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May/June 2023 issue

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News

Two-year jail sentence for director follows MEWP failure fatality

Open-access content Tuesday 10th January 2017
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

Two-year jail sentence for director follows MEWP failure fatality

The company was also fined £61,000 for failing to ensure that those using the equipment were not exposed to the risk of injury or death, for failing to maintain the equipment and for hiring the cherry picker out when it had not been certified as safe. Another company, J M Access Solutions, which had been hired to carry out statutory thorough inspections was also fined £30,000 for failing to do so.

Airdrie Sheriff Court heard that Gary Currie and Alexander Nisbet were working in the basket of a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP), a cherry picker, at a height of about 30 m when the collapse happened on 20 June 2012 at Buchanan House, an office block in Port Dundas Road, in Glasgow. Currie was removing netting from the building's facade and Nisbet was operating the platform.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the third main boom section of the MEWP (known as main boom 3) had buckled, crashing the basket to the ground, killing Currie and seriously injuring his colleague.

The court heard that the cherry picker was owned by Craig Services and that the person, who to all intents and purposes was the company's manager, was Donald Craig.

Sheriff Petra Collins said the company was also under an absolute duty to maintain the cherry picker was in good working order and that the cherry picker was thoroughly inspected at least every six months.

J M Access Solutions was fined £30,000 for its failure to carry out a thorough examination of the platform and its safety-critical parts.

The court heard there had been an earlier incident in Penicuik on 17 May 2011 when the cherry picker's boom buckled while it was in use. Fortunately, on that occasion, the boom's fall was halted by the roof of a block of flats.

The court heard that the failure of main boom 3 was never fully investigated following the incident. CTE Spa, the cherry picker's manufacturer's representative, advised Craig Services to replace at least main boom 3 but the company chose instead to repair it, which was relayed to CTE Spa by email on 10 February 2012. Sheriff Collins said that Craig Services did not have any manufacturer's approval nor a manufacturer's specification in relation to the proposed repair.

Such was the damage to main boom 3, it was clear that both a major repair and an extensive modification was needed, the court heard. However, the company's manager had instructed a firm of welders to carry out the repairs, stating that the main boom 3 would be nested inside the second section of the boom. As repairs proceeded, Craig assured the welder that the platform would only be used as a short-reach machine and would not be load-bearing. At no time did Craig Services carry out a modification to the cherry picker to ensure main boom 3 did not bear loads.

HSE principal inspector Graeme McMinn said: "At the time of the accident, the MEWP had a catalogue of defects some of which were safety critical demonstrating that Craig Services did not have an adequate proactive maintenance and reactive repair system in place within the company."

He added: "The competence and diligence of a thorough examiner is vital as it is they who declare the MEWP safe to use. J M Access Solutions failed to carry out a diligent thorough examination and declared the MEWP safe to use. The British Standard provides guidance on what an examination should include following a major repair on a MEWP structure. Non-destructive testing and load testing should have been carried out and overload testing discussed with the manufacturer."

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A cherry picker buckled while in use causing a fatality. Image credit: Crown Office

 *UPDATE* Two-year jail sentence for director follows MEWP failure fatality

Tuesday 24th January 2017
The mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) was owned by Craig Services and Access, which was managed by Donald Craig. He was found guilty of a charge under s 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (HSW) Act at Airdrie Sheriff Court and sentenced on 6 January after a 16-day trial. Craig had denied the allegations.His company was fined £61,000 for failing to ensure that operators were not exposed to the risk of injury or death, for failing to maintain the equipment, and for hiring out the cherry picker when it had not been certified as safe.
Open-access content

 Contractor fell through unguarded floor hole

Monday 9th January 2017
The company was installing a mezzanine floor at a factory in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey when the incident occurred on 13 January 2015. The contractor was working on the floor when he stepped backwards and fell through a hole where a lift was due to be installed.
Open-access content
A member of the public photographed Mullholland balancing 27 m above street level

 Suspended jail sentence for construction worker with 'staggering disregard for personal safety'

Tuesday 3rd January 2017
Manchester Magistrates’ Court was told that David Mullholland, a 25-year-old employee of a steel erection company, was working at height during a hotel development project in Manchester. On 21 January 2015 he climbed up the scaffolding to hammer some steel beams into position.A nearby worker took the photo of Mullholland from their office window and contacted the HSE. Inspectors went to the site and questioned him.
Open-access content

 Twice subcontracted roof job leads to CDM and WAH regs fines

Thursday 26th January 2017
Chelmsford Crown Court was told that Dengie Crops, which grows and produces alfalfa for animal feed, contracted agricultural and construction machinery supplier Ernest Doe & Sons to renew a roof at its premises in Asheldham, Essex. However, Ernest Doe did not have the appropriate experience to carry out the work and subcontracted it to Balsham Buildings, a structural steel fabricator and cladding contractor. Balsham decided how the project should be carried out and subcontracted the replacement again to Strong Clad.
Open-access content

 Stepladder fall costs Volvo £900,000

Tuesday 13th December 2016
The accident happened at a Volvo Truck and Bus Centre depot in Enfield, north London on 17 September 2015. The technician was servicing a lorry owned by delivery firm DHL when he identified that the access rope to the back of the vehicle was broken and needed to be replaced. The rope was approximately 3.5 m off the ground and he fetched a stepladder from the warehouse to carry out the repair.
Open-access content

 Factory director given suspended sentence over brother’s fatal carding machine accident

Monday 9th January 2017
A carding machine that formed part of Felt Suppliers’ production line had become blocked with waste on 1 February 2012. The carding process disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web for onward processing.  Nasir Hussain tried to fix the problem by overriding the safety system. He unlocked one of the gates with a spare key, climbed on top of the machine and used a metal bar to clear the blockage.
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