Tarmac Aggregates Ltd has been fined £1.275m by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the death of a contractor.
Luke Branston, 26, was crushed to death in June 2017 while repairing a feed hopper at the Mountsorrel quarry, Leicestershire, a Tarmac Aggregates site. Tarmac Aggregates is part of Tarmac, which is ultimately owned by materials giant CRH.
Branston was standing on a conveyor belt under the feed hopper he was repairing. It got stuck against the feed hopper when the conveyor was accidentally turned on. HSE found that the conveyor belt had not been properly isolated by cutting the power before work began.
HSE Inspector Adrian Jurg said: “This is a devastating tragedy which has claimed the life of a young man.
“Luke’s family have made it clear the impact his death has had on their lives and our thoughts remain with them.”
The test button on the conveyor polling panel was not working as it was not connected to the test circuit. The HSE found that Tarmac Aggregates had failed to record and resolve defects in a timely manner. The company also failed to provide a visual and audible alarm prior to starting the conveyor.
Tarmac Aggregates pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £1.3m and ordered to pay £200,000 in costs at Leicester Crown Court.
Branston Site Services said Construction news: “We are happy with the result, although it was never about the money. It has been hard, very hard.
“Since we are a family business, from the day he died we had to rebuild. We’re not as big as we were.”
Luke’s brother Michael Branston said: “Luke wasn’t just my brother, he was my best friend, he was with me every step of the way, so the loss was huge for me.”
A Tarmac spokesman said: “We recognize the impact of the tragic incident that occurred at Mountsorrel Quarry in 2017 and extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Luke Branston.
“The safety of everyone at our sites is of the utmost importance to Tarmac and is the main focus of our operations every day. We have co-operated fully with the Health and Safety Executive throughout the investigation and have implemented a number of actions to prevent their recurrence”.
