Chelmsford Crown Court heard how R. W. Hill (Felixstowe) Limited was employed as the main contractor working to replace the Berth 7 roadway at the Trinity Terminal of the port.

The firm had subcontracted a specialist concrete pumping contractor to pump the concrete and a concrete laying contractor to lay the concrete.

On 7 August 2015, a flexible delivery hose through which concrete was being pumped became momentarily blocked, then cleared under pressure, causing it to violently whip round.

Garry Louis, an employee of the concrete laying subcontractor, was killed and another worker suffered cuts and bruising.

An HSE investigation found that R. W. Hill (Felixstowe) Limited had failed to effectively plan and manage the safe pumping of concrete, in that an exclusion zone around the flexible delivery hose was not enforced.

The investigation also found the company did not adequately supervise, instruct nor did it provide suitable information to subcontractors, and failed to monitor the pumping operations to ensure the ongoing safety of workers.

R. W. Hill (Felixstowe) Limited of Grays, pleaded guilty to breaching CDM Regulations and was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £13,883.60.

Speaking after the case, HSE inspector Glyn Davies said: “This tragic incident could easily have been prevented had the company involved acted to identify and manage the well-documented risks involved in concrete pumping by the implementation of suitable safe systems of work.

“As this case sadly demonstrates, poorly managed concrete pumping operations can and do kill construction workers when industry safety guidance is not followed.

“HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”