A BARNSLEY company has been fined after a father-of-three was crushed to death by a machine while at work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the incident was entirely avoidable and Russell Hartley would still be alive had the work he was undertaking been planned, managed and monitored to a sufficient standard.
Mr Hartley, was a self-employed engineer who had been hired by Carlton-based Premier Engineering Projects to replace machinery at a materials recycling facility on Twelvetrees Crescent, Bow, London.
The 48-year-old led a group of four tasked with replacing a Trisomat screen, known colloquially as a ‘flip-flop’, on February 24, 2020, when the incident occurred.
The flip-flop, a machine that sorts different sizes of waste, was fixed within a metal structure at height in a bay at the site.
The crane, supplied by Slough-based M and M Mobile Crane Hire, was first used to lower the flip-flop from its position at the site.
Mr Hartley, who also had three grandchildren, then took over using a telehandler but with the flip-flop resting on its forks, the machine began to go further down the bay.
The flip-flop became jammed in the bay when Mr Hartley attempted to reverse the telehandler.
The crane was then used again to lift the flip-flop off the telehandler which, unknown to the workers, had its forks slightly raised above ground level.
As the crane moved towards the telehandler, the flip-flop toppled forwards off the forks and crushed Mr Hartley.
Another worker, who was standing on the flip-flop at the time, was thrown off the machine but escaped serious injury.
The HSE investigation found that two contractors failed to ensure the safety of those involved in carrying out the replacement of the Trisomat screen.
The work being undertaken was not properly planned, supervised or carried out safely, and the assessment of the risks arising from the work was both unsuitable and insufficient.
Mr Hartley’s wife, Debbie, said in her victim personal statement: “Russell was everything to us he was funny and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
“Nothing was ever too much and if it needed doing, he got it done.
“He was a fantastic father and husband; he worshipped his grandkids and all his family.
“I feel like sometimes I am just waiting for him to come home I can’t accept that he has gone as I couldn’t say goodbye.
“Nothing prepared me for that moment as I thought he would be here and live on forever.
“All he ever wanted was to keep his family happy and looked after and I will try to keep that dream alive.”
Bosses from Premier Engineering Projects, of Industry Road, Carlton, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The company was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay £9,277.48 in costs at the Old Bailey last Thursday.
M and M Mobile Crane Hire pleaded guilty to the same offence and received a fine of £48,000 and ordered to pay £9,500 in costs.
HSE inspector Mark Slater said: “Had this work been planned, managed and monitored to a sufficient standard, this incident was entirely avoidable and Mr Hartley’s family would still have him in their lives.
“Risks arising from the lifting and moving of equipment of this size and nature are entirely foreseeable and work of this nature should be afforded the utmost respect and care.”
