NEWS
SITE SUPERVISOR CHARGED AFTER WORKER SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURIES
A site supervisor has been sentenced for safety breaches after a 46-year-old worker became entangled in a conveyor belt sustaining serious injuries to his hand and arm.
Leeds Crown Court heard that, on 20 October 2016, an operative was working on a conveyor belt on an automated waste picking line at Associated Waste Management (AWM) Ltd in Canal Road, Bradford, when it became damaged and needed repair. Whilst the operative was working to repair the conveyor line, it started moving and his arm became entangled, which caused muscle and tissue damage.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that AWM site supervisor Andrew Hughes,
who had control of the site in the absence of the site manager, was responsible for completing a permit for the repair work and isolating the line. However, on his way to complete the permit he became distracted with another matter and the permit to work and isolation were not completed. This meant that the conveyor belt restarted during the repair work injuring the employee.
Andrew Hughes of Heathmoor Park Road, Illingworth, Halifax, West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Darian Dundas said: “Mr Hughes failed to implement company policy and procedure in respect of permits to work and isolation.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.”
GALVANIZING COMPANY PROSECUTED AFTER EMPLOYEE FATALLY INJURED
Hereford Galvanizers Limited, a company that undertakes hot dip galvanizing for the corrosion protection of steelwork, has been fined after an employee was fatally injured.
Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on 2 February 2019, an employee was operating an overhead crane adjacent to the molten zinc bath, when a tubular steel brace exploded during galvanizing, causing it to ‘rocket’ across the workshop floor, fatally striking the employee who was standing in its path. The steel brace failed due to the absence of vent holes to prevent the build-up of pressure inside the hollow steel brace during the galvanizing process.
A quantity of liquid entered the brace during earlier stages of the galvanizing process; when immersed into the 450°C zinc bath, the trapped liquid turned rapidly into steam generating very high internal pressures sufficient to cause failure of the brace. This resulted in a violent explosion which propelled the steel brace across the workshop floor.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company, based at Westfields Trading Estate, Hereford, had failed to adequately assess the risk and devise and implement suitable safe systems and methods of work for venting checks. In addition, employees were not adequately trained or supervised when completing venting checks.
Hereford Galvanizers Limited, which operates under the trading umbrella name ‘Hereford and Shropshire Galvanizers’, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and have been fined £266,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,635.29 plus a victim surcharge £170.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Sian Donne said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a young man. His death could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved, put a safe system of work in place and ensured that employees were appropriately trained and supervised.”
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