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April 29, 2013

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Welder hit by 1.4-tonne steel beam

An unsupported steel beam weighing 1.4 tonnes fell off a trolley and crushed a 64-year-old worker, causing him life-changing injuries.

Portsmouth magistrates heard on 23 April that the welder was airlifted to Southampton Hospital after the incident, which occurred on 10 June 2011 at the Hillsea factory of Portsmouth steel manufacturer Conder Allslade.

The court was told that the man, who does not wish to be named, was working on a steel beam that was resting unsecured on a metal trolley. As he manoeuvred an overhead crane, the hook of the crane struck the beam, which plummeted from the trolley and struck him, causing him to sustain a fractured skull, two crushed back discs, a broken knee and ankle, and a blood clot on his lung.

He remained in hospital for a month and still has to undergo surgery and treatment. An HSE inspector who visited the site served a Prohibition Notice on Conder Allslade on the day of the incident to prevent any further work on steel beams while unsupported on the trolleys.

An investigation found the company had not carried out a proper assessment of the risks involved in the particular work process. Simple safety measures would have prevented beams from being knocked and becoming dangerously unstable, but it had failed to put such systems in place.

Conder Allslade was fined £8000 on each of two charges after pleading guilty to a breach of s3(1) of the MHSWR 1999 by not conducting a sufficient assessment of risks to safety and to a breach of reg.12(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by not preventing exposure to risk. The firm was also ordered to pay £5074 in full costs.

The company said in mitigation it had put supports on the side of the trolleys and used clamps to prevent steel beams falling off after the incident. It also pointed out that it had originally assessed other risks to do with the movement of steel, but not the specific risk of the steel falling off the trolley.

Craig Varian, the HSE inspector who prosecuted the case in court, said the company could have done more. “The painful and debilitating consequences of these dreadful injuries will be with this man for the rest of his life,” he said.

“The term ‘risk assessment’ is often lambasted as a technicality, or part of a tick-box exercise. However, the true meaning of the term and its importance are very starkly demonstrated in this case. Had Conder Allslade undertaken a risk assessment and then taken the action necessary to mitigate the risks, the incident could have been avoided.”

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