KYE of Lowestoft has been fined £3000 by Lowestoft Magistrates Court following an incident in which the company’s site electrician sustained serious thermal burns.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 following an incident on 15 April 2002 when 63 year old William Dawes sustained burns to his face and arm while testing a welding set. A cable within a switch fuse failed when the electrician attempted to energise the circuit, resulting in a short circuit and electrical flashover.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector investigating found that the company did not have in place a preventative maintenance procedure for the fixed installation, despite the potential for failure of components due to deterioration.

Other problems were also found, including a lack of local isolation on the socket outlet and a very poor quality test instrument that could have led to Dawes suffering a fatal electric shock. In addition to the fine the company was ordered to pay full costs of £1223.98.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor