Workers in a range of roles attend health and safety courses to help reduce the likelihood that they will suffer accidents and injuries. Of course, it is also vital that firms conduct proper risk assessments. This is a legal obligation and it is a vital tool in the fight against danger in the workplace.
However, sometimes companies fail to take all the necessary measures in order to protect their staff members, as a recent case involving a firm operating in the north-west of England shows.
During a legal hearing, Carrylift Materials Handling admitted to three breaches of health and safety regulations and was issued with a fine in relation to an incident in which two employees sustained injuries as a result of electric shocks.
The workers were operating at the Seaforth Container Terminal in Liverpool in March 2008 when the accident occurred. They wrongly believed that just 415 volts were running through a junction box located on a crane platform six metres above the ground.
One of the men was a maintenance specialist and he was asked to investigate why there had been a power failure. He took three electricians with him to help. All four individuals climbed up the platform and, after the maintenance worker used his low-voltage multimeter to test the electricity supply, there was a flash and bang. He suffered severe burns to his face and hands and was permanently scarred. One of the electricians also suffered minor burns to his face.
Commenting on the incident, Health and Safety Executive inspector Dave Guyers, said: “Two of the men suffered burns as a result of this incident, but all four could easily have been killed.
To reduce the chances of similar incidents occurring among their workers, firms may benefit from enlisting help when it comes to health and safety courses and risk assessments.
