Concrete manufacturer Treanor Pujol Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches following two separate incidents, including the death of an employee and serious injuries to a second worker, as Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigators identified several electrical safety failings.
Leeds Crown Court heard how in 2014 an employee was operating a mobile saw unit at the factory in Leeds, while another employee was operating a mobile bed cleaner. The first employee was standing on the footwell of the saw unit as the other machine passed on the adjacent production line. As the bed cleaner came past, the employee's head was crushed between the frames of the two machines and he was killed instantly.
An investigation by the HSE found that it was the nature of the production for machines to routinely pass each other on adjacent lines, with the gap between the passing bed cleaner and saw machines being very small on some lines, between 65 and 93mm at different parts of the frames. It was found that the company failed to identify the risk of crushing posed by the passing machines, failed to devise a safe system or work to control the risk, and failed to provide adequate training in such a procedure to employees.
In a second incident in 2018, an employee was operating a hooks machine, which embeds hooks into precast concrete, when a fault developed during the operation. While attempting to reset the machine his elbow leant on a concrete dispenser box and a metal shutter, designed to close off the flow of concrete, closed and trapped his hand, resulting in a fracture and partial de-gloving of his left hand.
An investigation by the HSE found that the machine was not fitted with working interlocks, meaning several of the machines doors could be opened to gain access to dangerous moving parts whilst the machine was operating.
In the early investigation into the 2014 incident, HSE inspectors also noticed several electrical safety concerns with the equipment in the manufacturing shed. Inspectors carried out numerous visits between 2014 and 2018 and discovered further failings, including one which related to electrical equipment not being suitably constructed or protected from the environment. It was left in wet, dirty, dusty and corrosive conditions, which resulted in rapid deterioration and safety features becoming inoperable over time. This exposed employees to a risk of serious personal injury or death.
Treanor Pujol Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations SI 1998/2306, and the Electricity at Works Regulations SI 1989/635. The company was fined £285,000 and ordered to pay costs of £56,234.97.
HSE inspector Kate Dixon said: "Treanor Pujol Ltd should have identified the risk of crushing between passing machines on the production lines. The company should have taken steps to reduce and control the residual risk, organising production to minimise the likelihood of machines passing each other on adjacent lines, as well as devising and implementing a safe system of work".
She concluded there should have been a designated place of safety where operators were required to stand as machines passed. The operator's manual for the bed cleaning machine stated there should be an exclusion zone around the machine of 655mm, which if it had been in place, would have addressed the significant crushing hazard and prevented the death of the first employee. In regards to the 2018 incident, Dixon added that the company should have ensured the dangerous parts of the Hooks Machine should not have been able to be accessed by anyone whilst they were moving, by way of suitable guarding arrangements.
"Duty holders should ensure they carry out site specific risk assessments to identify any issues relevant to a particular location, task or piece of equipment. It is important to ensure where safe systems of work are required, employees are properly trained and monitored to ensure the correct way of working is followed".
