Image

Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Discuss all things health and safety.

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
TWDB
Snr Member
Snr Member
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:24 pm
10
Industry Sector: Civil Eng, HV Elec, Remediation Soil/Wat
Occupation: SHEQ Manager
Location: UK WIDE
Has thanked: 177 times
Been thanked: 29 times

Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by TWDB »

All,

We are encountering a increase of non -compliance to procedures with some staff.

I therefore want to communicate to all staff in a presentation/ safety bulletin some examples to reinforce the consequences of not following procedures - some up to date case studies/ examples,

these would demonstrate what happened , what wasn't followed , who was held account in the end (i.e. the company and in particular the person who did not follow procedure).

for example site manager prosecuted because they didn't follow procedure but company compliant.

I think we have an issue where people have no consequences for not following procedures ( warnings, get always with it, no one knows) and could be come habit or they are getting positive reinforcement for getting away with it)

does anyone have any up to date case I can use for this?

really want to get the message across,

we are also currently looking at behavioral safety and better hazard awareness =- so lots going on.

thanks
T
Update: taken a new job :D hopefully confidence and positivity will return with new challenge - scary though leaving current place after 16 years (6 years H&S !) :shock:
(previous signature: was motivated once ..................... searching to get it back ! .scratch)
User avatar
bernicarey
Anorak Extraordinaire
Anorak Extraordinaire
Posts: 8973
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:50 am
15
Twitter: @bernicarey
Industry Sector: Consultancy/Training
Occupation: Safety, Health, Environment and Fire Consultant.
Location: The heart of the East Midlands...
Has thanked: 76 times
Been thanked: 300 times
Contact:

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by bernicarey »

Try searching SHP In Court pages for things like Manager prosecuted, or Manager sentenced.
www.belvoirsafety.co.uk

Tomorrow - your reward for being safe today...

Image
Woodie
Master Craftsman
Master Craftsman
Posts: 5398
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2005 2:15 pm
18
Industry Sector: Consultancy/Construction/Major Power
Location: Scotland
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by Woodie »

You can always try https://www.safetyphoto.co.uk/subsite/c ... fault.html which has a good few, which may be of assistance to you.
Truth never damages a cause that is just. GANDHI (1869-1948)

http://nott-us.co.uk/
Andyblue
Member
Member
Posts: 253
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2016 2:15 pm
7
Has thanked: 12 times
Been thanked: 65 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by Andyblue »

Its a nice idea and there have been some great examples of heavy fines via the HSE website, but so far not seen where they then update the results following an appeal.I can't recall a case where the employer / manager has been fined and not the company - at least not a headline worthy one.

What is pretty consistent or more likely than not, its the company pleads guilty to an offence, but it is often 3-5 years after the event. I'm sometimes left wondering if they plead not because of overwhelming evidence but through attrition and just wanting closure.

For the many headlines of £X millions in fines and then £Y millions in costs, we then see a small sideline that the fine has been reduce by significant proportions, that in the normal course of events would not have made the same sort of headline as the original penalty. The recent case of Mick George being an example https://www.commercialmotor.com/news/co ... hed-appeal.

It almost feels that for every high fine headline, a short time later there is a matching side line of a successful appeal and reduction of penalty.
User avatar
bernicarey
Anorak Extraordinaire
Anorak Extraordinaire
Posts: 8973
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:50 am
15
Twitter: @bernicarey
Industry Sector: Consultancy/Training
Occupation: Safety, Health, Environment and Fire Consultant.
Location: The heart of the East Midlands...
Has thanked: 76 times
Been thanked: 300 times
Contact:

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by bernicarey »

Andyblue wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2019 11:19 am
What is pretty consistent or more likely than not, its the company pleads guilty to an offence, but it is often 3-5 years after the event. I'm sometimes left wondering if they plead not because of overwhelming evidence but through attrition and just wanting closure.
Andy

I think that delay is purely down to the time taken to get to court.

In Dec 2016, 2 guys died at a workplace near me. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/t ... nk-9506719

As a result of the HSE attending, they had an immediate Prohibition Notice, followed a few months later by 3 Improvement Notices:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/notices/notices/n ... SV=1304387

The Inquests are still 'Under review', the last hearing was more than a year ago. I actually emailed the Coroner's Office last December and they confirmed that their website info was up to date and the 2 cases were 'under investigation'.

That's why it take so long for anything to get to Criminal Courts, despite the Coroners supposedly having direction from MoJ to speed their act up generally.

You have to wonder what takes over to years to investigate when the case has so much evidence preserved at the time. .scratch

The HSE will not, so far as I'm aware, bring a criminal case while the Inquests are open.
www.belvoirsafety.co.uk

Tomorrow - your reward for being safe today...

Image
Andyblue
Member
Member
Posts: 253
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2016 2:15 pm
7
Has thanked: 12 times
Been thanked: 65 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by Andyblue »

Hi Bernicarey, usually, a crown court will complete and then, if needed, an inquest will follow. Although Coroners Court is supposed to be the Highest” court in the land, it usually follows a criminal court.
IMHO, having been involved in serious investigations,?where the evidence is pretty much there at the time ( not as if the suspect is wholly unknown like some crimes), I still cannot fathom how HSE take so long.
User avatar
bernicarey
Anorak Extraordinaire
Anorak Extraordinaire
Posts: 8973
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:50 am
15
Twitter: @bernicarey
Industry Sector: Consultancy/Training
Occupation: Safety, Health, Environment and Fire Consultant.
Location: The heart of the East Midlands...
Has thanked: 76 times
Been thanked: 300 times
Contact:

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by bernicarey »

Andyblue wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2019 4:30 pm Hi Bernicarey, usually, a crown court will complete and then, if needed, an inquest will follow.
It's not quite that straightforward with H&S cases.
My last statement was a little misleading.

The HSE usually won't bring charges until the inquest of done, because it might prejudice Police/CPS bringing Manslaughter charges. If the CPS won't bring Manslaughter charges, then the inquest will conclude and the HSE can bring their case forward.

The actual process is detailed here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/o ... HM-Coroner
See para 58 onwards.

The one I always think of is the case of the tyre fitter in Sandwich, Kent, who died in 2006.

Inquest eventually found Accidental Death in 2013 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-22159526

So 7 years to inquest, 10 years to get to trial.

H&S Case in 2016. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-36265834
Company pled guilty in the Jan 2016
Director went to trial on H&S Charges but found Not Guilty in May 2016
Eventual fine to company was £1M plus £99,485.80 costs.


So in my local example, the implication of the delayed inquests are, I think, the CPS are still looking for potential Manslaughter charges.
www.belvoirsafety.co.uk

Tomorrow - your reward for being safe today...

Image
User avatar
TWDB
Snr Member
Snr Member
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:24 pm
10
Industry Sector: Civil Eng, HV Elec, Remediation Soil/Wat
Occupation: SHEQ Manager
Location: UK WIDE
Has thanked: 177 times
Been thanked: 29 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by TWDB »

Thanks all,

any recent examples?

Thanks

T
Update: taken a new job :D hopefully confidence and positivity will return with new challenge - scary though leaving current place after 16 years (6 years H&S !) :shock:
(previous signature: was motivated once ..................... searching to get it back ! .scratch)
Woodie
Master Craftsman
Master Craftsman
Posts: 5398
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2005 2:15 pm
18
Industry Sector: Consultancy/Construction/Major Power
Location: Scotland
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by Woodie »

Truth never damages a cause that is just. GANDHI (1869-1948)

http://nott-us.co.uk/
andybz
Snr Member
Snr Member
Posts: 405
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:55 pm
17
Occupation: Consultant
Location: North Wales
Been thanked: 31 times
Contact:

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by andybz »

You need to tread carefully. The usual reason for non-compliance of procedures is that the procedures are not fit for purpose. Telling people to comply with poor procedures can be very dangerous. A good procedure needs to be technically correct, presented in an appropriate format for the end user and the methods defined must be practical given the realities of work.

HSE know that most procedures are fairly poor and so will always pursue the company not the individual. I would focus my efforts on improving the procedures not telling people to comply. Strangely enough when procedures are good and prove to be useful to employees you have far less issues with compliance.
Risk, safety and health
Human factors and ergonomics
http://www.simplesensiblesafety.co.uk
http://www.andybrazier.co.uk
Mrs P
Student
Student
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:03 am
7
Twitter: @CakeTowers
Industry Sector: Local Authority
Location: Derbyshire
Been thanked: 4 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by Mrs P »

bernicarey wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:27 pm
Andyblue wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2019 11:19 am
What is pretty consistent or more likely than not, its the company pleads guilty to an offence, but it is often 3-5 years after the event. I'm sometimes left wondering if they plead not because of overwhelming evidence but through attrition and just wanting closure.
The HSE will not, so far as I'm aware, bring a criminal case while the Inquests are open.
You're right Bernie, they won't. As an LA, we wouldn't formally close an H&S investigation, nor move to prosecute until the inquest is concluded, in case something comes to light during the inquest which has an impact on our case, one way or the other.
User avatar
TWDB
Snr Member
Snr Member
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:24 pm
10
Industry Sector: Civil Eng, HV Elec, Remediation Soil/Wat
Occupation: SHEQ Manager
Location: UK WIDE
Has thanked: 177 times
Been thanked: 29 times

Re: Examples / case law/ case studies (recent) of consequences of not following procedures

Post by TWDB »

andybz wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 2:57 pm You need to tread carefully. The usual reason for non-compliance of procedures is that the procedures are not fit for purpose. Telling people to comply with poor procedures can be very dangerous. A good procedure needs to be technically correct, presented in an appropriate format for the end user and the methods defined must be practical given the realities of work.

HSE know that most procedures are fairly poor and so will always pursue the company not the individual. I would focus my efforts on improving the procedures not telling people to comply. Strangely enough when procedures are good and prove to be useful to employees you have far less issues with compliance.
Thanks Andy BZ,

is this the case even if the investigation has shown that if the procedure had been followed the incident of near mis would have been prevented/ avoided?

Thanks
T
Update: taken a new job :D hopefully confidence and positivity will return with new challenge - scary though leaving current place after 16 years (6 years H&S !) :shock:
(previous signature: was motivated once ..................... searching to get it back ! .scratch)
Post Reply

 

Access Croner-i Navigate Safety-Lite here for free

HSfB Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook Find us on on LinkedIn

Terms of Use Privacy Policy