Two construction firms have been fined £38,000 after three workers narrowly escaped being crushed by a 35-tonne crane when it toppled over at a building construction site. The driver, who has not been named, scrambled from the cab as the huge vehicle began to fall at the site of a new fire control centre. The crane was lifting a 5.7-tonne beam into place, when it swung around and smashed to the ground, narrowly missing two workers who ran clear.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it was sheer luck that a number of workers were not killed in the incident at Great Sankey, Warrington, in February last year, which was the result of inadequate risk assessments being carried out. The crane, operated by Leach Structural Steelwork Ltd, overturned after one of the outrigger supports which keep it upright sank into the ground. The main contractor, Amec Group Ltd and Leach both pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The HSE has now issued a warning to the construction industry that all mobile crane operations should be properly planned and supervised. HSE investigator Nic Rigby said, "It was down to chance alone that this incident did not result in multiple fatalities. This would have been avoided had the planning and supervision of the lifting operation not been so deficient. The crane overturned because it was being operated, with the knowledge of both companies, in a part of the site that had not been prepared for such activities."
