Two companies have admitted failing to properly maintain and inspect cranes at a power station in North Yorkshire, where a worker suffered a broken foot when a load fell from an overhead crane.

The incident took place at Drax Power Ltd’s facility in Selby on 22 March 2009. Two workers, who were employed by Drax Power, were operating a 21-tonne overhead crane to move a metal lifting frame.

They were using a steel pole to pull down on a chain, which operated the crane’s steering mechanism. When they pulled on the pole, in order to change the direction that the crane was moving, the counter-balance weight and chain detached from the crane and fell. The 13kg weight landed on the right foot of one of the workers, who despite wearing reinforced safety boots, suffered a fracture.

The HSE’s investigation learned that Konecranes UK Ltd was the permanent on-site contractor responsible for maintaining the cranes and hoists. HSE inspector Andy Denison told SHP that the counter-balance and chain were not suitably secured, as they were only being held in place by a single nut and bolt.

The inspector also discovered the crane had missed two of its four-monthly services, meaning it was nine months since it was last fully checked. There were five other cranes at the site and three of these were also found to be behind schedule for servicing. Numerous defects were found on these cranes, including the tightness of chains and weak connections between the crane and the counter-balance.

Inspector Denison said: “It’s not acceptable to turn a blind eye to the ongoing maintenance and repair of work equipment. This incident could have resulted in a much more serious, or even fatal, injury. 



“Drax Power and Konecranes didn’t ensure the crane was kept in good working order and this led to the failure of the connection between the counter-balance weight and the steering mechanism of the crane. 



“Konecranes had fallen behind on servicing and failed to catch up. Their engineers also gave priority to breakdowns over maintenance. Drax continued to allow the cranes to be used even after they found out they had not been serviced. Companies cannot simply contract out their responsibilities and then let the contractor get on with it without checking the work is being done.”

Both companies appeared at Selby Magistrates’ Court on 31 January. Drax Power pleaded guilty to breaching reg.5(1) of PUWER 1998, for failing to ensure the equipment was properly maintained. Konecranes admitted a breach of s3(1) of the HSWA 1974. The companies were each fined £13,300 and ordered to pay £3151 in costs.

In mitigation, Drax Power said it has changed its procedures to ensure that it monitors the inspection schedule more closely. The counter-weight is now shackled to the crane, and an additional support chain has been attached to prevent it from falling. Tags showing the date of their last inspection have been attached to every crane.

Konecranes said it has worked closely with Drax Power to improve safety at the site, It entered a guilty plea and cooperated with the investigation.

The court heard that both companies have previous safety convictions. In 2009, Drax Power was fined £2000 in relation to an incident when a worker fell through an uncovered gap in the floor during cleaning work at the Selby plant.

In February last year, Konecranes was fined £8000 for failing to properly plan the lowering of an overhead runway beam at a site in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.