Central London building collapse
Hundreds of people
were cleared from an area of Central London and at least one person was injured
after a building collapsed at a construction site last week.
Emergency services
were called to Serle Street and Portugal Street in Holborn after witnesses
reported hearing a "massive crash" and seeing plumes of dust. The 6-storey building has been under
demolition and part of the buildings structure, as well as the scaffolding
around it, had collapsed.
A 56-year-old man
was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital with serious head and
hip injuries after the incident on 20 April 2015.
Around 200 people
were cleared from the area and an air ambulance was seen arriving at nearby
Lincoln's Inn Fields.
A
spokesperson for London Fire Brigade, said: "When the first crews arrived
they found the building, which was under refurbishment, had
collapsed between the fifth and second floors. Firefighters
gave first aid to an injured man on site until ambulance crews arrived
and also helped police put safety cordons in place and to
evacuate people from the immediate area."
Construction
client in court after concerns raised over work at height
Mark Hewitt, a construction client from
Birmingham, was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £1,255 in costs for failing to
properly plan or manage construction work.
HSE inspected the site after a member of
the public raised concerns over work taking place next to a public pavement.
During the inspection it was clear there was a risk of materials falling from
the first floor level onto the pavement and the street, and there were no fall
prevention measures in place to protect workers on the site.
HSE Inspector Chris Gregory said:
“As the client for the work, Mr Hewitt
should have ensured the appropriate measures were in place in order to plan,
manage and monitor the project. He was informed of his duties by his advisors,
but failed to act.
Mr Hewitt had a duty to ensure that the
safety of those working on site and those members of the public, passing by,
were not put at risk, he failed on both counts”
Mark Hewitt of Manor Lane in Halesowen,
being a client as defined by the Construction (Management and Design)
Regulations 2007, was found guilty of breaching Regulation 9(1) of said regulations.
Firm firmed
after worker’s roof fall causes ‘life-threatening’ injuries
Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill Limited was
fined £10,000 (and ordered to pay more than £7,300 in costs) after admitting a
breach of Work at Height Regulations.
Appearing at Luton Magistrates’ Court,
the manufacturing company pleaded guilty in relation to its role in an incident
in January 2012, when a contractor fell from a roof.
The man was working on the roof at its
site in Ampthill, Bedfordshire where he fell through a skylight and suffered
injuries that needed emergency life-saving treatment.
The company must also pay a £120 victim
surcharge.
Builders
sentenced over scaffold fall
A building firm was fined £11,000 with
costs of £7,729 after a site manager dismantled scaffolding and later fell from
it.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard
Abridge Developments Limited of Epping Upland, Essex, failed to plan, manage
and monitor the construction work.
The company was found guilty of
breaching Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) 2007 Regulation
22.
Fatality at
construction site leads to fine
Mark Hammond was fined £12,500 after a
21 year old worker was electrocuted whilst carrying out works in the
communication room in a basement on a construction site.
Hammond, of Church Gresley, Swandicote,
Derbyshire, the director of Hamtech (UK) Electrical Services Limited, pleaded
guilty at Southwark Crown Court to breaching Section 3 (1) of Health and Safety
at Work etc. Act 1974. The defence was ordered to pay the prosecution costs of
almost £50,000.
This prosecution arose out of an
investigation into a fatal incident at the construction site at Great Peter
Street, London on 6 July 2011.
CDM changes made simpler... Key changes of the new CDM Regulations
2015
Construction sites are one of the most
hazardous working environments in the UK. Workers are exposed to many dangers
on a daily basis that could result in injury or even death. The CDM
(Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 aim to reduce the risks
on constructions sites and make them safer for everyone by assigning roles and
responsibilities to all involved.
1. All projects must have:
- Workers with the right skills,
knowledge, training and experience
- Contractors providing appropriate supervision,
instruction and information
- A written construction phase plan- Principal designer and principal contractor must be appointed
- A health and safety file
- last longer than 30 working
days and
- have more than 20 workers
working simultaneously at any point in the project
- OR exceeds 500 person days then…
All of 1 and 2 above plus:
- Client must notify project to HSE
CDM 2015 began 6th April 2015. For
projects that started before then, transitional arrangements apply.
When do the construction CDM regulations
apply? The CDM Regulations apply to all
construction projects where people are at work.
What is the definition of ‘construction
work’? ‘Construction work’ is extensive and
includes most building, civil engineering or engineering construction work
including demolition, new-builds, refurbishments etc.
What are ‘notifiable’ projects?
A project is notifiable to HSE (the
Health and Safety Executive or Inspector) if:- the construction phase lasts longer than 30 working
days AND will
have more than 20 workers working SIMULTANEOULSY
at any point in the project; OR
- if the project exceeds 500 person days. Notification
is via the F10 Form.
Clients are organisations or individuals for whom a construction
project is carried out and they must make suitable arrangements for managing a
project.
Domestic clients are people who have construction work carried out on their
own home, or home of a family member not done as part of a business. Their
duties are normally transferred to the contractor, on a single contractor
project; or the principal contractor on larger projects.
Designers are those who prepare or modify designs for a building,
product or system relating to construction work. They must try to eliminate,
reduce or control foreseeable risks that may arise.
Principal designers are designers appointed by the client in projects
involving more than one contractor. They must plan, manage, monitor and
coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase and prepare and
provide relevant information to other duty-holders.
Principal contractors are contractors appointed by the client to coordinate
the construction phase of a project where it involves more than one contractor.
They must plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the
construction phase of a project.
Contractors are those who do the actual construction work and can be
either an individual or a company. They must plan, manage, coordinate and
monitor work under their control so it is safe.
Workers are the people who work for or under the control of
contractors on sites. They must:
- be consulted about matters which affect their
health, safety and welfare;
- take care of their own health and safety and others
who may be affected by their actions;
- report anything they see which may endanger either
their own or others’ health and safety;
- co-operate with the employer, fellow workers,
contractors and other duty-holders.
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