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Failure to maintain electrical installation sparks off prosecution
D A Green & Sons Ltd, of Lincolnshire has been ordered to pay some £5k in fines and prosecution costs for breaching Regulation 4 (2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
A workman suffered an electric shock when connecting a portable welder to an extension cable causing finger burns. Other employees also reported minor shocks from the equipment over the years.
Investigators found that much of the electrical installation was in a “very poor state of repair, putting workers at risk of serious injury from its use.” A good deal of system had been installed 50 years ago and there were no test records.
HSE Inspector Jo Anderson said: “Around 1,000 electricity-related incidents at work are reported to HSE each year and about 25 people die of their injuries. This prosecution illustrates how important it is for factory owners to regularly inspect their electrical equipment.”
HSE stress that all electrical equipment in workplaces must be maintenance maintained to prevent injury through regular inspection and testing regimes based upon assessment of the risks arising from its use.