Falling stillage injury
A 50-year-old man was using an overhead travelling crane, which runs along rails on the factory roof of Firth Rixson Metals, to lift an open-sided container carrying more than 50 long metal tubes.
As he lifted the 300kg stillage, the tubes slid out, which caused it to swing in the opposite direction. It struck the worker and broke his right leg in two places.
The HSE investigation found two plate clamps had been used in diagonally opposite corners of the stillage, which meant it became unstable when it was lifted.
The court was told the company should have found another way of moving the metal tubes using appropriate work equipment, so that workers were not put at risk. The fact that the stillage was open-sided meant that there was a high risk of the tubes sliding out when it was lifted.
Firth Rixson Metals, of Johnson Lane, Ecclesfield, was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £7,024 after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
