An Essex company who are specialists in gas infrastructure have been fined after an employee suffered serious injury when a pipe fell into the trench he was working in and struck him.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how an employee of Forefront Utilities Limited had entered a trench in Rochester, Kent to connect gas pipes. The new pipes were rested on packing timber across the trench, but the weight caused the tarmac to give way. The pipe fell into the trench and struck the employee causing significant injury including a fractured spine. He is paralysed and has no feeling in his bowel.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 23 May 2014 found the method for jointing newly laid sections of pipe to previously laid pipe was unsafe.

Forefront Utilities Limited, of Stephenson Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, were found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £56,686.

After the hearing HSE inspector Andrew Cousins said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working.

“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

For further information on safety in construction visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/contractors.htm

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

Moy Park Ltd has been fined after a worker was injured at the company’s site in Anwick near Sleaford, Lincolnshire

Lincoln Crown Court heard on the an engineer was checking the blades on the cutting line when the machine restarted and he wasn’t able to move his hand away from the blade he was inspecting when the machine started up. The worker suffered deep laceration to his hand as a result of this incident.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to implement a safe system of work in relation to isolating procedures when maintaining the machinery in the production line.

Moy Park Ltd of Main Road, Anwick, Lincolnshire have pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,924.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Principal Inspector David Butter said: “Duty holders must put measures in place to ensure there are safe procedures in place which are then followed when checking faults on machinery.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

Penrith based bakery Bells of Lazonby Limited has been fined after two workers suffered hand injuries while operating machinery on site.

Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard that on the 26 January 2016 a worker lost the top of their right hand middle finger, after it caught the moving blade of a dough-dividing machine.

The second incident occurred on the 29 March 2016 when an employee’s left index finger made contact with the cutting jaws of a wrapping machine.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to equip the machinery with the correcting guarding to avoid incidents like this occurring.

Bells of Lazonby Limited of Edenholme Bakery, Penrith have pleaded guilty to breaching two charges of Regulation 11, of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, and have been fined £40,000 for the first offence and £30,000 for the second offence and ordered to pay costs of £7990.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Leona Cameron said: “This case demonstrates the importance of checking and assessing all dangerous equipment and machinery to prevent injuries to employees operating such machinery.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk