Steel fabricating company has been fined £100,000 after a worker was injured by falling steel.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how in December 2016, an employee of Lemon Groundwork Solutions, based in Russell Gardens, Wickford, Essex, suffered multiple breaks to his leg after he was struck by a bundle of steel that fell from a forklift truck while they were being moved. An HSE investigation found the company did not have a safe system of work in place to avoid this kind of incident.
In particular, workstations were not separated from vehicle routes, lifting accessories were not provided to reduce the risk of the rebar slipping from the forks and forklift truck drivers were not provided with site-specific or load-specific training. Lemon Groundwork Solutions pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was ordered to pay £6,253 costs.
Following the hearing, HSE inspector Nikki Hughes said: “Handling and moving rebar is a well-recognised industry risk, which the company failed to identify and manage, despite the activity occurring frequently during a working day.”
