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Practice meets perfect
May/June 2023 issue

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Co-op home delivery van ran over 88-year-old customer

Open-access content Wednesday 27th April 2016
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

The accident occurred when Edward Harris was walking from the car park to the shop on 29 January last year. He passed through a gap in the railings, which was the only route between the car park and the store, and walked behind the parked van.

The van reversed and struck Harris. He was knocked to the ground and fractured the top of his femur. He also developed several complications as a result of the accident, including pneumonia, an acute kidney injury and a probable artery blockage in his lung.

The health and safety department of Bath and North East Somerset Council, which brought the prosecution, was notified of the incident and found it was custom and practice for the store to park and load its delivery van in a yellow hatched area outside the front of the shop.

The van's rear doors faced backwards towards the gap in the railings and the driver had to reverse across the pedestrian route to get out because bollards prevented him from driving forwards. There were no windows in the back doors, no rear-facing camera and no banksman to help the driver manoeuvre. The vehicle had been reversed in this way three or four times a day, six days a week for the past four years.

The council said: "Whilst there were a number of shortcomings in the Co-op's working practices, had the Co-op addressed the practice of parking the vehicle on a pedestrian access and reversing blindly across it, the health and safety of those not in its employment would not have been at risk and Mr Harris would not have sustained the injuries that he did."

The Co-op pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act at Bath Magistrates' Court on 14 April.

"The council are pleased that the company co-operated fully with the investigation and that measures are now in place to improve safety," said the council's cabinet member for community services, Martin Veal.

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© Newscast/REX/Shutterstock

 Travis Perkins fined £2 million after customer died in store car park

Tuesday 3rd May 2016
On 9 November 2012, Mark John Porter was loading timber onto the roof of his Land Rover at Travis Perkins’ Milton Keynes store, when one of the cargo straps holding the planks snapped and he fell.At the same time, a flatbed vehicle was manoeuvring into a space between Porter’s vehicle and another lorry that was parked in the branch’s loading area. Porter was run over by the lorry and died following crush injuries to his chest.
Open-access content

 Warehouse operative crushed by a tonne of marble

Tuesday 10th May 2016
An employee of Extreme Handling, a supplier of forklift drivers and general warehouse operatives, was working at GMA Warehousing and Transport’s site in Felixstowe, Suffolk, helping a forklift truck operator move a one-tonne sheet of marble from a container.   The marble fell on the Extreme Handling worker, who sustained extensive crush injuries to his legs, a fractured sternum and severe lacerations to the back of his head.
Open-access content
The building blocks fell into the cycle lane | Image credit: HSE

 Property developer ignored HSE recommendations and fined

Tuesday 26th April 2016
Altin Homes was leading the construction works at the former petrol station. It acted as client and main contractor and had hired several tradespeople and labourers. In June 2014 a stack of building blocks collapsed and fell through the site hoarding onto a pavement and cycle lane. “It was nothing other than good fortune that no pedestrians were passing along the pavement when the blocks fell,” said Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  inspector Matt Greenly.
Open-access content
©DAVID HARTLEY/REX/Shutterstock

 Didcot update: Coleman and Co must hand over recovery operation

Tuesday 3rd May 2016
Part of the boiler house at the power station collapsed on 23 February during demolition work by Coleman and Company, killing one person, leaving three missing in the wreckage and injuring five others.In a statement, Coleman and Company said the move was “hugely disappointing”. “We have now reached a stage where we will be handing over the remaining recovery operation to another contractor within the next few weeks. This is of course hugely disappointing as we all wanted to recover our friends and colleagues and return them to their families,” it said.
Open-access content
©iStock/jakatics

 Speed control failure killed forklift driver

Tuesday 19th April 2016
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that Severfield (UK) did not enforce seat belt use or control the speed at which some FLT operators drove their trucks.Teesside Crown Court heard that 27-year-old Kelvin McGibbon was not wearing a seatbelt when his truck overturned after hitting some steps on 13 March 2013. He died from crush injuries.The company pleaded guilty to a non-causative breach of regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and was fined £135,000, and ordered to pay costs of £46,020.
Open-access content
Image credit: ©imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock

 Trench death brings Balfour Beatty second seven-figure fine this year

Friday 6th May 2016
On 14 April 2010 a subcontractor, James Sim, was working in the 2.4 m-deep unshored trench, laying cable ducting for an offshore windfarm that was being built off the Lancashire coast. Sim was trapped in the trench when it collapsed on him. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Balfour Beatty failed to adequately assess the works or control the excavation.
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