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Two deaths highlight danger from telehandler misuse
Two recent prosecutions involving telehandlers reveal the scale of the hazard and what can happen when they are misused.
Irish builder and sons fined €350,000
This prosecution in Ireland follows the death of a 49-year old Polish worker on a site in Roscommon. He died when he fell from a telehandler.
One of the defendants was operating the machine at the time of the accident without holding a certificate to operate the plant.
Crushed by vehicle after fall from bucket
Daylesford Organic Farms Limited has been fined £65k after an employee ”riding in the bucket of a telehandler” fell and was crushed to by the wheels. Two workmen were being carried in the bucket of a telehandler that had been used as their work platform earlier in the day.
HSE Inspector, Caroline Bird, said: “This tragic incident highlights the dangers of lifting and carrying people in the buckets of telehandlers. However short the distance or convenient the use, the buckets of telescopic handlers should never be used as a means of travel, or as a work platform. Only properly constructed and compatible working platforms meet health and safety standards.
“Sadly, a relaxed safety culture at this particular farm had meant that the practice of using telehandler buckets as work platforms had become an acceptable practice despite the obvious risks.”