Construction firm prosecuted after crashing party

METAL sheets, weighing nearly a tonne each, descended on a kart track where a party was in full-swing, and Barnsley firm KSMT is now paying the price.

KSMT Ltd, of Fall Bank Industrial Estate, Dodworth, Barnsley, was fined £5000 and ordered to pay a further £500 in costs with a £500 victim surcharge after pleading guilty.

The construction firm was fined after a project in Oldbury, where attempts were made to lift metal roof sheets using the forks of a telehandler, came crashing down.

The sheets and one of the forks fell off and fell through the roof onto the track, endangering members of the public on the track at the time.

An investigation found that the work was poorly planned and KSMT, as the main contractor of the work, failed to assess the potential risks.

HSE inspector Gareth Langston said: “This incident was entirely preventable. It could have been avoided in any number of ways; by securing the load to the forks, using a pallet to reduce the slip of metal on metal, using wider forks, a pallet, crane or a scaffold, or ensuring the forks were locked on.

“No thought was given to any of these methods, nor of lifting the materials when the track was unoccupied.

“There were ten racers on the track at the time who were within seconds of being struck – with potentially devastating consequences.

“This case shows the importance of properly planning lifting operations and highlights the duty of the principal contractor on a site to manage their subcontractors.”