Bouygues fined £175,000 for concrete beam death

Grant Prior 11 years ago
Share

Bouygues UK has been fined £175,000 after a banksman was killed by a concrete beam during a dangerous lifting operation in strong winds at a hospital construction site in Essex.

The contractor was also ordered to pay £80,000 in costs after Guilherme de Oliveira, 44, from Portugal, was crushed to death at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford on November 10 2008.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard that Mr de Oliveira was working for Bouygues through an agency as a banksman, and was fixing beams across supporting towers to form part of the concrete structure for a new building.

The beams were lifted from ground level to the work area by a tower crane.

Mr de Oliveira and another banksman climbed the support towers to unhook the lifting chains from the concrete beam – which was seven metres in length and was due to sit almost three metres off the ground.

The beam was lifted into position, but the weather on the day was worsening with increasing wind speeds.

Before Mr de Oliviera was able to disconnect the chains on the beam at his side, the wind gusted at such a speed that it exceeded the safe working parameters of the tower crane.

As a result, the slew brakes slipped and the crane moved with the wind.

The sudden movement caused the crane to swing round with the beam, which caught Mr de Oliveira and crushed him between the beam and an adjacent tower. The wind speed at that time was in excess of 72km/h.

An HSE investigation found that four tower cranes were in operation at the site, each one fitted with a sensor that measured wind speed and provided warnings at pre-set values: an amber warning at 50 km/h or more and a red warning at 72km/h or more.

The sensors were linked to a computer in the site office to allow managers to monitor data and supervise lifting operations.

But at the time of the incident it was not being monitored and on-site arrangements allowed crane operators to check their own wind speed displays. So they would only have stopped lifting if they considered it necessary, and not necessarily when the maximum wind speed limit was exceeded.

HSE concluded that there was inadequate planning and supervision of the work.

Had a suitable management procedure been in place and followed there would have been the opportunity to properly consider the deteriorating weather conditions and then take the tower cranes out of operation.

Bouygues UK Ltd, of London, SE1 was fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching lifting regulations.

Bouygues said: “We sincerely regret that this tragic accident, which resulted in an individual losing his life, should have occurred on one of our sites.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Mr de Oliveira.

“The safety and welfare of our staff and of those that work with us through our supply chain is top priority at Bouygues UK.

“We are focussed on learning lessons from the past and continually assessing,  improving and embedding health and safety practices and behaviours across our business so that people go home safely.”

Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Dominic Elliss, said: “Although the judge was not satisfied that the company’s failings was a direct cause for Mr de Oliveira’s death, he said there was a systemic failure where a risk of serious injury was foreseeable.”

“Lifting operations can be highly hazardous and the appropriate standards are clearly set out in both the regulations and industry guidance.

“There is no excuse to ignore them and I would urge all those undertaking such work to review the effectiveness of their own controls to ensure safety on construction sites.”

Latest news

Careys directors sacked after £4m job-loss showdown

Pair win unfair dismissal case after being accused of "tickling each other’s bollocks"
6 hours ago

Danny Sullivan Group hits back over HS2 allegations

Labour supply giant confident it is "fully compliant with all tax obligations"
10 hours ago

Bid race takes off for £500m MAG airport small works deal

Nine-lot framework to cover civils, building and M&E jobs up to £5m
20 hours ago

Mace director joins Wates as Chief Commercial Officer

Pat Fitzgerald to lead commercial strategy at Wates
22 hours ago

Rob Perrins steps up as executive chair in Berkeley shake-up

Long-serving chief steps up to lead housebuilder’s next growth phase
11 hours ago

Competition watchdog turns attention to civil engineering

Competition and Markets Authority launches study into road and rail delivery
1 day ago

Timber imports rise for first time in four years

Softwood volumes and prices lead rebound as housing outlook improves
11 hours ago

10-Year Infrastructure Strategy published

Full details as Government pledges £725bn of funding over the next decade
1 day ago

Korean firm buys part built Hackney job from failed Elements Europe

Work can now restart on 21-storey hotel and office development
1 day ago

Mark Wild radical reset plan to rescue HS2

Senior manager bonuses scrapped and non-permanent labour cutback
2 days ago

HS2 supply chain fraud claims spark ministerial probe

Transport secretary pledges one-year reset for HS2 to end 'litany of failures'
2 days ago

Lords launch inquiry into Building Safety Regulator delays

Industry asked for evidence of how system is failing: Have your say
2 days ago

Willmott Dixon director becomes co-owner of local contractor BSN

Nick Gibb targets £100m turnover at Dudley based national contractor
2 days ago

Dry lining boss sentenced after mystery account moves

Court hears of £500,000 in unexplained transfers before contractor went under
2 days ago

Barhale bags £16m shaft tank for Severn Trent Water

"Final piece in the puzzle" of Etruria Vale upgrade
1 day ago

Keltbray strikes £30m funding deal for growth

Three-year funding deal to support push into higher-margin work
2 days ago

Take That brother buys steelwork giant William Hare

Entrepreneur Simon Orange seals deal for £350m turnover contractor
3 days ago

Civils contractor LF Solutions files administration notice

£20m-turnover specialist has labour supply arm and own plant fleet
3 days ago

Joseph Gallagher lands £50m green energy deal

Major trenchless construction contract for HyNet North West project
2 days ago

New boss drives NG Bailey to record revenue

Fresh strategy lifts M&E group's order book to £1.6bn
3 days ago

Costain wins vast underground hydrogen storage design job

Firms lands FEED contract for Cheshire salt caverns conversion
2 days ago

Graham gets green light for £70m Glasgow student tower

Construction due to start this year on 25-storey Anderston scheme
2 days ago

New £16bn National Housing Bank to drive 500k new builds

Homes England given new powers to finance stalled and complex schemes
3 days ago

Morgan Sindall upgrades profits forecast for this year

Overbury fitout and construction operations exceed trading expectations
3 days ago

Major project bidders to face ‘British jobs’ test

Contractors to face tougher jobs pledge scrutiny under new procurement shake-up
4 days ago

Green light for £32m Wythenshawe Culture Hub

Construction to start this year on first phase of £500m town centre revamp
4 days ago

Hercules delivers record first half as HS2 fuels growth

Labour supply specialist says HS2 demand climbing with 630 workers now deployed
3 days ago

Private equity firm acquires Hepworth Clay pipes business

Historic UK drainage manufacturer sold by Wavin
4 days ago

Balfour Beatty names new Scottish MD

Nick Rowan to take reins as Hector MacAulay to retire after 40 years
4 days ago

£500m rail deal locks in future for Scunthorpe steelworks

Government-backed deal with Network Rail safeguards UK production
3 days ago

Contractor services