Electric shock for welder prompts HSE to encourage maintenance

Date:

9 September 2009

Release No:

EM/067/09

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is calling on factory owners in Lincolnshire to regularly maintain their electrical systems after an incident at a Whaplode company.

Stewart Baxter, 24, from Holbeach, suffered an electric shock while connecting a portable welder to an extension cable at D A Green & Sons Ltd, Whaplode, Mr Baxter was sent to hospital and required a week off work for burns to his fingers after the incident in 2008.

Today, D A Green & Sons Ltd, based at Hackford House, High Road, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. The company was fined £2,750 and ordered to pay £1,950 costs at Spalding Magistrates’ Court.

Other employees have also reported minor shocks from the equipment over the years.

During the course of the HSE investigation, it was found that much of the company’s electrical installation was in a very poor state of repair, putting workers at risk of serious injury from its use. Much of the electrical equipment had been installed around 50 years ago and there was no record of it ever being maintained or tested.

All electrical equipment in workplaces must be maintained to prevent injury. In order to do this, regular inspection and testing should be carried out – how often depends on the risks arising from its use.

HSE Inspector Jo Anderson said:

"Around 1,000 electricity-related incidents at work are reported to HSE each year and about 25 people die of their injuries.

"This prosecution illustrates how important it is for factory owners to regularly inspect their electrical equipment. D A Green & Sons Ltd employs 50 staff whose health and safety has been at risk over many years. They were very lucky that this particular incident wasn’t any more serious."

For more information on electrical safety at work go to www.hse.gov.uk/electricity.

Notes to editors

1. 1. Regulation 4 (2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 requires that all electrical systems are maintained, so far as is reasonably practicable, to prevent danger.
2. 2. Electrical installation includes extension cables, electrical connections to machinery, plug sockets, wiring and circuit boards.

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