Health and Safety Compliance - Enabling peace of mind for the Workshop Manager
A company in Doncaster has been fined after an employee was killed when a mixer wagon fell onto him.
The 52-year-old man was fatally crushed by the vehicle at Booth Mixer Hire Limited’s site at Bankend Quarry on 9 December 2019.
He had been replacing the wagon’s two front wheels when it fell on top of him.
With the existing wheels already removed, the worker entered the underside of the vehicle and attempted to prop it higher up using a bottle jack. It was at this point when the wagon fell onto the worker.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into this incident found Booth Mixer Hire Limited failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for replacing the wheels on the wagon. The firm had also failed to put in place a system of work that ensured the work could be carried out safely. It also failed to consider the use of alternative equipment, such as a trolley jack, which would have allowed the vehicle to be jacked from outside the danger zone.
HSE guidance states employers must make sure there are safe working procedures in place when moving heavy loads and ensure all lifting points for jacks and stands are correct for that vehicle.
Booth Mixer Hire Limited, of Bankend Road, Blaxton, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £16,717.15 in costs at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 2 April 2024.
HSE inspector John Boyle said: “This tragic incident could have been avoided by assessing the risk and implementing safe working practices.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
Complacency in the handling of waste fuel leads to death of young apprentice
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Sussex Police wish to warn motor vehicle repair garages about the importance of having a safe system in place for handling and storing petrol. The warning follows today's conclusion of proceedings brought against the manager and owner of a Sussex garage.
At an earlier hearing, garage manager Glen Hawkins was found guilty of manslaughter and his father, Howard Hawkins, the owner, was found guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA). They were both sentenced today at Lewes Crown Court. Glen Hawkins received a nine-month custodial sentence and Howard Hawkins a fine of £10,000 with costs of £15,000.
The prosecution followed the death of an apprentice mechanic, Lewis Murphy (18), who died four days after becoming engulfed in flames in an explosion at the Anchor garage, Peacehaven, Sussex on 19 February 2004. Mr Murphy was helping his manager, Glen Hawkins, empty a mixture of petrol and diesel from a dustbin into a waste oil disposal tank on the garage forecourt when the petrol exploded. A flue pipe outlet from a gas boiler was situated next to the tank and was switched on at the time. The boiler caused the fuel vapour to be sucked into the flue and ignited.
Passing sentence, Judge Richard Hayward, said of Glen Hawkins: "Causing the death of a person in such circumstances must be met with a prison sentence to punish you and send a serious message to people in the workplace that if they are grossly negligent they face prison."
In relation to John Hawkins, he continued: "To say that you were complacent about health and safety is an understatement. You regard health and safety as a tiresome intrusion into your business and a matter of common sense that you could leave to the experience of your mechanics. Being a dinosaur can sometimes be endearing but not on health and safety matters."
HSE Inspector Joanna Teasdale said: "In this case the garage management apparently had little understanding of how highly flammable petrol is. Minimal attempts had been made to overcome the hazards associated with its handling. The joint investigation with Sussex Police found that no formal procedures were in place for transferring and storing highly flammable liquids or draining fuel from cars. Howard Hawkins had also failed to register his garage with HSE.
"HSE issues simple guidance for petrol handling and storage in garages and we are always happy to advise on these matters. Most of the hazards of fuel removal can be mitigated by the use of a proprietary fuel retriever; providing a suitable container; eliminating static electricity; and capturing any petrol vapour displaced. This case is particularly distressing as Mr Murphy was learning the trade and so was heavily reliant on the duty of care owed to him by his manager and the garage owner. This was sadly absent."
Michael and Elizabeth Murphy said: "The tragic death of our youngest son Lewis has been both traumatic and painful for us. It is the most painful news any parent can go through, that one of their children has been killed. We would like to get this message across to all those parties involved with placing young school leavers in a working environment - that they ensure that the companies they send these young people to are registered with the HSE and that they are receiving proper health and safety training at the workplace. It is not enough to assume that the other party is carrying it out."
Inadequate facilities at Sheffield Garage lead to £8000 fine
These were the inadequate welfare facilities at a Sheffield motor repair shop that was sentenced for breaching health and safety regulations.
The pictures have been released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the workplace regulator prosecuted Brightside Motors Ltd for failing to comply with its enforcement action.
HSE inspector Kirstie Durrans said the firm failed to fulfil a basic requirement and provide clean and suitable welfare facilities for its staff.
Following an inspection of its site on Holywell Road, HSE served Brightside Motors Ltd with Improvement Notices that required the firm to provide suitable toilets and washing facilities for its workers.
The inspection, which took place in June 2021, found welfare facilities at the site were in a poor state. This included the failure to provide suitable sanitary conveniences and adequate washing facilities. There was no supply of clean, hot and cold water, no soap nor any toilet paper. A letter was then sent by HSE to the company outlining its health and safety breaches.
In December 2021, HSE inspected the site again and found the company had taken no action to address the issues with its welfare facilities. HSE then served the company with two Improvement Notices, legally requiring the company to provide suitable toilets and washing facilities, including hot and cold running water for its staff.
The company failed to take appropriate action to comply with these notices. Despite being given additional time by HSE, the company failed to meet the deadline in January 2023.
Brightside Motors Ltd, of Holywell Road, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £3,292.77 in costs at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 24 January 2024.
HSE inspector Kirstie Durrans said: “The provision of suitable, clean welfare facilities is a basic requirement that this company has failed to meet. HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fail to comply with the requirements of enforcement notices.”
Customer injured by his own vehicle when car fell from lift
A garage has been fined £12,000 after a customer was crushed by his own vehicle at a garage in North London.
Tottenham resident Mahmut Emanet is “lucky to be alive”, according to an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Mr Emanet spent six days in a critical care unit after he sustained serious crush injuries in the incident. He has been left with permanent and life changing injuries.
The 62-year-old had taken his company vehicle to be serviced at Silver Street Service Garage Limited on College Close, on 15 August 2022. The company director, Mr Seyit Dilek, left him standing under the vehicle while it was raised on a vehicle lift. As Mr Dilek walked away it fell off the lift and on to Mr Emanet.
While Mr Emanet was a member of the public who survived this incident, not everyone is so lucky. HSE has previously warned workers of the dangers of poorly supported vehicle.
In total, 24 workers in the motor vehicle repair industry have been killed in work-related accidents in the last five years, with the fatal injury rate in the motor vehicle repair industry around five times the average rate across all industries. Recent research suggests that over half of all fatal injuries in the sector were caused by work under a poorly supported vehicle.
The HSE investigation found that Silver Street Service Garage Limited failed to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to health and safety risks. The company also failed to ensure that the equipment had been thoroughly examined for any defects.
Company director Mr Dilek was in control of the garage at the time of the incident. He was directly responsible for the way work was conducted and access was managed on site. He failed to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to health and safety risks.
Silver Street Service Garage Limited of College Close, London, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and guilty to a contravention of Regulation 9(3)(a)(ii) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £12,000 and was ordered to pay £2406 costs at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 December 2023.
At the same hearing, Mr Dilek of Waltham Abbey, London, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) by virtue of Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £500 and was ordered to pay £1500 costs
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Michelle Morphy said: “Mr Emanet is lucky to be alive.
“This incident could have been avoided if he had simply been asked to stay in the waiting area provided for members of the public.
“Instead, not only was he left to move freely around the two-post vehicle lift on which his vehicle was raised, he was asked by a director of the business to assist with the work being carried out, in the minutes before it fell.”
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