In the News Elsewhere

Raised tipper contacted overhead lines

A haulage firm has been fined £150,000 after one of its HGV drivers was fatally electrocuted by overhead power lines. The company pleaded guilty at court to failing to ensure there were suitable controls in place for work carried out near dangerous power lines.
The procurator fiscal told the court that the fatal incident happened at the company’s premises. The driver was finishing for the day and was using the wash bay to clean their truck in preparation for their next shift. After leaving the wash bay, they raised the tipper which made contact with the overhead power lines and the driver was electrocuted and died.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that a failure to ensure suitable control measures were in place resulted in the driver being electrocuted. The company had not undertaken a risk assessment in respect of the hazard of overhead power lines on site.
There were no suitable means to warn drivers exiting the wash bay of overhead power lines. There was a faded, illegible sign and a single A4 sized laminated sheet, which did not meet with the regulatory requirements for warning signs, pointed in the opposite direction from the wash bay and would not have been visible to a driver exiting the bay.
An HSE report produced for the incident suggested that to manage the risk the company should have contacted the local power company to have the lines buried or put in place signage and road markings to form an exclusion zone. The company has now buried all overhead power lines on the site.

Transport company fined after worker fractures skull.

A transport company has been fined £255,000 after a worker fell from a lorry and fractured his skull. The injured party (IP) had been delivering glass to a customer when the incident occurred. As no forklift truck was available, the IP was passing panes of glass from a stillage in the lorry to another worker on the ground.
The IP fell from the lorry, fracturing their skull, left hand, nose and right eye socket. They also sustained two bleeds on the brain, a 12 centimetre gash on their forehead and a dislocated right elbow. They spent five days in hospital following the incident and has had to make significant adjustments to manage day to day life.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the transport company had failed to put in place appropriate control measures for unloading activities. Risks had not been considered and the work was being carried out unsafely.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £255,000 and ordered to pay £3,687 in costs.
HSE Inspector said: The company failed to proactively plan and manage health and safety. The fine imposed on them should underline to everyone in the transport industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to follow the regulations extremely seriously. We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all that they should to keep people safe.