Suzie Speaks

The Health and Safety Executive has warned enterprises running vehicle maintenance business about the repercussions of not using proper vehicular support devices. The importance of using the right kind of equipment and maintaining equipment and vehicles in proper working condition was highlighted in particular.

This warning followed a fatal accident involving faulty and inadequate maintenance equipment. The victim of the accident, was one Mr. Mohammed Taj, an employee of Aviance UK Ltd, well known airport service provider from Tyne in Newcastle. He died as a result of head injuries sustained in the accident at workplace. A vehicle that was used to pull luggage trolleys stopped working near Terminal 1 of the Heathrow airport. This vehicle, also known as a baggage tug, was being repaired by the worker at the time of the accident.

Mr. Taj had been working beneath the vehicle that was held 60cm aloft. The only support for the vehicle was a single trolley jack. This support moved in the reverse direction unexpectedly causing the vehicle to crash down on Mr Taj resulting in serious head injuries.

This incident occurred on 25th March 2008 and a case was filed against the employer, Aviance UK on 27th November, 2009. The hearing was conducted before the City of London Magistrates‘ Court by the HSE. The company was charged with violation of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and it accepted its liability.

The Central Criminal Court located in Old Bailey passed an order imposing £90,000 as fine and £18,800 as costs of the legal proceedings on the company. The company had been negligent as it had not provided any device that could provide critical support for the vehicle.

Moreover, there was no permanent system in place at Aviance for regular safety checks and re-stocking of critical equipment like axle stands in maintenance vans. There was also no specific procedure for retrieval of broken down vehicles and usage of proper hoists and support devices during repair.

Health and Safety training can be provided by reputable companies, such as Workplace Law; their range of accredited courses by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations. The IOSH Managing Safely Course is for managers and supervisors in any sector and any organisation. It’s designed to give managers all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 12:03 pm and is filed under Hall Of Health, Lawyers' World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.