£80,000 fine following young man's crush death

Date:

15 January 2010

Release No:

655/SWW/10

A Wales construction company has been fined after one of its employees had his head crushed at a site in Gloucestershire.

Macob Administration Limited, based in Bridgend, was charged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after 23-year-old. Lance Taylor from Thornbury, Bristol, was killed while working on a construction site at Chestnut Walk in Abbeymead, Gloucester on 11 February 2005

Mr Taylor was driving a mini digger − which he was not qualified to operate - and unintentionally hit a lever as he leaned out of the cab window. The digging arm of the vehicle was raised, crushing his head between the cab and the arm. He suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on site.

Gloucester Crown Court heard Macob Administration Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches under Regulation 9(1) and 28(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £40,000 for each charge and ordered to pay costs of £29,798.14 today (15 January 2010).

Speaking after the hearing, 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.

"Mr Taylor and other site workers were not all properly trained to use the equipment they were handling and, just as seriously, vehicle keys were routinely left in the machines. As a result, the vehicles were accessible to anyone on site, regardless of their qualifications.

"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."

Notes to editors

1. Macob Administration Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 in that: 'it failed to ensure that all persons, including Lance Taylor and Adrian Griffiths, who use work equipment, including dumper trucks and tracked hydraulic excavators, have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken...'.
2. Macob Administration Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 28 (a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 in that: 'it failed to ensure that, where self-propelled work equipment, namely dumper trucks and tracked hydraulic excavators, may, while in motion, involve risk to the safety of persons, it had facilities for preventing such equipment from being started by an unauthorised person, including Lance Taylor and Adrian Griffiths...'.
3. Further guidance on health and safety issues relating to safety of vehicles at work can be found on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm and HSE publication HSG144 "Safe use of vehicles on construction sites" is at: http://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/saleproduct.jsf?catalogueCode=9780717662913
4. The court also ordered Macob Administration Ltd to pay a separate £15 victim surcharge, the proceeds of which will be spent on services for victims and witnesses

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR South West