South Coast Crane Hire Ltd and JR Pickstock Ltd fined after crane crashed down on building site

Two companies have been fined after a serious failure in communications led to an 80 tonne mobile crane toppling over, narrowly missing workmen and a busy road. The site of the incident at Gillingham The site of the incident at Gillingham The incident happened on a building site in Fernbrook Road, Gillingham, on 18 August 2009 during construction of a new nursing home. South Coast Crane Hire Ltd and the principal contractors, JR Pickstock Ltd, appeared at Weymouth Magistrates court today (21 November) in a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The court heard the crane was supplied and operated by South Coast Crane Hire but confusion arose as to whether the job had been set up as a crane hire only or contract hire basis, where planning of the lifting operation is included. This resulted in planning of the lift being neglected by both firms and led to vital roles for the job not being assigned. In addition, important information – including the weights being lifted and ground conditions – were not passed on to the workers involved. HSE’s investigation found the lift itself was carried out unsafely as the crane was overloaded and being operated on poor ground. As a result the 80-tonne crane overturned and its extended 50 metre jib fell across the site, narrowly missing the workers and a nearby road. HSE said a larger crane should have been used and ground mats were needed to spread the load of the crane’s outriggers due to the poor ground conditions. The court was told the lift hire contract should have met industry guidance, which says a competent person should be appointed to plan the lift. This person should be provided by the crane hire company if it is a contract hire arrangement or by the hirer if it is a hire-only agreement. The crane hire company should have ensured this happened when they set-up the contract. A lift plan should have been drawn-up by the competent person and communicated to those involved in the work. The principal contractor should also have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the construction phase plan identified risks to health and safety and included measures to address risks. South Coast Crane Hire Ltd, of Tradecroft Industrial Estate, Portland pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1)c of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £14,917 in costs. JR Pickstock Ltd, of Maesbury Road, Oswestry, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 23(1)a of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and was fined £16,000 and also ordered to pay £14,917 in costs. http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-sw-southcoastcranehire.htm?eban=rss-