An accident whilst building the Arsenal football stadium resulted in three companies (the principal contractor and two sub-contractors) being prosecuted.

The accident involved a man having his leg run over by a dumper truck on the site which resulted in the leg being amputated above the knee. The HSE investigation found that there was a failure to properly plan and control safety activities on site.

A key failure was to ensure traffic movements were managed effectively; had proper controls been in place, this appalling incident would never have happened. The HSE gives clear guidance that on Construction sites, workers and vehicles need to be separated wherever reasonably practicable. In this case there was no demarcation between the route the dumper took and areas where people could work or were working on this site.

It was further identified that none of the three companies had carried out a meaningful assessment of the risk to workers of being struck by plant in general and the dumper in particular.

We would like to say this is an isolated incident but the facts are that too many accidents still occur where people and vehicles come into contact; as many employers fail to manage the risks properly. We see this on sites across the U.K. whether they are construction sites, factories, warehouses and even offices where car parking can present a problem.  The frustrating part is that the risks can generally be easily controlled if the risks are considered, and by implementing some simple controls.

One example was a large warehouse working 24 hour days where a number of RIDDOR injuries were sustained in the car parking area over a two year period.  The simple fix was to implement a one way traffic system around the carpark; that once enforced stopped the accidents occurring.