Crane accident costs construction firm GBP 21,248
September 22, 2008
A construction firm is fined £15,000 plus £6,248 in costs after an accident left an employee unable to work for months.
The company, Corus UK, pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A man broke his leg and sustained back injuries when the cargo of a crane he was operating caught on a building and struck him.
The heaviest of the steel beams which fell from the machine weighed 1.7 tonnes and measured 16 metres.
An inspector for the Health and Safety Executive Bruno Porter describes cranes equipped with electromagnets as safer in certain ways but claims they introduce further risks.
"[They] were well known at Corus and an alternative way of working should have been found to protect both the operator and other workers in the area," he says.
He states the length of the steel beams and layout of the site meant there was no safe position from which the crane should have been operated.
Earlier this month, Building magazine reported Strategic Forum released advice targeted at construction companies using the machines.
It recommends efforts are made to allow passers-by to contact site operators with any concerns they have about a crane's safety.
The company, Corus UK, pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A man broke his leg and sustained back injuries when the cargo of a crane he was operating caught on a building and struck him.
The heaviest of the steel beams which fell from the machine weighed 1.7 tonnes and measured 16 metres.
An inspector for the Health and Safety Executive Bruno Porter describes cranes equipped with electromagnets as safer in certain ways but claims they introduce further risks.
"[They] were well known at Corus and an alternative way of working should have been found to protect both the operator and other workers in the area," he says.
He states the length of the steel beams and layout of the site meant there was no safe position from which the crane should have been operated.
Earlier this month, Building magazine reported Strategic Forum released advice targeted at construction companies using the machines.
It recommends efforts are made to allow passers-by to contact site operators with any concerns they have about a crane's safety.
More Construction news:
Peter Ernest Homes pays GBP 6,500 after accident - January 7, 2009Laing O'Rourke fined GBP 80,000 - January 7, 2009
Company owner 'to be prosecuted for manslaughter' - January 5, 2009
South Yorkshire construction sector targeted by HSE - January 2, 2009
Safety intervention 'necessary for older workers' - January 2, 2009
