A fencing manufacturer and the owner of the yard where the business operates, have been fined following the death of an employee at the site.
North Somerset Magistrates’ Court heard how on 14 August 2017, Roderick McKenzie Hopes was working for PA Fencing Ltd. A telehandler tipped and knocked over stacked timber which fell on to Mr Hopes resulting in his death.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the telehandler’s safety device, designed to stop loads being lifted to high, had not worked for a long time and maintenance had failed to identify this.
The investigation also found that PA Fencing Ltd shared the machine with Mr David Crossman, who owns the neighbouring farm and rents the yard to PA Fencing Ltd. Neither PA Fencing Ltd nor Mr Crossman had ensured that the machine was properly maintained nor that it was independently thoroughly examined, a test which must be done at least annually.
PA Fencing Limited of Unit 4 Westfield Business Park, Bristol, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £35,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £7500.00.
David Crossman of Ham Farm, Ham Lane, Yatton, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £3000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £7500.00.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Tania Nickson said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply ensuring that the vehicle in question had been properly maintained and thoroughly examined. Good to Go Safety & TakeAIM provide companies with a huge range of workplace inspections to ensure equipment is properly maintained and thoroughly examined
Our multi-award winning product range continues to grow in popularity and our vision of helping companies to improve safety, reduce maintenance costs and comply with legislation is as strong as ever.
By using our simple, but highly effective, safe equipment management system we can help keep employees safe by ensuring the equipment they operate is ‘good to go’ prior to using it. The check book (containing 25 checklists) provides guidance notes on what to check for and the checklist runs through key components to inspect. Once completed the checklist can be inserted into a tag attached to the equipment, to clearly identify to everyone, the date and findings of the inspection. A duplicate copy of each completed inspection checklist is also retained for management records.
North Somerset Magistrates’ Court heard how on 14 August 2017, Roderick McKenzie Hopes was working for PA Fencing Ltd. A telehandler tipped and knocked over stacked timber which fell on to Mr Hopes resulting in his death.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the telehandler’s safety device, designed to stop loads being lifted to high, had not worked for a long time and maintenance had failed to identify this.
The investigation also found that PA Fencing Ltd shared the machine with Mr David Crossman, who owns the neighbouring farm and rents the yard to PA Fencing Ltd. Neither PA Fencing Ltd nor Mr Crossman had ensured that the machine was properly maintained nor that it was independently thoroughly examined, a test which must be done at least annually.
PA Fencing Limited of Unit 4 Westfield Business Park, Bristol, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £35,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £7500.00.
David Crossman of Ham Farm, Ham Lane, Yatton, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £3000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £7500.00.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Tania Nickson said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply ensuring that the vehicle in question had been properly maintained and thoroughly examined. Good to Go Safety & TakeAIM provide companies with a huge range of workplace inspections to ensure equipment is properly maintained and thoroughly examined
Our multi-award winning product range continues to grow in popularity and our vision of helping companies to improve safety, reduce maintenance costs and comply with legislation is as strong as ever.
By using our simple, but highly effective, safe equipment management system we can help keep employees safe by ensuring the equipment they operate is ‘good to go’ prior to using it. The check book (containing 25 checklists) provides guidance notes on what to check for and the checklist runs through key components to inspect. Once completed the checklist can be inserted into a tag attached to the equipment, to clearly identify to everyone, the date and findings of the inspection. A duplicate copy of each completed inspection checklist is also retained for management records.
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