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Tata Steel fined after worker fell into open pit – £450,000 with £32,099 costs.

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#wathupondearne Latest news in Yorkshire: September 13, 2018 11:29:00 AM

A steel company has today been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker
fell into an open pit.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how, on 26 February 2014, Mr Steven Ayres was
working at Tata Steels Billet Mill in Stocksbridge when he was tasked with
emptying a skip at the bottom of an open pit. With the assistance of an
overhead crane, operated by a driver, Mr Ayres removed two floor plates that
fully covered the pit; removed the skip out of the hole; emptied it;
replaced the skip into the pit; and lastly began replacing the floor plates.

When replacing the first plate onto the top of the pit using the crane, the
plate swung out of position slightly. As the second plate was lifted by the
crane, Mr Ayres positioned himself out of the way in case this too swung out
of position. As the second plate was being moved, Mr Ayres stepped back and
fell approximately 3-4 metres into the pit. Injuries sustained included
damage to his kidney and ribs.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found a risk
assessment had been completed by Tata Steel UK Limited in October 2012, 16
months before the incident, which had identified the need to provide a
barrier round the pit when the floor plates had been removed to empty the
skip. A barrier was not provided round the pit until after the incident
occurred.

Tata Steel UK Ltd of 30 Millbank, London, pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined
£450,000 with £32,099 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Mark Welsh commented: “This incident could
so easily have been avoided if Tata Steel UK Limited had actually acted on
their own findings and provided a simple but effective control measure in
the form of guardrails to prevent a fall and by using safe working
practices.

“A fall from this height into a pit containing various metal objects could
easily have resulted in a fatality. Companies should act swiftly if and when
risks are identified and relevant control measures should be put in place
when working at height.”

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