A robotic arm killed a maintenance engineer in a fatal accident that was ‘wholly preventable’. This happened after critical safety features had been bypassed or disabled at a firm that sells garden landscaping supplies.
Andrew Tibbott, 48, had been one of the last employees working at the Deco-Pak Limited premises in Hipperholme, near Halifax, on April 14, 2017 when he was fatally injured by the machine while trying to clean a sensor, a jury heard today.
Father-of-two Mr Tibbott, who had started at the company less than six weeks prior, was discovered when concerned family members went to the site on Halifax Road later that evening because he had not come home, Bradford Crown Court was told.
Allan Compton QC, the Prosecutor, stated that Mr Tibbott had been found by his son. However, paramedics arrived on the scene and he succumbed to crush injuries to his chest.
Compton stated that two other workers were also struck by robotic arms at the premises. One of them had left the firm, describing the working conditions to be ‘lethal’.
A jury was informed that Mr Tibbott had entered a ‘cell’ around a robotic arm of the machine. This was part of an automated line for bagging products such as slate and stone.
‘Within days’ of the installation in April 2015 the company and senior management had caused essential safety features to be bypassed or disabled, the court was told.
Father-of-two, Mr Tibbott had joined the company less than six months prior to being discovered by concerned family members who went to the Halifax Road site later that evening after he didn’t return home.
Compton stated that repeated warnings about dangers were ignored and that Mr Tibbot’s suicide was a result of systematic failure.
Deco-Pak Limited denied a charge relating to corporate manslaughter. It has already pleaded guilty to breaching its general duty to employees under Health and Safety regulations.
Michael Hall, the 64-year-old managing director of Elland, is also acquitted of the health and safety violation, but denies any charge of manslaughter through gross negligence.
Rodney Slater (62), a Rochdale director, has denied the manslaughter allegation as well as the health and safety breach offence.
The robotic arm, which could move at seven metres per sec, was described by the court.
Compton claimed that after the fatally injures Mr Tibbott Decopak, Mr Compton failed to perform a risk assessment or assess how the risk would rise if safety measures were ignored or disabled.
The trial will last approximately six weeks.