‘Casual attitude’ to pedestrian safety lands Biffa with £2.5m fine

HSE found that Biffa Waste Services failed to review and monitor control measures to protect pedestrians and keep them separate from vehicle movements.

Biffa accepted full responsibility for breaches identified at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 15 October and in a statement issued afterwards, Gary Carvell, Biffa’s health and safety director, said: “The health and safety of our staff, contractors, visitors and members of the public is our overriding priority.

“We recognise in this case that the arrangements in place to ensure the safe separation of pedestrians and vehicles were not effective and we accept full responsibility for the breaches accepted in court. “

“Immediately following the incident, we carried out a comprehensive health and safety review of the site and made several changes to reduce the likelihood of further harm. We are committed to workplace safety across all our UK sites.”

“On behalf of the company, I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Tabiri.”

The incident happened on 10 August 2023, when James Tabiri, 57, was working as a sort line operative at Biffa Waste Services’ waste transfer site in Bradford.

While walking to the site office across the weighbridge, he was struck from behind by a reversing skip wagon. The impact caused him to fall, and he died from crush injuries from the rear wheels.

CCTV footage from the week before the incident showed that it was common practice for workers on site to bypass segregated pedestrian routes with some seen climbing over safety barriers.

Screenshot of CCTV footage seconds before the collision. The vehicle involved is reversing in from the left-hand side of the image. Photograph: HSE

Biffa Waste Services Ltd, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was fined £2.48 million for breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 15 October.

Investigating HSE inspector Elliot Archer said: “This incident was easily avoidable. Control measures were in place to allow pedestrians and vehicles to move safely, but a lack of monitoring and supervision allowed poor working practices to develop between the workers on site.

“Our investigation found a casual attitude to health and safety with workers treating a high hazard site like a playground.”

“This tragic incident should be a reminder to the waste industry not to become complacent with the risks workplace transport poses, and that even where control measures are in place to segregate pedestrians and vehicles, robust monitoring and supervision of their correct usage need to be in place,” stressed Archer.

Headline fines highlight common errors in reversing: read HSE's overview of recent cases here