SUMMER 2019 HEALTH & SAFETY Health & safety – DO IT! ‘At one store, the retainer clips were in place, but incorrectly attached; at another, the clips were absent... one of the banner poles fell down during the officer’s visit!’ Two officers from Worcestershire Regulatory Services explain what happened after an incident at a local branch of B&Q At B&Q in Kidderminster on 5 July last year, a metal banner pole – measuring 273cm long and 24mm in diameter, and weighing more than 2.6kg – fell approximately 3.6 metres from racking and hit a customer on the head. The injury was not life threatening, but the customer has suffered ongoing health problems because of an acquired brain injury. On visiting the store, Environmental Health practitioners found that the metal pole had been removed from where the accident had happened and the remaining metal banner poles on the aisle had been further secured with cable ties. Investigations revealed that, a couple of years earlier, two near-misses had happened in other B&Q stores. After the first incident, a communication was sent to all stores stating that a retainer clip had to be fitted to make the banner poles more secure. However, this clip was only to be fixed on the end poles on any aisle. The investigation at Kidderminster discovered that, on the aisle where the pole fell and the accident happened, there was no clip in place on the end bracket. Visits were made to the other local B&Q stores. At one, the retainer clips were in place, but incorrectly attached; at another, the clips were absent – despite the company sending out a post-accident Store Alert that required the correct method of installation to be signed off as actioned. One of the banner poles fell down during the officer’s visit to this store! Eastleigh Borough Council, the Primary Authority for B&Q, confirmed that assured advice had not been given regarding this matter. At Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 19 March 2019, B&Q entered guilty pleas to two charges under the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 brought by Wyre Forest District Council – one of the Worcestershire Regulatory Services partners – for failing to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and customers. The court heard that the company had exposed customers to danger and failed to protect the health, safety and welfare of its employees through unsafe systems. It had also failed to provide the necessary information, instruction, training and supervision in respect of the installation of the point-of-sale banner poles located at height in the store. District Judge Nigel Cadbury fined the company £300,000 and ordered it to pay full costs of nearly £8,000 and a victim surcharge of £170. The judge detailed his reasoning for the level of the fine, indicating that applying the sentencing guidelines of 2016 meant that the starting point for the fine was £500,000. However, credit was given for the mitigating actions taken by the company, its cooperation with the investigation and its early guilty plea, and this was reflected in the reduced figure. Credit: Helen Groves, Chartered Environmental Health practitioner with Worcestershire Regulatory Services; Simon Wilkes, head of Worcestershire Regulatory Services Image: iStock / onfilm A metal banner pole fell more than 3 metres from racking at a B&Q store in Kidderminster, hitting a woman on the head. No retainer clip (bottom) was in place Key takeaways Health and safety failings put the public and employees at risk, and create a serious financial risk to businesses when things go wrong. All firms can learn lessons from the B&Q case: n Try to design out or limit risk by assessing hazards at an early stage n If accidents occur, even if it’s a near miss that doesn’t need to be formally reported, assess why it happened and take action to prevent it from recurring n If you have a Primary Authority, talk to it about any issues and get assured advice on the solutions. It will cost you financially, but a lot less than the likely fine if your improvement measures fail n If you have more than one site, don’t assume emails from head office have been acted upon. Where a new safety measure has been required, make sure it has been put in place at local level – ideally by a manager or officer with health and safety responsibilities visiting the outlet. Accidents will happen. Not all of them can be prevented. But taking the right steps can ensure that your business limits the risk to your customers, your employees and the company. For further information, please contact your local Environmental Health department Health & safety – DO IT! Two officers from Worcestershire Regulatory Services explain what happened after an incident at a local branch of B&Q