Following a joint investigation by the Health & Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI), Warrenpoint Harbour Authority has been fined for causing the death of Kevin McGeough, and for failing to ensure the safety of its employees.
Warrenpoint Harbour Authority was fined a total of 拢80,000 on 21st November at Newry Crown Court after earlier pleading guilty to two health and safety offences.
The court heard that on 18th July 2019, 58-year-old Kevin McGeough, an employee of Warrenpoint Harbour Authority, was fatally injured after being struck by an industrial loading shovel that was being operated by another employee in the dockyard area. The court heard that, that afternoon, Kevin McGeough was assigned cleaning and tidying duties, including using a power washer in and around Berth 1 close to the travel route of two large loading shovels that were being used to transfer wood chip from one part of the berth to another area 150 metres away. Kevin McGeough was struck and run over by a 20-tonne Volvo loading shovel suffering fatal injuries.
The investigation revealed that workplace transport risks were not being adequately managed within the port. There was an absence of clearly identified, segregated and physically protected routes for pedestrians to safely move about, placing pedestrians at risk of coming into contact with moving vehicles. The investigation identified that, at the time of incident, the loading shovel was carrying two tonnes of wood chip in its 1.69 meter high shovel bucket.
HSENI inspector Kevin Campbell said: 鈥淰ehicles at work continue to be a significant cause of fatal and major injuries in Northern Ireland. Effective control measures must be put in place and maintained. Such controls may be relatively simple and do not need to be complicated. Detailed advice on managing workplace transport risks is readily available to employers.
鈥淭his tragic death was completely preventable. HSENI will not hesitate to take enforcement action to ensure workplace transport risks are appropriately managed.鈥�
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