A waste management company has been fined £190,000 after a contractor died when he fell seven metres while carrying out maintenance work.
The experienced maintenance contractor was part of a team under the control and direction of a waste management company. He sustained fatal injuries in the fall on November 18, 2020, while working on a mechanical screening and separating plant.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to ensure that work at height was properly assessed and planned. The company also failed to consider and identify how the necessary work at height could be carried out safely to ensure that the risk of falls was controlled.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were fined £190,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,816, with a victim surcharge of £190 on August 17, 2022.
Speaking after the hearing the HSE inspector said: “Those in control of work have a duty to assess the risks and devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to those undertaking the work”.
“This incident could have been prevented had the work been adequately planned.”
Information sourced from https://press.hse.gov.uk/2022/08/18/waste-management-company-fined-190000-after-fatal-fall/