Industry News » A simple inspection system could keep you from being prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter Act

04-10-2007

A simple pre-shift / weekly inspection of plant machinery and vehicles could keep you from being prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007

The Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 which came in to force July 2007 makes it easier for organisations and its senior management to be prosecuted should an accident occur with fatal consequences.

Previously the onus was on the prosecutor to prove that an individual was directly responsible for causing the accident whereas now it only needs to be proven that there was a gross breach of relevant duty of care by senior management.  In the case of plant and vehicles, if it is found that an organisation has not taken reasonable precautions to ensure the safe use and keeping of its fork lift trucks and other plant or vehicles then this may be considered a breach of duty of care.

Pre-shift and / or weekly inspections are also recommended as HSE best practice.

SG World’s innovative inspection systems consist of a simple checklist, a highly visible safety status indicator that shows whether the equipment has been inspected that day and if it is safe to use.  As the checklists are provided in duplicate, a master record is automatically generated providing a comprehensive audit trail.

Should an employee have an accident as a result of using plant such as fork lift trucks and this accident has fatal consequences, senior management of your organisation would be able to prove that they had taken reasonable steps to prevent the accident.

As the legislation is still in its infancy, it is hard to predict the consequences on businesses, however why risk it… INSPECT IT.

For more information on our range of inspection systems please click here.