A structural engineering company from Darlington, Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd, has been fined following a tragic accident where an electrician fell approximately eight meters when an access panel on the raised walkway of an overhead crane gave way beneath him.
On 26 October 2016, Mr Keith Poppleton was repairing wiring that had been causing a short circuit on the lifting equipment of a large overhead gantry crane. As he worked on the crane's walkway, an access panel gave way under his feet, causing him to fall from a height all the way down to the ground and sustain fatal injuries as a result.
An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to properly maintain the crane's walkway access panels, it was also found that those panels were used to replace light fittings some months earlier. The faulty panel was subject to some welding repair, and the HSE found no evidence of any steps being taken by the company to ensure that the panel was safely replaced and secured to ensure it did not fail.
Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd was found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, as well as the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations SI 1998/2306 and the Work at Height Regulations SI 2005/735. It was fined £1.5M and ordered to pay costs of £29,239.
Following the hearing, HSE inspector Jonathan Wills said: "Mr Poppleton and others were at risk from serious injury whilst walking on a gantry 26 feet high, as the company had failed to assess the risk of these access platforms, which should be secured in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
"This was an incident, which could easily have been prevented had the company considered the risks associated with such access panels not being secured in place following maintenance work and general wear and tear."
