Maintenance regimes 'essential to health and safety'

Companies are being warned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that they must have adequate maintenance regimes in place to ensure the health and safety of staff in the workplace.

The message came after Proctor and Gamble Product Supply was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,738 at Trafford magistrates' court in a case brought by the HSE.

In July 2006, three maintenance workers entered a lift which descended in an uncontrollable way and left one employee with a broken leg, while the second suffered ankle injuries and the third member of staff was left with compression injuries.

The firm admitted to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in that company bosses failed to ensure the workers' safety by maintaining the lifts breaks.

Richard Clarke, the HSE inspector, said other organisations should look at the case as an example and take steps to ensure all of their equipment is kept in good working order.

"This incident should serve as a lesson to all companies to ensure that they have proper maintenance regimes to avoid similar incidents in the future. This was a wholly avoidable accident had a proper maintenance regime been in place," he stated.

In other news, the authority is warning construction site managers in the north-east to ensure sites are secured to prevent unauthorised people and young children form entering and exposing themselves to serious danger.