MANUAL HANDLING - PROSECUTION

An incident in which a worker was fatally crushed under a tone of glass has cost a specialist glass contractor and its subcontractor £125,000 in fines.

Five panes of structural glass fell onto the worker as he helped colleagues unpack them from crates placed precariously on A-frame stillages during work to install a glass canopy at a site in East London.

The HSE Inspector investigating the incident said that the contractor had a very poor system of work.  The contractor had supplied the glass to its subcontractor for installation and had inserted wooden blocks to balance the crates on the stillages.  By inserting these wooden blocks the glass was brought dangerously close to a vertical position. 

The only way to remove the front of the crate was to take off a fabric strap that held the crate against the stillage.  In doing this the glass toppled over fatally injuring the worker.

The HSE Inspector said that the method statement and risk assessment failed to address the risk of the glass falling.  The men involved in the operation had come up with the system of work themselves as the method statement only had a vague reference to removing one pane at a time.

The contractor was fined £100,000 with £31,847 costs for failing to ensure the safety of non-employees and the subcontractor that supplied the labour was fined £25,000 with £7,862 costs for failing to ensure the safety of its employees.

Lessons to be learnt
There are a number of occasions where I discussed with managers / supervisors on site the need for ensuring that their method statements and risk assessments are sufficiently detailed.  In some cases it has been for using works such as ‘where applicable’ or ‘where necessary’ therefore leaving the burden of decision upon the employees carrying out the work

As managers and supervisors, you need to ensure that you give enough information to employees in your method statements and risk assessments to enable them to carry out their works in a safe manner.

For more information about developing safe systems of work please do not hesitate to contact me on my mobile or by e-mail.