Section 6 prosecution of crane company

Rossendale Group Limited, has pleaded guilty to health and safety offences after one of its cranes failed resulting in a 1.8t load being dropped, narrowly missing a crane operator.

Rossendale Group Limited manufactured and supplied the electric overhead moving crane with a defective anchorage point which caused the load to drop. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs for a breach of S.6(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

An HSE official commented:

"Rossendale Group Limited should have ensured the safety critical anchorage points on the crane had been designed for the typical loading conditions that the crane would experience during routine use. Companies that supply lifting equipment must be aware that they will be held to account if the equipment is not well designed or manufactured."