£19,671 in fines and costs for engineering firm following workers 6mtr fall

An engineering firm has been prosecuted after a worker suffered major injuries when he plunged six metres from a platform he was working on when it was hit by an overhead gantry crane.
 
The worker, who comes from Maesteg and does not wish to be named, was using a scissor lift to replace high level lights in the fabrication workshop of Dollcast Ltd at the Village Farm Industrial Estate, Pyle, on 14 January 2012.
 
Bridgend Magistrates heard today (13 May) that the self-employed contractor was carrying out his work when an overhead gantry crane, used by another worker to move steel around the workshop, struck the scissor lift knocking it to the floor. He fell to the factory floor below and suffered five broken ribs, lacerations to his elbow and injuries to his hips.
 
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Dollcast had failed to make sure a suitable system of work was in place for the contractor to carry out his task and there was no attempt to isolate the gantry crane from its power supply to prevent it being used while the contractor was fixing the lights.
 
Dollcast Ltd of Dunraven Street, Tonypandy, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £9,671 in costs.
 
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Lee Schilling said:
 
"This was a serious incident and, in a fall of six metres, this worker was lucky not to have lost his life. It was also needless and avoidable.
 
"The incident could have easily been prevented if a simple, suitable system of work had been used by Dollcast, including the secure isolation of the overhead crane from its power supply.
 
"This would have been a straightforward process of establishing a break in the power supply, normally by using a lockable isolator switch, and then securing the switch in the 'off' position using a padlock to prevent it being switched back on until the maintenance work had finished.
 
"Working at height is a significant risk activity across all industries. Last year more than 6,300 employees suffered major injuries following a fall. Working at height must always be properly planned."
Fall Protection