A Cardiff-based construction company has been fined £143,000 and ordered to costs of £15,029 after a worker was seriously injured falling down a lift pit. The court was told that there had been numerous management failings associated with this project, which included a lack of effective site management and supervision, a construction plan that did not properly consider obvious working at height risks and a lack of an effective Temporary Works Management System

A distillery in Oldbury has been fined £270,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,009 after an employee was engulfed in flames in a fire that destroyed the warehouse and its contents.

Ethyl acetate (highly flammable liquid) was being transferred from a bulk storage tank into an intermediate bulk container when the ignition occurred.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the most likely source of ignition was a discharge of static electricity generated by the transfer of the liquid. There was poor maintenance of pipework and associated valves. There was a failure to competently inspect the equipment or monitor the systems of work.

A warehousing company was fined £166,000 and ordered to pay £10,400 costs and the director jailed for twelve months following the death of one of his workers when a remote controlled Mobile Elevated Working Platform (MEWP) he was loading on to a truck fell from the ramps and crushed him.

On investigation HSE found that the deceased had not been adequately trained on the use of the ramps, the lorry and the MEWP. There was no risk assessment in place and no safe system of work had been created for the equipment, which had only been in operation for eight days.

A construction firm has been fined £144,000 after a worker was seriously injured when he fell off a roof during demolition work. The Romanian labourer fell from the partly demolished roof and suffered serious injuries. No scaffolding had been provided and the work was not being supervised.

The site was inspected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) two weeks after the incident and unsupervised demolition work was still being carried out. A number of serious matters were identified including asbestos which had been removed from the house and was found in a pile by a neighbouring property’s hedge and in broken pieces mixed in with other debris.