08 February 2010
Louis Wustemann

Merseyside crane maker Rossendale Group has been fined £10,000 for failing to ensure the safety of one of its products after an electric overhead moving crane dropped a 1.8 tonne load, narrowly missing its operator.

The HSE prosecuted Rossendale under Section 6(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which forbids the supply of unsafe articles for use at work.

The crane maker had provided the machine to US-owned papermaker Georgia-Pacific’s Sheffield mill to lift paper reels. While it was in use on 18 February 2006, an anchorage point on the crane failed, and the reels it was lifting dropped 1.2 metres, landing close to the operator.

Rossendale Group Ellesmere Port in Wirral, admitted the Section 6(1) charge and on 8 February Sheffield magistrates ordered it to pay £10,000 plus £10,000 costs.

“Rossendale Group Limited should have ensured the safety critical anchorage points on the crane had been designed for the typical loading conditions that the crane would experience during routine use,” said HSE inspector Alison Crank.

Categories:
HSE, News, Manufacturing / engineering, Enforcement (prosecutions), Work equipment

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