk assessment. |
| A quick and easy online tool to help retailers assess the hazards in their shop is available to trial from today (15 December). The HSE has worked to produce the web tool to help implement Lord Young's recommendation that low-risk workplaces, such as shops, are spared unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy. The aim of the tool is to take the mystery out of risk assessments, giving retailers the means to be confident that they have identified the key risks in their premises and how to minimise them. The whole process can be completed quickly and easily. Local Authority inspectors who carry out inspections will take account of the assessments as evidence that shops have taken the appropriate action. HSE wants to ensure that it is a helpful, easy-to-use tool and will be seeking views and feedback until March 2011. |
HSE (National) Press Release 15/12/10 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/risk-assessment/shop.htm Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Surrey businessman ignored health and safety warnings. |
| Mr Mark Mason sentenced to serve 240 hours of community service under HASAWA 1974 s21 and s22. Ignored notices to stop dangerous work at his premises on an industrial estate. Mr Mason, 38, was visited by HSE inspectors at Peter Mason Skip Hire and they found skips and general waste stored in a way that put workers at risk from falling objects. An IN was issued ordering a reduction in the number of skips and waste materials stored on site. However, inspectors returned nearly 2 months later and discovered Mr Mason had ignored the original order. HSE then issued a PN ordering operation of the site to cease immediately, including the handling and emptying of skips and also preventing access to a workshop until the materials on the site could be stored appropriately. |
HSE (National) Press Release COISE/1611 16/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Worker's fingers crushed in bakery rolling machine. |
| Tower Bakery Limited fined £4,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. A worker was seriously injured when he caught his hand in the rollers of a machine. He was waiting for some sugar to boil and decided he had time to clean the dough sheeter as the rolls were covered in coloured icing from a previous job. To do so, he set the machine so that the rolls were rotating towards him. However, before he could complete the task, the sugar finished boiling and, instead of switching the control lever to neutral, he switched the rolls to reverse, so that they were then rotating away from him. His hand, and the scraper he was using, became drawn into the machine. He suffered serious crush injuries to his right hand, including three 5cm puncture wounds. Failure to assess the risks to workers when cleaning the dough sheeter machine, and failure to give employees sufficient training, supervision, information and instruction for the task of cleaning the dough sheeter. |
HSE (National) Press Release SCO/210/10 16/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Plumbers sentenced for carrying out illegal gas work. |
| Paul Fromet and Michael Wright both given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £250 each under GSIUR 1998. They were asked to fit a boiler in a house that was due to be rented out by the landlord. A complaint was made about the installation to the Gas Safe Register and then passed to the HSE. Investigations found neither plumber was registered with Gas Safe, and the boiler had not been adjusted to run on LPG which was supplied to the property. As a result, tests showed that the boiler was producing exceptionally high levels of carbon monoxide. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-47 16/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Worker breaks back in fall after electric shock. |
| Ridgeons Ltd fined £5,000 and costs of £4,344.70 under EWR 1989. David Minor fell more than five metres from a crane ladder after suffering an electric shock. Mr Minor was climbing the ladder when his foot inadvertently made contact with a live conductor. He suffered a catalogue of injuries including broken vertebrae as a result of the incident. The conductor carried three phase 415v electricity but had not been marked and was not isolated prior to the work. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-48 16/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Consultation opens in January on RIDDOR changes. |
| The HSE has agreed to a plan for the publication of consultation documents on proposed changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. The consultation paper will be published week commencing 17th January 2011 with the deadline for responses as 11th April 2011. |
HSE (National) Press Release 16/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Sawmill fined after worker's leg injured. |
| Windymains Timber Ltd fined £20,000, reduced from £30,000 due to an early guilty plea. Grzegorz Krzaczek, originally from Poland, was working with two colleagues to process wooden logs into planks using a machine called a drop sorter. At the time, it was not uncommon for the drop sorter to jam two or three times a day. When two planks jammed in the machine Mr Krzaczek climbed onto the conveyor belt, kicked the wood that was causing the jam, and unblocked it. As the machine had not been turned off, as soon as he dislodged the piece of wood, the machine re-started immediately at full speed. His leg was dragged into the machine where it became trapped. The machine stopped running seconds later, although whether as a result of the machine becoming blocked by another piece of wood, or a colleague isolating the power, is unclear. Mr Krzaczek had to be freed by firefighters, his left leg was broken in three places and he suffered significant nerve damage. Failure to assess the risks involved when employees operated the drop sorter and to not having a safe procedure in place for clearing blockages. |
HSE (National) Press Release SCO/212/10 17/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Pharmaceutical workers exposed to hazardous substances. |
| Catalent UK Swindon Zydis Ltd (trading as Catalent Pharma Solutions) fined a total of £50,000 and costs of £50,123.10 under COSHH 2002 and HASAWA 1974 s2. At least ten employees developed allergic contact dermatitis when working with Olanzapine, an active ingredient in one of the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs and a known cause of allergic contact dermatitis. It had been identified by the company as the potential cause of previous cases of dermatitis, but the company failed to carry out an immediate review of its risk assessment as required by law. |
HSE (National) Press Release 833 17/12/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| James Swinton and Company Limited |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Manitou Telehandler was reversing as DP was crossing path to go to next house and both collided. DP sustained fatal injuries and died later. |
HSE Prosecution 4190936 4/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Simon Jones Restoration and Re-design Limited |
| Fined £4,000 under CDMR 2007. Collapse of a gable end wall whilst carrying out refurbishment works to large domestic property/farm house. A 17 year old employee was injured. Opening being made in gable end wall, not following architect's design. Wall of poor structural stability. Contractor devised scheme for propping 5.4m opening with little input from structural engineer. Poor use of acro props and strongboys. |
HSE Prosecution 4209111 4/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Enterprise Inns plc |
| Fined £300,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Landlord of a pub died due to carbon monoxide poisoning from an unmaintained gas fire. The fire may not have been serviced since 1979 and the chimney from the fire was completely blocked. The company should have ensured that gas safety inspections were carried out at 868 of its pubs at least every 12 months but only 394 had valid certificates. |
HSE Prosecution 4160356 5/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Phoenox Textiles Ltd |
| Fined £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Failure to ensure safety of IP during the dismantling of racking. |
HSE Prosecution 4217661 5/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Worcester Acute Hospital NHS Trust |
| Fined a total of £12,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and COSHH 2002. Failure to manage risk of exposure to blood-borne viruses, leading to needlestick injury and subsequent infection with Hepatitis C virus. |
HSE Prosecution 4206786 6/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Lafarge Cement UK plc |
| Fined a total of £130,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Switch room MCC3 panel. Injuries - burns to hands, arms, neck and face. IP has undergone surgery to relieve the pressure created by the burns/healing process. The incident occurred when the injured party was working in the Blender Control Panel. The panel provides the 415v 3-phase and neutral supply to the local blender panel and comprises of a double pole 200 amp isolator and neutral connection. The HSE Electrical Inspector visited the site and initial investigation concluded that the injured party had potentially disturbed some live primary wiring associated with the supply to a front of panel mounted energy metering, which lead to a secondary explosion within the panel. |
HSE Prosecution 4180291 7/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Dean Lotwick |
| Fined £4,000 under CDMR 2007. A hoarding blew over in the wind and landed on the four IPs who were MOPs walking past the site. All four IPs were taken to hospital. A two-year-old child escaped with minor injuries after a 17 metre wide shop hoarding collapsed on him at a popular Merseyside shopping centre. Wates Construction Ltd had commissioned Dean Lotwick to build the 2.4 metre high hoarding to run outside a shop which was being newly fitted out at the Retail Park but, because the hoardings had not been designed properly, they could not withstand the wind and they blew over as the family walked past. |
HSE Prosecution 4210459 7/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Wates Construction Limited |
| Fined £4,000 under CDMR 2007. A hoarding blew over in the wind and landed on the four IPs who were MOPs walking past the site. All four IPs were taken to hospital. A two-year-old child escaped with minor injuries after a 17 metre wide shop hoarding collapsed on him at a popular Merseyside shopping centre. Wates Construction Ltd had commissioned Dean Lotwick to build the 2.4 metre high hoarding to run outside a shop which was being newly fitted out at the Retail Park but, because the hoardings had not been designed properly, they could not withstand the wind and they blew over as the family walked past. |
HSE Prosecution 4210462 7/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Bennett Morley |
| Fined £300 under GSIUR 1998. Unregistered gas installer, purporting to be registered, using false registration number. |
HSE Prosecution 4201878 7/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Bennett Morley |
| Fined £100 under GSIUR 1998. Unregistered gas installer, not competent. |
HSE Prosecution 4216116 7/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Bennett Morley |
| Fined £100 under GSIUR 1998. Unregistered gas installer, not competent. |
HSE Prosecution 4216119 7/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Ductwork Environmental Services |
| Fined a total of £1,000 under ELCIR 1998. Company not insured under an approved policy against liability for bodily injury or disease sustained by employees. |
HSE Prosecution 4215642 8/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Carter International Ltd |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee was crushed by a machine part that toppled from an FLT. The bolts used to hold the machine part on the FLT were not designed for the job. Whilst the company had complied with an IP notice served in 2005 requiring it to have its lifting equipment properly inspected, the company had not had the machinery checked frequently enough. The company also failed to have proper lifting processes in place, with individual employees often having to decide how to carry out particular jobs. |
HSE Prosecution 4217396 8/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
| Fencing Supplies Ltd |
| Fined £14,000 under PUWER 1998. Company was prosecuted for allowing guards to be disabled on nine fence cutting machines at its factory. When an HSE inspector visited the site, he served 9 PNs banning the use of the machines and an IN requiring changes to working practices. The guards on 5 machines had been deliberately bypassed. This meant that workers could gain access to them while they were still operating, to carry out maintenance work and remove waste materials. The company failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. |
HSE Prosecution 4218380 8/10/10 Week ending: 17/12/10 |
Disclaimer
Whilst every effort is taken to ensure that H&S News entries are an accurate summary of the source data, at the time of publication on the HASTAM website, HASTAM cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in transcription. Further, HASTAM cannot accept any responsibility for the content of the information to be found in the source materials.
HASTAM cannot accept any liability for any events arising from the use of this information. We strongly recommend that, if any information from any H&S News entry is to be used for any specific purpose, the original source is checked to confirm accuracy and to enable the user to take account of the full information. This is particularly important in the case of HSE Prosecutions where the HSE may have withdrawn a specific entry subsequent to its publication in H&S News. Entries can be checked using the search facility on www.hse-databases.co.uk/prosecutions
For copyright reasons we cannot make the articles themselves available.
HSE Prosecutions Database
The HSE did not post prosecutions for about a year from January until November 2006. There is therefore be a gap in our database from a hearing date of 24 January 2006 until 1 November 2006. Anyone not finding a case which may have been heard between January and November 2006, should therefore try searching the HSE Prosecutions database.
When the HSE relaunched the Prosecution database in January 2007, after a break of around a year, they appear to have changed the format of the case numbers. Therefore, for all entries with a hearing date before the 24 January 2006 you should search the HSE database using the defendants name instead of the case number we have quoted if you wish to check details for yourself.