Companies fined after man crushed by machinery

Two companies have been fined after a father-of-three was crushed to death at work by a machine.

Russell Hartley, from Sheffield, died when machinery was being moved by a crane and a telehandler at a recycling facility in February 2020.

Mr Hartley, who had been hired by Premier Engineering Projects Ltd, was crushed when a crane, supplied by M&M Mobile Crane Hire Ltd, was used to move the machinery.

At the Old Bailey, Premier Engineering Projects pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £28,000, while M&M Mobile Crane Hire was fined £48,000 after pleading guilty to the same offence.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the work being undertaken was not properly planned, supervised or carried out safely, and the assessment of the risks arising from the work was both unsuitable and insufficient.

The 48-year-old led a group of four engineers tasked with replacing a Trisomat screen, known colloquially as a "flip-flop", at a materials recycling facility on Twelvetrees Crescent in Bow, east London.

The machine sorts different sizes of waste and was fixed within a metal structure at height in a bay at the site.

The crane was first used to lower the flip-flop from its position.

Mr Hartley then took over using a telehandler. With the flip-flop resting on the telehandler’s forks, the machine began to go further down the bay.

The flip-flop became jammed in the bay when Mr Hartley attempted to reverse the telehandler.

As the crane moved towards the telehandler to lift the machine, the flip-flop toppled forwards off the forks and crushed Mr Hartley. Another worker, who was standing on the flip-flop at the time, was thrown off the machine but avoided serious injury.

The HSE investigation found that the two contractors failed to ensure the safety of those involved in carrying out the replacement of the Trisomat screen.

Mr Hartley’s wife, Debbie, said in a victim statement: “Russell was everything to us. He was funny and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

“I feel like sometimes I am just waiting for him to come home. I can’t accept that he has gone as I couldn’t say goodbye.

“All he ever wanted was to keep his family happy and looked after and I will try to keep that dream alive.”

Premier Engineering Projects Ltd, of Industry Road, Carlton, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay £9,277.48 in costs at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

M&M Mobile Crane Hire Ltd, of David Road, Colnbrook, Slough, pleaded guilty to breaching the same act. The company was fined £48,000 and ordered to pay £9,500 in costs.

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