Drax fined for crane accident (From York Press)

Drax fined for crane accident

9:44am Wednesday 1st February 2012 in Business news By Dan Bean, Selby reporter

A 19-YEAR-OLD worker at a North Yorkshire power plant was lucky to avoid a fatal injury, when a weight fell from a badly-maintained crane, a court has heard.

The incident occurred at Drax Power Station on March 22, 2010, when the mechanical fitter from Scunthorpe was operating a 21-ton overhead crane with another worker.

Selby Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday that a counterbalance weight of 13kg (28.6 lbs) and chain detached from the overhead crane, and fell almost four metres (about 13 feet), towards the men.

The court heard the 19-year-old lost his balance and kicked into his colleague, forcing him out of the way, before the weight landed on his right foot and fractured it, despite the fact he was wearing reinforced safety boots.

Drax Power Ltd and Konecranes UK Ltd, the contractor responsible for maintenance of all cranes and hoists at the power station, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive, after an investigation showed the weight had not been properly secured in place, being attached by a single nut or bolt.

Investigators also found the crane had missed two of its regular services and had not been checked for nine months before the incident. There were also numerous defects in three of the six cranes in that area of the plant, which were also behind schedule for servicing.

HSE inspector Andy Denison said: “It is not acceptable to turn a blind eye to the on-going maintenance and repair of work equipment. The injured worker is, in a sense, fortunate to have suffered only a broken foot. A 13kg weight falling from a height could have resulted in a much more serious, or even fatal, injury.

“Konecranes had fallen behind on servicing and failed to catch up. Their engineers also gave priority to breakdowns over maintenance.

Drax continued to allow the cranes to be used even after they found out they had not been serviced.

“Companies cannot simply contract out their responsibilities and then let the contractor get on with it without checking the work is being done.”

The investigation found the two companies had not ensured the crane was kept in good working order, and were fined £13,300 each, and ordered to pay costs of £3,151 after both admitted breaching health and safety regulations.