Employees of Surrey-based Roywood Contractors worked at various construction sites using vibrating tools without adequate control. As a result, an employee who had been working at the company for 12 years suffered significant ill-health from hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that on or before 15th January 2020 the company failed to adequately assess the risk to employees from exposure to vibration. They did not have appropriate measures to control exposure or place employees under suitable health surveillance to monitor their condition.
Andrew Hatto and Paul Kiff, trading as Roywood Contractors, of Tilford Road, Tilford, Farnham, Surrey pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 (1) and 7 (1) of the Control of Vibration Regulations 2005. On 20th September 2022 at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court they were each fined £1,150 and each ordered to pay costs of £3,500.
HSE Inspector Leah Sullivan said after the hearing: “This was a case of the company completely failing to grasp the importance of hand-arm vibration syndrome health surveillance.
“If they had understood why health surveillance was necessary, it would have ensured that it had the right systems in place to monitor worker’s health and the employee’s condition would not have been allowed to develop to a severe and life altering stage.”
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