A 35-year-old man from Caernarfon fell approximately 2.44 metres from a Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) whilst he was working for Aspire Park and Leisure Homes Ltd (a manufacturer of leisure lodges and park homes) on the 6th January 2022.
The end gate of the Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) was taped open whilst two employees were raised into the air to spray insulating foam into a lodge wall.
The injured worker broke nine ribs, forearm and suffered a kidney laceration and head trauma.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found staff at Aspire Park and Leisure Homes had not received information, instruction or training in the use of the mobile working platforms. There was also insufficient supervision of workers to ensure that safety critical elements were not interfered with.
Monitoring all your forklifts and assessing their environments with regular (pre-use / pre-move) forklift safety inspections will help achieve a safer workplace environment for employees. Pre-use / pre-move forklift checklists will not only increase the likelihood of spotting a fault early before it deteriorates further, but it also provides employees with regular reminders of their safe working practices and ensures your company complies with PUWER and Forklift Health & Safety policies.
The issue of the end gates being taped open on the working platforms had been previously raised during an HSE inspection on 5 April 2018 and a Notification of Contravention letter was issued as a result. Following the inspection, Aspire Park and Leisure Homes complied with HSE enforcement action which required the company to inspect the mobile working platform and ensure safety equipment was adequately maintained.
However, the HSE investigation into the incident in January 2022 found the company failed to maintain these measures.
Throughout the years i've read many HSE press releases about workers who have fallen from much shorter heights (as low as just 1 metre) and have tragically lost their lives.
Aspire Park and Leisure Homes Ltd showed a complete disregard for worker safety after repeatedly failing to ensure the Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWP) end gate was free from restrictions and could be closed prior to employees being raised in the air. They pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £8,093.60 in costs at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on 18 December 2023.
HSE inspector Matthew Pendle said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided had the company simply ensured the control measures and safe working practices were followed. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
At TakeAIM / Good to Go Safety, we believe that providing your employees with as many opportunities to determine whether their next activity is safe is vitally important.
That's why TakeAIM and Good to Go Safety provide a range of tools to help businesses achieve safer workplace environments - to find out more click here for our digital version and here for our paper inspections.
The end gate of the Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) was taped open whilst two employees were raised into the air to spray insulating foam into a lodge wall.
The injured worker broke nine ribs, forearm and suffered a kidney laceration and head trauma.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found staff at Aspire Park and Leisure Homes had not received information, instruction or training in the use of the mobile working platforms. There was also insufficient supervision of workers to ensure that safety critical elements were not interfered with.
Monitoring all your forklifts and assessing their environments with regular (pre-use / pre-move) forklift safety inspections will help achieve a safer workplace environment for employees. Pre-use / pre-move forklift checklists will not only increase the likelihood of spotting a fault early before it deteriorates further, but it also provides employees with regular reminders of their safe working practices and ensures your company complies with PUWER and Forklift Health & Safety policies.
The issue of the end gates being taped open on the working platforms had been previously raised during an HSE inspection on 5 April 2018 and a Notification of Contravention letter was issued as a result. Following the inspection, Aspire Park and Leisure Homes complied with HSE enforcement action which required the company to inspect the mobile working platform and ensure safety equipment was adequately maintained.
However, the HSE investigation into the incident in January 2022 found the company failed to maintain these measures.
Throughout the years i've read many HSE press releases about workers who have fallen from much shorter heights (as low as just 1 metre) and have tragically lost their lives.
Aspire Park and Leisure Homes Ltd showed a complete disregard for worker safety after repeatedly failing to ensure the Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWP) end gate was free from restrictions and could be closed prior to employees being raised in the air. They pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £8,093.60 in costs at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on 18 December 2023.
HSE inspector Matthew Pendle said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided had the company simply ensured the control measures and safe working practices were followed. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
At TakeAIM / Good to Go Safety, we believe that providing your employees with as many opportunities to determine whether their next activity is safe is vitally important.
That's why TakeAIM and Good to Go Safety provide a range of tools to help businesses achieve safer workplace environments - to find out more click here for our digital version and here for our paper inspections.
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