Risk, Health and Safety Information

 

One in two basement sites in top London boroughs fails safety inspections

Almost half of domestic basement projects across three London boroughs failed unannounced safety checks during a two-day initiative, figures reveal.

The inspection initiative undertaken by the HSE, saw a team of inspectors visit 127 sites across Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and parts of Westminster.

Enforcement action was taken at 62 of those sites – an overall rate of 48% – with 44 Prohibition Notices served requiring dangerous practices to stop with immediate effect, 12 Improvement Notices served requiring safety improvements to be made and 63 Notifications of Contravention served identifying material breaches.

In a similar inspection drive last year the overall enforcement rate across 107 sites was one in three, or 36 per cent.

At two projects, conditions were so dangerous that inspectors were forced to close the sites. More than two thirds of the Prohibition Notices served dealt with the risk of workers falling from height, either into unguarded excavations or through unprotected floor openings, as well as unshored excavations. Inadequate welfare provision accounted for half of the Improvement Notices.

James Hickman, lead HSE Inspector for the Construction Division in the City and South West London, said:

“These enforcement figures reflect the rapidly-increasing number of companies entering the basement industry to meet the current high demand for basement living space in London. Those new to basement construction work are often unaware of the risks associated with the technically challenging nature of the work or of the standards required to ensure the safety of their workforce.

“The overall picture is similar to other targeted inspections of basement work in London where we identified the same kind of problems relating to unsafe work at height and excavations, and poor welfare facilities.

“That suggests the message isn’t getting through, or that there is complacency towards health and safety across this sector of the construction industry. But that is only partly the case.

“As well as serious safety contraventions, we also found examples of better standards, often at sites managed by companies who are known to HSE, some of whom have previously received enforcement notices requiring improvements to be made.

“It illustrates that lessons have been learned, and we hope the latest failings that required action will have a similar impact with contractors new to the basement industry.”

Domestic basement projects are technically-challenging and carry substantial risks. Common issues found during the inspections were:

• Work not properly planned
• Failure to appoint a competent temporary works engineer to design suitable propping to support excavations and existing structures
• Poor or absent welfare facilities for workers
• Basic precautions missing, such as edge protection to prevent falls from height, especially into excavations
• Unguarded conveyor belts

Firm in court for unsafe refurbishment work

A construction company has been fined for unsafe refurbishment work that exposed workers to the risk of serious injuries.

Inspectors from the HSE established that safety standards were woefully lacking at a property undergoing an extensive overhaul in Newton Avenue, Acton, between July 2013 to January 2014.

A basement was excavated without any form of propping or temporary works to provide vital support, and later in the project the risk of falls from height was also found to be poorly managed.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that FN Property Limited also failed to hold any valid Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance for its workforce, which is a legal requirement to support workers in the event of an incident occurring.

HSE twice served Prohibition Notices to stop work linked to the refurbishment during visits in January 2014 to prevent the risk of falls from height.

The first visit followed a complaint from workers at the site about unsafe excavations where there was a serious risk of collapse.

FN Property Limited, of Askew Road, Shepherd’s Bush, W12, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay a further £1,213 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Pete Collingwood commented:

“The dangers posed by unsupported excavations are well known in the construction industry, and it should have been abundantly clear that the provision and use of shoring was a basic necessity.

“Later in the project measures in place to protect against falls from height were found to be inadequate on two separate visits to site. To compound this, the contractor had no Employers Liability Insurance in the event of an accident occurring.

“Every employer should ensure that workers have the basic right to work in a safe environment. FN Property Ltd fell some way short in this regard.”

Kent boys’ school fined over pupil’s head injuries

The governors of a boys’ school have been prosecuted after a 14-year-old pupil was severely injured when he was hit by a shot put thrown by another boy.

The incident happened during a routine multi-sport PE lesson at The Judd School in Tonbridge on 20 June 2014. The pupil had left a triple jump area and was standing on the edge of the shot put landing zone to check a friend’s throw when he was struck on the back of his head by a shot.

The pupil suffered life-threatening injuries and needed emergency brain surgery on a fractured skull. He has now returned to school but his injury has resulted in a permanent indentation at the base of his skull.

The HSE investigated and identified the school had not adopted measures in its own risk assessment and PE guidance on multi-event lessons had not been followed.

Sevenoaks Magistrates were told that there were 24 boys in the lesson, divided into six groups and taking part in hurdles, long jump, triple jump, javelin, discus and shot put. It was a lesson format used regularly at The Judd School and the pupils had participated in similar lessons in previous years.

The six sports were spread across the field but the end of the landing zone for the shot put was only about three metres from the end of the triple jump sand pit, where the 14-year-old was competing.

When the whistle blew to mark the end of the session, he left the triple jump and went to the shot put to see how far his friend had thrown. At the same time, another pupil was completing his throw, turning as he did so he was facing away from the zone.

The shot hit the pupil on the back of the head, causing a severely fractured skull and internal swelling. He was in hospital for nearly a month but was able to return to school the following term.

The court heard the teenager is no longer able to take part in some contact sports and may suffer longer-term issues.

HSE found the school had carried out a risk assessment for PE lessons. However, although it had referenced the guidance by the Association for Physical Education, it did not follow their recommendation that such lessons be restricted to a maximum of four sports with only one to be a throwing event.

The school’s inclusion of six sports with three throwing events, had significantly increased the risks to pupils, as had the proximity of the triple jump pit to the shot put landing zone.

The Governing Body of The Judd School, Tonbridge, Kent, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £1,375 in costs after admitting a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Magistrates agreed with HSE that the safety breach had been ‘substantial’

After the hearing, HSE inspector Kevin Golding said:

“By not adopting the measures identified in their own risk assessment, The Judd School put pupils at serious risk leading to a 14-year-old boy being struck by a shot put and suffering life-threatening injuries. It was a horrifying incident for him and his family and, of course, the rest of the pupils and the school itself.

“While he is thankfully back at school, he will have to live with the consequences of the incident for the rest of his life.

“It is vitally important that schools review their risk assessments for all PE lessons, but in particular for multi-sports lessons, to check that they are safe.”

Leeds trader’s suspended jail sentence over asbestos exposure

A trader has been given a suspended jail sentence after exposing a household and workers to potentially dangerous levels of asbestos fibres.

Clive Raper, 49, trading as Bramley Asbestos Removals, took on a job to remove asbestos insulating board from the garage of a couple’s home despite the fact that he did not hold the legal licence required to carry out the specialist work.

He hired a couple of workers to help him but totally failed to take any of the vital safety measures needed, or implement the tight controls imposed by law, to protect workers, local people and the environment when working with the material.

The HSE prosecuted Mr Raper for safety breaches at Leeds Magistrates’ Court after investigating the incident in July 2011.

The court was told Mr Raper accepted the job from the couple knowing full well he did not have the necessary licence to do the work. He then took on a couple of labourers to help him, neither of whom held licences.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and asbestos-containing materials will release fibres into the air when damaged or disturbed. If inhaled, they can lead to serious and fatal disease, often years down the line.

Mr Raper had not used any of the standard control measures that licensed operators employ, such as a protective enclosure, full-face respiratory equipment, negative pressure units and specialist vacuums.

The poor standards employed by Mr Raper meant that asbestos debris and residue was left, compounding the risk to the homeowners of exposure.

The homeowner was so concerned with how Mr Raper had left the garage he contacted Leeds City Council. They identified a suitable contractor who went to the home and carried out an environmental clean of the property, at added cost to the homeowner. The council also reported the matter to HSE

Clive Raper, trading as Bramley Asbestos Removals, of Fawcett Gardens, Leeds (previously Summerfield Drive, Bramley), was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay a contribution of £260 toward costs after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and a separate breach of the Control of Asbestos Regulations.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Paul Yeadon said:

“It is appalling that a trader who is fully familiar with the restrictions governing asbestos wilfully ignores them and puts a household and the workers he has hired in danger. It would appear that he has put profit ahead of the health and wellbeing of others, and in this case quite bafflingly, he put his own health at risk as well.

“We were unable to identify the two workers involved as Mr Raper could not provide their full names or contact details. We do think, however, that they were probably both exposed to asbestos fibres above the action level.

“This kind of work must be carried out by competent people with the necessary licence to do so.”

Materials company prosecuted for worker’s crush injury

A global materials company has been fined after a maintenance engineer’s hand was crushed at its factory.

Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that the 40-year-old worker from Stourbridge was removing chocks from the bed of a plate saw when the incident happened at ThyssenKrupp (Materials) UK Ltd’s site in Tyseley on 9 July 2014.

The chocks had been used to prop a pressure beam while maintenance work was carried out but as soon as the chocks were removed, the beam fell on to the employee’s hand. He was off work for more than three months but has since returned to the company.

A HSE investigation found the company, a subsidiary of the ThyssenKrupp group, had failed to provide workers with adequate information, instruction and training or appropriately manage the site maintenance programme.

ThyssenKrupp (Materials) UK Ltd, of Cox’s Lane, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, was fined £10,000 with £940.50 costs after admitting a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Paul Cooper said:

“ThyssenKrupp Materials should have spent time working out a safe working methods for all maintenance tasks, especially those which were routine. There were no written risk assessments or safe systems of work in place.

“The company should also have made sure that the engineers were given the necessary training on the machines and the information they needed to operate them. Instead, they were given nothing and expected to learn as they went along.

“Since the incident the firm has brought in service engineers to do the most intricate maintenance work and arranged for those engineers to give the employees training on the machines. Had they done this before, a worker could have been spared a painful injury.”

Waste recycling firm prosecuted over worker’s crush injuries

A waste recycling firm has been fined after a worker suffered severe crush injuries in an unsafe machine.

The 22-year-old, who has asked not to be named, was clearing a blockage from a cardboard baler at Bakers Waste Services Ltd’s Enderby site on 27 January 2014 when his left leg became trapped between the static framework and moving bed.

It took firefighters three hours to free him. He was in hospital for four weeks and underwent three operations to insert metal rods and screws between his knee and ankle. He also required skin and muscle grafts, and in some places the bones in his leg were so severely damaged they are now missing.

A HSE investigation found the company had failed to maintain guards and other protective devices on the baler. Although guards were present they did not close properly meaning interlocking devices and the electrical control circuit of the machine were not properly activated.

Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard that while the worker was clearing the blockage he inadvertently activated the baler as there was also no safe system of work for safely isolating the power supply.

Bakers Waste Services Ltd, of Melton Road, Thurmaston, Leicester was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,577 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Berian Price said:

“The incident was entirely preventable. Bakers Waste Services fell below the standards expected of a competent employer, standards which are well publicised and accepted within the industry. The safety devices on the baler had been defective for a period of time yet it took an horrific incident before they took action to remedy the problem.

“Incidents arising from dangerous parts of machinery are unfortunately commonplace despite freely available guidance. Around 12 people a year are killed and a further 40,000 injured due to incidents involving machinery.”