An investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a gruesome incident which was so severe that an employee had to have his leg amputated above the knee. The incident occurred on the 5th of October 2022, whilst employees were sorting out refuse at the Pink Skips (NW) Ltd site at Levenshulme. CCTV footage provided the HSE investigators with key knowledge about the incident. When reviewed, it showed employees working around and in close proximity to a 360° rotating excavator. One of the employees was standing behind the vehicle whilst it was moving waste, when it suddenly reversed, striking him and running over his leg. The investigation also found tha..

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an investigation following an incident at Code-A-Weld, Harfreys Industrial Estate, Great Yarmouth on the 19th November 2022. A man (54 years) was airlifted to hospital and placed into an induced coma after being struck by an object whilst manufacturing steel cable drums for the offshore industry. During the manufacturing process, the jacking set-up failed, causing parts to strike the man in the face. This caused extremely serious injuries including fractures to the man's face and skull, and him losing the sight in one eye. The man required facial reconstruction surgery and spent just under three weeks in hospital. Although the company..

On 30 October 2019, Niall McCormack from Kettering, Northamptonshire had been working with another carpenter at a new build construction site in Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire. The pair were removing trusses from a pack, to then spread and install across there building. As they were in the process of spreading, a gust of wind caught a spandrel panel, pushing it against the remaining trusses in the pack. Both the truss pack and spandrel panel fell into the work area, hitting Niall McCormack. An investigation conducted by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) following the tragedy found that KM Carpentry Contractors Limited had failed to identify the risk and effect the wind cou..

A food manufacturing company has been fined following a serious incident at its premises in Wirral. Sharon Bramhall had been supervising four members of staff as they completed high-level cleaning tasks during a night shift on the 22nd April 2022. She had been acting as a "banksman" as the MEWP turned at a right angle into the warehouse and struck Sharon, crushing her left leg. The 58-year-old had to have her left leg amputated below the knee following a incident at Baker & Baker Products on Stadium Road, but said that she felt "lucky" and stated "I know i could have died". An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed a series of failings by Baker & Baker Produ..

A 46-year-old worker was crushed to death by two granite slabs whilst working for Graniteland Limited at the company’s Lyde Green site in Halesowen. An investigation by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) found that the incident which occurred on the 30th November 2020 could have been avoided with the correct training and maintenance procedures. The investigation found that Robert Czachracz, who was from Poland, had been moving the granite slabs onto storage racks, using an overhead crane when two of the slabs, each weighing a quarter of a tonne, fell and fatally crushed Mr Czachracz against a forklift truck. The HSE found that Graniteland Limited and its director, Mr..

A woman's right arm has been severed after becoming trapped in machinery whilst working for F.J Church and Sons Ltd, a metal recycling company in Rainham, Essex. An investigation by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) followed the incident, which happened on the 12th June 2021. The investigation found that incident occurred after Ms Troia attempted to remove a blockage by reaching through an unguarded rotary valve of a catalytic converter sampling machine. Ms Troia, the victim was rushed to hospital after the rotary valve closed, trapping and severing her arm. She has been unable to work since. The HSE found that F.J. Church and Sons failed to prevent workers accessing..

An investigation has been launched after scaffolding succumbed to 60mph winds during Storm Henk. The scaffold tower collapsed onto a busy high street on Tuesday the 2nd January 2024. Sutton Council where the collapse happened took quick action to ensure the high street was made safe whilst the police, Sutton council and the scaffolding company investigated the incident to determine the root cause of the collapse. The scaffolding was then cleared to ensure businesses were able to continue trading. The incident was reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who will carry out a thorough investigate in order to prevent similar accidents in the future. The investigation will..

An engineering firm in Perth has been fined £10,000 after an employee lost his little and ring finger. The worker, employed by Edwards Engineering (Perth) Limited, had been carrying out maintenance work on a grain dryer at East of Scotland Farmers on 28 June 2020. He inadvertently placed his hand into the blades of an unguarded rotary fan in the grain dryer. The fan was rotating at 1200 revolutions per minute when it came into contact with the worker’s hand. He was off work for seven weeks following the incident. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into this incident found Edwards Engineering (Perth) Limited had failed to risk assess the task that the emplo..

A straddle carrier tipped over at Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg earlier this week, killing the driver The accident occurred shortly before the end of the night shift at around 5am CET (3am GMT) on Wednesday, 18th January 2023. The straddle carrier tipped over as the machine was being driven without a load on the way to pick up a container. The 29-year old driver is believed to have died on impact. His body was taken from the cabin by the fire brigade whilst the police and the Office for Work Protection begun their investigation. When we learn more about this tragic accident, we will let our readers know. Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the young man. ..

A 51 year old mans right leg was amputated above the knee after he was struck by a telehandler on the 16th March 2022. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Eco Waste and Recycling Limited had failed to act on risk assessments and adequately separate vehicles and pedestrians at its Hullocks Pill Hill, Newnham site. Had they acted on risk assessment details, the man would not have been struck by a reversing telehandler whilst he was sorting recyclable materials by hand. Eco Waste and Recycling Limited, of High Firs Crescent, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching 4(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 a..

Since the 1970's, NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) have been providing official accident and injury statistics regarding their family of over 400 contracting firms, scaffolding suppliers and manufacturers. Within this years NASC Safety Report their members have once again raised the standards within the scaffolding industry, plus this year they achieved the lowest Accident Incident Rates and Accident Frequency Rates in the entirety of NASC history reports (going back to 1975). The NASC 2023 Safety Report proves that strictly auditing, providing support (guidance notes, user guides, bulletins, technical and h&s advice) to businesses and employees continues to improve..

Starting on 24 April, the HSE (The Health and Safety Executive) will carry out 100 targeted inspections of fairground and theme park rides following a string of incidents throughout the UK. The campaign's strategy is to promote the safe use of fairground rides and inflatable devices and reduce the risk of catastrophic incidents. The campaign is targeted at both theme park sites and travelling fairgrounds and is set to finish by September 2023. It wasn't long ago that we wrote about an incident at Oakwood Theme Park in Wales when a man and his teenage daughter's support bars failed on a rollercoaster resulting in the man falling 26ft to the ground. In our previous blog we highlighted a str..

A situation of nightmares comes true at Oakwood Theme Park in Wales on Sunday the 23rd October 2022. Riders of a rollercoaster heard "horrific screams" as a man and his teenage daughter held on for their lives after their support bars failed leaving them dangling from the carriage. Eye-witnesses said that the man fell to the ground with a "bang" and that his daughter was only saved from falling from the 26ft rollercoaster due to riders in another carriage. Aaron McCalmon, 47, said he had been waiting to go on the ride with his own daughter when the incident happened, he said " We had previously been turned away from the ride because it was being checked by engineers. This was..