In September 2009 at Miskelly Brothers Ltd. in Ballygowan, Mr Norman McCord was fatally crushed when making adjustments to a block strapping machine.
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) reports that Miskelly Brothers Ltd. was fined a total of £50,000. Steven Jones, trading as Hazron Safety Services, was acting as a health and safety consultant for Miskellys - he had been engaged to carry out risk assessments on the equipment involved in the incident and has been fined a total of £4,000.
Mrs Nancy Henry, an Inspector with HSENI’s Major Investigation Team said, “This was a tragic and preventable incident which happened because adjustments that were being made to the machine were poorly planned. The importance of carrying out meaningful risk assessments, which encompass all the activities carried out on a piece of machinery, has yet again been highlighted. This case sends out a clear message to all employers who use health and safety consultants to ensure that they are competent and accredited to undertake the work required."