Machinery Maintenance, don’t skimp

A crane overturned at a boatyard in the Isle of Wight after it was not properly maintained by the company. Nobody was harmed in the incident but it could have easily resulted in serious injuries or even fatalities, it was just a matter of luck on the day. However, a car was crushed under the weight of the 35 tonne crane.

Safety Failings Lead to Incident

Hayles Ltd were discovered to have failed in the health and safety and therefore they were prosecuted at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court. When the incident occurred the crane was being operated in order to place a yacht into a cradle where it would spend the winter. During the operation the controls ceased up meaning the driver needed to try and complete the operation. He moved the stabilising outriggers in a bid to free up the controls. This did work but the crane fell over as it was unbalanced due to the jib being extended.

The crane controls locked because the crane was not properly maintained. The Health and Safety Executive inspectors found that the crane was overdue for a maintenance check by three weeks. They also found that the controls had locked before and despite this the maintenance and testing had not been carried out by Hayles Ltd.  Harold Hayles was prosecuted and ordered to pay £4,000 in fines and £4,000 in court costs.  He pleaded guilty to breaching the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations as well as the Provision and Use of Work Equipment and the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Are You Maintaining Your Machinery?

When you have any type of vehicles or machinery it is vital that you ensure it is kept in safe condition. Regular maintenance and service checks are required. Your employees that operate the machinery or vehicles should be properly trained to perform safety checks before work commences and they should know to alert your health and safety managers or supervisors to any problems.  Anyone working on the machines or vehicles need to be fully competent to complete the work and you should keep records of all issues and maintenance that is performed.

If you need to learn more about the Use of Work Equipment regulations you can contact Veritas Consulting Health and safety consultants. They will be able to provide you with a number of useful health and safety services.  An audit will spot any problems, training can ensure you or your management team are aware of how to comply with the law and you can use your consultant’s competent person services for further help in all areas of health and safety management.

Give our team a call on 0800 1488 677 to discuss the suitable health and safety services you need.

About David Cant

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.