Aluminium can recycler Novelis UK has been criticised for ignoring safety warnings at its Warrington plant and ordered to pay over 9,000 after a worker was struck by a forklift truck.
The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an incident on November 18 2010 which saw a forklift carrying a large bale of crushed aluminium cans hit employee Mr Mullaney, 43, as he walked across the warehouse floor at the site on Thelwall Lane, Latchford. He suffered minor injuries to his ankles and feet.
Warrington Magistrates Court heard last week (September 5) that HSE inspectors had given Novelis advice about improving the vehicle and pedestrian segregation four months before the incident. The HSE said that workers at the plant had also previously raised concerns about the issue.
The court was told forklift trucks were regularly used in the warehouse, but there was not an adequate system in place to keep vehicles away from pedestrians.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 by failing to ensure workers and vehicles could move safely around the site. Novelis UK was fined 6,000 and ordered to pay 3,365 in prosecution costs.
Warnings
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Heywood, said: “Novelis received previous warnings from HSE and its own workers about how vehicles operated in the warehouse, but it failed to act on these. The company didn’t carry out a proper assessment of the risks and, as a result, there was no system for keeping forklift trucks away from pedestrians.
“It has since made significant improvements and forklifts can now operate safely within the warehouse. However, it’s disappointing that it took the injury of a worker for these changes to be made.
Novelis
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Following the hearing, Novelis UK said: The safety of our employees is of the utmost priority for Novelis. After the incident in November 2010, which caused minor injuries to Mr Mullaney, we fully reviewed our procedures and equipment and made a number of changes. Novelis remains committed to continuous improvement in all areas of its business including its health and safety performance and continues to invest significant resources in this.
Novelis Warrington plant produces ingots material that is cast into a shape suitable for further reprocessing – for the beverage can manufacturing industry. The plant has the capacity to recycle 130,000 tonnes of material per annum.
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