Case study: Optilight Electrical Services Ltd, Expert Tooling & Automation Ltd (2024)
Relevance of this case
I’ve seen too much evidence of a box ticking approach to contractor management. The contractor hands over a pile of RAMS documents they’ve never read, and neither has the client. In return, they sign a 20-page document from the client they haven’t read. Interactions between client staff and contractors rely on ‘common sense‘ rather than planning.
Events on the day
On 21 September 2022 an electrician employed by Optilight Electrical Services Ltd was working from a raised scissor lift (approximately 10 metres high) to repair light fittings inside Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd’s factory on Sayer Drive, Coventry.
While the electrician was in the lift cage, a worker at Expert Tooling began operating a nearby overhead crane, unaware of the lift’s presence. The crane collided with the scissor lift, causing it to twist, strike nearby racking, and fall to the factory floor. The electrician was ejected from the cage during the fall and struck his head on the floor. A second Optilight Electrical worker narrowly avoided being crushed by jumping clear.
The injured electrician suffered severe injuries including a fractured skull, brain bleeds, broken collarbone, eight broken ribs, broken elbow and wrist, and a punctured lung. He was placed in an induced coma and required multiple operations.
A video showing the event is on the BBC website.
Failings
Optilight Electrical Services Ltd had not identified the operation of overhead cranes as a risk to employees working at height at the Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd site.
Expert Tooling did not implement procedures to prevent overhead crane use during such work, relying instead on contractors to identify and control risks.
There was no effective communication between the two companies regarding how their respective work activities could impact site safety.
No permit to work system was in place, despite Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance recommending such controls for high-risk activities.
Outcome
On 29 April 2024 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court:
Expert Tooling & Automation Ltd pleaded guilty to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £50,000 + £1,985.97 costs
Optilight Electrical Services Ltd pleaded guilty to Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £7,000 + £1,985.97 costs
Also see
Read about a similar incident on the BBC website. In this case a contractor working on a scissor lift died when his platform was pushed over by a nearby crane, and a second worker nearby was injured. As Principal Contractor Balfour Beatty were fined £285,000 under LOLER 8(1) + £21,768 costs. In this case the client (the university) was not prosecuted as it was clear that Balfour Beatty was the Principal Contractor in charge.
More case studies are listed in Appendix 1 by theme or Appendix 1 by date.
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