A contracting firm has been fined £45,000 after a driver died following an accident when his tipper wagon overturned.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how on 17 September 2013 driver Alan Clements was tipping spoil onto a stockpile at the former Croda tar works in Carlisle Street, Kilnhurst, Rotherham. Sirius Remediation contractors were managing works that involved raising the ground levels on site by reusing spoil from other sites instead of sending it to landfill.
Clements reversed up the slope of the stockpile and raised his tipper, but the truck toppled over sideways and he suffered fatal chest injuries. A HSE investigation found there was nothing to demarcate the sides or top of the slope, such as beams or barriers at the edges of the spoil heap that could have prevented plant or other vehicles from getting too close to high and possibly loose edges.
There had also been a failure to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for the safe formation of the stockpile. Sirius Remediation of Russell House, Mill Road, Langley Moor, Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was ordered to pay £10,000 costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Medani Close said: “Stockpiling should only take place under the control of a suitably qualified temporary works manager or co-ordinator as it can be a high-risk activity if not properly managed. Where stockpiling is unavoidable, tipping should take place on a firm, level surface, preferably at the base.
“Plants such as a crawler dozer, tracked/loading shovel or excavator should be used to create and maintain the stockpile, and its edges should be clearly demarcated with barriers.”
