Two Dorset businesses have appeared in court after a worker was injured in an incident involving an industrial vacuum at a site in Bristol.
The 53-year-old employee from Bristol, who has asked not to be named, was working as an industrial cleaner at the site when the incident occurred. Part of his job role was to clean thermal treatment units and on the day of the incident in August 2013 had agreed to help discard ash from steel barrels with a specialist vacuum machine.
During this process, one of his colleagues was using a forklift truck to shake the vacuum in an attempt to dislodge any remaining deposits from the filters. However, the ash came off the forks of the truck, it overturned and collided with the cleaner, leaving him trapped underneath. He suffered a fractured back and two fractured ribs as a result.
An investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concluded that both NEAT Technology Group Ltd and New Earth Solutions Group Ltd had failed to sufficiently assess the risks associated with the unblocking of the vacuum filters. They hadn’t identified a safe system in carrying out work of this nature and had not sufficiently trained staff on carrying out these tasks.
New Earth Solutions Group Ltd, of Ebblake Industrial Estate, Dorset, was fined £14,000 along with costs of £1,241 after it pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
NEAT Technology Group Ltd, also of the above address, was fined £16,000 coupled with costs of £1,241 after it also pleaded guilty to the same breach of the same legislation.