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Forklift death firm warned on safety
Trackline International Ltd, where employee Shaun Porter died after the forklift truck he was driving overturned received four warnings over health and safety breaches in 2006, it has emerged.
Trackline International Ltd, where employee Shaun Porter died after the forklift truck he was driving overturned received four warnings over health and safety breaches in 2006, it has emerged.Shaun Porter (32) died when he was trapped under his truck at Trackline International Ltd, a company involved in the manufacture of tracks for quarry and other heavy machinery, in Bourne, last Wednesday.
The cause of the accident is still unknown, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Lincolnshire County Council have launched a joint investigation.
However, The Evening Telegraph can reveal health and safety standards at the company, based at the Tunnel Bank Industrial Estate, came into question on four separate occasions last year.
One of the breaches included the safety of a forklift truck, which an HSE inspector said was "unstable".
The breach was deemed so serious an "immediate prohibition notice" was served, meaning the truck driver was ordered to cease operations.
The first of the warnings came on May 23, when an HSE inspector issued an "improvement notice" for failure to carry out an adequate assessment of the risks to employees working "at height".
On the same visit, a second notice was served after employees were exposed to welding fumes and vapours from paint spraying.
After an inspector visited the site on July 7, they found the company had complied with both notices.
However, three days later, another two warnings were issued.
A third "improvement notice" of the year was issued because lifting operations were not adequately risk assessed.
By September 15, Trackline International had complied with the notice.
Also on July 10, an "immediate prohibition notice" was served because a forklift truck was "used to transport large components unsecured, (with) poor visibility and stability, and on (a) public road".
An HSE spokeswoman said concerns about the vehicle were resolved and no further action was taken.
She added: "Notices are served when an inspector sees something they do not like the look of.
"The company then has a certain amount of time to react to whatever has been raised.
"If an enforcement notice is served, it means they have to stop work in that particular area or piece of machinery immediately."
Head of operations at Trackline International Michael Hudson took up his post recently.
He said: "I have been in my post for four months, so these things happened before my time.
"When I arrived, the first thing I did was to look at the health and safety, make sure improvements were in place, and there were processes to prevent their re-occurence."
There have been no recorded breaches since July 2006.
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