Posted By Alec Wood
We are due to close down our two factory manufacturing site shortly. The sale of the site has been agreed and this includes some of the plant being left in situ.

The new owners will be leasing the factories out to other companies. They have no employed H&S people, and the provision of the tennants is obviously not known at this stage.

There is a H&S issue with some of this plant. I feel a moral obligation to ensure that I at least inform the new owners of the site so that they might inform their prospective tennants. What I would like to know is what my legal obligations are, examples of case law and the like would be most helpful.

I would rather pass this info on with the blessing of the company, the above will help me gain this.

Thanks everyone for your help on this and other issues I have asked in the past. For those who, like me, are at the junior ends of the profession, access to your experience is very valuable indeed.

Alec Wood

Posted By Dave Daniel
Alec - I'm digging back many years but I seem to recall that in Rover Group in the 1980's when we were closing factories by the dozen we devised a policy which required an assessment of any machine sold and issuing a schedule of the steps required to bring it into a safe working condition. Machines sold secondhand had often been stripped for parts by some enthusiastic fitter or all the guards chucked out and forgotten when it was dragged out of the building ages ago.

I don't think I've still got my copy of the BL Cars Manual of Safe Working Practices ("wot I rote")from those days.

From recollection the schedule included a statement that the machine was supplied "as seen" and should be thoroughly examined prior to use etc. Key and obvious missing bits were noted. We never had to test this in law.

S6 of HASASA applies of course.

Regards - Dave Daniel - Technical Director Practical Risk Management Ltd

Posted By S Groch
You will need to be aware that "sold as seen" is no longer a sufficient caveat to a sale of second hand machinery.
The sale of the business should have a specific clause stating that the purchasers of the machinery undertake to ensure that before using the machinery, they risk assess and put in place all relevant precautions.
The HSE last year successfully prosecuted an company who sought to rely upon "sold as seen"

Posted By Alec Wood
Yes of course.

When I said plant, I meant plant as in equipment, not the buildings.

Alec