Scrapyard accident kills man
The HSE have highlighted the need for greater safety measures at scrap yardsites after a man was crushed to death by a scrapyard claw.
A man was recently killed whilst visiting a scrap yard.He was examining a vehicle when the crane operator who had been away from the machine when the man and brother had entered the site returned to carry on with his work.Not realising there was someone in the van he picked it up with the grabclaw crushing the man inside who subsequently died.At the time of the incident there were no warning signs around and outside the site to indicate which areas were out of bounds to members of the public and there were no published site rules or formal systems of work. The HSE have highlighted that this incident could have been easily avoided had simple measures been in place to control site access and let members of the public know where they should and shouldn’t go. Warning notices, communication of site rule and high visibility clothing would have helped to avoid this incident. The Company responsible were fined £50,000 for breaching section 3 of the ‘Health and safety at work Act’ and contravening regulations of the ‘Management of Health and safety at Work regulations.
