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A company has been ordered to pay £1.6 million over safety breaches after an employee was crushed to death when a crane sling snapped.

The employee was working at South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne in August 2019, assisting while temporary mast climber work platform sections were being lifted by a lorry mounted crane. The lifting sling which was attached to the crane snapped, causing the load to fall.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Sussex Police investigated and found that the company failed to properly plan the lifting operation of the work platform. The company, which specialises in scaffolding, insulation, coatings, and other industrial services for various sectors, including construction, energy, and infrastructure, had failed to identify a requirement for safe exclusion zones. The company also failed to have a suitable robust system in place to ensure all accessories had been thoroughly examined or disposed when expired. This resulted in out-of-date slings being used.

The company admitted breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £1,600,000 and ordered to pay £23,193 in costs at Brighton Magistrates’ Court.

HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said this death could so easily have been prevented if his employer had fulfilled its statutory duty to plan and manage the risks associated with lifting equipment and lifting operations. The company failed in its duty of care to all its operatives in the way it planned and implemented the lifting operations and the slack customs and practices it allowed to become part of the safety culture with regard to lifting,’ he added.

Source – IOSH

HSCS Scotland Promoting a Healthier Workplace Through Safety
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