A company and its director have been fined following an incident in which an employee was struck by an object while manufacturing large steel cable drums for the offshore industry.
The man, now 54, was employed by Code-A-Weld (Great Yarmouth) Ltd when the incident occurred on 19 November 2022. Although the company had manufactured steel drums previously, they had never produced drums of this size, each weighing in excess of seven tonnes.
The steel drum, weighing more than seven tonnes.
During the process, the jacking set-up failed at the company’s site in Harfreys Industrial Estate, Great Yarmouth. This failure resulted in a series of serious injuries, including fractures to the man’s face and skull, and the loss of sight in one eye.
The injured man was airlifted to hospital, placed in an induced coma, and spent just under three weeks in hospital, where he required facial reconstruction surgery.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Code-A-Weld (Great Yarmouth) Ltd failed to conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, control risks associated with welding in confined spaces, and provide the necessary training.
Furthermore, the regulator found that company director David Fowler failed to implement safe systems of work for metal fabrication, despite previous HSE interventions regarding the lack of risk assessments in the fabrication workshop.
Employers Have “Responsibility to Devise Safe Methods of Working” The HSE stated that had the company implemented appropriate measures, such as a suitable risk assessment, safe systems of work, and proper planning for jacking activities, the incident could have been avoided.
Following a sentencing hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2024, DJ Williams issued their written judgement on 5 July:
- Code-A-Weld (Great Yarmouth) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay £3,500 in costs.
- David Fowler, of Harfreys Industrial Estate, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.
HSE Inspector Natalie Prince commented: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction, and training to their workers in the safe system of working.
“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life-threatening injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”
