Water jetting company fined £800,000

A water jetting company has been fined £800,000 (reduced from £1.2 million due to the early guilty plea) after an employee was critically injured by an exploding hose. The cause of the explosion was thought to be due to a build-up of ice in the system preventing a release of pressure.  Major failings identified by HSE in the subsequent investigation were:

• There was no safe system of work detailing how priming of the jetting system should be done.
• There was a failure to maintain work equipment in an efficient state. Critical defects were found on other jetting vehicles owned by the company.
• There was a failure to monitor the use of physical control measures.
• Employees were not provided with sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision.

An HSE Inspector commented “This incident further demonstrates the need for companies to ensure there are suitable safe systems of work for non-routine work”