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Quarry firm fined after worker plunges over edge in 30-tonne wheel loader
A quarry operator has been fined £30,000 after a 30-tonne wheel loader vehicle overturned and slid almost 16ft down a sand stockpile.
Humberside Aggregates and Excavations Ltd of East Yorkshire was also ordered to pay £10,590 in prosecution costs. An employee undergoing training was transporting sand from a stockpile when the access ramp edge he was driving on gave way.
The machine plunged over the unprotected edge. He lost consciousness, suffered concussion and was hospitalised for two days.
Standard edge protection imposes minimal cost
HSE prosecuted for failure to assess, identify and minimise risk. Following the hearing HSE inspector Richard Noble said:
“This accident could have been avoided had sufficient edge protection been put in place at minimal cost, which has been the standard within the quarrying industry for many years.
Workplace transport is the biggest cause of fatal accidents within quarrying industry. We are working very hard to reduce these accidents and fatalities.
HSE produce much guidance on how to avoid them, so the reasons why this accident occurred are inexcusable.”