Construction firm fined for equipment regulation breach
January 18th 14:40 Health and Safety
A Welsh construction firm has been fined £80,000 following prosecution from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a man was crushed to death at a site in Gloucestershire.
Legal action was taken after 23-year-old Lance Taylor's head was crushed between the lifting arm and the cab of a mini digger which he was not qualified to operate.
Effective facilities management could assist in ensuring unqualified workers are stopped from performing tasks they are not equipped to deal with.
The firm was fined £40,000 for each of the regulations it broke, these were regulations 9(1) and 28(a) of the Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
HSE inspector Martin Lee said: "This terrible incident highlights the extremely serious risks posed by equipment and vehicles on sites if the workers using them don't have adequate training or are not versed in safe working procedures.
"It is imperative that on any construction site using plant and machinery there are systems in place to control access to the vehicles. Construction site managers need to know which workers on site are qualified to operate the machinery and that their control systems are working effectively."
The firm was also ordered to pay court costs of £29,798.14.
