Charles J Marshall (Aberdeen) Limited has been fined £6,600 after pleading guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations SI 1998/2306 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company after Jose Magano Ojeda, originally from Spain, was seriously injured by the fork from a fork lift truck.
Mr Magano Ojeda was, on his first day at the company, welding metal runners to the steel sheet bed of a trailer. At the same time, another employee was using the forks of a fork lift truck to apply downward pressure to the metal runner in order to hold it flat and in place for welding. However, the fork then lifted up and disengaged from the fork lift truck, striking Mr Magano Ojeda in the process, breaking his hip.
The subsequent HSE investigation found that not only was the fork lift truck being used for a purpose it was never designed for, safety measures which are designed to keep the fork in place were missing.
HSE principal inspector Niall miller said, "It is inherently unsafe to use equipment for purposes other than that it is designed and intended for. The failure of the company to find a safe way to apply pressure to metal bars for welding led to ad hoc and unsafe practices, and has in this case resulted in a worker being seriously injured. Mr Magano Ojedo continues to suffer physical discomfort and this incident has fundamentally altered the way he lives his life."
