Treanor Pujol Ltd. fined £341,325 for two accidentts including a fatality

Concrete manufacturer Treanor Pujol Ltd was fined £341,325 (inc.costs) following two separate incidents, including the death of an employee and series injuries to a second worker.

The circumstances of the first incident were:

• It was the nature of production for machines to routinely pass each other on adjacent lines.
• Treanor Pujol Ltd failed to identify the risk of crushing posed by the passing machines.
• On lines 11 and 12 the gap between the passing bed cleaner and saw machines was very small – between 65 and 93mm at different parts of the frames. 
• They failed to devise a safe system of work to control this risk.
• They failed to provide adequate training in such a procedure to employees.
• On 5 June 2014 Treanor employee Mathew Fulleylove, 30, was operating a mobile saw unit on Line 12.
• Another employee was operating a mobile bed cleaner on Line 11.
• Mr Fulleylove was standing on the footwell of the saw unit as the other machine passed on the adjacent production line. 
• As the bed cleaner came past, Matthew’s head was crushed between the frames of the two machines and he was killed instantly.

The circumstances of the second incident were:

• The accident occurred on a hooks machine, which embeds hooks into precast concrete.
• The machine was not fitted with working interlocked guards which prevent access to hazardous areas.
• On 12 April 2018, the machine was being operated when a fault developed.
• While an employee was attempting to reset the machine his elbow leant on a concrete dispenser box and a metal shutter.
• The metal shutter closed, trapping his hand resulting in a fracture and partial de-gloving of his left hand. 

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigators also identified several electrical safety failings:

• These included electrical equipment not being suitably constructed or protected from the environment. 
• It was left in wet, dirty, dusty and corrosive conditions, which resulted in rapid deterioration and safety features becoming inoperable over time. T

The HSE inspector said:
“Treanor Pujol Ltd should have identified the risk of crushing between passing machines on the production lines. The company should have taken steps to reduce and control the residual risk, organising production to minimise the likelihood of machines passing each other on adjacent lines, as well as devising and implementing a safe system of work. This should have included a designated place of safety where operators were required to stand as a machine passed. The operator’s manual for the bed cleaning machine stated an exclusion zone around the machine at 655mm should be implemented. If this had been in place, it would have addressed the significant crushing hazard and prevented the death of Mr Fulleylove.

In regard to the second incident, the company should have ensured that the dangerous parts of the Hooks Machine could not be accessed by anyone whilst they were moving by way of suitable guarding arrangements. Duty holders should ensure they carry out site specific risk assessments to identify any issues relevant to a particular location, task or piece of equipment. It is important to ensure where safe systems of work are required, employees are properly trained and monitored to ensure the correct way of working is followed.”