13th July 2020

Incompetent H&S consultant fined

A self-employed consultant was fined £1,400 for providing health and safety advice on technical and complex matters while not being qualified to advise his clients.  He provided inadequate and flawed advice to small and medium sized enterprises on the management and control of risk in relation to hand arm vibration, work place noise and the control of substances hazardous to health.  HSE investigation found that the consultant incorrectly identified risk from exposure to hand arm vibration as ‘low’ and advised to use ‘anti vibration gloves’ as an appropriate control measure. He also failed to identify that paints containing isocyanates can cause asthma.

4th August 2020

Yorkshire firm fined £285,000

A Yorkshire concrete manufacturer was fined £285,000 and ordered to pay costs of £56,324 following two separate incidents which resulted in a fatality, June 2014 and a serious injury, April 2018.   The fatality occurred when an operator was crushed and killed instantly between the frames of two mobile machines as they passed each other.  An investigation by HSE found that it was the nature of production for machines to routinely pass each other on adjacent lines. The company had failed to identify the risk of crushing posed by the passing machines; failed to devise a safe system of work to control this risk and failed to provide adequate training in such a procedure to employees.  The investigation by HSE into the second incident found that the machine in question was not fitted with working interlocks, meaning several of the machine doors could be opened to gain access to dangerous moving parts whilst the machine was operating.

8th September 2020

Luton manufacturer fined £120,000

A Luton manufacturer of adhesive tape has been fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,192 after a worker was fatally injured while operating a machine. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the deceased was required to work close to an unguarded machine, which presented a hazard due to rotating parts. The risk assessment for the machine was inadequate because it failed to identify the rotating parts and other hazards on the machine. Therefore, machine operators were provided with inadequate information and training relating to the risks associated with this operation; and employees were placed at severe risk of injury.

24th September 2020

Water jetting firm fined £2,000,000

A West Midlands specialist industrial services company has been fined £2,000,000 and ordered to pay £30,000 in costs after a worker suffered a fatal injury whilst cleaning waste-water pipes. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company recognised the risks of operating high-pressure water jetting equipment, but they had failed to put in place appropriate measures to mitigate the risks. They had not implemented or enforced the use of various control measures, which were missing at the time of the incident and, training and supervision were also not up to standard.