Metals recycler fined £80,000 after man crushed
16 August 2011
A Scottish recycling company has been fined £80,000 after a worker at its Ayr site was severely injured when he was crushed between two skips.
Lowmac Alloys Ltd pleaded guilty at Ayr Sheriff Court yesterday (August 15) to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974. This states that: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
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- An HSE picture showing the location of the incident
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), on August 26 2009, Steven Graham was standing in between two skips at a recycling centre run by Lowmac Alloys Ltd on Green Street Lane in Ayr when a shovel loader weighing more than 18 tonnes hit one of the skips, pushing it towards the other and crushing Mr Graham between them.
Mr Graham, 46, from Ayrshire, screamed for help but the driver of the shovel loader did not hear him at first and carried on driving, the HSE said. When he realised that Mr Graham was injured, the driver tried to lift one of the skips away from Mr Graham but it took two attempts before he managed to do so.
Mr Graham was taken to Ayr Hospital by ambulance. He was treated for a broken pelvis and other severe, life-changing injuries. He continues to have difficulty in walking.
Investigation
An HSE investigation found that the company had not properly risk assessed traffic management at their site in Ayr and had not provided and maintained a safe system of work in that there were no barriers or road markings to separate pedestrian workers from the shovel loader or other vehicles on site.
Health & Safety event
Issues around health and safety in waste management will be addressed at an interactive open day being held at Hampstead House in Sittingbourne, Kent on September 26 2011. For more information, or to book a place, click here.
The investigation also found that the shovel loader was too big for the area where it was operating, and that the drivers had never been formally trained, were not supervised, and had been given no training at all on health and safety issues.
The one portable toilet on site was found to be unhygienic with no running water. Several of the employees told HSE inspectors that the toilet was so filthy they preferred to urinate in the yard, and this was a practice accepted by management. It was this situation that led to Mr Graham being in between the skips.
HSE Inspector Aileen Jardine said: "Mr Graham suffered horrendous injuries that will affect him for the rest of his life - but this incident was entirely avoidable.
"If Lowmac had taken simple steps to protect their staff, carrying out a proper risk assessment and taking measures to separate employees from the heavy vehicles that operated on site, this would not have happened.
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He added: "And if the company had shown basic consideration for the welfare of their employees by providing a toilet that was fit to use, Mr Graham would not have been left in such a vulnerable position."
When contacted this morning (August 16) the company said no one was available for comment. Lowmac Alloys operates from two sites – in Ayr and in Irvine – and advertises services ranging from general waste collection to mixed WEEE and end-of-life vehicle recycling.
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