A migrant worker was “extremely fortunate” not to be seriously injured when a stack of heavy white goods fell on him at a recycling plant, an HSE inspector has revealed.
The agency worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, was working at Environcom England Ltd’s processing plant at Spittlegate Level, Grantham, when the incident took place on 15 September 2009. The worker was asked to load white goods on a forklift so they could be lifted on to the conveyor of a mill machine, in which items are crushed.
The appliances were stored five or six units high and, as he tried to manually move one of the bottom items, the stack became unstable and toppled over. He was knocked unconscious after being struck by the falling load, and suffered bruising to his back and chest. He told investigators that he believed three units had fallen and hit him.
The company did not report the incident to the HSE until late November 2009 as it said the man returned to work within three days, meaning it was not required to report the incident under RIDDOR. An HSE inspector visited the facility on 3 December 2009 and found that the appliances were still being stacked in an unsafe manner. A Prohibition Notice was immediately issued, which required the company to take down the stacks and create a safe method of storing the items.
HSE inspector Judith McNulty-Green told SHP that there was a range of “common-sense” measures that Environcom could have put in place to avoid the incident. She said: “The worker was extremely fortunate not to have been more seriously hurt and the company could have done so many things to prevent his injuries.
“Heavy machines, like cookers and washers, should never have been stacked so high. If they had been stacked on their side it would have provided a broader and more stable base, and stacking them against a wall would also have given much more stability. If the goods were kept behind a barrier, or in a container, a collapse like this would not have injured anyone. Better still, they could have coordinated delivery of goods better so the stacks did not build up in the first place.”
Environcom England appeared at Grantham Magistrates’ Court on 15 June and pleaded guilty to two counts of s3(1) of the HSWA, the first was in relation to the incident and the second breach was for continuing to putting agency workers at risk until the HSE visited the site. It was fined £7000 for the first offence and £10,000 for the latter, plus full costs of £5915.
In mitigation, the firm said it has no previous convictions and since the incident there has been a management change, which has seen a new board of directors installed at the company. A wall has been built in the storage area to prevent the goods from falling and the only way to access the area is from inside a forklift truck, which has a protective cage around the driver’s cab.
Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.
Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.
even in this day and age i still cannot understand were the common sense approuch is with companys out there were stacking items that some are well over the manual handling limits are stacked 4 to 5 high. and to allow workers with limited proctection to climb all over it. im sorry to say yet again companys are putting lives on the line for profit its sad in this day and age that peoples well being is not first priority over money.