Hi °C | Lo °C Engineering firm, FG Wilson, has been fined £90,000 plus costs in connection with the death of an employee who was crushed at work.
Roy Montgomery died when he was crushed between a moving crane and a roof beam in October 2008.
FG Wilson, based at Larne, pleaded guilty at Antrim Crown Court to two breaches of health and safety legislation.
The case against the company was brought by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).
The 55-year-old was working at the company's Larne site when the accident happened.
Mr Montgomery was involved in a maintenance operation on the crane. The crane was being controlled by a colleague at ground level and Mr Montgomery was crushed in an 11cm gap between the top of the crane and a roof beam.
A subsequent investigation by HSENI revealed that FG Wilson (Engineering) Ltd had not sufficiently assessed the risks involved in the activity.
The HSENI investigation also found that the company had neither developed an adequate safe system of work nor supervised the activities of its employees.
Louis Burns, head of HSENI's major investigation team, said: “The risks in this situation would have been easily identified by even the most basic risk assessment.
“Maintenance operations by their nature can be dangerous and companies need to properly identify and address hazards within the workplace. Employees need to have proper training and supervision. Some very simple precautions would have prevented this tragedy.”
A spokesman for FG Wilson said: “We deeply regret the tragic death of Roy Montgomery and have been cooperating fully with HSENI with regard to their investigation.
“As a company, we are strongly committed to the highest levels of workplace safety.
“We are therefore determined that the findings of the HSENI's investigation and our own internal investigations, and the further investment that we have made as a result, ensure that such a tragic incident never happens again.”
