After a worker collapsed and lost consciousness whilst on the site of King Asia Foods Ltd, Middle Bank, Sheffield. Construction 360 Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches as a result of the incident.
On the 11th of January 2018, Sheffield Magistrates Court heard how under new construction of a processing room withing the packaging area of the factory, the worker was cutting a drain into the factory floor. After a long period of time cutting with a petrol driven floor saw withing an enclosed space, he began to feel unwell and subsequently collapsed. He was then taken to hospital and was later diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. As a result of the fall he sustained bruising to his head, elbow and knees.
The Health and Safety Executive conducted an investigation and found that Construction 360 Ltd had failed to appropriately plan to work in the confined space of the processing room. Unsafe work at height had taken place, at the request of the director of Construction 360 Ltd, beforehand as the worker had accessed the roof of the processing room without suitable edge protection, as well as no means of access, without checking the stability of the structure.
Pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Construction 360 Ltd of Eastoft Road, Cowle, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire were fined with £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1805.
HSE inspector Sarah Robinson commented ”This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out the correct control measures and safe working practices. The company failed to appropriately plan a safe system of work for the task being carried out.”
