Glass manufacturer Pilkington United Kingdom Ltd. was fined GBP 20,000 and ordered to pay full costs of GBP 5,646 at Bristol Magistrates“ Court after pleading guilty to a breach of Section 2 of the H…
Glass manufacturer Pilkington United Kingdom Ltd. was fined GBP 20,000 and ordered to pay full costs of GBP 5,646 at Bristol Magistrates“ Court after pleading guilty to a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. Speaking after the case, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector said that this incident could have been avoided if Pilkington had had a system in place to ensure its staff knew the loading capacity of the trolley, the weight of the loads being put on it, and how to load it correctly. He added, “Employers have a duty to ensure their staff have the information and training necessary to carry out their duties safely, and higher standards should be expected from such a large and well known company”. Two workers were badly injured after a trolley load of glass panes fell on them. Both were working for Pilkington UK Ltd at its Imperial Park site in Bristol when the overloaded trolley collapsed with the sheets of glass landing on the two men. The load was unevenly distributed, with most of the weight on one side of the trolley. The employees attempted to move the trolley, and it collapsed and the glass fell on top of them, shattering as it did so. The court was told by prosecutors for the HSE that the 1,500kg capacity trolley had earlier been overloaded with glass weighing 1,780kg by two of the injured men“s colleagues.