A chemical firm has been handed a hefty fine after a worker suffered a nasty injury following a fall off a ladder.
The incident occurred at the company’s site in Workington when the employee was attempting to inspect a steam leak at height.
While scaling a ladder to do so, the ladder failed, resulting in the worker falling two metres to the ground below, incurring a serious elbow injury in the process.
The incident resulted in the firm, Vertellus Specialties UK Ltd, being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive.
Following their inquiry, the HSE soon concluded that the company had failed to ensure that the job was adequately planned and managed.
Meanwhile, the HSE also surmised that Vertellus had failed to inspect the equipment and ensure it was fit for use.
While the incident took place back in June 2018, the verdict was only reached this past week.
The hearing saw company representatives plead guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The results left Vertellus Specialties UK Ltd with a lofty fine of £120k with over £5k in costs.
Such an incident could have been avoided if the appropriate cautionary steps had been taken in advance.
At SLG, we have a variety of ladder safety equipment to help prevent such instances from occurring and minimise the risks of injury, ranging from removable wall anchors to fall protection kits.
Meanwhile, we also offer permanent structural solutions in the form of our Rung Mounted Permanent Vertical Fall Arrest System, compatible with a demountable mobile anchorage device for additional safety and enhanced freedom of movement.
With so many options available in terms of ladder safety equipment, there’s really no excuse for placing workers at risk. Keep your employees safe when working at height and protect your business at the same time with ladder safety equipment from SLG.
For more information on precautions for working at height or ladder safety equipment, why not drop us a line today? Call now on 0117 9381 600 or get in touch online by clicking the link below.
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Both Metcalfe Roofing & Building Services Ltd and PDR Construction Ltd have been fined following an incident that saw a worker fall three metres through a mesh roof while working at height.
The incident in question took place on 21 July 2016 at a job in Coulby Newham, resulting in painful injuries to the fallen worker, notably including multiple back fractures.
While moving materials during a routine roof installation at a new KFC Drive Thru, the worker unwittingly stepped onto a fragile mesh roof that was not fit to withstand a substantial load.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive determined that the contractors, Metcalfe Roofing & Building Ltd, had failed to prevent access to the exposed area, ultimately resulting in the accident.
Further investigation by the HSE also discovered that Metcalfe Roofing had failed to plan and conduct the work in a safe and fitting manner.
Crucially, principle contractors, PDR Construction, were also found to have failed in their attempts to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase appropriately.
The accusation of negligence led PDR Construction to plead guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, resulting in a £225k fine with £8k costs.
Meanwhile, Metcalfe Roofing was saddled with a lesser £2k fine after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2015.
The incident once again highlights the importance of on-site worker safety, particularly when it comes to those working at height.
At SafetyLiftinGear.com, we supply a wide variety of precautionary height safety equipment that would have been ideal for this kind of job.
Had such precautions been taken, it’s highly unlikely that such an incident would have occurred. Keep your workforce safe by providing them with appropriate safety equipment from SLG.
For more advice on working at height and the appropriate safety measures you can take to avoid needless falls, why not drop us a line today? Call now on 0117 9381 600 or click the button below to get in touch online.
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At SafetyLiftinGear.com, we don’t just strive to offer you the best lifting gear and accessories available, we also go the extra mile to ensure your lifting job goes off without a hitch.
Take this recent delivery job in Bridgewater for proof of just that!
A customer got in touch ahead of a moving job with an unusual query involving glass moving.
The task involved transporting a fully-constructed, six-metre-long window across uneven ground for fitting.
The window itself was part of a sliding patio door frame that weighed in at over 600kg, making manoeuvrability difficult yet stability a must.
Luckily, our expert staff were on hand and coffee-fuelled, ready to get on the case with a solution for this tricky transport quandary.
One of our trusty team members came up with the ingenious idea of using two of our all-terrain pallet trucks, placing one on each end of the frame, to provide instant mobility with constant stability along the way.
With glass doors secured in place, the windows were able to be safely moved from A to B without endangering the glass in the slightest.
The heavy-duty tyres were more than capable of taking the load, while they also provided ample grip for a firm footing on the difficult terrain.
Meanwhile, the simple steering and guiding axis kept the journey steady and turned an impossible task into a job well done.
If you have a lifting job that’s a real head-scratcher and causing you haulage headaches, why not drop us a line? No job is too big for SafetyLiftinGear.com, so get in touch today on 0117 9381 600 or drop us an email using the link below.
A Doncaster based construction firm has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £803 in legal costs after one of their young workers suffered a serious fall.
The unnamed 18-year-old employee was working on the first floor of a house being built in West Butterwick, Scunthorpe. The worker was using a trowel to remove mortar from some breeze blocks when he stepped backwards and accidentally fell through an unguarded stairway. The injuries he sustained from the fall include; two fractured ribs and contusions.
The HSE investigated the incident and concluded that Trumax Building Ltd had not put the required safety precautions in place. Neither a proprietary guardrail system or traditional scaffold guardrails were used to prevent people from falling through the opening.
Trumax Building Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The HSE Inspector who handled this case said:
'This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out the correct control measures and safe working practices, particularly to protect young and inexperienced workers. In this case, someone suffered serious injuries that could have been avoided by installing guardrails around the stairway opening to prevent workers from falling from height.'
Here at SafetyLiftinGear, we work tirelessly to provide the PPE and equipment required to keep workers safe while working at height. Our Height Safety category features a range of products that can ensure safety whether your line of work is construction, tree surgery, or any other profession.
Browse Our Height Safety Products Now >
We recently received the good news that SafetyLiftinGear's parent company, Tacklestore Ltd, has achieved the Achilles BuildingConfidence Standard!
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The Achilles BuildingConfidence Standard is a standard specifically designed for the construction industry.
The certification is a mark of credibility, and companies who have achieved this standard can be relied upon to deliver a highly compliant service.
We hope that this standard will help SafetyLiftinGear's construction industry customers to feel confident when buying and hiring our products!
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Nut splitters are a great last resort if you need to remove a stubborn nut from an equally stubborn bolt.
But - how does a nut splitter work? In a nutshell (sorry), nut splitters work by providing a 'get out of jail free' card for nuts that are frozen in place, corroded, damaged, seized, or simply screwed on too tightly to remove.
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Word coming out of Scotland this week is that the Fixator hoist has a big fan…quite literally!
Our eco-friendly pals up in bonnie Scotland were in need of a helping hand to remove a blade from one of their massive wind turbines on the Glasgow moors.
Luckily, SafetyLiftinGear was more than up for the task at hand, enlisting the aid of the mighty Fixator Electric Wire Hoist from our equally mighty Glasgow depot.
Extremely capable and reliable under duress, our Fixator hoist was able to cut to the chase and efficiently remove the chosen blade safely and without issue.
Best of all, the customer’s decision to opt for the Fixator hoist over other brands proved that eco-friendly doesn’t always mean expensive. In fact, the turbine project proved that you can actually save money while you save the planet!
The perfect alternative to the more established industry go-to of the Minifor, the Fixator has all the credentials for a variety of heavy-lifting jobs.
The Fixator model is also considerably less expensive than similar products offered by rival brands (in many cases, as much as 40% cheaper). Better yet, it offers equal or better attributes for that bargain price.
Boasting superior lifting power of 500kg and faster operational speed of 8m/min, the Fixator hoist offers remote control lifting power at the touch of a button. Meanwhile, the motor has fail-safe primary brakes and is protected by a thermal fuse for added safety.
The maximum lifting weight can even be doubled with the use of a reeving kit, allowing for a potential WLL of up to 1000kg. That’s the equivalent of two grand pianos (or two particularly plump polar bears)!
So, whether you’re lifting pianos, polar bears or wind turbines, the Fixator remote controlled wire hoist is definitely up for the task.
This project proved, once again, that our Fixator hoist is a breath of fresh air, more than capable of keeping up with the competition at a fraction of the price.
So, why not go with the flow? Throw caution to the wind and try something new with this fantastic lifting hoist from SafetyLiftinGear!
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