Concrete pumping company fined for poor plant maintenance

Date:

10 September 2012

A Hertfordshire concrete pumping company has been fined after members of the public and a police car were sprayed with concrete when a delivery pipe ruptured.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted London Concrete Pumping Limited over poorly maintained equipment leading to the incident on 24 May 2011.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard today (10 Sept) that the equipment was being used to pump concrete to the top of a construction site opposite Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace, when the pipe, part of the concrete pump's delivery line, ruptured, spraying the liquid concrete at high-velocity over the vehicle and injured a passer-by.

The court was told that on the day of the incident, the pump operator, believing there was a blockage in the pipe released the pressure and started reverse pumping. He could not see the entire length of the equipment and was told by the foreman a pipe had burst hitting people and a vehicle with concrete. The debris caused a head injury to a woman and shattered the window of a police car 25 metres away.

The subsequent HSE investigation found the pipe had been weakened in a separate incident but had not been replaced or repaired. Magistrates were told the reason for the rupture was due to the company's inadequate maintenance regime which had allowed the pipe to be used. HSE said this increased the possibility of other machines being operated while in a poor condition.

London Concrete Pumping Ltd specialises in pumps for the piling, groundwork and concrete frame sector. It employs around eight full time Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) subcontractors.

After the hearing HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said:

"It's simply not acceptable for firms to show the level of disregard to people's safety that London Concrete Pumping demonstrated here.

"Its failure to carry out effective maintenance on its plant and equipment meant the company put others at risk and ultimately led to a person being injured.

"Companies have a duty to ensure work activity is not only safe for workers, but also for people in the immediate vicinity. HSE will not hesitate to prosecute companies that fail to ensure both equipment and repair regimes are not up to scratch."

London Concrete Pumping Ltd of Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £8000 and ordered to pay £31,000 in costs.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent 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. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."
3. Further information and guidance about working with concrete can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/concrete/index.htm
4. Further information and guidance about maintenance of pipelines can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pipelines/index.htm

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by the Regional News Network