An excavator driver suffered serious injuries when part of a stand collapsed on his vehicle during demolition work at Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard Excavation and Contracting (UK) Ltd was contracted to demolish a two-tiered stand at the ground, which is the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club.
On 26 April last year, a 33-year-old worker, who has asked to remain anonymous, was using an excavator to remove a concrete beam from the stand. The vehicle was positioned on the face of the stand and its arm was fully extended to reach the concrete slab. When the two-tonne beam broke free it slid down the frame of the stand and landed on the excavator.
The worker sustained several fractures to both legs as well as severe cuts and bruising. A video showing CCTV footage of the incident can be viewed at the end of this article.
The HSE visited the site the following day and found the work was not properly planned and there wasn’t an adequate risk assessment in place. The excavator was unsuitable, as it had too short a reach, which meant it was parked to close to the stand.
The firm was issued a Prohibition Notice by the HSE, which required the work to stop until a safe system of work was created and suitable equipment provided.
HSE inspector Alan Pojur told SHP the work should have been carried out using a long-reach excavator. He said: “The excavator driver was lucky not to have been killed when the two-tonne concrete slab collapsed on to his cab.
“His life was put in danger because the firm didn’t plan the work properly. It should have arranged for a high-reach excavator to be used so that the stand could be demolished from a safe distance away.”
The court heard that the company’s owner, Brendan O’Halloran, was not able to supervise or plan the project, as he had been off work for six months following an attack at his home. He was seriously injured during a burglary, when he was tied up, beaten, and had boiling water poured over his head.
In his absence, O’Halloran hired an operations manager to plan and monitor jobs. But according to the HSE, this worker did not visit the site and was on holiday at the time of the incident.
Excavation and Contracting (UK) Ltd appeared in court on 16 November and pleaded guilty to breaching s3(1) of the HSWA 1974 and reg.29(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. It was fined a total of £5000 and £12,000 in costs.
In mitigation, the company said it had no previous safety convictions and had fully cooperated with the investigation. It complied with the enforcement notice by hiring a sub-contractor to finish the work using a long-reach excavator. It also said the operations manager no longer works for the company.
A year before the incident the company won a British Safety Council International Safety Award for maintaining high safety standards.
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I may be wrong, but I do not see any FOPS mounted on either of these two excavators?
Any DEMO machine should have these fitted. (Regardless of reach)
The operator was lucky not to have been be killed out right.
No mention of him or others not holding DEMO Operative Cards.
Where was the DEMO Supervisor?
Who developed the DEMOLITION PLAN?
No mention of notification? A CDMC might even have seen the risk had there been one appointed?
Still, I bet they were cheap though?
Good point, but in thier defence, thier near miss reporting would have picked it up?
LOL thier due dilligence is blantantly obvious for all to see?
I wonder what approved list they are (were) on?
Good to see CDM working though?
The surprising thing about this incident is the fact that if NO injury had occured or if the injury resulted in less than 7 days absence then it would not have been reportable under RIDDOR as the beam only weighed 2 tonnes!