EAP Limited fined after employee seen precariously working from high platform at Ramsgate Harbour, elevated by forklift truck.
European Active Projects (EAP) Limited was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a breach of Work at Height Regulations, after it came to light that a worker was seen carrying out duties on top of a pallet in July of 2022.
The HSE was informed of the occurrence by a member of the public who spotted it happening and caught it on video. The employee was one of a team of three at EAP Limited, who were lifting equipment from a boat that was sitting on the slipway of the harbour.
They were working on the raised pallet due to the fact that the scaffolding had been removed, and the forklift truck was being used to suspend it at the desired height to extract the desired items from the boat.
One of team was seen climbing from the side of the boat, underneath the guard rails, and over to the pallet with a heavy, motorised pressure washer. The pressure washer was then lowered to the ground on the pallet.
An HSE investigation was carried out and found EAP Limited had failed to adequately facilitate the working from height aspect of the repair and refurbishment work being carried out on the boat. This left workers at risk, with no safe way of extracting equipment from the deck of the boat.
European Active Projects Limited, of Chatham Docks, Gillingham Gate, Chatham, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company received a fine of £100,000 and was ordered to pay £5,730.40 in costs at Maidstone Magistrates Court on the 20th of December 2023.
HSE inspector Samuel Brown stated:
“This incident demonstrates why there is a need to appropriately plan and supervise work at height. Clearly, lessons had not been learnt since the company’s previous prosecution in 2015. Falls from height are still the biggest cause of fatal accidents involving workers.
“The risk of workers falling from the pallet and sustaining serious, possibly fatal, injuries should not be ignored.
“Fortunately, no workers were harmed and the reporting of the incident by a concerned member of public enabled HSE to intervene and prevent any further unsafe work at height on site.”
The prosecution was brought by HSE senior enforcement lawyer Nathan Cook, supported by HSE paralegal officer Cristina Alcov.
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