A County Antrim engineering firm has been fined £90,000 after the death of an employee.
FG Wilson pleaded guilty at Antrim Crown Court to two breaches of health and safety legislation, in a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI).
The employee was involved in a maintenance operation on a crane when the accident happened. A colleague at ground level was controlling the crane and the worker was crushed in an 11cm gap between the top of the crane and a roof beam.
An HSE NI investigation revealed that FG Wilson (Engineering) Ltd had not sufficiently assessed the risks involved in the activity. The investigation found that the company did not have an adequate safe system of work and failed to supervise the activities of employees.
Louis Burns, head of HSE NI's major investigation team said, "The risks in this situation would have been easily identified by even the most basic risk assessment. Maintenance operations by their nature can be dangerous and companies need to properly identify and address hazards within the workplace. Employees need to have proper training and supervision. Some very simple precautions would have prevented this tragedy."
An FG Wilson spokesman said, "As a company, we are strongly committed to the highest levels of workplace safety. We are therefore determined that the findings of the HSE NI's investigation and our own internal investigations, and the further investment that we have made as a result, ensure that such a tragic incident never happens again."
