Fruehauf Limited has been fined after a worker sustained fatal injuries after falling from a cherry picker at a factory in Grantham.
Lincoln Magistrates Court heard how on 18 February 2016, the 64-year old worker fell while climbing from the basket of a cherry picker onto an overhead travelling crane to repair it. The court heard that the work was not properly planned and carried out without suitable harnesses and fall arrest equipment.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Fruehauf Limited failed to provide and enforce a safe system of work for accessing the overhead cranes in the factory; The company did not have appropriate management arrangements in place for controlling, monitoring and reviewing the safety of maintenance tasks and the activity was not properly risk assessed.
Fruehauf Limited pleaded guilty to being in breach of Regulation 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and Regulations 3(1) and 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £200,000 and were ordered to pay costs of £5,622.
Speaking after the hearing HM Inspector Martin Giles said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working.
This incident could have been prevented had Fruehauf Limited provided appropriate supervision and suitable fall arrest equipment for their workers to wear and use.
Notes to Editors:
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. hse.gov.uk[1]
- More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/ [2]
- HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk[3]
Follow this news feed: HSE