A firm in the has been fined £175,000 following the death of an employee.Liam McArdle, from Gravesend, was fatally crushed by an excavator attachment. He worked for Erith Plant Services Limited at the time. The incident occurred on 21 September 2021.A demolition grab, attached to an excavator, fell onto the 24-year-old while it was loaded onto a lorry at Erith Plant Services Limited’s workshop at Eastern Quarry on Watling Steet, Swanscombe.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found Erith Plant Services Limited liable for the following :

1. Not ensuring a safe method of work while loading and unloading excavators and attachments.

2. Not ensuring steps were taken to ensure HGV drivers fully engaged the quick hitch when moving attachments during loading and unloading activities.

3. There was also no defined segregation between vehicles and pedestrians at the firm’s Eastern Quarry workshop, nor was there suitable supervision of work activities.

Erith Plant Services Limited, of Queen Street, Erith, Kent pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £37,804 in costs at Woolwich Crown Court on 27 March 2024.

His death could have been avoided through proper adherence to health and safety regulations, such as:

1. Risk Assessment and Planning:A thorough risk assessment should have been conducted before allowing work on a fragile roof.Safer alternatives, such as using mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) or scaffolding, should have been considered.

2. Use of Fall Protection Measures:Guardrails, safety nets, or fall arrest systems should have been installed to prevent or minimize the impact of falls.Workers should have been provided with appropriate personal fall protection equipment (harnesses, lanyards, anchor points).

3. Training and Competency:Workers should have been adequately trained on working at heights and recognizing fragile surfaces.Supervisors should have ensured that all safety measures were being followed on-site.

4. Safe Access Methods:Roof access should have been controlled, and work should have been carried out using secure platforms, such as staging boards or crawl boards, to distribute weight safely.If possible, the task should have been performed from below or using alternative methods.

5. Strict Enforcement of Regulations:The company should have complied with the UK’s Work at Height Regulations 2005, which require employers to prevent falls where possible and mitigate risks where falls cannot be avoided.Regular inspections and monitoring should have been carried out to ensure safety protocols were being followed.

His death underscores the importance of strict adherence to health and safety protocols in construction, particularly when working at heights.