A Surrey-based construction products and services provider has been fined more than £1m after a 24-year-old worker was crushed to death.
Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd was given a £1.6m penalty at Brighton Magistrates’ Court this week, according to a statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
It followed a prosecution by the HSE after Jack Phillips died on 8 August 2019 while working for the company’s subsidiary, Lyndon SGB, in Eastbourne.
The safety watchdog said Phillips was assisting while temporary mast climber work platform sections were lifted by a lorry-mounted crane.
The HSE statement on Wednesday (27 November) said a load fell on top of Phillips when the lifting sling that was attached to the crane snapped. The HSE said the sling used was out-of-date.
An investigation by the HSE and Sussex Police found Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd, trading as Lyndon SGB, failed to properly plan the lifting operation.
The HSE concluded that the company did not identify a requirement for safe exclusion zones. Nor did it have a suitable system in place to ensure all accessories had been thoroughly examined or disposed when expired, the safety watchdog added.
According to the HSE, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd, of Kingston Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £1.6m and ordered to pay £23,193.60 in costs.
HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said: “This death could so easily have been prevented if Jack’s employer had fulfilled its statutory duty to plan and manage the risks associated with lifting equipment and lifting operations.
“Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd failed in its duty of care to all its operatives, including Jack, in the way it planned and implemented the lifting operations and the slack customs and practices it allowed to become part of the safety culture with regard to lifting.”
The victim’s parents said in a statement: “How do you put into words the utter devastation you feel? Jack was a happy go lucky ‘Jack the lad’ . Everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him loved him.”
Centin Baxter, Lyndon SGB vice president Europe, said: “We deeply regret that this accident occurred and our condolences and sympathies remain with Jack Phillips’s family and friends. While this was a rare and tragic accident, one incident is too many.
“We are committed to constantly improving our safety procedures and practices, and ensuring they are rigorously followed at all our sites. We respect the HSE’s final decision and have already taken steps to address its recommendations.
“Safety remains our core value and an integral part of all that we do – it guides us every day throughout all levels of our organisation, and we remain committed to continuously improving.”
