Health and Safety Failings – Prosecution after worker crushed to death by excavator

Prosecution after worker crushed to death by excavator 

Key Facts:

• An engineer has been prosecuted after a worker was crushed to death by an excavator on an Orkney pier.
• The HSE investigating officer stated that the ‘tragic incident could have been avoided had the work been properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.’
• The engineer was fined £12,000.

The Case:

An investigation was launched after a worker was crushed to death whilst working on a pier in Orkney in an incident on 13 November 2012. The engineer who employed him was investigated.

The employee was working with two other men to unload metal panels at the end of the pier using an excavator. All three men were directing the excavator operator, telling him where to move. After the last metal panel was lowered, the workers realised that one of the men was lying face down on the floor. He was unresponsive. The emergency services were called, but he was declared dead at the scene.

Although there were no witnesses, the evidence all pointed towards the scenario that he had been hit by a moving excavator and crushed between its bucket and a fixed cabinet at the end of the pier.

Several key safety failings were identified by the investigation into the incident:

• The engineer overseeing the work had carried out a risk assessment, but had not identified mechanical lifting as a hazard, or the risks associated with the use of an excavator.
• Reasonable precautions were not in place to prevent such an incident.
• At the time of the incident, darkness was falling. The workers had removed their hi-vis jackets, thinking they would break for tea, but decided to carry on with the unloading first. Therefore, the job started whilst two workers – included the man who was struck – were not wearing their hi-vis jackets.
• The excavation driver’s vision was obstructed by various objects, and environmental factors such as poor lighting.
• No exclusion zone was established around the excavator.

The case was heard at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on 25 March 2015. The court heard the HSE’s investigation concluded that given the lack of precautions and planning, it was entirely foreseeable that an incident might occur. The engineer in charge of the project pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £12,000.

What the HSE inspector had to say:

Speaking after the hearing the HSE Inspector Niall Miller stated that:

“This tragic incident could have been avoided had the work been properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.

All lifting operations are considered potentially hazardous and regulations are in place to ensure measures are taken to control the risks. Where an excavator is being used, visibility for the operator should be maximised by removing the bucket and by all operatives wearing high visibility clothing.

When an excavator is used for lifting, workers need to be close to the boom in order to sling the load and attach it to the excavator. This puts them in the hazardous area where if the machine swings they can be hit by the load, boom or bucket or crushed against a fixed object as in this case.

These risks are well recognised within the construction industry but sadly, Mr Reid’s failure to assess them properly when planning this job ended in tragedy.”

What the law states:

Regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 states:

Every employer shall ensure that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is (a) properly planned by a competent person; (b) appropriately supervised; and (c) carried out in a safe manner.

Further information on safe work with excavators can be found here.

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