TWO FIRMS FINED AFTER RACKING COLLAPSE KILLED TWO WORKERS
Two men killed following an incident at an industrial estate near Bradford. Lee Horton, 58...
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- Two men killed following an incident at an industrial estate near Bradford.
- Lee Horton, 58 from Ilkley and Daron Pickstock, 43 from Chorley died.
- HSE investigation found serious failures in risk assessment and safe systems of work.
Two companies have been fined following an incident which resulted in the deaths of two workers in West Yorkshire.
Lee Horton, 58, and Daron Pickstock, 43, were killed when an industrial racking system collapsed as it was being tested at Castefields Industrial Estate in Bingley on 29 October 2020.
The racking was being tested at a site belonging to Space Productive Ltd, of which Mr Horton, from Ilkley, was the managing director. Mr Pickstock, who was from Chorley, was self-employed and working for a company called Collins Site Services.
The racking system was being loaded with test weights, some of which weighed up to two tonnes, when the structure began to collapse. The two men had been working from a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) next to the racking structure as it was being loaded.
However, as the structure collapsed, it struck the MEWP, causing it to overturn while both men were inside. Mr Horton and Mr Pickstock sustained fatal injuries and died shortly afterwards.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that both companies failed to adequately assess the risks arising from the work being undertaken and failed to put in place a safe system of work to ensure the health and safety of those involved.
HSE found that the planned and implemented systems of work were unsafe. Workers were positioned within the collapse zone of the racking during testing, placing them at serious risk should the structure fail.
Source:
Two firms fined after racking collapse killed two workers – HSE Media Centre