The failure to conduct a proper risk assessment and plan, devise and implement adequate safety procedures in lifting operations, can have massive implications for all involved. This is a fact which has been highlighted this month, with the prosecution of Rence Engineering Services Ltd, of Brighouse, after an incident in which an employee lost his lower leg. The injured man was assisting an operator who was using a forklift truck to lift and turn a fabrication at the company's site at Royd Business Park on 14 September 2005, when the fabrication fell and landed on his right leg. The company pleaded guilty to failing to meet the requirements of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) SI 1998/2307, and were fined a total of £5,261 at Calderdale Magistrates' Court.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commented, "by taking a little time to plan safely, this accident was entirely foreseeable and preventable. Accidents involving objects falling from lifting equipment are sadly all too common and, as in this case, the results are often disastrous."
