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Firms fined after steel beam kills passerby

16th February 2012
Page 17
Page 17, 16th February 2012 — Firms fined after steel beam kills passerby
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Lorry carrying steel beams was parked next to pedestrian walkway in an area not designated for unloading

By Roger Brown

CONSTRUCTION FIRMS Fisher Engineering and CM Structural Services have been ined a total of £65,000 after a steel beam weighing more than a tonne fell from a lorry and killed a passerby.

In a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, the Old Bailey was told that the incident which killed French national Hugues Makambila, 35, from Bordeaux, happened at a construction site in Brentford, London, in June 2008.

Northern Ireland-based Fisher Engineering was responsible for the manufacture, delivery and installation of structural steelwork.

It had contracted CM Structural Services, also based in Northern Ireland, to erect the steelwork.

On the day of the accident the lorry load of steel beams arrived on site and parked next to a pedestrian walkway in an area not designated for unloading.

An HSE investigation found that a company director of CM Structural Services had noticed a steel beam hanging over the right side of the lorry, but no measures were taken to restrain the load or to prevent the beam from falling.

CM Structural Services began unloading the steel using a forklift, but did not put any measures in place to prevent people walking down a nearby pavement nor did it put up signs warning that unloading was taking place.

Makambila was working as a cleaner at the construction site in Harlequin Avenue.

During unloading, a steel beam weighing 1.382 tonnes fell from the LGV onto Makambila who was on the pedestrian walkway. He was killed instantly.

The two companies had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which states that it is the duty of employers to make sure that people not in their employment are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.

Fisher Engineering was ined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £16,595, while CM Structural Services was ined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,692.

Lisa Chappell, HSE inspector, says: “This tragic incident was easily preventable. The risks involved in the handling and delivery of steel stock are well known to those in the industry.

“Appropriate measures to control these hazards should have been in place, including ensuring there is effective communication between the duty holders responsible for planning and managing deliveries, inspecting deliveries upon arrival and providing a clearly deined exclusion zone where unloading can be carried out safely.

“These measures are neither costly nor time consuming, yet the failures of the companies involved in this incident contributed to the death of a respected worker whose family continues to grieve the loss of a son, brother and husband.” Information on risk assessments can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/ casestudies/index.htm

Effective communication

There must be effective communication between duty holders responsible for planning and managing deliveries and inspecting deliveries. Also, there should be a clearly defined exclusion zone where unloading can be carried out safely.


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