A construction company has admitted health and safety failings that led to the death of a 23-year-old Highland man on a Shetland wind farm.
Liam Macdonald, from Tain, was asphyxiated when an 80kg bale arm came loose and pinned him to the side of a concrete skip he was cleaning, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
Site operators BAM Nuttall pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law in relation to the tragedy, which happened on the construction site in the Upper Kergord area of the main island on June 5 2022.
The construction giant admitted failures in risk assessment, safe systems of work, training, supervision and instruction for the cleaning task – which was referred to as “basic”.
BAM Nuttall admits failings
The incident happened at a site where a converter was being built as part of the SSE Renewables Viking windfarm project.
Fiscal depute Catherine Fraser told the court Mr Macdonald had started work at 8am on the morning of the incident.
She said that, usually, the hopper of the column skip would have been hosed out following use, but a change of plans the previous day had prevented this from happening and concrete had hardened inside.
As a result, Mr Macdonald was asked to remove the concrete manually – a task that would normally be performed by striking the outside of the hopper with a hammer.
Before starting the job he joked that that he was “in some way being punished” by being allocated the task.
During the course of the morning, a supervisor spotted the sub-contractor inside the hopper of the skip but did not intervene.
Mr Macdonald was then seen “motionless” in the skip and “appeared to be pinned by the bale arm across the chest.”
The arm was lifted and Mr Macdonald removed from the skip but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and a defibrillator detected no pulse, despite a smart watch indicating a weak one.
Mr Macdonald was declared dead at 11.15am.
A post-mortem examination carried out in Aberdeen found his cause of death to be traumatic asphyxia.
Ms Fraser told the court that a subsequent HSE investigation found a carabiner used to hold the bale arm in place while in the vertical position could not be locked shut due to dried concrete residue.
‘High’ risk ‘not adequately addressed’
She said the “risk of serious injury had not been adequately addressed” and the company had “failed to put in place appropriate measures”.
“The risk of unsecured bale arm falling on someone was high,” Ms Fraser said, adding: “If for any reason the bale arm had been left in the upright position it should have been secured to prevent it from falling.”
The court heard safety information in the skip user guide had not been made readily available and Mr Macdonald was not given instructions on how to safely carry out the task.
“Either of those steps would have neutralised the hazard,” Ms Fraser concluded.
Questioned by Sheriff Ian Cruickshank about how often Liam had carried out this task the prosecutor said: “It was the one and only time he was asked.”
Answering a query as to how the bale arm came to fall, she explained CCTV had captured Mr Macdonald working in the skip but said: “You can’t see the mechanism of how it came to fall.”
Advocate Murdo MacLeod KC, for BAM Nuttall said: “The company would like to formally record its sincere regret in light of this tragedy and to offer its condolences to Mr Macdonald’s family and friends.”
‘No words can ease the pain’
He referred to a letter submitted by a member of senior management echoing these feelings and said: “He understands that no words he says can ease the pain of losing such a beloved son, family member and friend.”
Sheriff Cruickshank heard the letter outlined how “the safety of the company employees, sub-contractors and members of the public is always the company’s priority”
“He apologises that they were not able to keep him safe,” Mr MacLeod said.
The advocate detailed how, following the incident, the company had prohibited the use of skips with heavy bale arms unless reviewed and approved by a senior manager, staff access to operating manuals had been ensured and staff training and been reviewed and refreshed.
A working group had been tasked with investigating and establishing industry best practice for equipment and all relevant processes were being reviewed and revised.
“There is an evolution in terms of learning from incidents such as this that is how safety is developed in the industry,” he said, adding: “The tragedy is that it wasn’t anticipated beforehand.”
‘There should have been training in place’
“There should have been training in place for Mr Macdonald not to have been in the skip,” Mr McLeod conceded, later adding: “It may have been felt that it was so basic that it wasn’t required.”
Addressing how the bale arm came to be unsecured he said: “The supervisor attached the clip the afternoon before the incident and the skip was not used or cleaned until the time of the accident.
“I cannot say that it was Mr Macdonald that released it. It’s simply a mystery as to who unclipped the bale arm.”
He told Sheriff Cruickshank the incident represented: “An oversight on one day with tragic consequence.
“Lessons have been both learned and applied in practice,” he concluded.
Sheriff Cruickshank extended his “deepest sympathies” to the friends and family of Mr Macdonald, a number of who had attended the hearing, but decided to take time before imposing a sentence.
He said: “This is a case where I’m not going to rush to judgement, I wish to very carefully consider all factors.”
The sheriff said he would issue a sentencing statement from his home court in Lerwick on Wednesday December 18