Two railway maintenance companies have each been fined £240,000 after admitting offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, following the fatal crushing of a worker by a piece of machinery at Edinburgh's Waverley Station. The worker had been taking part in an overnight operation to move a railway adapted cherry-picker machine for repairs.
LH Access Technology Ltd admitted failing to make a sufficient risk assessment of the safety of people not employed by them when using their machinery. In addition, Border Rail admitted failing to ensure the health and safety and welfare at work of an employee by failing to provide a safe system of work.
Sheriff Nigel Morrison QC said the operation was not adequately planned and that there had been an unacceptable risk of serious injury resulting in an unnecessary loss of life. Sheriff Morrison added, "The method adopted to move the machine was inherently and obviously unsafe involving, as it did, a man walking between two moving wheels."
Border Rail had argued it was unforeseeable that the cherry-picker would be moved in the manner it was, as it was normal rail industry practice to carry out repairs on the spot, even though its foreman knew what was being done.
Sheriff Morrison continued, "While it may be said that moving the machine off site or certainly the method adopted was not expected by the company, the failure to recognise the risk and to stop the operation once it was, or should have been, appreciated that it was obviously unsafe is a serious failure of duty. What was done fell below what was reasonably practicable."
