Construction firm fined after worker’s narrow escape- 8th May 2012

A construction worker defied death after falling four metres from the cage of a 20-tonnes cherry-picker into the path of a moving bus, which then pushed him another 15 metres along the Euston Road.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted national construction firm Galliford Try Construction Limited for serious safety failings which led to Camden worker Leszek Soltysiak suffering severe injuries. The employee was part of a two-man team brought in by Galliford Try to fix snagging issues at the iconic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and Chambers, which had just undergone a £103 million restoration by the company. Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the firm arranged for two workers from the logistics team to remove tape from the outside of an apartment window on the third floor of the residential block in the early hours of 4 March 2011. As scaffolding had been removed from the site, the men had to move a cherrypicker from a compound in Euston Road to another in Midland Road to enable them to carry out the job. Mr Soltysiak began to reverse the machine out of the exit onto Euston Road, raising his operator platform to clear the fencing. Deciding it was clear, he continued backing out unaware that a double-decker bus had just turned into the road. The second worker waved at the bus to try to get it to stop but it was dark and the bus driver saw nothing. The top of the bus hit the operator platform overhanging the road forcing the jib to slew across and hit a brick gate post. The collision catapulted the driver from the platform and he fell to the ground in front of the still moving bus. The bus driver braked, thinking he had hit a tree and stopped about 15 metres further along. Mr Soltysiak was found partially underneath the front nearside. He suffered serious head, arm, pelvis and leg injuries and was only able to return to work earlier this year. HSE’s investigation found the incident could have been avoided if Galliford Try had fulfilled their duty to properly plan and supervise the work. After the hearing (on 11 April) HSE Inspector Paul Hems said: “This worker narrowly escaped death after a series of events which almost seem unbelievable but in fact could have proved fatal. “A 14-metres long slow-moving machine, not suitable for use on a public highway, was moved against the flow of traffic on to a three-lane road. Both workers were without high visibility clothing and there were no visible warning lights on the cherry-picker despite it being early morning and still dark which made it, and the men, effectively invisible to the bus driver. The dangers involved using cherry-pickers are well known and yet the company failed to ensure safe movement of the vehicle between different compounds at the site. “The company also failed to provide adequate and relevant information and instruction to their employees.” Galliford Try Construction Limited, of Cowley Business Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, was fined a total of £12,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £16,459.70 after pleading guilty to two serious breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Egg firm fined after worker’s fingers cut off – 6th May 2012

A Worcestershire egg company has been fined after a worker severed two fingers while cleaning a drain on a production line.

The 25 year-old employee lost part of his index and middle fingers on his right hand when it came into contact with a heavy duty blade at Bumble Hole Foods Ltd, Fockbury, Bromsgrove on 26 August 2010.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the risks of cleaning around the blade had not been adequately assessed or controlled and employees were able to reach dangerous moving parts while the blade was running.

Redditch Magistrates’ Court was told Bumble Hole Foods Ltd were aware of the risks following a similar incident in 2008. The court also heard how the training for this work was carried out by employees who were not qualified to train others.

Bumble Hole Foods Ltd, of Fockbury, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,303.

Speaking after today’s hearing, HSE inspector Christopher Gregory said:

“This incident was entirely foreseeable and easily preventable. The risks of cleaning around the drain had not been adequately assessed or controlled so unfortunately, a much larger price has been paid, not least by their employee.

“This case shows the importance of learning from mistakes and ensuring that formal advice from the HSE is not ignored. Employers have a duty to act on their findings. If Bumble Hole Foods had taken prompt action after the previous incident, this could so easily have been avoided.”

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Businessman Ian Woolfitt in crush tragedy-5th May 2012

Recycling company fails to protect employees working with lead – 4th May 2012

An Edmonton-based recycling company has been fined for failing to protect employees working with lead.

Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd, of Albert Works, Kenninghall Rd, Edmonton had bought and was stripping some lead-sheathed copper cabling from British Telecom (BT) after the network began to be changed from copper to fibre optic cable.

An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that between October 2008 and July 2009, more than 90 workers – most of whom were Romanian – were significantly exposed to lead as a result of this process.

HSE inspectors visited the site in April 2009 after an employee complained about insufficient protection when working with lead. During the site visit, HSE found nothing had been done to reduce lead exposure, with inadequate ventilation, face masks or respiratory equipment available.

It also found that although gloves were provided by the company, workers wore their own clothes, potentially spreading lead to other people and their own homes when they left work. Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd had not carried out blood tests or other health checks which are legally required when working with lead.

When HSE’s appointed doctor carried out tests, 23 workers were found to have significantly high levels of lead in their blood. Of these, six people had symptoms of lead poisoning and were referred to St Thomas’ Hospital poisons unit and two were put on chelation therapy by consultant toxicologists.

HSE Inspector Chris Tilley said:

“Lead exposure is a recognised cause of occupational ill health and its dangers are well known and documented. Working with lead requires adequate measures to either prevent or control exposure and appropriate monitoring of employees’ blood lead levels.

“In this case there was an abysmal lack of care from the company. It failed to implement adequate control measures, carry out any health surveillance of their workers and provide adequate welfare facilities.

“The company fell far short of its legal duties and exposed its employees to an unacceptable level of risk which resulted in six people suffering lead poisoning and a further two workers needing hospital treatment.”

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd pleaded guilty breaching the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 between 1 November 2008 and 1 October 2009. The company was fined £49,500 and ordered to pay £25,483 in costs.

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RIDDOR changes came into force April 5th 2012- 2nd May 2012

From 6 April, employers no longer have to report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) injuries which keep workers off normal duties for seven or fewer days. Currently injuries have to be reported if they keep workers off normal duties for more than three days.

Incidents which will no longer have to be reported include:

• A chef who nicked their hand cutting an onion and needed to give the wound four days to heal before resuming kitchen duties.

• A shop assistant who, after getting scratch cards from a safe closed the door on their finger, had to take the next four days off while swelling went down.

• An office worker who trapped their finger in toilet door frame. They were told by the hospital following X-rays that it was bruised and not broken and returned to work after five days.

The change to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 will see a fall of around 30 per cent in the number of incidents that must be reported by law – an average of around 30,000 fewer reports a year. The move is estimated to save businesses 10,000 hours a year.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said:

“These changes are all about bringing common sense back to health and safety.

“We want less red tape for business, and these measures should save companies thousands of hours a year.

“We are freeing them from the burdens of unnecessary bureaucracy, while making sure serious incidents are properly investigated.”

Employers will also be given a longer period in which to report, increasing from 10 to15 days from the time of the incident.

By increasing the reporting threshold from three to seven days, the change will also align with the ‘fit note’ system which ensures that someone who is off work because they suffered a reportable injury has a professional medical assessment.

Employers and others with responsibilities under RIDDOR must still keep a record of all over three day injuries, for example through an accident book, but will only have to report to the HSE those incidents resulting in more than seven days off work.

The change to RIDDOR was recommended in the Government commissioned Common Sense.

Source-HSE info line