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Tuesday 30 January 2007 17:10
Health and Safety Executive (South East)

Willowbrook property services fined £4,000 for breaching Health and Safety regulations
Willowbrook Property Services Ltd has been fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £12,000 in costs at South East Hampshire Magistrates' Court for breaches of Health and Safety at Work Regulations in relation to a construction site accident where a worker lost a leg.
Self-employed construction site labourer Jamie Collier-Baker was also fine £350 for operating an excavator in the same incident.
This prosecution followed an investigation by the Health & Safety Executive into an accident that occurred on 23rd November 2004. When Lance Smith, a labourer, was injured while assisting a colleague with picking up a one tonne of ballast from the rear of a tipper truck using an excavator.
Mr Smith's colleague, Jamie Collier-Baker who drove the excavator, attempted to manoeuvre the bucket over the bag. The bucket swung unexpectedly and hit Mr Smith, trapping his leg against the side of the truck he had been standing on, forcing him over the side and onto the ground. His left leg was later amputated at the knee as a result of his crushing injuries.
The investigation found that Mr Collier-Baker was not qualified to drive heavy plant, including an excavator of this type. He had not attended a Construction Industry Training Board training course, and was not sufficiently skilled to be regarded as a plant operator.
Willowbrook Property Services Ltd failed to ensure that construction plant was operated in a safe manner and by a trained driver on their site.
Willowbrook Property Services Ltd, based at Osborne Road, Portsmouth, pleaded guilty of breaching Regulations 4(2) and 17(3) a of the Construction (Health and Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.

Self-employed Jamie Collier-Baker, based at Magdalen Road, Portsmouth pleaded guilty of Regulations 4(1) and 17(3) (a) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.
Charles Gilby HM Principal Inspector of Health and Safety, said:
"Construction plant and machinery is obviously potentially dangerous. Even a small excavator, let alone a 7 tonne machine, can easily kill in the wrong hands. This is why it is essential that skilled competent operators, whose skills have been verified through formal training and assessment, only ever operate it. Lance Smith faces the rest of his life seriously disabled as a direct result of others incompetence.

Willowbrook Property Services Ltd's owners and management, and Jamie Collier-Baker will probably never repeat this mistake, but we hope this case will act to warn others of these risks, and prevent repartitions of this horrific accident elsewhere."

Notes to Editors
1. Regulation 4(1) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 states:"...It shall be the duty of every employer whose employees are carrying out construction work and every self-employed person carrying out construction work to comply with the provisions of these Regulations insofar as they affect him or any person at work under his control or relate to matters which are within his control."
Regulation 4(2) states: "It shall be the duty of every person... who controls the way in which any construction work is carried out by a person at work to comply with the provisions of these Regulations insofar as they relate to matters which are within his control."
Regulation 17(3) states: "Any vehicle being used for the purposes of construction work shall when being driven, operated or towed -
be driven, operated or towed in such a manner as is safe in the circumstances".

2. HSE Inspector Joanna Woodcock is available for interview.

http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=260627&NewsAreaID=2
No Responsibility accepted for the accuracy of this article (27/02/07)

No Responsibility accepted for the accuracy of this article