Fines after six-tonne dumper truck ran over a worker’s foot

A Northamptonshire contractor has been fined after a six-tonne dumper truck ran over a worker’s foot.

Self-employed ground worker Ross Smith, 23, was helping to build a roadway at a construction site on Wolsey Way, Lincoln, on 11 March 2011 when the machine ran him over.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard that Maypine Construction was main contractor on the job where Smith and a colleague were filling the roadway with stone, in preparation for surfacing.

The stone was loaded on to the dumper truck at the top of the site which was then driven to an area being filled and compacted by Smith, who was operating a compacting machine.

Smith saw the front-loaded truck approaching the work area and began to move his machine away, but the court was told the dumper truck driver was concentrating on avoiding other obstacles and collided with Smith, driving over his foot.

He suffered four broken bones in his right foot.The HSE investigation found Maypine Construction had:

• failed to provide a suitable traffic route around the site
• failed to manage and monitor construction activity
• failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment.

The company, of Enterprise Road, Raunds, Northamptonshire, pleaded guilty to safety regulations and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £5,749 costs.

After the hearing HSE inspector Martin Waring said: “Many construction transport incidents are usually the result of inadequate separation of pedestrians and vehicles, and by inadequate control of vehicle movements on site.Vehicles at work continue to be a major cause of fatal and major injuries and as such need to be carefully managed to avoid injuries such as this.”

Source – Construction Enquirer

LST Comment: Segregation is a must. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 require it.

Where workers need to be in the vicinity of moving vehicles, they should be trained and instructed on actions to take, especially where driver visibility can become impaired. Many earth moving vehicle have large ‘blind spots’ or areas around them where sights is restricted.

Ground workers need to be conscious of these vehicles and position themselves in manner to avoid contact, which could include approaching the driver; this should always been done having caught the drivers eye, ideally in from the 11 o’clock position.