Lack of Risk Assessments Leads to Prosecutions
Looking at recent HSE prosecutions we can’t help but think that a pattern is forming with regards to companies failing to undertake risk assessments and suffering the consequences.
Here are just a few…
A metal company (ATI Speciality Materials Limited) has been fined £160,000 plus costs of £72,321 after one of its workers was accidently killed by a crane swinging and hitting him in the head.
The HSE investigation found:
- The company had not reviewed its risk assessments for 9 years.
- No refresher training had been given to crane operators for 6 to 10 years.
- Training for new starters was inadequate.
A manufacturer of road surfaces (Rettenmaier Uk Manufacturing) was fined £300,000 over the death of a worker who was dragged into an industrial blender.
The HSE investigation found:
- No safe system of work for locking off.
- No training for staff.
- No risk assessments for the task.
A small building contractor (PW Joinery and Building Services) was fined £10,000 and £19,000 in costs as a sub contractor fell through a gap in flooring joists and was fatally injured.
The HSE investigation found:
- There was no suitable risk assessment.
- No safe system of work.
- Failure to plan and supervise work at height.
Direct Extensions Limited was fined £8000 and costs of £3964.56 for breaches of Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. No-one has died or had serious health effects (the symptoms can take up to 30 years to present themselves).
The HSE investigation found:
- There was no suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
Sally Williams the owner of Cremtor was fined £45000 and £8180.44 in costs after she engaged a self-employed agricultural engineer to undertake ancillary jobs relating to the chimney of the incinerator, and he fell through a hole in the roof and sustained fatal injuries.
The HSE investigation found:
- There were no risk assessments conducted on the work.
- There were no safe systems of work.
- There were no health and safety documents in relation to this work.
If you wish to read more about these cases and plenty of others, please go on to the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk to the prosecutions area where they are all freely available to anyone.
This area along with the enforcement notice area is regularly updated and you can find information dating back for 5 years. If you wish to go back further than 5 years then all you have to do is go into the ‘archive’ area in this site. Nothing is ever removed from this site.
If you think you might be at risk of being prosecuted for lack of suitable and sufficient risk assessments don’t wait until it is too late. Contact SafetyNow who will be able to assist you with writing and communicating your risk assessments, safe systems of work, training of staff and any health and safety related documentation.
