Barking garage fined for dangerous repair work

A Barking garage has been prosecuted for allowing workers to continue using unsafe electrical equipment for car repairs.

On 19 January 2011 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) banned M &K Autos Ltd from using a two-post vehicle hoist at premises on the Barking Industrial Estate until repairs were made on exposed live cables and terminals.

However, workers were not instructed to stop using the equipment, which put them at risk of electrocution.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard (26 September) that when a HSE inspector revisited the site in April he found the hoist was still in use and that no remedial work had been undertaken.

M&K Autos Ltd, of the Rippleside Commercial Estate, Ripple Road, Barking, pleaded guilty to breaching the requirements of a prohibition notice served under Section 22 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Mohammed Tahir Mortuza said:

"Live exposed terminals on the damaged vehicle hoist were just centimetres away from hand operated controls, and it is extremely fortunate that no one was injured or even killed.

"The risks associated with electricity are well known and documented, and when equipment is prohibited for use by HSE it is for a good reason. By failing to comply, M & K Autos put their mechanics at risk of electrocution. HSE will always take action when such breaches occur."

For advice and information about safe working with electricity, go to www.hse,gov.uk/electricity

The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.ukSection 22 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 relates to Prohibition Notices. Further information can be found at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/22

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Knowsley cable firm fined over severe electric shock

A cable manufacturer has been fined after an employee suffered a severe electric shock at its factory in Knowsley.

Medics had to resuscitate the worker on the way to hospital when his heart stopped beating as the result of a cardiac arrest. He also sustained serious burns to his arms and hands.

Tratos Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today (25 April 2013) after an investigation found the safety lock on the entrance to a high-voltage testing area at the factory had been removed.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court was told the 28-year-old, from Hindley near Wigan, who does not wish to be named, had been working in an area of the factory used to test cables at voltages of up to 2,000 volts.

However workers at the factory had been struggling to shut the door leading to the testing pen after one of the hinges became damaged. They altered the locking mechanism for the door which tricked the safety system into believing it was locked shut. This meant power could be applied to the pen with the door still open.

The worker suffered a severe electric shock when he disturbed one of the cables in the testing pen while a current was being fed through it.

Tratos Ltd, of School Lane, Knowlsley, was fined £15,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. The company was also ordered to pay £4,206 in prosecution costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Bruce Jones said:

"Workers shouldn’t have been able to gain access to the testing pen while electricity was being fed through the cables, but the safety system that prevents this from happening was overridden.

"Tratos Ltd’s employees hadn’t been given any information or training on what to do if the testing pen became damaged, and decided to remove the safety mechanism in the door so that they could continue to test cables.

"The company should have ensured that effective health and safety management was in place not only to provide adequate supervision but also safe working procedures for employees to follow. Had this happened, the life-threatening injuries suffered by an employee could have been avoided."

Information on electrical safety is available at www.hse.gov.uk/electricity.

The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.ukSection 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."HSE news releases are available at www.hse.gov.uk/press.

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Firms fined after Bristol man electrocuted

A Bristol property development firm has been prosecuted after a plumber was electrocuted while installing a washing machine.

Danny Edwards, 23, from Fishponds, Bristol, was killed while working on the appliance in a kitchen at Pollacks House in Percival Road, Clifton, Bristol on 19 March 2008.

During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution of Mr Edwards' employers Birakos Enterprises Limited, Bristol Magistrates' Court heard the socket that powered the washing machine was wired incorrectly.

It is thought that when father-of-one Mr Edwards was working on the machine, he touched a copper water pipe and the back of the machine simultaneously, causing the massive electric shock.

Despite the kitchen's electrics being signed off as safe by the electrical division of Birakos Enterprises Limited, it was discovered the live and earth wires had been put into the socket incorrectly, meaning the washing machine became electrically live when plugged in.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Steven Frain said:

"Danny Edwards should have been protected by his employers. Instead he was allowed to work on a machine in which a socket was obviously wired incorrectly.

"The fault should have been found during testing but this fault was left unresolved and ultimately led to the death of this young father."

Birakos Enterprises Limited of Clifton Wood House, Clifton Wood Road, Bristol was found guilty of breaching Regulation 4 (1) and 16 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined a total of £125,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,000.

The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.ukSection 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: General duties of employers to their employees. (1)It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.Regulation 4 (1) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 states: All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger.

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Council fined after power line collisions endangered lives

Council employees, agency workers and passers-by narrowly avoided electrocution or injury on two separate occasions when vehicles collecting recycled material struck overhead power lines, a court heard today.

On both occasions workers for Powys County Council were using kerb side collection vehicles that tip in order to empty material into the body of the lorries. The incidents occurred when the vehicles struck low voltage lines during tipping and sent them crashing to the ground.

Brecon Magistrates' Court heard today (12 September) that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated both incidents on 3 June 2010 and 25 October 2010 at Lluest and Tudor Street in Ystradgynlais and identified issues with the method of work.

Powys County Council, based in Llandridod Wells, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety Act 1974, and was fined a total of £9,300 and ordered to pay £15,990 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Helen Jones, said:

"Powys County Council failed to take all reasonably practicable measures to avoid the vehicles coming into contact with overhead lines, which could have had tragic consequences.

"Lessons should have been learned after the first incident, but they clearly weren't and it is disappointing that it took a further near-miss for appropriate action to be taken.

"Following the second incident the council stopped using the vehicles in question and introduced a different system for collecting recycled material from the kerbside."

Powys County Council pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £3,300. The authority also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the same act and was fined a further £6,000.

Further information on working safely around overhead power lines can be found on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/information/overhead.htm

The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.ukSection 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: 'It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.'Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

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Suffolk firm fined for electrical hazard

Date:3 January 2013Release No:HSE-E-001/13

HSE inspectors found a live 400 volt cabling hanging off the wall

A Suffolk plastics manufacturer has been fined after electrical fittings at its production site were found to be dangerous.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered serious issues with the construction and maintenance of the electrical systems at Techplas in Sudbury on 9 and 10 October 2011 after investigating a separate unrelated issue.

Bury St Edmunds Magistrates' Court heard today (3 January 2013) that HSE inspectors found:

live 400 volt cabling hanging off the walla broken socket with live 400 volt cabling coiled on the floorfused spurs and electric switches hanging off single-core cabling, leaving the live 230 volt wiring inside exposed

Guards had also been removed from a plastic forming machine, exposing heating elements that could become dangerous as soon as the machine was switched on.

HSE served three Prohibition Notices on the company ordering urgent improvements to be made. Magistrates were told the electrical systems posed a significant and immediate danger to workers.

Techplas Limited, of Unit 1A Milner Road, Chilton Industrial Estate, Sudbury, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £5,930 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

After the hearing HSE inspector Saffron Turnell, said:

"The state of the electrical systems at Techplas was simply appalling and it is only a matter of luck that nobody had been injured or electrocuted.

"Employers have a duty to ensure the workplace is a safe environment and this must include electrical installations, whether or not the work carried out at their premises directly involves electricity.

"Ignoring health and safety at work legislation puts workers' lives at risk and it is only right that HSE takes enforcement action."

For information and advice on electrical safety, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity

Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.ukRegulation 4 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 states: "(1) All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger. (2) As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger. (3) Every work activity, including operation, use and maintenance of a system and work near a system, shall be carried out in such a manner as not to give rise, so far as is reasonably practicable, to danger. (4) Any equipment provided under these Regulations for the purpose of protecting persons at work on or near electrical equipment shall be suitable for the use for which it is provided, be maintained in a condition suitable for that use, and be properly used."

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UK Power Networks fined over worker death

UK Power Networks (Operations) Ltd, which supplies power to the East of England, London and the South East, has been ordered to pay £420,000 in fines and costs after an employee died while working at one of its Essex sites.

Electrical engineer John Higgins, 59, from Colchester, was killed at an electrical substation in Bishops Hall Lane in Chelmsford on 7 May 2008 when a device he was working on for manually adjusting voltage ratios, known as a transformer tap changer, exploded.

The fire at the Bishops Hall Lane substation in Chelmsford

Chelmsford Crown Court heard today (4 January 2013) that the explosion caused a fire at the substation. Mr Higgins died at the scene despite the arrival of Essex Fire and Rescue within minutes of the alarm being raised by staff from nearby Anglia Ruskin University.

The incident also blacked out a large part of Chelmsford, including Broomfield Hospital.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that UK Power Networks had failed to properly assess work with tap changers and to devise procedures for the work. It had also failed to adequately train employees for carrying out this task.

UK Power Networks has since introduced revised procedures to safeguard staff.

UK Power Networks (Operations) Limited, of Newington House, 237 Southwark Bridge Road, London, was fined £275,000 with £145,000 in prosecution costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The fire at the Bishops Hall Lane substation in Chelmsford

After sentencing HSE Inspector Steven Gill said:

"John Higgins lost his life in tragic circumstances that could have been avoided had this activity had been properly assessed and managed by UK Power Networks.

"His death illustrates how dangerous work on or near electrical distribution networks can be, and how imperative it is that employers - large or small - ensure that all activities involving high voltage electrical equipment are properly assessed and that safe systems of work in place.

"There is no room for error or complacency when working with high voltage equipment."

For information on electrical safety at work visit the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/electricity

The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace Health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.ukRegulation 2(1) of Health and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974 .states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."

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