HSE issues warning after £250,000 port fine

HSE Press Release: E130:04 - 13 September 2004

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned of the need for an effective risk assessment for all persons involved in the operation of cranes after the prosecution of a Felixstowe port.

The warning follows the death of 51-year-old Dennis Burman from Brantham, Essex. Mr Burman was crushed between railings as he moved between a fixed and moveable walkway on a crane's platform during a dock familiarisation course on 17 June 2003. He then fell approximately 120 feet to the ground.

The Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company Ltd were fined £250,000 with £27,288 costs at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday 8 September 2004 after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing. The firm admitted failing to ensure that Mr Burman and other workers were not exposed to risks to their safety and thereby breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) 1974.

HSE Inspector, David Gregory, who investigated the death, said: "In this instance the crane driver intentionally moved the cab. However his view of the cross-over point between the moving and fixed access walkway was obscured. In any event he was not able to observe the cross-over point whilst at the same time watching where he was driving the crane.

"A suitable and sufficient risk assessment would have identified the potential for a fatal or serious injury at the cross-over point. Preventing access to all personnel excluding the driver whilst the crane was in operation would have prevented this incident. Alternatively, interlocking the access gates on the walkways to the movement of the cab would have achieved the same result. I hope this prosecution will remind companies who operate this type of machinery that safety must be the foremost consideration."

Notes to editors

1. Section 2 (1) of the HSWA states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."

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