HSE warns of work crushing dangers
The Health and Safety (
HSE) has warned of the dangers of using forklift trucks after a man died when a container of dye crushed him when he was assisting with an unloading operation.
The warning came after the prosecution of Townley Dyestuffs Ltd of High Street Tarporley, Cheshire, following the accident in August 2005.
The company pleaded guilty to a charge under section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work ect Act 1974, that they failed to ensure the safety at work of an employee. As a result, the company was forced to pay a fine of £10,000 and ordered to pay £6.963.25 costs.
The court heard that the work accident happened when a 1.1 ton container of dye slid off the front of the forks of a forklift truck crushing worker Mark Kiveal. The incident happened at the company’s premises in Cheshire.
In a cruel twist of fate, two containers had already been successfully emptied before the third one slipped causing the work death.
Richard Clark, Health and Safety Executive said: “This was a tragic accident that could have been prevented had a safe system of work been in place. The container had a specialist mechanism for emptying it, but an improvised method was used when the incident happened.”
Clark continued by saying that bosses have a duty to look after their staff: “Two containers had successfully been opened and an attempt to unload the third was taking place when it slid off the front forks of the truck and tragically crushed Mr Kiveal. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that the right equipment is used for the job and to ensure that loads are safely secured. That wasn't the case in this incident, which sadly led to the loss of a man's life.”
Biscuit Crunch
Meanwhile, a bakery firm has been fined £3,500 after a young woman crushed her hand feeding dough into a biscuit-making machine.
Carrie Linton, 17, had been working in the Galashiels bakery for just 10 days when the work injury occurred. The company admitted to two health and safety at work breaches.
The firm admitted failing to take measures to prevent the employee having access to a dangerous part of machine and allowing the machine to operate without the hopper lid guard being in place.
Sheriff Kevin Drummond commented that there had been shortcuts frequently made in the bakery when it came to health and safety regulations.
He added: “The consequences, while still serious, were not as bad as they could have been.”
The bakery was fined £2,500 and another £1,000 for failing to have the machine guard fitted and were given seven days to pay up.
Updated on 26/01/2009