A construction firm has been fined £600,000 after a worker was killed in an incident involving a dumper truck in Edinburgh. London-based Allenbuild Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 27(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 following the incident, which happened in December 2016.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how the firm was the principal contractor on a construction site when an agency labourer was run over and killed by a dumper truck, driven by an employee of Crummock (Scotland) Limited. The incident happened at a building site known as ‘The Engine Yard’ at Leith Walk.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Allenbuild failed to organise the construction site in such a way to ensure that pedestrians were not carrying out work on or near traffic routes whilst vehicles were in operation. It is thought that the deceased was spray painting a ‘piling marker’ in front of a dumper truck, when it moved forward, driving over him.
HSE inspector Rob Hirst said, “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident that arose due to the company’s failure to ensure that pedestrians were not carrying out work on or near traffic routes whilst vehicles were in operation.”
