Interserve fined after M&E blunders at animal lab

Grant Prior 5 years ago
Share

Interserve’s facilities management arm has been fined after multiple safety failings at a laboratory site for the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge.

Hove Crown Court heard how, on Sunday 21 September 2014, mains power was lost at the site which includes high containment laboratory facilities required to safely handle high hazard pathogens that are a serious risk to human health and the environment.

Interserve Facilities Management Ltd was contracted to the site and was responsible for delivery of maintenance activities for many of the mechanical and electrical systems.

The court heard that when mains power was lost, of the twelve generators in place to supply emergency power to the site, two failed to operate and two started but subsequently failed in operation, one of which also caught fire.

The emergency escalation system was triggered, and the Fire and Rescue Service attended the site. Power was fully restored later that day.

As a result of the emergency generator failures, the court was told all power was lost to a number of high containment facilities for several hours, affecting the site’s safety systems.

An HSE investigation found a number of failings of the contractor in relation to the maintenance activities undertaken on standby generators that could have resulted in employees being exposed to a risk of harm from biological agents.

Interserve (Facilities Management) Ltd pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £93,600 and ordered to pay £32,056 costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Intervention Programme Manager and lead investigator in the case, Dr Keith Stephenson said: “Interserve Facilities Management failed to effectively maintain the standby generators that were a key emergency control measure needed to work safely.

“Fortunately, the consequences of the multiple generator failures were significantly reduced by the timing of the incident, both in terms of the day of the week and the laboratory studies being undertaken at that time.

“Had the incident happened on a different day or when different studies were being undertaken, staff and the nearby environment could have been exposed to high hazard biological agents with serious consequences.”

Latest news

Beard expands reach as revenue hits record £179m

Builder start 2024 with healthy head of work
7 hours ago

Race to start for £25m Cardiff twin tower reclad jon

Cardiff council to use SEWCAP to bid Butetown high rise flats revamp
10 hours ago

Gove calls up ‘super-squad’ to clear London planning log-jam

Specialist planning team first to unlock 7,000 homes in Newham and Greenwich
14 hours ago

Permasteelisa in £35m cladding win at St John’s Wood Square

Italian specialist to start work on luxury resi site by the end of this year
16 hours ago

Investor pumps another £30m into low carbon builder

House builder Greencore gets more funding as latest results reveal £4m loss
19 hours ago

800-bed Leeds student and shops scheme approved

Major three-block scheme will replace The Core shopping centre in the city
23 hours ago

Modular homes specialist files administration notice

Lighthouse bosses battle to save the business
24 hours ago

Go-ahead for £175m Birmingham Broad Street tower

Work to start on 47 storey build to rent tower in September
23 hours ago

Erith trading rebounds after lengthy bid-rigging probe

Staff paid £1.5m bonus after year of growth and return to profit
24 hours ago

Balfour and Costain win vast power and carbon capture job

Nine firms to share £4bn Teesside net zero work bonanza
4 days ago

First ‘Great Grid Upgrade’ job goes to MGroup and Murphy

Works to start this summer on £400m Yorkshire GREEN electricity pylon upgrade
4 days ago

London council can no longer police planning applications

Planing row reveals Greenwich officials no longer follow-up to check on developments
4 days ago

Surgo Construction falls into administration

46 jobs lost as historic contractor ceases trading
5 days ago

Mace fresh start date for £90m Natural History Museum hub

Reading project to build store for 28m specimens to start early next year
4 days ago

Competition watchdog probes Barratt Redrow merger

CMA opens investigation into creation of mega house builder
4 days ago

Safety chiefs act to avoid building control crisis

Three-month extension to deadline for professionals to prove their competence
4 days ago

TClarke hits £500m turnover target but profitability slips

Big work-winning year sees order book swell 70% to £943m
4 days ago

Just 10% of £10bn Levelling Up funding spent by councils

Speed of delivering 'shovel-ready' projects fails to meet expectations
4 days ago

Six win £1bn North West & Central railway works deal

Story, Murphy and Amey feature in five-year CP7 framework
4 days ago

Willmott Dixon names new finance chief

James Mackenzie joins from Willmott Dixon's Eco World development JV
4 days ago

Ilke Homes name reappears after £320m collapse

New brand Homespace now owns modular designs after Ilke failure
5 days ago

Second staircase rule costs Vistry £19m

Firm reopens East Midlands timber frame manufacturing plant
5 days ago

Clients urged to get ahead of contractor recovery cycle

T&T says investment decisions must be ‘made not delayed’ for best value
5 days ago

Fife groundworks and plant hirer goes under axing 35 jobs

James Penman (Plant Hire) falls into administration in 50th anniversary year
5 days ago

Smart Motorway Programme Alliance chief to step down

Tony Slater is moving on to take up fresh career challenge
5 days ago

Balfour M25 workers vote for strike in pay row

Maintenance crews to down tools over "meagre" pay offer
6 days ago

Andrew English returns to Skanska as infrastructure boss

Returning director replaces Jonathan Willcock who is off to Costain
6 days ago

Construction back in growth as output rises 1.1% in January

Green shoots of recovery as private housing returns to growth
6 days ago

UK Construction shines in solid year for Balfour Beatty

Operating margin improves to 2.3% at UK construction arm
6 days ago

JJ Rhatigan wins £49m London co-living homes job

Wood Lane project will deliver over 200 flats
6 days ago

Contractor services