Balfour Beatty are being fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker lost their life on the job and another worker was injured
The HSE is fining Balfour Beatty £285,000 after one worker lost their life and another was seriously injured in an incident at the University of Birmingham.
The incident involved a crane and scissor lift
HSE investigated the incident and found that 62-year-old Igor Malka and another contractor named Edmund Vispulkis were operating a scissor lift while installing cladding at a new engineering hall at the University of Birmingham, the National Buried Infrastructure Facility.
A nearby crane accidentally knocked into the scissor lift while moving hydraulic equipment delivered by lorry, pushing it over and causing the pair to fall. They both fell 10 feet.
Mr Malka died, while Mr Vispulkis injured his spine, pelvis, and thigh, and sustained several broken ribs. He will spend the next seven weeks in a neck cast.
HSE found that the incident was preventable, had Balfour Beatty had better controls and communication between the contractors. Two teams were active at the time of the incident, one moving the hydraulic units, and the other installing the cladding.
HSE has found that Balfour Beatty had a duty to ensure communication and co-operation between the teams was in place. There was also no lift supervisor present at the time.
Balfour Beatty were fined £285,000
Balfour Beatty pleaded guilty in court to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, paying £21,768.88 in costs and fined £285,000.
HSE inspector, Gareth Langston, said: “This was a tragic incident that led to the death of a worker with another being seriously injured and still experiencing difficulties today as a result.
“Lifting operations must be properly controlled – they must be planned, with plans adhered to.”
