Truck in poor condition lands £80k fine

Mansfield Magistrates’ court heard how, on 20 November 2017, the truck was involved in an incident where an employee was trapped between the truck and a rack containing metal pipes at Fabrikat (Nottingham) Limited in Hamilton Road, Nottingham. The company had failed to maintain the side loader fork truck by ensuring that it was in efficient working order and in good repair.

An investigation by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company did not maintain the side loader as per the manufacturer’s specifications. This left the company’s employees exposed to risk.

Fabrikat (Nottingham) Limited of Hamilton Road, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottingham pleaded guilty to breaching Section 5(1) of the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations. They were fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,478.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Amandip Dhanda said, “This injury was easily preventable, and the risk should have been identified.

“Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”