Quarry owner fined for unsafe equipment

Date:

11 May 2011

Release No:

HSE/EM/186/11

A Lincolnshire quarry owner has been fined for endangering employees after being found guilty of operating unsafe machinery.

Andrew Freeman, who trades under the name Freemac Aggregates at The Quarry, Cross Road, The Fen, Baston, failed to comply with a legal notice prohibiting the use of poorly maintained and inadequately guarded sand and gravel plant until it was made safe.

Spalding Magistrates Court heard today that the Health and Safety Executive visited Mr Freeman's premises on 9 June 2009 and issued a Prohibition Notice for the machine. When an inspector revisited the site two months later on 16 September, the plant was still in use and guarding that had been fitted to comply with the Notice had again been removed.

Andrew Freeman was found guilty of breaching Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 in relation to the offence. In addition to a £7,500 fine, he was ordered to pay full costs of £3,437.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Jo Anderson said:

"By failing to maintain the guards or, worse still, provide any at all, Mr Freeman was putting himself and his employees at risk. The fact that the guards had again been removed after we had issued the prohibition notice, and given him advice on what he needed to do to bring it up to standard, shows a blatant disregard for health and safety.

"If someone had fallen into the machine they could easily have been killed or had a limb amputated or severely crushed. Preventing access to dangerous parts of moving machinery is a basic and vital safety precaution to ensure the welfare of a company's workforce."

In the last ten years over 3000 quarry workers have suffered an injury reportable to HSE, 24 of those being fatal. Free guidance about health and safety in the quarrying industry is available at www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/index.htm

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive 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. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph (2) which are effective to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar."
3. Photographs of the machinery for use by the media are available from COI on the number below

Press enquiries

Regional reporters should call the appropriate Regional News Network press office.

Issued on behalf of HSE by COI News & PR East Midlands