A farming company has been fined after a worker fell from a ladder sustaining significant injuries.

Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 28 January 2016, an employee of Edge Farming Company was cleaning the gutters on a farm building when the ladder he was working on slipped down the face of the building. The employee suffered a broken arm, shoulder and fractured elbow as a result.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), found there was inadequate control measures in place with regards to working at height. There was no specific risk assessment for the cleaning of gutters even though it was a regular occurrence on the farm and the company failed to ensure that there was appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision. The defendant had also failed to report the accident within the required timeframe.

Edge Farming Company of Wimboldsley Hall, Wimboldsley, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 4 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) and has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,826.74 .

Speaking after the case HSE inspector Rose Leese-Weller said: “This incident could have been fatal. Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of work and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers. For example, the work in this case could easily have been carried out using a mobile elevated work platform or a properly designed and erected mobile scaffold tower.

“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3]
4. More information about working at height can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm

A meat production company has today been fined for safety breaches after a worker was injured whilst adjusting storage racking.

Luton Crown Court heard how a York House (Meat Products) Limited employee was instructed to adjust the height of shelves on storage racking with the assistance of co-workers. To enable them to reposition the top shelves of the racking the workers climbed up onto one of the lower crossbars which gave way underneath them.

One of the workers fell, hitting his head on the racking before landing on the floor. The dislodged crossbar fell from a height of 3.2m, hitting the employee on the back of the head and shoulders. The injured individual suffered soft tissue damage to his right shoulder and required physiotherapy for several months. He was also unable to work for two months.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which occurred on 12 April 2016, found the company had failed to adequately manage the risks associated with working at height. Employees were not aware of the dangers associated with climbing storage racking and no safe system of work was in place.

York House (Meat Products) Limited of Shannon Place, Potton, Bedford, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £90,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,567.88.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Emma Page said: “This incident could have been prevented had York House Meat Products provided a risk assessment or a safe system of work for the task in hand. Employees should be made aware of the risks associated with climbing storage racking.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3]
4. Further information on working at height is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm

A Sussex-based recycling company has been fined following an explosion and fire at their site in Surrey which left a worker in an induced coma.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how a massive explosion occurred at Ereco EMEA Corporation Ltd site on 3 October 2011 at Hobbs Industrial Estate, Lingfield, Surrey, following the storage of print toner on site. Eight people were injured as a result of the explosion, five seriously. A 30-year-old worker was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for 15 weeks.

A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) found that Ereco failed to ensure there was a safe system of work in place to reduce the risk of dangerous substances; this could have been completed through carrying out suitable fire risks assessments and following guidelines in Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002.

The investigation also found that Paramount Waste Extraction Ltd, the company who designed the machinery that was used to shred and process the toner cartridges, did not consider the likely misuse of the machine by overloading the processing of toner with more than a residual amount of toner powder left inside; it was found they relied on generic data to determine whether an explosive atmosphere may arise.

Ereco EMEA Corporation Ltd of Lewes Road, Forest Row, East Sussex pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 of failing to take general fire precautions. A sentencing hearing took place at Portsmouth Crown Court in December 2017 and sentence was handed down this month. Ereco EMEA Corporation Ltd was fined £30,000, £15,000 for each offence. The firm was also ordered to pay costs of £30,000.

Paramount Waste Extraction Ltd of Redehall Road, Smallfield, Surrey pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Healthy and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company has been fined £16,000 as well as being ordered to pay £16,000 towards court costs.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Michelle Canning said: “All the employees involved in this incident are extremely lucky this explosion didn’t prove fatal.

“Ereco failed to take the required precautions before starting a process of work with dangerous substances and   this failure resulted in this serious, life threatening explosion.”

“Both designers and suppliers must ensure that the risks of using their equipment are eliminated through safe design, and this should include taking into account foreseeable misuse.”

Following the sentencing, Denise Turner-Stewart, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “Despite warnings, Ereco failed to deal with the risk of fire at its plant leading to a catastrophic explosion of flammable toner powder. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service works with employers to help them comply with fire safety laws but where a lax approach puts people at risk won’t hesitate to take enforcement and legal action.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard how Petr Jelinek, an employee of Mercury Specialist Frames Limited was in the process of using an Omga chop saw when the blade fell onto his right hand, severing the fingers of his right hand above the knuckles.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 2 August 2016 found that the company failed to provide sufficient information and instruction, and there were no risk assessments or safe systems of work in place.

Mercury Specialist Frames Limited of Goodrich Business Park, Gloucester pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company has been fined £10,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £2057.72.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Tania Nickson said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to inform, instruct and train their workers in the safe system of working.”

“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the serious injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk^[1][1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2][2]

3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3][3]

A steel producer has today been fined after the death of 26-year-old maintenance electrician, Thomas Standerline.

Hull Crown Court heard how, on 23 April 2010, Mr Standerline, an employee of Tata Steel, was examining a crane as part of his inspection duties as a maintenance electrician. Whilst carrying out this work, an overhead crane travelled over the cage he was in, trapping and then crushing him. Mr Standerline died instantly.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Tata Steel had failed to enforce its own safety procedures, despite having two previous incidents before Mr Standerline’s death. The HSE investigation also found Tata Steel failed to put in place essential control measures which would have prevented the overhead crane that killed Mr Standerline from even being in operation.

Tata Steel UK Limited of Millbank, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fined £1.4 million with costs of £140,000.

Speaking after the hearing, a member of Mr Standerline’s family said: “Thomas’s death has devastated us as a family. There’s not a day goes by when we don’t think about him. We miss him always, especially on family occasions when he should be with us. He was well loved by everyone who knew him, and had lots of friends. Every day we think about what might have been if he had still been here. We would like to thank, once again, all those who have helped and supported us over the course of the last eight years. It means a great deal to us.”

HSE principal inspector Kirsty Storer said: “This tragic loss of life could have been avoided had the company adhered to and enforced its own safety procedures. Despite two previous incidents sharing features with the one which ultimately cost Mr Standerline his life, the company failed both to take these as a warning sign and to act on safety recommendations.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

Manchester Crown Court heard how, on 8 April 2016, Matthew Drummond, 29, a self-employed tipper wagon driver, had been in the process of unloading sand at Heaton Farm near Rochdale, when the incident took place.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Mr Drummond had been looking for a site where he could dispose of some waste sand. An arrangement was subsequently made at short notice with a farmer, Mr David Heywood, to dump it on his land. The farmer met Mr Drummond at the entrance to the farm who, in his vehicle, led him to the site where the sand was to be tipped. Although overhead power lines (OHPLs) carrying 6,600 volts ran across the site, the farmer did not alert Mr Drummond to their presence or to the risks.

In order to tip the load onto the field Mr Drummond first had to raise the tipper wagon’s crane. The boom of the crane came into contact with the OHPLs, electrocuting him.

David Heywood of Heaton Farm, Heywood Old Road, Middleton pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and has been given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay partial costs of £3,000.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Principal Inspector Mike Sebastian said:

“This tragic incident could easily have been prevented if the farmer had identified and managed the risks involved with overhead power lines on his land, and put a safe system of work in place.

“The dangers associated with OHPLs are well known and a wealth of advice and guidance is freely available from HSE and energy suppliers. HSE leaflet AIS8 Working Safely near Overhead Electricity Power Lines refers to a minimum safe distance of 10 metres horizontally on either side of any overhead lines and duty holders should work to that standard, or an equally safe one.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3]
4. Further information on working safely near overhead electricity power lines can be found here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais8.htm

A construction company has been fined after an employee died after falling over 6 metres.

Plymouth Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of C & R Construction (SW) Ltd suffered fatal injuries after falling whilst carrying out work installing roof sheets on a new agricultural building.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which occurred on the 11 May 2016, found that the company failed to provide suitable edge protection, failed to ensure there was a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from the use of the edge protection and failed to ensure those installing the edge protection and supervising the work had received adequate training.

C & R Construction (SW) Ltd of Lower Park, Crediton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2 (1) of The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,060.40.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Kate Leftly said: “Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work related fatalities in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known.” “If suitable edge protection had been installed, the tragic death of this employee could have been prevented.”   Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk ^[2]/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3]
4. Further information about safe techniques can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/faq-height.htm#roofwork

West Hampshire Magistrates’ Court heard how a Puma Engineering and Construction Limited employee was seriously injured whilst carrying out a lifting operation involving the transporting and loading of pipe spools onto a flatbed truck. A forklift truck he was acting as banksman for, drove into the back of his left heel. His left leg had to be amputated.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which occurred on 16 November 2016, found the company had failed to properly plan, organise and carry out the lifting operation in a safe manner.

Puma Engineering and Construction Limited of Westwood Business Park, Brunel Road, Southampton pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and has been fined £8000 and ordered to pay full costs of £3781.04

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Andrew Johnson said, “All lifts must be properly planned, assessed and carried out in a safe manner. There were other safer, reasonably practicable options that the company could have taken to prevent the forklift coming into contact with the individual. The safest method in this instance was to use tag lines or push sticks to control the load, as opposed to controlling the load by hand.”

Further information about best practices can be found in freely available HSE guidance – ‘Safety in the storage and handling of steel and other metal stock’: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg246.htm^[1]

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk^[2]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/ ^[3]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk