Corus pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Sheffield Crown Court, and was issued with a GBP100,000 fine as well as being ordered to pay nearly GBP10,000 in costs.
Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “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.”
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the crane was fitted with safe working load alarms following concerns over stability, but these were not switched on as the operator had not been trained on using them. When the crane overloaded, no alarm sounded and it overturned, the court was told.
The crane operator escaped from the accident with minor injuries, but HSE said the case highlights the need for an effective system to managing health and safety, and to provide adequate training.
HSE inspector Geoff Clark said: “This is a serious health and safety breach by a company that globally employs tens of thousands of people which could easily have led to people being killed. The operator was extremely lucky to escape with only minor injuries.
“Today’s hearing highlights the importance of having an effective system in place for managing health and safety to stop easily avoidable incidents. In this case the measures in place were simply inadequate, in particular, there was a substantial failure to provide enough suitable training.”
