Waste firm fined after worker suffers severe crush injuries
A waste and recycling company in London has been fined £260,000 after a worker sustained severe crush injuries during maintenance work.
On 11 September 2020, the employee sustained severe injuries after becoming trapped between a conveyor and a metal bridge, which formed part of a waste sorting machine. The worker had entered the machine to make repairs to the mesh of the hopper. The machine had not been isolated from all sources of energy before the repair work started. When the machine was inadvertently switched on, the man was thrown onto the conveyor, trapping him against a metal bridge.
The man suffered multiple injuries that required 23 screws and two plates inside his body and has not been able to return to work.
An HSE investigation found that Cappagh Public Works Limited had failed to provide a suitable means to isolate the machinery from all sources of energy. The isolator switch had been broken and was inoperative. The company also had no formal maintenance arrangements for the machinery.
Breach
Cappagh Public Works Limited pleaded guilty to breaching pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
- Section 2(1) requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.
Penalty
Cappagh Public Works Limited was fined £260,000 and was ordered to pay £4,358 in costs.
Three companies fined after a child suffered a fractured skull
Three companies have been fined after a slate tile fractured the skull of a three-year-old child. The slate came off a roof at a construction site in Weymouth, Dorset on 13 June 2019.
The location of the incident, Moonfleet Manor, was being refurbishment at the time of the incident. This included replacing the roof, windows and restoring chimneys and gutters.
The child received first aid and was later taken to hospital where she was put into an induced coma to stabilise her. She then underwent a two-hour operation to remove fragments of slate from her head. The slate had come off the hotel roof and fell approximately five metres before striking the child.
The roof was being renovated by Rocare Building Services Limited. The company had taken off the old tiles and began replacing them with new slates. The new slates had been stacked around the roof, leading to one piece falling off.
Rocare Building Services Limited had been appointed by Moonfleet Manor as the principal contractor to oversee the refurbishment work. Quadra Built Environmental Consultancy Limited had been hired by Moonfleet Manor as the principal designer, in charge of planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase. The company failed in the planning and design stage to properly assess the risks of objects falling from height and hitting people. There was insufficient consultation and collaboration between the various duty holders.
An HSE investigation found that scaffolding was not fit for purpose because it did not have sufficient measures to prevent items falling, such as protective fans, covered walkways or, at a minimum, brick guards around the entire perimeter. Moonfleet Manor ignored requests and failed to put in measures to address an obvious hazard posed by falling objects to the public using the busy thoroughfare to the swimming pool.
Breaches
Rocare Building Services Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015:
- Regulation 13(1) requires principal contractors to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the construction phase to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, construction work is carried out without risks to health or safety.
Quadra Built Environmental Consultancy Limited was found guilty of breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015:
- Regulation 11(1) requires principal designers to plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the pre-construction phase to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the project is carried out without risks to health or safety.
LFH (Moonfleet Manor) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
- Section 3(1) requires that employers ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons they do not employ who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health and safety
Penalties
Rocare Building Services Limited was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,554.78.
Quadra Built Environmental Consultancy Limited was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 in costs.
LFH (Moonfleet Manor) Limited was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £143,482.04 in costs.
Six-figure fine for company that left residents at risk during the removal of dangerous cladding
Green Facades Limited has been fined after cladding was found lying on residents’ balconies at a Liverpool apartment block, posing a serious fire risk.
An HSE inspector attended The Circle, an eight-storey building in Liverpool on 10 January 2022. The inspection found that, in preparation for the removal work, combustible material had been left exposed and there were inadequate means of escaping from the scaffold which was being erected.
The combustible cladding was similar to that used on Grenfell Tower when the 2017 disaster occurred. Green Facades Limited had been contracted to remove the potentially dangerous aluminium composite panels and combustible insulation material.
The situation had worsened when the inspector returned on 21 January 2022. Further combustible material had been exposed with no protection from potential sources of ignition. Combustible cladding material was found lying on residents’ balconies. As the building remained occupied during the works, the inspector alerted Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service who took their own enforcement action.
Green Facades Limited had been subject to earlier enforcement for similar breaches during cladding removal at a site in London. At that time, the company was provided with advice on sustainable compliance with the regulations.
The HSE investigation found that the company had failed to take appropriate precautions to address the risk of fire and to ensure the safety of residents, workers, and others. It had also failed to take account of published guidance on the safe removal of cladding following the previous issue in London.
Breaches
Green Facades Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) and Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
Penalty
Green Facades Limited was fined £240,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,405.
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