The latest figures available from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that in 2014/15, 76,054 non-fatal injuries to employees were reported, and tragically a further 142 workers were killed during the course of their work.
In many cases of fatalities at work, the deaths were preventable and were the result in part of failings by the employer to provide a safe environment and safe system of work for employees.
Some recent examples of these failings reported by the HSE include the death of an employee in Dumfries who died on Christmas Eve after being crushed by a hydraulic ramp.
The employee in question was delivering and offloading a vehicle from a trailer when one of the trailer hydraulic ramps failed to lower. The 61-year-old man attempted to repair the fault, but when he removed a hoseburst valve it resulted in a catastrophic release of hydraulic pressure and the ramp collapsed onto him as the rachet strap, which had been used to secure the ramp, failed.
When the HSE conducted an investigation into the incident, it found an absence of effective planning, and a failure to realise that the repair was more complex than initially thought and that the risks were higher than was envisaged. Neither the employer nor the delivery driver had the required competence to undertake the hydraulic repair, and the method of securing the upright ramp was unsuitable due to the condition of the strap.
The employer pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 3(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £45,000.
“This tragic loss of life could have been avoided and highlights the risks associated with maintenance and repair, and the need for those undertaking work to be competent, ensuring work is planned, and the risks are fully understood and managed,” commented HSE inspector Jane Scott, speaking after the hearing.
A second example of how an employer’s failing contributed to the death of an employee occurred in Derbyshire, where an employee of a waste management and plant hire company was fatally crushed between two vehicles.
The 39-year-old had apparently been refuelling his road sweeper at the company’s yard. The refuelling point on the vehicle was at the rear, and while he was refuelling a tipper lorry reversed into him. The employee was crushed between the two vehicles and died of catastrophic head injuries.
The HSE discovered that there were no marked or identified vehicle and pedestrian routes in the yard and there were no rules or control of reversing manoeuvres. The lighting at the site was also poor and below the required standard.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,737.
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