A quarrying plant manufacturer has been fined a quarter of a million pounds after a worker was crushed between two massive steel structures.

The 55-year-old man was killed instantly when one of the nine metre, 1.5-tonne structures that were being lifted by an overhead crane became dislodged and fell on his head.

The structures were part of a 500-tonne concrete batching plant installation, which had been manufactured for a project in the Sudan.

A court heard that the worker and a colleague had been attempting to load large parts of steelwork into a shipping container using the overhead crane.

Because the parts would not fit into the container, they were placed on the ground next to it.

The workers had been directed to place one steel section on top of the other and were releasing the lifting chains from the load when the top section slid off the bottom one and trapped the man between the two, causing fatal head injuries.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the firm after carrying out an investigation into the December 13th 2008 incident.

Neither the man nor his colleague had received adequate training on how to plan and manage such a complex lifting operation, nor had they had any information on the size, weight or centre of gravity of the load which would have enabled them to sling the load correctly.

The firm was fined £180,000 and ordered to pay £47,500 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Sue Thompson, one of the HSE's principal inspectors said: "This company failed to provide the proper training for the work they were undertaking, and if that work had been adequately planned and supervised this tragedy would not have happened.

"Because of this company's failures, one man lost his life and another will have to live with the after effects of witnessing such a horrific incident."

Nearly 5,000 people suffer major injuries in the manufacturing industry in Great Britain every year. 

Article courtesy of Aviva PLC. Published 31-10-2011