Big fine after teenage trainee engineer dies14 May 2015

Grundfos Pumps of Leighton Buzzard, Bedford, was fined £300,000 with total costs of £115,000 after pleading guilty to safety failings after a trainee design engineer lost his life.

On 30 March 2009, 19-year-old trainee design engineer, Jake Herring, came into contact with a live three-phase electrical system and died from his injuries. Jake was carrying out electrical testing work at the Grundfos Pumps factory in Windsor and was working unsupervised while testing a live electrical control panel.

The company was after pleading guilty to breaching the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 3, (1) (a), and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 Reg 3, (1)(a), contrary to Regulation 14.

An unsafe system of work was found to be the cause of Jake's death. Grundfos Pumps had not adequately risk assessed the testing of live electrical panels to identify a safe system of work and failed to provide suitable training and supervision to undertake three-phase live testing.

HSE inspector Paul Williams, said: "This tragic incident could and should have been avoided. Grundfos Pumps Ltd's failure to adequately risk assess the electrical testing process led to an unsafe system work being in place. Training and supervision arrangements were clearly inadequate. If live electrical testing has to be undertaken, suitable precautions must be in place."

Ian Vallely

Related Websites
http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/electrical.htm

Related Companies
Health & Safety Executive

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