Falls from vehicles have been in the news this week. A young man lost his life when working on a vehicle while working at a recycling plant in Tipton. Mark Bale was just 21 when he was instantly killed after being crushed by a loader. He had been loading paper onto a conveyor belt, when he thought the machine had been isolated he tried to leave the vehicle. Unfortunately the vehicle had not been isolated and he was killed when the loader arm fell onto his head.

Accident Could Have Been Prevented with Adequate Health and Safety Measures

This accident could have been avoided and so the company, SITA UK, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. The company were discovered to have failed their employee in a number of areas. He was not provided with any training when using the vehicle, and there was no one supervising him as he worked. In addition to these failings the vehicle that the young man was operating had not been properly maintained.

SITA UK pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court. They were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay court costs of £77,402 plus an additional payment to the mother of the deceased for the costs of the funeral.

Health and Safety Needs to Be a Priority

The recycling firm had breached two Sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act. As an employer it is essential that you are aware of the Regulations and Act and understand how you can work safely with your employees to avoid accidents. As an employer you need to have health and safety training, and so do your employees.

Health and safety training is freely available and can be taught in a variety of ways. If you have more than one person who requires training you can request tutors to come to your workplace to provide the training. You can also send your employees on training courses which are widely available throughout the UK. A final option is distance learning which can be taken at times to suit you and the delegate. Call 0844 576 6750 and ask about the available health and safety training courses.