Contact Veritas Consulting

Please leave your details below and somebody will get back, today.

Enquiry Form

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Written by
on 18 August 2011

Share

Steven Graham was stood between two skips when a loader hit one of them.  As he was in the middle, Mr Graham was trapped between the two which caused him life changing injuries as well as a broken pelvis.  The loader weight 18 tonnes and was heavy enough to cause the skip to move. Mr Graham had no tome to flee before he was crushed.

This accident occurred at the recycling centre where Mr Graham worked.  The company, Lowmac Alloy Ltd were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive after the incident and they were shocked to discover so many breaches within the company.

Breaching Health and Safety Regulations will Result in Prosecution

Health and safety services are there to help firms like Lowmac Alloys ensure their employees and the public are safe.  There is no excuse for breaching the regulations and laws and with plenty of Health and Safety consultants ready to help it is a good idea to make sure your procedures are enough to prevent these accidents from happening in the first place.

During the investigation the health and safety inspectors made several disturbing findings.  One of the issues the inspectors discovered was the lack of risk assessments performed to manage the traffic on the site in Ayr. There were no barriers in place and a distinct lack of road markings which could have helped keep the pedestrians away from the huge loaders which move around the site.

Lack of Training, Lack of Supervision

One of the loaders which were being used by the firm was found to be too large to be operating safely on the site.  Another issue was the fact there these was a lack of training, in fact none of the drivers had received any formal training and health and safety consultants will be the first to tell you this is unacceptable.  Drivers were allowed to operate their vehicles unsupervised and there was no health and safety training provided to the employees.

The site was not a pleasant place to work in.  Many of the employees choose to go to the bathroom outside rather than use the portable toilets.  These were unhygienic and one was found to have no running water. The management were aware of the workers relieving themselves in this manner, and this is why Mr Graham ended up being between the two skips.

£80,000 Fine for Recycling Firm for crushing injuries

At the case which was held at Ayr Sherriff Court the company was fined £80,000 for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, Section 2. The inspector said that the firm had not considered the welfare of Mr Graham and it was because of the state of the toilet that Mr Graham was injured. Their lack or risk assessments and failing to separate the vehicles from the other employees was inexcusable.

Health and Safety services include helping employers and company owners to create a safe environment for their employees. If you have any concerns you can call health and safety consultants who will be able to assist you in improving current procedures and spotting any areas of weakness.

Call 0800 1488 677 to discuss all the health and safety services that are available. This can include risk assessments, health and safety training, Asbestos surveys and more.

About 

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *