Company fined after worker's finger severed by saw

A Stoke-on-Trent timber company has been fined after an employee lost his finger while operating a circular saw.

The 42-year-old worker from Stoke on Trent, who has asked not to be named, severed his finger while using a circular bench saw at Scott Timber Limited on 12 January 2011.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the top guard on the saw had not been adjusted correctly, the required 'push stick' protection device was not attached to the machinery, and the employee had not been given sufficient training to operate the saw.

Stafford Magistrates' Court yesterday (Wednesday, 9 May) heard that the victim was off work for several months as a result of the incident, and his day to day life has also been adversely affected.

Scott Timber Limited of Oldfields Business Park, Birrell Street, Stoke on Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching section Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

The company was fined £5,000 by the court, and ordered to pay full costs of £2,309.

HSE inspector Katharine Walker said:

"This incident was wholly preventable. If the company had put the appropriate precautionary measures - including a correctly adjusted guard and a push stick - in place, it simply would not have happened.

"Circular saws are in widespread use across the woodworking industry, and have a relatively high incident level. The majority of circular saw bench incidents result in fingers being severed, or requiring amputation, and in most cases occur when the saw guard was either missing or not properly adjusted.

"The requirements for guarding, protective devices and machine operator training are set out in the PUWER Approved Code of Practice (ACOP), which explains to the employer what he needs to do on a practical level to comply with the law. This publication is well known in the industry and is free to download from the HSE's website. Any companies working with these types of machinery should make sure that they are familiar with it."

Yeovil construction company prosecuted after worker hit by fork lift truck

A Yeovil construction company has been fined after a subcontracted worker suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a fork lift truck.

Experienced ground worker Paul Daniels, 50, suffered shattered bones and almost lost his foot in the incident on 10 September 2010. His employer CJL Construction Ltd had been subcontracted by Brookvale Homes SW (Ltd) to install external drainage to a row of newly built terrace properties at Bartlett Elms in Langport, Somerset.

Yeovil Magistrates Court heard today (3 May) that Mr Daniels was inspecting the fall of external drain pipes adjacent to a main haul road opposite the site offices.

He was hit in the chest and knocked down by the front right stabiliser of a fork lift truck that drove towards him. The wheel ran over his lower right leg, crushing his bones and partially amputating his foot.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Brookvale Homes (SW) Ltd had failed to manage the safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles around the construction site because there were no designated walkways, pavements or restricted vehicle only areas.

The location of storage areas and skips meant there was a significant amount of vehicle traffic across and around one of the main pedestrian thoroughfares. On the day of the incident, there was an obstruction that significantly narrowed the width of the carriageway and the space available to the forklift driver.

Speaking after the prosecution, HSE inspector Annette Walker said:

"This was a very serious and preventable incident. Luckily an extensive operation saved Mr Daniels' foot. However, this was now over a year ago and he has required further operations and treatment and is still unable to return to work.

"The law clearly states that construction companies have a duty to organise sites in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can move safely and without risks. However, it is evident that Brookvale Homes (SW) Ltd gave very little consideration to the matter of segregating pedestrians and site vehicles.

"The risks from workplace transport should be properly assessed when pedestrians and vehicles such as fork lift trucks work in close proximity. The transport plan needs to be managed effectively at all stages of the construction project and should reflect any significant changes."

Brookvale Homes (SW) Ltd, of Alvington, Yeovil was found guilty of breaching Section Regulation 36 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 in relation to the incident. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £7,576.40 in costs.

Print firm fined after flash fire injures two workers

A printing company based in Waltham Forest has been fined for safety failings after two workers were burned in a flash fire when vapours from a flammable cleaning fluid ignited in a print room.

The two printers, employed by Delta Display Ltd in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, suffered burns and one suffered serious breaks to both legs as he tried to escape the fire. One of them described the explosion and fire as a ‘flamethrower’ coming from the top of the printing press.

An investigation into the incident on 20 May 2011 was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which brought the prosecution. HSE found the company had ignored guidance given by the press manufacturers that there was a danger of fire and explosion if any cleaning agent with a flash point below 55 degrees centigrade was used.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard (9 May) that the two men had been using the solvent provided to hand-clean the ‘blankets’ of a printing press, a regular task to clear the build-up of ink. The solvent, called QE3, had a flash point of minus 20 degrees centigrade.

They had completed part of the process when one of them saw a flash in front of his eyes and the fire started. He jumped from the press over a safety rail to escape, shattering his left ankle, fracturing his right heel and sustaining burns on his right calf and left arm. Fellow workers were able to extinguish the fire.

This employee was in hospital for 15 days and initially off work for four months.  He had two operations and is currently undergoing physiotherapy after the second. The other employee received burns to his arms but was back at work soon after the incident.

After the court hearing, HSE Inspector Chris Tilley said:

"These two men have suffered serious and painful injuries because Delta Display Ltd did not heed the guidance from the manufacturers of the printing press. Their workers had been at risk whenever that solvent was used to clean the printing press. It was entirely foreseeable that a fire might result.

“The risks from flammable substances are well known in industry as are the relevant preventative measures. In this case, if the company had completed a sufficient risk assessment they would have identified that using QE3 solvent as a cleaning agent with this type of press was dangerous and could have substituted it for a safer cleaning material.

“The company introduced a safer alternative days after the incident but made little effort beforehand to consider the risks and put a system of work in place that would better protect their workers.”

Delta Display Ltd of Walthamstow, E17, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and was fined £12,000 with £5,250 costs. The company, part of the Delta Group, employs some 400 people and specialises in producing promotional marketing materials.

Director fined after worker's fatal fall through roof

The director of a building firm has been prosecuted after a self-employed contractor fell to his death through a fragile roof at an industrial building in Penryn.

Paul Gibbons, 59, who lived in Porthleven, was carrying out re-roofing work for Acryflor Ltd at the Kernick Road Industrial Estate on 22 September 2008 when he fell eight metres through a fragile part of the asbestos cement roof onto the floor below. He was taken to hospital but died of his injuries later that day.

An HSE investigation into the incident found that Onyx Europe Ltd, (formerly Acryflor Ltd) had failed to put adequate safety measures in place at the site despite the risks involved with working at height.

Truro Crown Court heard yesterday (3 May) the work had not been adequately planned and no safety nets or crash deck platforms had been provided to mitigate the effects of a fall.

HSE Inspector, Jon Harris, speaking after the hearing, said:

"Mr Gibbons’ death could have been prevented if the work had been planned properly and industry standards, such as providing netting, had been applied. The risks of working at height are well-known and falls through fragile materials are the cause of one in five deaths in the construction industry.

"Acryflor Ltd had a duty of care to Mr Gibbons not to expose him to risk as far as was reasonably practical. Mr Williams, as a director of Acryflor, shared that duty.

"The company should have employed a planning co-ordinator to develop a construction plan for this work and the project should have been overseen by someone with appropriate knowledge and experience.

"Safety nets are the industry recognised standard for this purpose and in this case were installed following the incident."

Matthew Peter Williams, of Trelan Farm, Menerdue Lane, Carnmenellis, Redruth pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,500 after the judge heard he was £1.5 million in debt and had an annual income of £15,000

Shropshire egg supplier fined for worker's fall

A Shropshire egg supplier has been prosecuted after a female worker suffered serious foot injuries falling through a hole in the floor of a poultry barn.

The 43-year-old Shropshire woman, who does not wish to be named, fractured two bones in her left ankle and the heel bone in her right ankle as result of the fall on 26 July 2011. The injuries have prevented her returning to work at Staveley’s Eggs Ltd, where she had been an egg packer for six years.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today told Shrewsbury Magistrates’ Court that floorboards had been taken up for building work immediately behind a door regularly used by the worker on an upper floor. No warning signs had been posted and no one had informed her of the repair work being carried out.  

The woman opened the door outwards and fell more than two metres onto the concrete ground floor below, shattering bones in both ankles.  

The court heard she spent eight days in hospital for an operation to have two plates inserted into her left ankle in order to stabilize the joint.  She has since had a further operation on this ankle and suffers from poor mobility.

HSE prosecuted the worker’s employer, Staveley’s Eggs Ltd, based at Stoke-on-Tern, after an investigation revealed that no written risk assessments or basic instructions existed and that the flooring work was only verbally discussed. No safeguards to prevent a fall from height had been identified nor were any protection measures in place.

 HSE inspector Lyn Mizen said after the hearing:

"This worker suffered serious injuries in this incident and has been unable to return to work.  And after enduring a lengthy and painful recuperation process, she still suffers from restricted movement in her ankles, finding it difficult to walk very far.

"This incident could have easily been prevented if a suitable risk assessment had been carried out.  Fundamental and basic measures such as nailing the door shut or posting warning signs had not been taken.

"Bean bags or air bags underneath the hole would have provided appropriate and relatively inexpensive fall protection for all employees.

"Clear guidance on working at height is available from HSE and it is regrettable that the company failed to follow this."

Staveley’s Eggs Ltd of ‘The Poplars’, Warrant Road, Stoke-on-Tern,  Market Drayton, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 6(3) and 11 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was today fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £2,386 costs.

Man jailed for illegal inspections of play equipment

A Chester man has been jailed for more than 14 months after repeatedly ignoring a legal order preventing him from inspecting inflatable play equipment.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Peter McCormack (previously known as Peter Coltilda and Peter John Morrell), of Garden Lane, Chester, for carrying out inspections of inflatables and issuing test certificates for them in contravention of a Prohibition Notice from HSE, and for carrying out unsafe seam repairs to one.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard that examples of wrongdoing by Mr McCormack, aged 77, included:

• An inspection of a pool inflatable at Poynton Leisure Centre, Cheshire, on 15 July 2010 and the issuing of the certificate two days later
• An inspection of a bouncy castle in Carterton, Oxfordshire, on 23 August 2010 and the issuing of the certificate a day later
• Another bouncy castle inspection at Abbey Leisure Centre in Selby, Yorkshire, on 19 August 2010
• One at Tadcaster, Yorkshire, on 3 August 2011
• One at Selby Park, Yorkshire, on 3 August 2011

He repaired one of the bouncy castles at Selby Park poorly on 3 August 2011, so there was a risk of children's fingers and toes being trapped in the open seams.

The court also heard today that in these illegal inspections, Mr McCormack failed to spot defects, which could have caused injuries to children.

He pleaded guilty to seven breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and one of Section 3(2) of the Act and was sentenced to 62 weeks in prison. He has already served 78 days imposed at an earlier hearing for breaching bail conditions. Today the court ruled he must serve half of the remaining time before being released on licence.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Steve Flanagan said:

"Inflatable play equipment must be properly maintained and inspected to make sure it is safe for children to use. HSE served the initial Prohibition Notice in 2008 because Peter McCormack's work was substandard and unsafe.

"By breaching that Prohibition Notice repeatedly - and even ignoring a direct order from a judge at Shrewsbury Crown Court in 2010 - Mr McCormack has shown that he never had any intention to stop illegally inspecting inflatables.

"He has shown utter disregard for the safety of children and for the law and has cheated the companies he issued the certificates for, by taking their money when he shouldn't have done the work.

"If people who carry out illicit or poor inspections of inflatables are not stopped, it's only a matter of time before a child suffers a serious injury."

Mr McCormack has changed his name by deed poll. He was previously known as Peter Coltilda, and before that as Peter John Morrell. The court also heard that Mr McCormack is also now known by the name Paul Armstrong.

Construction firms sentenced over Liverpool crane collapse

Two construction firms have been sentenced after a crane collapsed onto a city centre apartment block in Liverpool, resulting in the crane driver being paralysed from the waist down.

The collapsed crane at the Kings Dock Mill site

The 79-metre-high tower crane was being used as part of a multi-million pound project to build a new eight-storey hotel and seven apartment blocks at Kings Dock Mill on Tabley Street when it overturned on 6 July 2009.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the site's principal contractor, Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, and structural engineering company Bingham Davis Ltd following an investigation into the incident.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the crane fell onto a partially constructed apartment block, across a road and came to rest on the Chandlers Wharf apartments. Eight counterweights on the crane, weighing a total of 56 tonnes, broke free and crashed through the roof and six floors of the building.

Crane driver Iain Gillham, 55, from Woolton, fell from his cab onto the roof of the apartments and through the hole created by the counterweights.

He suffered multiple injuries including a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull, broken right shoulder, broken ribs, crush injuries to his left side, and major spinal injuries which resulted in his legs being paralysed.

The collapsed crane at the Kings Dock Mill site

No one inside the building was injured but residents had to be evacuated from the 64 apartments, and some were rescued from their balconies. The damage to the building was extensive and residents were unable to return to their homes for nearly two years while major reconstruction work took place.

The HSE investigation into the incident found that the crane's foundation could not cope with the forces generated by the crane.

During the construction of the foundation, both Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and Bingham Davis Ltd agreed to cut away essential steel reinforcement bars from the four concrete foundation piles, so that the crane's feet could sit on top on them. These were replaced with  up to 5 steel rods in each pile. This action reduced the forces the foundation could withstand.

Summing up in court, Judge Gilmour said he was satisfied that it was the removal of the reinforcing steel and the inadequate replacement of the steel rods that led to the foundation being overloaded and the crane collapsing.

Both companies were found guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court by failing to ensure the safety of workers or residents.

Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, of Church Street in Heage, Derbyshire, was fined £280,000. A decision on prosecution costs will be made separately.

Bingham Davis Ltd, formerly of Temple Street in Liverpool, has ceased trading since the crane collapse after going into voluntary liquidation. The company was fined a nominal £1,000.

Speaking after the hearing, the investigating inspector at HSE, Warren Pennington, said:

"Serious failings on the parts of both Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and Bingham Davis Ltd were uncovered by the Health and Safety Executive during an extensive and complex investigation into the crane collapse.

"Whilst it is bad enough that Iain Gillham will be unable to walk for the rest of his life as a result of the failings of both parties, it is no exaggeration to say it was only by pure chance that this catastrophic event did not result in multiple fatalities and significantly more damage to property.

"The circumstances leading to the collapse were a mess. Bingham Davis employees had no previous experience of designing the type of crane foundation used at Kings Dock Mill. Likewise, Bowmer & Kirkland's employees at Kings Dock Mill had no experience of building one. Both parties made disastrous errors that were entirely preventable.

"The original error was made by Bingham Davis Ltd, which failed to spot a basic mistake in its calculations for the loadings imposed by the crane. This created a material risk which had the potential to have led to a crane foundation being constructed that was not strong enough to hold the crane up.

"During construction of the foundation, Bingham Davis advised Bowmer and Kirkland to cut away essential steel reinforcing bars in the foundation piles and replace such with steel rods. The removal of such reinforcing steel, resulted in the foundation being too weak to support the crane. The foundation was further weakened when Bowmer and Kirkland failed to ensure the adequate insertion of the replacing steel rods.

"Neither Company did enough to check what the result would be of cutting away this essential steel reinforcement and replacing such with steel rods."

Warren added:

"HSE hopes this case sends a clear message to the construction industry in relation to tower cranes foundations. Designers of such should be familiar with industry accepted guidance and follow it, unless they have extremely well thought-out reasons for not doing so. The role of the Principal Contractor is also crucial in managing the design process. Both Principal Contractors and Designers should ensure that robust systems for design checking are actioned at all times.

"We will continue to engage with the industry to ensure that lessons are learned."

Over the past decade, nine people have been killed and there have been 25 serious injuries as a result of incidents involving tower cranes