A Lincolnshire farming company has been fined after a worker was hit by a forklift truck.

Agency worker Algis Jevsejevas, 45, fractured his left leg in the incident at CW Dobbs and Son's premises near Spalding on 21 October 2010.

Mr Jevsejevas, who was living in Kings Lynn at the time of the incident but has since returned to his home in Lithuania, was walking across the floor of a potato grading shed to get labels for boxes when he was hit by the reversing vehicle.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the company had failed to ensure the shed was organised in such a way that vehicles and pedestrians could move around safely.

After the hearing HSE inspector Neil Ward said:

"This incident need not have happened. The company should have made sure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that there was physical segregation between its workers and its vehicles.

"Since the incident, the farmer has put up a barrier but has also moved the labels to another part of the shed, next to the grading line, so people don't have to walk across the shed. This goes to show how simple and inexpensive preventative measures can be."

CW Dobbs and Son Ltd, of Home Farm, Hollands Chase, West Pinchbeck, Spalding, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 at Spalding Magistrates' Court today. The company was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £2,588 costs.

To view this press release via the HSE website click - HERE

Notes to editors

1.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.uk
2.Regulation 4(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 states: "Every employer shall ensure that every workplace, modification, extension or conversion which is under his control and where any of his employees works complies with any requirement of these Regulations which- a.applies to that workplace or, as the case may be, to the workplace which contains that modification, extension or conversion; and
b.is in force in respect of the workplace, modification, extension or conversion."

HSE statistics can be found at

www.hse.gov.uk/statistics

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Businesses are being reminded about new incident reporting arrangements being introduced from today (Monday 12 September).

Only fatal and major injuries and incidents will be able to be reported by phone to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with all other work-related injuries and incidents reportable under RIDDOR (see notes to editors) to be reported via one of a suite of seven online forms available on HSE's website.

Said Trevor Carlile, HSE's Director of Strategy:

"This should not be a significant change for many, as more than half of reportable injuries are already notified to HSE through the website. The new forms are intuitive and quick and easy to complete. The most important thing is that there will still be somebody at the end of the phone to assist those who are reporting a traumatic event that has resulted in a death or major injury.

Later this month, HSE's Infoline telephone service which currently provides a basic information service to callers will end. Instead, from 30 September, those seeking information and official guidance will be directed to HSE's website - a huge knowledge bank where they can access and download resources and use interactive web tools free of charge.

Various improvements have been made to HSE's website to coincide with the closure of Infoline. There is clearer information on what HSE does and doesn't do, so people can check that HSE is the right organisation to assist them, and expanded 'question & answer' sections for the most frequent health and safety enquiries such as those on RIDDOR reporting and First Aid.

Added Trevor Carlile:

"HSE's website is already overwhelmingly the most popular option for accessing health and safety information. We're confident that our web services can be efficient and effective at a fraction of the cost per contact compared with telephone services. We'll continue to make improvements to make the website as intuitive and easy-to-use as possible."

HSE continues to provide information and guidance to employers and workers in a range of other ways: through direct work with organisations and trade associations, face-to-face at workshops and safety training days and via books and eBulletins. A comprehensive suite of health and safety advice is also available via the Government's website for businesses "Businesslink.gov", and DirectGov.

People will still be able to make complaints about health and safety in the workplace. For more information on how to do this visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/workplace-complaints.htm[1] (to be updated from 30 September)

Changes to HSE incident reporting and information services come into effect Monday 12th September 2011

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Livingston firm has been fined £100,000 after a worker was killed when he was hit by a forklift truck so badly loaded its driver could not see him.

George Hardie, 60, from Livingston, was walking across the yard at Vion Food Scotland Ltd in Broxburn, West Lothian, on 2 June 2009 to drop paperwork off at another part of the site.

As he was walking, a colleague was driving a forklift carrying two large empty containers across the yard to be washed.

The containers were stacked on top of each other on the front of the forklift, and the top of the load was approximately 160cm from the ground, making it hard for the driver to see over them.

As the driver approached the container wash, he felt his truck go over something, stopped, climbed out and saw Mr Hardie lying on his back, with the lower half of his body trapped underneath the forklift.

Colleagues attempted to help Mr Hardie before the emergency services arrived. Fire crews freed Mr Hardie, but when paramedics treated him they found he was not breathing and there were no signs of life. He was taken to the New Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but was found to be dead on arrival.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had not properly assessed the risks of moving the containers around the yard or made arrangements to make sure the containers were moved in a safe way. The investigation also found the company did not have a safe traffic management system or adequate supervision in place to keep pedestrians away from vehicles.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Peter Dodd said:

"If Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had taken simple steps to keep their employees safe, Mr Hardie would still be alive today.

"Forklifts were being moved around the yard with loads that meant the drivers could not clearly see where they were going. At the same time, employees were walking through the same yard, with no separation between them and the traffic, and no more protection than a high visibility jacket.

"The company should have taken steps to make sure the containers were being moved in a safe way, and managed the traffic in the yard so that people and vehicles were not sharing the same space."

At Livingston Sheriff Court today (18 August 2011) Vion Food Scotland Limited of Kirkton Campus, Livingston, pleaded guilty to breaking Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £100,000.

To view this press release via the HSE website click - Here

HSE statistics can be found at

www.hse.gov.uk/statistics

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A Burton-on-Trent brewery has been sentenced after a delivery driver was hit by a forklift truck while on site.

Peter Jackson, 64, was at Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd's site at Station Street to unload a trailer of empty cans on 20 May 2008.

As he walked along the lines in the canning hall to find a space to deliver his load, he was struck by a forklift truck, which trapped his left leg beneath the forks. His foot and left wrist were both fractured and he has not been able to return to work since the incident.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the firm had failed to follow previous advice from HSE to devise and implement a safe workplace transport system after an inspector visited the site in December 2007.

Molson Coors, based at High Street, Burton-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and was fined £31,000 and ordered to pay £33,042 costs by Cannock Magistrates' Court.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Lyn Spooner said:

"This incident occurred because of inadequate risk assessments, poor management and monitoring of contractors, and managers failing to understand their responsibilities for health and safety.

"It was an entirely preventable incident which highlights the importance of companies developing proper health and safety management systems that manage risks in the workplace properly, and communicating these not only to managers, but also to contractors.

"Not only had poor workplace transport arrangements persisted over many years, but Molson Coors also failed to follow previous advice from HSE. As a result, Mr Jackson was seriously injured in an incident that could easily have been fatal.

"It is particularly disappointing to see such failings at a large company, which has the resources to deliver much better standards."

To view this press release via the HSE website click - Here

HSE guidance on workplace transport arrangements is available from

http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm

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