The death of a 55-year-old maintenance fitter has led to the prosecution of a major engineering firm in Northern Ireland.
FG Wilson (Engineering) Ltd, a global supplier of electrical generators, was fined £90,000 after pleading guilty on 26 April to two health and safety offences.
Antrim Crown Court heard that Roy Montgomery was carrying out maintenance work on an overhead travelling crane, which had been reported as running slow.
Mr Montgomery was on top of the crane observing electrical contacts, while it was being operated by a colleague on the ground through pendant controls.
Head of the HSENI’s major investigation team Louis Burns told SHP: “Essentially, the fault had been fixed and they were running the crane as part of final checks. As the crane travelled in a particular direction, which meant Mr Montgomery was moving backwards, he came in contact with a roof beam.
“He was forced forwards where he came in contact with the top of the electrical panel. His torso was then forced through an 11-cm gap between the top of the crane and the roof beam.”
Mr Montgomery suffered severe crush injuries from which he later died in hospital.
A HSENI investigation revealed that the company had failed both to carry out a risk assessment for the task and develop an adequate safe system of work.
In addition, the victim’s colleague had received no training or instruction on the use of these cranes, and had no line of sight to Mr Montgomery’s work position.
Inspector Burns told SHP that the firm should have implemented measures to prevent anyone being able to come in contact with the roof beams. He added that, had both men been on top of the crane, Mr Montgomery’s colleague could have spotted any dangers.
FG Wilson received a £60,000 fine for a breach of Article 4(1), by virtue of Article 4(2)(a), of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978. A further £30,000 penalty was administered for an offence under reg.3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000. Full costs of about £4000 were also awarded.
In mitigation, the firm told the court that the lapses were an aberration rather than a wilful disregard of health and safety requirements. It also pointed out it had spent £500,000 on health and safety in recent years and had a previously good health and safety record. The crane in question was also removed and replaced following the incident.
At sentencing, the judge noted the recently issued sentencing guidelines on corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences causing death, which apply in England and Wales but not in Northern Ireland. He said he was not bound by these guidelines but they were informative, stating: “It is clear that the level of fines given in Northern Ireland for deaths at work are out of kilter with those in Great Britain.”
Inspector Burns concluded: “The risks in this situation would have been easily identified by even the most basic risk assessment. Maintenance operations, by their nature, can be dangerous, and companies need to properly identify and address hazards within the workplace. Employees need to have proper training and supervision. Some very simple precautions would have prevented this tragedy.”
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