Concrete pumping company fined
London Concrete Pumping Ltd prosecuted for poor plant maintenance after delivery pipe rupture
A HERTFORDSHIRE concrete pumping company has been fined for poor plant maintenance after members of the public and a police car were sprayed with concrete when a delivery pipe ruptured.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Borehamwood-based London Concrete Pumping Ltd, who specialise in the piling, groundwork and concrete frame sector, after poorly maintained equipment led to the incident on 24 May 2011.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard that the equipment was being used to pump concrete to the top of a construction site opposite Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace, when part of the concrete pump’s delivery line burst, spraying liquid concrete at high velocity over the police vehicle and injuring a passer-by.
The court was told that on the day of the incident, the pump operator, believing there was a blockage in the pipe, released the pressure and started reverse pumping. He could not see the entire length of the equipment and was told by the foreman a pipe had burst hitting people and a vehicle with concrete.
The debris caused a head injury to a woman and shattered the window of a police car 25m away.
The subsequent HSE investigation found the pipe had been weakened in a separate incident but had not been replaced or repaired. Magistrates were told the reason for the rupture was due to the company’s inadequate maintenance regime, which had allowed the pipe to be used.
After the hearing HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said: ‘It’s simply not acceptable for firms to show the level of disregard to people’s safety that London Concrete Pumping demonstrated here.
‘Their failure to carry out effective maintenance on their plant and equipment meant the company put others at risk and ultimately led to a person being injured. Companies have a duty to ensure work activity is not only safe for workers, but also for people in the immediate vicinity.’
London Concrete Pumping Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £31,000 in costs.
