A roofing firm has been fined while its director has been handed a suspended prison sentence after putting the lives of workers at risk during a roof renovation in Surrey.  Weather Master Roofing Limited and company director Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Monday following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK has been ordered to pay £1.6 million over safety breaches after an employee was crushed to death when a crane sling snapped.  Jack Phillips was working at South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne in August 2019, assisting while temporary mast climber work platform sections were being lifted by a lorry mounted crane. The lifting sling which was attached to the crane snapped, causing the load to fall. 

Hundreds of council building inspections will be carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to check councils are managing the risk of asbestos properly.  HSE inspectors will visit the head offices of dozens of councils across the county to make sure asbestos risks are being effectively managed to keep people safe. Each council visit will see inspections take place at several sites within each local authority’s property portfolio. This work continues previous inspection campaigns that targeted hospitals and schools.

A court has fined John Lewis PLC £1.2m after an agency worker suffered serious injuries at its warehouse in Magna Park in 2022.  The incident took place in February 2022 and resulted in the worker falling from steps over a conveyor belt. The small steps were without handrails, presenting a significant risk of slips, trips and falls, which was exacerbated by confined headspace.

A company has been fined £1.6m after a 24-year-old man was crushed to death.  Jack Phillips lost his life on 8 August 2019 while working for Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd at South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne.  Jack had been assisting while temporary Mast Climber Work Platform sections were being lifted by a lorry mounted crane.  The load fell on top of Jack when the lifting sling which was attached to the crane snapped.

A plastics manufacturer in Kent has been fined £400,000 after an employee was seriously injured by a forklift truck.  The man was struck by the vehicle while walking to collect materials at FloPlast Limited’s site at Eurolink Business Park on 4 July 2023.

Merchant Homes Partnership has been prosecuted under the CDM Regulations after a worker was killed by a telehandler at a house build site in Glasgow, Scotland.  Scott Bradley had been using the vehicle to move scaffolding behind houses that had been partially built. The telehandler’s wheels went over the edge of the traffic route while it was reversing, causing it to slide down an embankment and overturn.

MD Safety comment:  This case highlights the need for clear procedures for the use of work equipment as well as the need to ensure suitable arrangements for inexperienced workers.

A Manchester-based engineering company has been fined £500,000 after a young apprentice lost the use of two fingers when using a horizontal bandsaw. The apprentice, who was just 18 at the time, suffered the serious injuries to his fingers in an incident at Proline Engineering Limited in Worsely, on 7 November 2022. While one finger was severed completely, the other was surgically re-attached.

MD Safety comment: Another unfortunate case whereby the interface between pedestrians and vehicles has not been maintained.

A construction company has been fined £160,000 after a man was killed by a telehandler at a house build site in Glasgow.  Scott Bradley had been reversing the vehicle at the Stepford Road site when it slid down an embankment and overturned on 11 May 2022.

The owner of Ginsters has been fined £1.28 million after an employee was killed by a lorry that was delivering supplies to the bakery where it makes its pasties.  Paul Clarke was fatally crushed on 2 December 2021 after being struck by the vehicle as it reversed into a loading bay at The Cornwall Bakery, Callington, operated by Samworth Brothers.