A young man died on the first day of his new job after a four-tonne dumper crushed him.
20-year-old Daniel Whiston, from Dulverton, was driving the dumper when the incident occurred in 0ctober 2009. His employers, Wedgewood Buildings Ltd had allowed him to drive the vehicle, even though it had several serious defects.
The incident happened when the dumper overturned down an embankment at Sweetings Farm, near Tiverton and was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who prosecuted company directors William Friend and Robert Plume at Exeter Crown Court last Monday (22nd December).
The court heard how the company had been tasked with expanding a pond on the farm, which included excavating and moving spoil across the site. Mr Whiston had received around 30 minutes’ training on his first day of work from a colleague, who was more experienced in carrying out the task and was also doing so on that same day. They were the only other worker on the site to see the stacked dumper that Mr Whiston was driving fall off the side of the causeway and veer down a steep slope, flipping over and crushing Mr Whiston underneath.
The HSE’s investigation found the below serious failings on the site:
- The excavator driver had not been sufficiently trained to teach Mr Whiston how to operate the dumper and should not have been allowed to supervise him.
- The dumper that Mr Whiston was driving had several serious defects including issues with the steering, defective front braking and handbrake that would not function with some parts worn-out.
- There had been no suitable or sufficient risk assessments carried out for the work nor a safe system of work used.
- The causeway that Mr Whiston was driving down was too narrow for the type of dumper used to be safely positioned and to tip the load down the embankment.
Plume and Friend each pleaded guilty to breaching Health and Safety legislation and were given a 12 month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. They were also ordered to carry out 180 hours of community service, which must be carried out with a year. In addition, they were instructed to pay costs of £25,000 each.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Jonathan Harris said: “The very serious failures to manage this job properly contributed to the tragic and needless loss of a young man’s life.
“Workers have a right to expect that the equipment they use is appropriate for the task, properly maintained and in a safe condition.
“Mr Whiston was not given suitable basic or advanced training under the industry’s Construction Plant Competence Scheme and was, instead, given a short briefing by a worker who himself had no formal qualifications for driving the dumper.
“Anyone in control of construction projects must ensure the work is properly planned and risk assessed to avoid similar tragedies in the future. Knowing what needs to be done is not the same as knowing how it should be done safely.”