Company fined for failing to take worker safety seriously
Posted on 2nd Jul, 2014 | By Lorretta Tatham
A Wigan firm has been fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £709 in prosecution costs, after allowing its workers to stand on top of lorry trailers with no safety precautions in place.
Boden & Davies Ltd, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after an investigation found the company were failing to take worker safety seriously. Employees were found climbing on top of trailers to carry out work. They had no safety measures in place, no supervision and inadequate instructions – putting themselves at a risk of falling from up to four metres onto a concrete yard.
The importance of complying with health and safety legislation
The company had built in a working platform at the front of the trailers, but this didn’t comply with health and safety legislation either. In addition, workers were unable to use the platform on many occasions, meaning they had no choice but to climb on top of the load to reach the trailers instead.
The company has since introduced a harness system to keep its workers safe. With harnesses in place, employees are now properly protected when they carry out this kind of work. HSE Inspector Mike Lisle says, “If this system had been in place sooner, then employees would not have been put in danger… It is vital firms take the risks from falls seriously and act now to improve safety.”
Get the reassurance you need with courses from Browns Ladders
With the latest figures showing that falls from a height are responsible for almost a third of workplace deaths each year, our courses and products help to provide the reassurance and safety measures you need.
In particular, our In House Safe Use and Pre-Use inspection of Harnesses and Lanyards course trains employers and employees to use fall arrest and restraint equipment properly. It also teaches delegates how to carry out pre-use harness and lanyard inspections. The practical and theoretical nature of this course means we’ve got all bases covered – so we can ensure you’ll be bringing useful knowledge and behaviour back to the workplace following the course. The question and answer session at the end of the training course allows you to ask us questions specific to your workplace situations and scenarios – enabling you to get guidance on things which really matter to you.
Top products to keep your workers safe
We also have harness and lanyard products in store especially designed for use with ladders. The Ladder Belt K, with Karabiner, and the Ladder Belt both meet work positioning requirements EN358.
Our working at heights training courses, are fundamental to keeping your organisation and your workers safe. Without them, you not only risk serious injuries and in the worst cases death, you’ll also break legal regulations. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 places duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person that controls the work of others, to keep those working at a height safe.
To book onto our Harnesses and Lanyards training course, or to enquire about any other courses we offer, contact us today.
