Shell's "tick-box" safety led to lethal fall

Sasha Wood | Prosecutions and Claims |
27.11.2008

Energy giant Shell UK and consultants AMEC Group have been fined £150,000 each after a gas rig technician plunged six metres down a gap in the stairwell on the Sole Pit Clipper offshore platform in the southern North sea.

David Soanes, who had worked for AMEC for 12 years, had been carrying out maintenance work on the corroded stairs at the rig. He had removed two steps creating a gap, which he then toppled through falling six metres to the floor beneath, suffering lethal head injuries.

Norwich Crown Court heard how rig-owners Shell, and AMEC which employed Soanes, had a "tick-box mentality" towards safety checks and though risk assessments were carried out, they were insufficient for Soanes' task as they did not take account of work at height, the heavy physical nature of his job or the hostile environmental conditions. Prosecuting for the HSE, Mark Harrison said, "Anybody working in this environment lifting a 50lb item could have fallen through."

On 26 November, Shell was convicted under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to protect Soanes on its premises, and AMEC was found guilty of failing to ensure an employee's safety under Section 2(1) of the Act. Both firms were fined £150,000 and ordered to pay costs of £41,500 each.