£1.6m fine after mast climber crush tragedy

Grant Prior 4 months ago
Share

A temporary access specialist has been fined £1.6m after a 24-year-old man was crushed to death.

Phillips had been assisting while temporary Mast Climber Work Platform sections were being lifted by a lorry mounted crane.
Phillips had been assisting while temporary Mast Climber Work Platform sections were being lifted by a lorry mounted crane.

Jack Phillips lost his life on 8 August 2019 while working for Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd on South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne.

He had been assisting while temporary Mast Climber Work Platform sections were being lifted by a lorry mounted crane.

The load fell on top of Phillips when the lifting sling which was attached to the crane snapped.

An HSE and Sussex Police investigation found Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services UK Ltd, trading as Lyndon SGB, failed to properly plan the lifting operation of the work platform.

The company had failed to identify a requirement for safe exclusion zones and also failed to have a suitable robust system in place to ensure all accessories had been thoroughly examined or disposed when expired. This resulted in out-of-date slings being used.

Phillips’ parents, Scot and Nichola, said in a statement: “How do you put into words the utter devastation you feel. Our child, our only son, is dead. Our life, our family’s life has now changed forever. We are no longer complete without Jack, we will never see our baby boy, the boy we nurtured and helped grow into a young man, get married, raise a family, or grow old.

Jack Phillips was 24 when he lost his life

“His sisters will never have the honour of him being an uncle to their children. We will never have the honour of seeing or meeting his children. Jack was a happy go lucky “Jack the lad”. Everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him, loved him.”

Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd, of Leatherhead, Surrey pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £1,600,000 and ordered to pay £23,193.60 in costs at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Centin Baxter, Lyndon SGB Vice President, Europe said: “We deeply regret that this accident occurred and our condolences and sympathies remain with Jack Phillips’s family and friends. While this was a rare and tragic accident, one incident is too many.

“We are committed to constantly improving our safety procedures and practices, and ensuring they are rigorously followed at all our sites. We respect the HSE’s final decision and have already taken steps to address its recommendations. Safety remains our core value and an integral part of all that we do – it guides us every day throughout all levels of our organisation, and we remain committed to continuously improving.”

HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said: “This tragic incident led to the wholly avoidable death of a young man. This death could so easily have been prevented if Jack’s employer had fulfilled its statutory duty to plan and manage the risks associated with lifting equipment and lifting operations.

“Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd failed in its duty of care to all its operatives, including Jack, in the way it planned and implemented the lifting operations and the slack customs and practices it allowed to become part of the safety culture with regard to lifting.”

Latest news

Kier wins first phase of £700m Warwick Uni campus build

Firm to start work on science and engineering precinct last this year
8 hours ago

Torsion and Khalbros to build new Leeds £1bn neighbourhood

Eastgate Quarter site acquired from Hammerson
9 hours ago

JCB to double size of US factory in wake of Trump tariffs

$500m Texas factory under construction to expand to 1m sq ft
9 hours ago

Green light for £2.4bn Luton Airport expansion

Government go-ahead to transform airport
10 hours ago

Diversification pays off for concrete frame specialist Statom

Strong results as £180m turnover firm expands into infrastructure sector
11 hours ago

Cardo in talks to buy Breyer roofing arm

More than 100 jobs could be saved at Breyer Roofing
17 hours ago

Quartet win £750m Wales & Western railway deal

Network Rail confirms partners for Reactive and Minor Works framework
16 hours ago

Plans in for £350m London Bridge life sciences hub

Snowsfields Quarter will consist of three buildings containing labs
17 hours ago

Surging labour costs push tender price forecast up

Pick-up in tender prices despite weak growth
17 hours ago

Permasteelisa wins cladding deal on Multiplex city tower

Facade specialist wins work on Fenchurch Street ‘hanging gardens’ tower
17 hours ago

Wates wins fit-out for Manchester First Street Hub

Smartspace arm secures another Government hub deal
2 days ago

Peel Ports reveals winners for £750m framework

18 firms win places on deal: Full list
2 days ago

Big trade names dropped in M Group rebrand

Acquisitive group formed from Morrison Utility services in 2016
1 day ago

Breyer Group files administration notice

Staff hope rival firm could buy assets and save jobs
2 days ago

Former Severfield director takes helm at Embrace Steel

New CEO Martin Kelly aims to step up expansion of steelwork contractor
2 days ago

£302m upgrade funding awarded to FE colleges – list

Cash shared out between England’s 179 college groups
2 days ago

FK Facades thrives but construction arm hit by ISG row

Dispute with failed contractor costs specialist £5.5m
2 days ago

Galliford Try gets go-ahead for Milton Keynes PRS tower

33-storey tower needs gateway 2 approval before work can start
2 days ago

Small house builders get £150m funding for green homes

Developers will have to meet-up to ten new criteria to benefit from interest rate discounts
2 days ago

Lendlease Construction renamed Bovis

US private equity firm completes £35m purchase of UK contracting business and rebrands
3 days ago

Breyer Group battles for survival as rivals circle

Housing maintenance firm fights three winding up petitions in a month
3 days ago

Careys facing £2.4m claim by developer over demolition cartel

Giant Hong Kong developer claims it was overcharged on Lots Road Power Station job
3 days ago

Multiplex profit drops a third as revenue rises to £780m

Spate of new orders sets contractor up for three years of work
3 days ago

Galliford Try and Breheny land latest Sizewell C road deals

More infrastructure deals for new nuclear power station
3 days ago

Worker trapped in collapsed septic tank pit

Contractor and director fined after worker suffers multiple fractures
3 days ago

Homes England buys stalled Broad Marsh site

Demolition to finally be completed as developer hunt begins
3 days ago

Vistry go-ahead for 353 homes at Rochester Riverside

Work to start on next phase of Kent town regeneration at end of this year
4 days ago

M&E firm J S Wright collapsed owing £19m

Trade creditors hit for £11.4m by employee-owned Midlands firm
4 days ago

Right to work checks to be extended to self-employed

Government plans crackdown on illegal working and rogue employers
4 days ago

Midlands developer turns to London with £1bn resi schemes trio

SevenCapital plans 1,000 flats in Kensington, Islington and the Isle of Dogs projects
4 days ago

Contractor services