Company Back in Court for Safety Failings

Once a company has been prosecuted for significant safety failings, it is reasonable to expect that they would take precautions to ensure they are safe and their workers are safe and protected – but that is not always the case.

A company in Tyneside – Radford HMY Group Ltd – has recently been taken to court by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) for its second serious breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in less than a year.

The Radford Group were fined £2000 by the magistrates following an incident in February 2012, where a worker’s hand was crushed by a piece of machinery that should have had a safety guard fitted. The worker was left with severe injuries and the HSE prosecuted after an investigation when it discovered the safety guard had been deliberately removed, leaving workers at risk of serious injury.

Following this, in June 2012, an agency worker employed by The Radford Group narrowly avoided serious injuries when a forklift he was operating overturned. Despite the worker being uninjured and able to return to work to complete his shift, the incident was reported to the HSE as a Dangerous Occurrence. During the investigation the HSE found numerous hazards associated with the accident, including:

• The forklift was being operated on an unsuitable outside path, during a night shift
• The path the forklift was on was dangerously narrow, just 40cm wider than the truck
• In places the ground was raised above the adjacent ground
• The driver had not been assessed or authorised to operate the truck
• The driver had no forklift training and was not familiar with the controls

The HSE served The Radford Group with an Improvement Notice, forcing them to make alterations to the path, to ensure it was safe for future use. This included levelling and widening the path and ensuring it is clearly marked for pedestrians with new warning signs installed, as well as making it a one-way route and banning night shift use.

For this more recent case, The Radford Group was fined £5000 and ordered to pay £3,824.45 in costs for breaches of both Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The inspector later explained the HSE’s decision to prosecute as, despite the fortunate lack of injury sustained by the worker, it could have very easily caused life changing or even life threatening injuries. Accidents of this kind are completely preventable and as the company had been made aware of previous failings, it was unacceptable that they had not carried out a full risk assessment and identified the potential hazards associated with this pathway and this particular type of ‘vulnerable’ worker.

The team at Health and Safety Training Ltd (HST) specialise in delivering forklift training, tailored to suit all workplaces and levels of competency. We can also offer risk assessment training that will enable you to identify any relevant risks, as well as risks that may only be associated with particularly vulnerable workers, such as part time or agency staff.

Professional training at all levels of your organisation is the best way to avoid potential accidents and prosecution, so if you’re concerned about health and safety at your workplace – simply get in touch with the experts at HST today.