A South Holland company has been fined by magistrates for unsafe work.
The company was prosecuted after carrying out Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) installation work at a food factory near Spalding which was later condemned as being unsafe.
Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard how GlenFarrow UK Ltd undertook the installation of a liquid LPG bottle filling system at the food preparation company during January and February 2018.
An inspection by the LPG supplier on February 13, 2018 found numerous defects in the installation which put the safety of workers at the factory at risk.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company took on work it did not have the competencies for.
The company failed to plan the work adequately and to specify the correct materials and design for the installation. The engineer they sent was not competent to work on a liquid LPG installation of this sort.
When asked to quote for this work, GlenFarrow UK Ltd should have realised that it was outside of their competence and subcontracted the work to a company with expertise in liquid LPG installations.
GlenFarrow UK Ltd, of Glendum Close, Pinchbeck, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,131.60.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Giles, said: “Gas engineers must understand that certain tasks are not part of their normal functions and should only be done by competent contractors.”
A statement from the company sent to the Spalding Voice said: “We greatly regret this incident, which fell below our normally high standards of health and safety.
“Health and safety is key to our work at GlenFarrow and this case from February 2018 is the only HSE investigation in our 50-year company history.
“It was, as the judge acknowledged, a one-off incident in which no one was hurt and he commended GlenFarrow for the extent and nature of our co-operation with the HSE.
“He further commented that he was impressed with the health and safety work done since, noting the effective procedures GlenFarrow now have in place.”
