Death at Corus Staffordshire Plant Results in Fine
Friday, April 30th, 2010
Corus, the multinational steel maker, was prosecuted by the HSE after three tonnes of steel plates fell on Ross Beddow resulting in his death, at the firm’s facility in Wombourne on 4th Jan 2007.
Corus was ordered to pay £112,500 towards costs at Stafford Crown Court after it pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Ross Beddow, a lorry Driver of the Transport Company – Hingley Transport Ltd, succumbed to death at the Corus Plant Site as a result of an accident, which caused steel plates to fall and crush the driver who was helping in the loading operation. The accident happened while an employee of Corus was operating a crane and lifting a 3 Ton skid of steel plates. It appeared that the skid load not being even, resulted in a tilt and the plates came crashing on the driver who was standing nearby.
Post accident, HSE conducted a thorough investigation at site and found that there was lack of adherence to the correct process, which resulted in the gap in understanding between the operators involved in the said operations.
Dr. Wai-Kin Liu, the HSE Inspector who was involved with the investigation, felt that there was scope for improvement in the process adopted. He also felt that if the safety requirements and practices were adhered to strictly, such an incidence could have been avoided.
As per Dr. Wai-Kin Liu, though in all such operations there is a good chance of human error, the same should be eliminated and prevented by adopting foolproof mechanisms and safety rules, which is a prime responsibility of the employer.
In response, Corus representative Mr. Charles Feeny, elaborated on the safety practices and audits adopted by the company and emphasized that they were process compliant and were confident of their standards being followed.
For help in managing health and safety hazards and risks, Workplace Law can assist in establishing good practices by addressing problems and rectifying deficiencies. Organisations can achieve compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Accreditation Standard (OHSAS 18001) by demonstrating legal and regulatory compliance with improved policies and performance to achieve a successful safety management system.