Safety Failing Led To Inverness Worker's Death

A transport company has admitted failures in its safety procedures which resulted in a 33 year old employee being crushed under tons of grain four years ago at its Inverness depot.

Turriff based Transpan Scotland Ltd appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday (Tuesday) and admitted the breach of the Health and Safety Act on February 5, 2011 at its Toremill Harbro depot in Harbour Road, Inverness.

It was the second time one of the company's workers had died after being covered in grain. The previous fatality was in 2006 but there was no prosecution and a fatal accident inquiry was held instead.

But after the details of the second death were heard, the dead man's 35 year old sister, Elizabeth Fountain from Alness criticised the length of time taken for the prosecution.

She said: "It has taken far too long, but it won't bring him back."

The family firm with 54 employees admitted failing to take suitable and sufficient measures to ensure that employees followed safety systems of work when unloading grain from vehicles. As a consequence, Alness man Andrew Harrald defeated a safety device fitted to his lorry which enabled him to be in an unsafe position at the rear of his vehicle and he was buried under grain being emptied from the vehicle, sustained severe injuries and died.

Sentence was deferred until May 15 for sentence.

Fiscal Geoffrey Mayne told Sheriff Margaret Neilson that an unauthorised bungee chord had been fitted to Mr Harrald's articulated vehicle sometime between February 5, 2009 and February 5, 2011 which enabled the drivers to hold the lever in the cab to raise the tipper be held on.

Although there were no witnesses, Mr Harrald had gone to the rear of the vehicle while it was rising and the doors flew open with the weight of its 28,000kg load.

Within seconds, Mr Harrald was knocked back off his feet and swamped by the animal feed.

Mr Mayne added: "Other employees realised that he was taking longer than normal and went to look for him. When they didn't see him at the cab, they went to the rear of the vehicle and saw the 8-10 ton load of grain.

"They used a shovel to clear it but he was found to be dead. The cause of death was chest and abdominal trauma and asphyxiation.

"The bungee chord used was not official equipment and appeared to have been fitted some time before. The company directors were unaware of it but their mechanics were.

"It allowed employees to go to the danger zone at the rear of the vehicle as the tipper was rising. It is possible Mr Harrald had difficulty opening one of the locks, and then by the time he went to open the other as the tipper continued to rise, the weight of the grain moving caused the doors to burst open and he was swamped by the grain.

"After the first death, Transpan issued safety guidance to its employees and it was contained in a folder which employees had to sign and confirm they had read and understood.

"Mr Harrald had one but it had not been updated. There is evidence of a lack of supervision of employees at work and no effective monitoring that they were following safety procedures. The firm failed to ensure that their safety systems were being used by all employees at all times."

Defence counsel Susan Duff said that the company had now introduced a strict safety regime and training programmes for its employees to "change their attitudes towards safety and create a culture of safety."

She said that two employees had been dismissed for breaching safety rules and other directors and managers had been reminded by staff on occasions when they were in danger of breaching them.

"Warning signs have been posted at all their depots about the danger of going behind vehicles, and the manager's office at Inverness has been moved so it overlooks the yard and he can challenge behaviour if necessary.

"A review of how safety information is given to employees has been carried out and they have been told a cavalier attitude towards safety will not be tolerated, treated as gross misconduct and result in dismissal. Twice yearly meetings are held with them now.

"A Health and Safety team has been created comprising a director, the firm's Health and Safety manager and other specially hired employees who have been trained in Health and Safety international standards.

""CCTV is also used at all sites and monitored to police actions. But a system is only as good as its implementation and a series of random checks are being carried out to ensure a safe environment.

"Keeping people safe is the company's number one priority. Everyone in the company was affected by Mr Harrald's death. He was a valued and excellent employee having joined in 2007 and the directors publicly express their sorrow and regret to the family members here today at the death of this much respected employee."