UND-Pilsa Blog

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has asked employers to meticulously check the veracity of any claims made by employees regarding their experience and skills. The caution follows a court decision in an accident case where a forklift operator named Damon Alex McLachlan, who had provided inaccurate papers of his experience and training, ended up seriously injuring a banksman at his workplace.

The accident, which occurred in October 2007, was attributed to the carelessness and lack of training of the forklift operator. Subsequently, McLachlan was charged with breaching provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Livingston Sheriff Court asked him to pay a fine of 500 pounds after he admitted liability for the accident.

At the time of the mishap, McLachlan was operating telehandling machinery at a house construction site in Livingston, West Lothian. He had to unload a segment of a wooden house kit onto a spot on the ground for further construction. A banksman was stationed nearby to oversee the proceedings. McLachlan failed to deploy the stabilizers in the telehandling machine as he used it to move the three-tonne load. As a result, the heavy load landed on the banksman, injuring him seriously.

Investigations into the incident showed that McLachlan had joined the company recently and had provided fake documents to prove his experience and training for the job.

The HSE has said in this regard that such incidents can be prevented if detailed operating instructions for equipment are followed diligently. It stressed that employers must be extra cautious to verify the experience, training and qualification papers furnished by workers at the time of employment. The HSE added that such simple processes can help avoid tragic incidents from occurring at the workplace, especially where heavy and dangerous equipments like forklift trucks are used.

To ensure your organisation is aware of its health and safety obligations and remains compliant with the latest Construction (Design and Management) Regulations for major building, maintenance or refurbishment work; a CDM coordinator can give advice and assistance to organisations on their role and the measures they must take to comply with CDM Regulations.