A principal contractor has been fined £10,000 after an employee of a constituent company sustained severe injuries whilst carrying out a lifting operation.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard that on 11 April 2015 Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) leased a large area within Rosyth Dockyard where an employee was undertaking a lifting operation to move two large crane mats.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the work activities to move the crane mats was a complex and non-routine lifting operation which had not been planned by a competent person. It was not appropriately supervised or carried out in a safe manner. The chains being used were not suitable as their reach distances were too short for the distance between the lifting points on the crane mat.

FCBC, of , Builyeon Road, South Queensferry pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £10,000.

Speaking after the hearing HSE principal inspector, Robert Hirst said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply implementing appropriate control measures and safe working practices.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required health and safety standards.”