A 'gentle giant' was crushed to death under a 1,000 tonne hydraulic press after a health and safety breach by his employer - which has now been fined more than half a million pounds.
Colin Willoughby, 52, was known as the 'go-to guy for tricky engineering problems,' in his role at Graham Engineering Ltd in Nelson, Lancashire, a court heard.
But on May 21, 2018, the popular engineer was killed instantly when a piston came loose, crushing him to death as he worked underneath the press, Lancs Live reports.
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Before setting to work beneath the equipment, Mr Willoughby and his colleagues had been given a 'tool-box talk' but no formal risk assessment had been carried out, Judge Philip Parry said.
At Preston Crown Court, Graham Engineering Ltd was ordered to pay £645,487.82 after being found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company's director, Stuart Frazer, was cleared of the same charge - however he appeared at court to represent the company at a sentence hearing.
Judge Parry said Graham Engineering acquired the Hugh Smith 1,000 press from a company in Ipswich in 2015. It was inspected by a man named Peter Egan, who concluded it was in poor condition. In order for the machinery to be put back into work, the piston would need to be removed and re-chromed, Mr Egan said.
The press remained at the site, but in 2017, Graham Engineering secured a large contract with Siemens to make components for MRI scanners. Mr Frazer thought the Hugh Smith press would be ideal for the job, however it would need to be moved and inspected.
Mr Egan recommended the firm used specialist lifting equipment as the press was extremely heavy and an unusual design. However on two separate occasions it was lifted onto sleepers using two fork-lift trucks - exceeding their safe working load limits by 4-5 tonnes.
On May 15 2018, the press was lifted and Mr Willoughby and Mr Egan slid underneath on their backs to take a look at the underside of the press. "At that stage no-one had any idea what was going on under the moving table, as it had never been inspected", Judge Parry said.
"The press was so heavy and was an unusual shape that it was described as a 'non-standard lift' and should have been subject to its own risk assessment", he added.
The two men inspected the 0.25 tonne cap which held the piston in place and discovered it was held in place by "poor and crude welding". No risk assessment had been put in place for either lifting the equipment or working underneath it, Judge Parry added.
On May 21 2018, Mr Frazer asked a number of employees to raise the press a little further from the ground using the same fork-lift truck technique and the cap underneath the lifting table had been removed. "It does not seem to have been appreciated that the cap was attached to the chrome piston", the judge said.
That afternoon, Mr Frazer, Mr Willoughby and another employee, Michael Jones, got underneath the press to examine the condition of the machinery and a short time later, Mr Willoughby set to work grinding away at the welding. The piston came loose and fell on Mr Willoughby, crushing him to death.
The Health and Safety Executive was notified and the firm co-operated with an investigation into Mr Willoughby's death. Following a trial at Preston Crown Court in January 2022, Graham Engineering Ltd was convicted of failing to protect the health and safety of one or more employees.
Sentencing, Judge Parry said there was an 'inherent risk' in lifting the equipment using two fork-lift trucks, and exceeding their safe working load limits. The judge said that although no-one was injured during the lifting process, the unusual shape and size of the equipment should have triggered an individual risk assessment.
Prior to lifting the press, Mr Frazer briefed colleagues on the technique they would use. Judge Parry described the briefing as "a toolbox talk on a whiteboard, which was at best inadequate and poor". "They made it up as they went along", he said.
Further risk assessments should have been carried out before anyone from the company began working on or near the press, he added. "Work underneath the press, including on May 17 and 21, was conducted without any risk assessment being undertaken. There were many, many inherent dangers."
The judge said he took into account the company's previous good record for health and safety. Through it's lawyers, Graham Engineering offered condolences to Mr Willoughby's family.
Paying tribute to her husband, Mr Willoughby's wife Jayne described him as 'a strong Goliath, yet a gentle giant.' She said she was devastated by his death at work. Judge Parry fined the firm £500,000 and ordered £145,487.82 costs to be paid. He concluded the hearing, saying "Rest in peace, Colin Willoughby."
