N&C Engineering Services Limited fined after employee fell through hole in mezzanine

Engineering company N&C Engineering Services Limited was fined £2000 (inc.costs) after a 31-year-old employee fell through a hole in a mezzanine floor during construction work being carried out in Bristol. The low fines was due to N&C Engineering Services now being liquidated.

The circumstances were:

• N&C Engineering Services was involved with the installation of flooring at Albion Dockside Works, Hanover Place, Bristol.
• An opening had been cut in the boarded‐out mezzanine floor.
• N&C Engineering Services failed to adequately plan, manage and monitor the work.
• They failed to ensure that appropriate methods to prevent or mitigate a fall during the construction work, were in use.
• On 13 November 2018, an N&C Engineering Services employee fell through the hole three metres to the ground, suffering serious head injuries.

The HSE inspector said:
“This incident so easily could have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

Lignacite fined £70,000 for inadequate guarding

Lignacite Limited, a manufacturer of concrete blocks, was fined £82,232 (inc.costs) for failing to maintain the safety enclosure of the cubing area in the block plant.

The circumstances were:

• The HSE paid a visit to the Lignacite factory in April 2018.
• They found a large area of perimeter fencing set up to prevent access to dangerous automated machinery was missing. 
• They also found that other sections of the fencing were in a poor condition and locks at the gated entry points were either broken or left unlocked.
• Further investigation revealed that parts of the perimeter fencing had not been in place since January 2018. 
• The company had also failed to carry out any maintenance necessary to ensure the integrity of the fencing and gates.

The HSE inspector said:
“This was a case of the company failing to ensure the maintenance of the secure and gated entry to access multiple items of dangerous machinery and equipment. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards and this is irrespective of whether injury has arisen.”

Recycled Packaging Ltd fined £20,000 after 500 kg bale of paper fell and trapped employee

Waste management and packing company Recycled Packaging Ltd was fined £20,000 after a worker was struck and trapped by a falling bale of compacted waste paper.

The circumstances were:

• The method of storing bales in the warehouse was unsuitable.
• Bales were stacked in single columns up to five high with no support or ‘tying in’ to aid stability.
• There was a practice of removing contamination from bales by hand.
• This created voids in lower bales contributing to the risk of stack instability.
• On 13 December 2016 an employee was struck by a falling bale of paper which weighed approximately 500kg. 
• He became trapped beneath it.

The HSE inspector said: 
“In the waste and recycling sector the risks associated with falling objects are well known.  This incident could easily have been avoided by providing a segregated workspace for operatives to clean bales before they are stacked and safe bale stacking procedures. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standard.”

Saint-Gobain fined £400,000 after belt was started whilst a worker was exposed

Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK Limited was fined £412,945 (inc.costs) after a belt was started causing major arm injuries to one employee.
The circumstances were:

• The accident occurred on a rock handling plant at their Barrow-Upon-Soar, Leicestershire, site.
• The belt had become so compacted it was difficult to remove by hand.
• Two employees were clearing rock that had built up around the belt.
• There was no risk assessment or safe system of work in place for clearing rock safely from tail-end drums.
• The guards were removed to ease the clearing operation.
• Both men went to the isolator end of the belt and removed the local isolation and pressed the ‘start/stop’ button.
• On checking the tail-end of the drum they saw it had not cleared itself of rock.
• One of the men went to the opposite side of the tail-end drum to remove the rock and the pair were no longer in visual contact.
• His colleague pressed the start/stop button again whilst his colleague’s arm was in close proximity to the rotating drum and his arm was drawn in.
• He suffered major injuries.

The HSE inspector said:
“This injury could easily have been prevented, had the risk have been identified. Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery”.

Lemon Groundwork Solutions fined £135,589 after injury due to unsafe stacking

Steel fabrication company Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited was fined £135,589 (inc.costs) after steel cages fell onto a worker’s leg, resulting in multiple fractures.

The circumstances were:

• Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited had previously been served Improvement Notices regarding the safety of its lifting operations and the management of vehicles and pedestrians in its yard.
• The company was previously fined £100,000 following an incident in 2016 in which an employee was struck by a bundle of steel rebar that fell off a forklift, causing multiple fractures to his leg.
• This accident related to stacking of steel cages.
• These steel cages were free-standing on the floor, each weighing 1188kg, and were stacked between 2-4 cages high in an unstable pyramid formation, without chocks to support the load. 
• The task of stacking cages was not adequately risk assessed.
• Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited failed to implement a safe system of work for storing cages 
• They had not provided their employees with sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision to store and handle cages safely. 
• They had  failed to determine the maximum height that the cages could be stacked and suitable means to secure the cages to prevent movement and collapse. 
• in November 2017, an employee was using a gantry crane to lift a steel cage from a stack of cages.
• When the employee used the gantry crane to lift the top cage from the stack, two cages at the bottom rolled onto his left foot and leg, fracturing his tibia and fibula bones. 
• As a result, the worker had to undergo reconstructive surgery where metal rods, plates and pins were inserted into his leg.

The HSE inspector said:
“This incident could easily have been prevented if the company had adopted safe control measures for storing and handling cages, and adequately supervised the task. Companies should be aware of the risks of handling metal stock, and that it should always be stored and stacked so it is not likely to move, fall and cause injury.”

William Lee Ltd., fined £66,000 for finger amputation after machine restarted during blockage clearing

Foundry company William Lee Ltd., was fined £66,000 (inc.costs) after an employee had two fingers amputated while attempting to clear a blockage in a moulding machine.

• On 28 February 2018, an employee was attempting to clear a blockage of sand in a moulding machine.
• No risk assessment of blockage clearing had been carried out.
• There were no safe systems of work or training for this operation.
• The employee was using a length of metal rod and had not isolated the machine
• The blockage cleared without warning.
• The employee’s right hand was crushed between the rod and the machine.
• This resulted in two fingers being amputated, and a number of fractured bones

The HSE inspector said:
“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd was fined £700,000 after fatal failure of pressurised equipment

Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd was fined £869,498 (inc.costs) for safety breaches after a 64-year-old worker was fatally wounded by shrapnel ejected from testing equipment.

The circumstances were:

• On 10 June 2015, John Townsend was leak testing eight 1500 litre cylinders.
• This comprised applying compressed air inside to create pressure.
• Prior to installing the fittings, 1.5 litres of a mineral oil-based corrosion inhibitor had been placed into each of the cylinders.
• The inhibitor contaminated the leak test manifold during venting of cylinders.
• It was subjected to enough pressure inside the manifold to cause the test equipment to fail.
• The failure was catastrophic enough to fatally injure Mr Townsend.

The HSE inspector commented:
“This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to identify any additional risks that arise when work processes are adapted. Companies should accurately identify and control all potential hazards in the workplace and thereafter monitor performance through effective supervision.”