Civil engineering contractor fined £600,000

A civil engineering contractor has been fined £600,000 after an employee of a sub-contractor was fatally injured when he was struck on the body by a wheeled excavator.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that refuelling of plant and equipment was identified as a high risk activity by the principal contractor, who had created a task briefing document detailing a safe system of work and had risk assessed the said activity. However, it is evident that although these procedures existed in documentary format the safe system of work and its control measures had not been fully implemented at the construction site.