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Showing all posts tagged: health
Trafford scaffolding firm caught on camera risking lives
Posted: 08/02/2013
A Trafford firm has appeared in court after workers were spotted taking down scaffolding without safety measures to prevent them being injured in a fall.
They were witnessed working on the outside of a row of terraced shops on Ripponden Road in Oldham on 4 September 2012 by a passing inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Trafford Magistrates' Court heard Stretford Scaffolding Ltd had been hired to dismantle the scaffolding after it had been used by another company for a roofing project.
Neither of the two men standing on the scaffolding platforms were wearing harnesses, despite working up to six metres above the ground, and one of them was not a trained scaffolder. He should therefore not have been allowed to work on a partially dismantled section.
The court was told there were also no guard rails on part of the scaffolding to prevent workers falling. The HSE inspector issued an immediate Prohibition Notice, ordering the men to come down from the scaffolding until they were given suitable safety equipment by their employer.
Stretford Scaffolding Ltd, of Ciss Lane in Urmston, received a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay costs of £1,849 after admitting a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Sandra Tomlinson said:
"We are regularly called out to incidents where people have been seriously injured or even killed as a result of a fall from height. That's why it's vital scaffolding firms make sure safety is their top priority.
"Stretford Scaffolding should never have allowed the scaffolding to be taken down without making sure workers could do the job safely. The most sensible way of achieving this would have been to use guard rails and harnesses.
"The firm also put the life of one of the men at risk by allowing him to work on a partially dismantled section, despite the fact that he wasn't a trained scaffolder.
"This case should act as a warning to other scaffolding firms that they risk being prosecuted if they put lives at risk."
Advice on how to prevent workplace falls is available at www.hse.gov.uk/falls.
Worker Hit By Fork Lift Truck - Company Fined
Posted: 04/08/2011
A Burton-on-Trent brewery has been sentenced after a delivery driver was hit by a forklift truck while on site.
Peter Jackson, 64, was at Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd's site at Station Street to unload a trailer of empty cans on 20 May 2008.
As he walked along the lines in the canning hall to find a space to deliver his load, he was struck by a forklift truck, which trapped his left leg beneath the forks. His foot and left wrist were both fractured and he has not been able to return to work since the incident.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the firm had failed to follow previous advice from HSE to devise and implement a safe workplace transport system after an inspector visited the site in December 2007.
Molson Coors, based at High Street, Burton-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and was fined £31,000 and ordered to pay £33,042 costs by Cannock Magistrates' Court.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Lyn Spooner said:
"This incident occurred because of inadequate risk assessments, poor management and monitoring of contractors, and managers failing to understand their responsibilities for health and safety.
"It was an entirely preventable incident which highlights the importance of companies developing proper health and safety management systems that manage risks in the workplace properly, and communicating these not only to managers, but also to contractors.
"Not only had poor workplace transport arrangements persisted over many years, but Molson Coors also failed to follow previous advice from HSE. As a result, Mr Jackson was seriously injured in an incident that could easily have been fatal.
"It is particularly disappointing to see such failings at a large company, which has the resources to deliver much better standards."
To view this press release via the HSE website click - Here
HSE guidance on workplace transport arrangements is available from
http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm
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