Gas engineering company fined for unsafe LPG installation work

A gas engineering company has been fined after undertaking Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) installation work at a food factory near Spalding that was later condemned as being unsafe.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard how Glen Farrow UK Ltd undertook the installation of a liquid LPG bottle filling system at the food preparation company during January and February 2018.  An inspection by the LPG supplier on 13 February 2018 found numerous defects in the installation which put the safety of workers at the factory at risk.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company took on work that they did not have the competencies for. They failed to plan the work adequately and to specify the correct materials and design for the installation.  The engineer they sent was not competent to work on a liquid LPG installation of this sort. When asked to quote for this work, Glen Farrow UK Ltd should have realised that it was outside of their competence and subcontracted the work to a company with expertise in liquid LPG installations.

Glen Farrow UK Ltd of Glendum Close, Pinchbeck, Spalding pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.  They were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3131.60.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Giles, said :“Gas engineers must understand that certain tasks are not part of their normal functions and should only be done by competent contractors.”

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/
  3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk