Companies given six-figure fines after HGV driver seriously injured
Three companies have been given six-figure fines after a driver was crushed between a reversing HGV and a forklift truck in a warehouse beside Heathrow Airport.
An employee of Davies Turner Air Cargo Limited was collecting a consignment from Airworld Airlines Ltd’s site at the X2 Hatton Cross Centre, which is alongside the airport, in August 2017.
A vehicle, operated by Saints Transport Limited, which was collecting a consignment from Unilode Aviation Solutions UK Limited, also based at the X2 Hatton Cross Centre, reversed causing the employee to become crushed between the rear of the vehicle and the forklift truck, resulting in serious injuries.
The X2 Hatton Cross Centre is owned by Brixton (Hatton Cross) 1 Limited and is managed by Segro Administration Limited.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the X2 Hatton Cross Centre and an investigation found the site layout did not segregate those working or visiting the site, so far as reasonably practicable, from being struck by moving vehicles.
None of the defendants had taken responsibility for managing traffic. Neither did they communicate, co-operate or co-ordinate with one another.
Read more on the SHP website.
Fire authority fined after firefighter breaks both legs
A fire authority has been fined after a firefighter was trapped underneath a car in a training exercise, breaking his legs in more than a dozen places.
The firefighter was setting up a simulated road traffic collision with colleagues at Stockton Fire Station, South Road, Stockton on Tees on October 19 2020 when the incident happened.
The crew had attempted to put a car on its side to perform a ‘roof flap’ procedure in which the roof structure is removed to allow greater access.
Hydraulic spreaders were used to raise the car off the ground. When the spreaders had reached their widest and had tilted the car as far as possible, the crew tried to push the car the remaining way on to its side.
While doing this, the car fell back down towards them, hitting the firefighter and trapping him underneath the car chassis, causing serious injuries to both his legs, including fractures to his left fibula and tibia, an open fracture and dislocation to his left ankle, and 12 fractures to his right leg and foot.
He was in hospital for two weeks.
For more on the incident, visit the HSE website.
Dräger calls for improved safety in tunnelling industry
SHP hears from Dräger, a medical and safety technologies company, who is calling for increased regulation and more detailed safety guidance within the tunnelling industry, following recent research highlighting safety as a major concern for those working underground…
The survey gathers a range of perspectives from tunnelling professionals to find out how safety challenges are perceived, and to what extent solutions are considered beneficial, practical and appropriate for the distinct environments found in tunnelling.
The research revealed that the four highest perceived risks were the availability of safety equipment, gas/vapour leaks, the time taken to evacuate a tunnel, and a lack of robust and up-to-date safety plans. These concerns were ranked higher than issues such as the structural integrity of tunnels and working within confined spaces.
Further compounding the issue, just 14.8% believed that all contractors on site had a thorough understanding of safety planning, and more than two in five (40.7%) respondents said they did not think enough priority was given to safety planning in tunnelling projects. Budget and time constraints were cited as reasons, along with the belief that because tunnelling accidents are ‘rare’, safety planning wasn’t always prioritised.
The research suggests accidents are in fact ‘relatively common’, as nearly one in three (29.6%) of respondents had been involved in a safety incident while working in a tunnel that required the use of safety equipment, and a further 59.0% stated that they had been involved in a near-miss incident in the same environment.
Learn more on the SHP website.
Demolition firm and director prosecuted after 20-year-old labourer crushed
A demolition firm has been fined and one of its directors ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work after a 20-year-old worker was crushed.
Ace Demolition Services Ltd had been contracted by Southend Borough Council to demolish Futures Community College, in Southchurch Boulevard, Southend-on-Sea.
Shannon Brasier, who was 20 years old at the time, was working with a colleague to load a fuel hose into the rear compartment of a 21-tonne excavator, when the excavator moved round and crushed her between the excavator and a mobile fuel tank on 28 July 2020.
Ms Brasier, from Dagenham, suffered life-changing injuries, including to her neck, skull and face, which she was fortunate to survive.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Ace Demolition Services Ltd failed to implement suitable controls to segregate pedestrians and construction plant, allowed two pairs of keys to be used during the refuelling process and allowed operatives to act as signallers/banksman for the excavator without having received adequate training.
A director, John Gilligan, was responsible for supervising the refuelling and drove the excavator before the refuelling was complete.
Read more about the incident on the SHP website.
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