--- title: "Plan To Be Safe With Specialist Heavy Lifting" description: "The consequences of bad planning can be severe. On 7 November 2021 a specialist lifting company was ordered by South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court to pay a fine of £24,000 and also the legal fees of £9,136. This occurred after two of their operatives fell during a crane assembly...." canonical: "https://www.safety-management.co.uk/news/plan-to-be-safe-with-specialist-heavy-lifting" type: "Article" publishedAt: "2024-03-01T21:00:45" modifiedAt: "2024-04-12T09:24:19" keywords: "Health and Safety" --- # Plan To Be Safe With Specialist Heavy Lifting The consequences of bad planning can be severe. On 7 November 2021 a specialist lifting company was ordered by South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court to pay a fine of £24,000 and also the legal fees of £9,136. This occurred after two of their operatives fell during a crane assembly.... Canonical URL: https://www.safety-management.co.uk/news/plan-to-be-safe-with-specialist-heavy-lifting ## Article The consequences of bad planning can be severe. On 7 November 2021 a specialist lifting company was ordered by South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court to pay a fine of £24,000 and also the legal fees of £9,136. This occurred after two of their operatives fell during a crane assembly. The two men were using safety equipment at the time of the accident. One operative fell 4m to the ground. The court fined the company after they pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. After the court’s decision and the hearing was adjourned, HSE inspector Clare Maltby said: “Companies who undertake crane assembly work must properly plan lifting activities and work at height, making certain the equipment selected is suitable for the task.” To prevent this from happening to you and your company on any project, there are a few things you could do. - Ensure all lifting operations are planned, where necessary taking into consideration work at height arrangements. - Make sure each of your projects has a proper briefing document in place. If at all possible, a month before the project starts. - Along with the brief, supply a checklist of the exact equipment to be used for that specific project. - Make sure that your team has checked the availability of your equipment and its condition at least one or two weeks before. Along with this the HSE provides comprehensive guides on: - [Working at Height](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm?utm_source=press-release&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=prosecution-push) - [Lifting Operations](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/loler.htm?utm_source=press-release&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=prosecution-push) It is also advisable to regularly have all your procedures checked by a professional health and safety company. This ensures that your standards are always set at high targets. The side effect of this is that it naturally creates a culture of safety compliance to a quality standard amongst your team. With anything related to safety, habit and maintenance is key. Besides the financial and reputation damage to the company, serious accidents can be demoralising to your employees, and in worse case scenarios can lead to life altering injuries or death. Good process and procedure is always worth it no matter how mundane and tedious it might seem. ***References:*** [Specialist lifting company fined after two workers fell from a crane | HSE Media Centre](https://press.hse.gov.uk/2023/11/08/specialist-lifting-company-fined-after-two-workers-fell-from-a-crane/) ## Related guidance - [Practical Health & Safety Support: Knowing Where to Start and What to Do Next](/news/practical-health-safety-support-knowing-where-to-start-and-what-to-do-next): Managing health and safety can feel straightforward when everything is running smoothly. Policies have been written, risk assessments have been completed, and there have been no recent incidents. However, many organisations reach a point where they begin to ask more fundamental... - [Why Retained Health & Safety Support Gives Leaders Greater Confidence](/news/why-retained-health-safety-support-gives-leaders-greater-confidence): For senior operations, health and safety and facilities leaders, the challenge is rarely a lack of documentation. Most organisations already have policies, risk assessments and procedures in place, and many have competent people responsible for maintaining them. The more difficu... - [How Workplace Safety Audits Help You Focus on What Actually Matters](/news/how-workplace-safety-audits-help-you-focus-on-what-actually-matters): A workplace safety audit is often associated with compliance, paperwork and preparing for inspections. While these are all important aspects of health and safety management, they are not the primary reason for carrying out an audit. The real value of a workplace safety audit UK... - [What Should You Do After a Near Miss in the Workplace? A Practical Guide for Businesses](/news/what-should-you-do-after-a-near-miss-in-the-workplace-a-practical-guide-for-businesses): A near miss in the workplace is an incident that had the potential to cause injury, ill health, damage to property or interruption to business operations but, fortunately, did not result in harm. While it may be tempting to regard these incidents as isolated events because no on... ## Explore local coverage - [Explore local coverage](/locations): Browse support across regions, towns, services and sectors. - [Health & Safety Consultancy in Bedfordshire](/services/health-safety/bedfordshire): Health & Safety Consultancy coverage linked to Bedfordshire businesses and surrounding towns. - [Manufacturing support in Bedfordshire](/sectors/manufacturing/bedfordshire): Manufacturing guidance connected to Bedfordshire operations and site risk. - [Health & Safety Consultancy in Bedford](/services/health-safety/bedfordshire/bedford): Health & Safety Consultancy support for Bedford and nearby areas including Luton, Dunstable.