Celtic Rock Services Limited fined £40,227 and director given suspended sentence for HAVS

Celtic Rock Services Limited, a company providing specialised services in rock drilling, cliff stabilisation and rock anchors have been fined £40,227 (inc. costs) and a director given a suspended sentence because of failures to manage hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

The circumstances were:

• The employees use tools such as rock drills and jack hammers for cliff stabilisation work which is often carried out by abseiling down a cliff and using the tools horizontally while working from ropes.
• Celtic Rock Services’ risk assessments did not identify the actual exposure to vibration.
• Out of date vibration data was used.
• Employees were not made aware of HAVS and its symptoms
• Three employees had developed and reported symptoms of HAVS, such as pins and needles and aching hands. 
• One person had had these symptoms since 2000.
• No action was taken.
• There was no health surveillance in place until an occupational nurse was employed in 2016
• The occupational nurse identified the HAVS problems.

In addition to the company fines, Alwyn Griffith Hughes Thomas, director of the company, was given a 12 week custodial sentence, suspended for one year, a 12 week curfew and ordered to pay costs of £3,560.

The HSE inspector said:
“This was a case of the company and its director completely failing to grasp the importance of HAVS risk assessment and health surveillance.  If they had understood why health surveillance was necessary, it would have ensured that it had the right systems in place to monitor workers health and the employees’ conditions would not have been allowed to develop, one of which was to a severe, life altering stage.”