Builder’s merchant fined £2.2 million

A national builder’s merchant fined £2.2 million after a worker was crushed in a conveyor. He died after a colleague started the conveyor not realising he had climbed inside it.  An investigation by the HSE found that the company had previously identified that employees were accessing the danger zone within the conveyor and placed signage asking employees not to do so. However CCTV analysis revealed that operatives continued to do so. Measures subsequently introduced to reduce the risk included guarding the conveyor to prevent access and changing the system of work.