One of the partners of a Leicestershire food company, Simtom Food Products, has been fined by the Health and Safety Executive this week after a worker was injured in a fall. An unidentified 18 year old man was told to unload some of the barrels which were stored on a shipping container on a HGV lorry. Jaisukh Chandarana has asked the young man to unload the shipment which involved removing barrels which had been stacked in layers and separated by layers of plywood.

In order to climb on the back of the HGV the worker was lifted up on a fork lift truck while standing on a pallet. As he tried to climb over to another pallet the young man fell off and fell two meters to the floor. Due to the fall the employee needed to have several weeks off work as he suffered severe abdomen bruising as well as a sprained wrist and a sprained shoulder.

Unsafe Procedure of Work at Height Led to Fall and could have Been Avoided

As Mr Chandarana had instructed the worker he was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. This was because the procedure used to remove the barrels was not safe and the accident could have been avoided if the work had been carried out safely. Fork lift trucks should never be used as a way of reaching higher levels and this system is completely unacceptable.  The injuries sustain by the worker could have been far worse than they were and it is only a matter of luck that he was not more seriously injured in the fall.

The incident which occurred in January 2011 was completely unavoidable. Mr Chandarana pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. This regulation is in place to make sure that employees have safe systems in place which include all work that takes place at height is thought out and planned in advance of the work commencing. The work also needs to be monitored by a supervisor and performed in a way which is deemed to be safe.  The court fined Mr Chandarana £7,500 and he was also ordered to pay the court costs of £1,380.

New Procedures Now in Place Due to the Fall from Height

Since the incident back in 2011 Simtom Food Products have now introduced new procedures to deal with the safe unloading of shipments coming into the factory. A firm has been contracted that uses a level loading dock in order to reduce the risks of falling. The HSE inspector speaking after the court case pointed out that although this was good news for the employees of the firm it was a great pity that it took an accident to introduce the new methods.

Health and Safety Consultants Can Help With Safety Procedures

Carrying out planning is necessary to ensure all methods and procedures are as safe as possible. Using health and safety services such as training and audits are suitable for factories. Call 0800 1488 677 to find out more about how health and safety consultants can help prevent accidents in your workplace.

About David Cant

David Cant is a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner extraordinaire. He has a wealth of Industry experience and is the MD of Veritas Consulting. David also Blogs about Health and Safety here Health and Safety Consultants

His aim is to flavour Health and Safety with integrity, served with a side of humour You can find David on - Twitter and Google also Linkedin