Health and Safety in the news this
week
HSE: Safer Site Targeted Inspections – Coming to a street near
you
HSE construction inspectors
will be carrying out unannounced visits to sites where refurbishment projects
or repair works are underway.
This year the initiative is
being undertaken as a series of two week inspections across the country,
beginning 3rd October 2016 and ending 4 November 2016.
During this period inspectors
will ensure high-risk activities, particularly those affecting the health of
workers, are being properly managed.
These include:-
·
Risks to health from exposure to dust such as silica are being
controlled;
·
Workers are aware of where they may find asbestos, and what to
do if they find it;
·
Other health risks, such as exposure to noise and vibration,
manual handling and hazardous substances are being properly managed;
·
Jobs that involve working at height have been identified and
properly planned to ensure that appropriate precautions, such as proper support
of structures, are in place;
·
Equipment is correctly installed/assembled, inspected and
maintained and used properly;
·
Sites are well organised to avoid trips and falls, walkways and
stairs are free from obstructions and welfare facilities are adequate.
Where serious breaches of
legislation are found then immediate enforcement action will be taken, but
inspectors will also be taking steps to secure a positive change in behaviour
to ensure on-going compliance.Health and safety breaches with clients and designers will also be followed up to reinforce their duties under CDM 2015 and to ensure that all duty holders with on-site health and safety responsibilities understand and fulfil these.
Source: HSE e-bulletin service
HSE prosecution round up:
Two scaffolders receive suspended prison sentence following
worker’s death
Two scaffolders from St
Austell, Cornwall have received suspended prison sentences following the death
of a worker who fell 7m to his death.
Roger Stoddern, 47, was
dismantling scaffolding on 24 June 2013, when he fell from the flat roof of a
property in St Mawes. He was taken to Derriford Hospital but died three weeks
later due to the severity of his injuries.
Truro Crown Court heard how Mr
Stoddern was stacking 3m roofing sheets on the flat roof of the property
without any edge protection. The safety railing had been removed to allow
access to the flat roof so the sheets could be stacked. The court also heard
how one of the defendants replaced the safety rail following the incident to
cover up the cause of the incident.
The Health and Safety
Executive’s investigation, alongside Devon and Cornwall police found that Colin
Marshall Scaffolding was not qualified to erect the scaffolding and there was
evidence that no personal protective equipment, such as harnesses, was used.
The condition of the scaffolding also failed to meet current safety standards.
Colin Marshall of St Austell,
founder of the business, pleaded guilty to breach of Section 2(1) of the Health
and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was given a four-month prison sentence
suspended for two years. James Marshall, also of St Austell, Colin’s son and
business partner was handed an eight-month sentence suspended for two years.
They were ordered to pay costs of £25,661.
The HSE inspector said:
“Construction is one of the
most dangerous industries in Great Britain and businesses have to take the
safety of their workers seriously. Colin Marshall and James Marshall are
responsible for the death of Roger Stoddern. It was entirely preventable and
should not have happened. The risks of working at height are known. Scaffolders
must ensure they use the right protective equipment and have sufficient edge
protection in place to prevent workers falling.”
Construction Company fined £800,000 after worker injured
A Surrey construction company
has been fined after a contractor was run over on a large site in Wokingham.
David Cole was a site foreman
on the large housing development project, which started in April 2013 and has a
completion date of April 2017. He was struck by, and pulled under, a large bulk
powder carrier.
On 7 December 2014 Mr Cole, who
was contracted to Harlequin Brickwork Ltd, was walking along the site road at
Mulberry Grove toward the rear of a bulk powder (mortar) carrier. The vehicle
was located on a T junction having just reversed into the junction. Mr Cole
walked along the nearside of the vehicle as it pulled forward and turned
towards the nearside. He was hit by the vehicle and pulled under it.
He suffered serious life
threatening injuries. His skin was removed and split on his left arm and leg,
he fractured his left hip requiring a pin to be inserted, and fingers on his
left hand were broken. His left leg has been left permanently shorter than his
right by 20mm.
Reading Crown Court heard the
site, run by the Principal Contractor, Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd, had
failed to plan and manage the workplace transport effectively. The Health and
Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting, told the court the incident could have
been avoided had they monitored and taken action to ensure workers stayed
behind the pedestrian barriers and not walked on the road, and prevented large
HGVs reversing hundreds of metres at a time.
Crest Nicholson Operations
Ltd., of Crest House, Pyrcroft Road, Chertsey, Surrey, pleaded guilty to
breaches of Regulation 36 (1) of the Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007 and was fined £800,000 plus £10,984 costs.
HSE’s inspector John Berezansky
said:
“David Cole suffered life
changing injuries because Crest Nicolson Operations Limited did not properly
manage and monitor the workplace transport on their construction site. When
working with such large delivery vehicles and construction plant, especially on
projects where there are lots of pedestrians, the principal contractor
much take responsibility and ensure the health and safety of all those
involved.”
Hemel Hempstead manufacturer fined £1m following worker’s death
A manufacturing company based
in Hemel Hempstead has been fined £1million after a worker was crushed to death
by falling machinery.
Colin Reddish, 48, from
Lincolnshire was involved in moving a large CNC milling machine within the
company’s Grantham factory on 30th April 2015 when it overturned and
killed him. The machine had been lifted using jacks and placed onto skates in
order to give Mr Reddish access to use an angle grinder to cut and remove the
bolts that had secured it to the floor. He was working alone at the time of the
incident.
Lincoln Magistrates Court heard
how Parker Hannifin Manufacturing Ltd had not ensured that workers who were
tasked with lifting and moving the machine were sufficiently trained and had
the right experience and training for carrying out such a potentially dangerous
activity.
The Health and Safety Executive
found during its investigation that the work was not properly planned. The
centre of gravity of the machine had not been properly assessed and taken into
account before the move took place. This resulted in an unsafe system of work
being used for the job, with fatal consequences.
Parker Hannifin Manufacturing
Ltd, Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire pleaded guilty to
breaching Reg 3(1) of Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety of Work etc Act 1974. They were fined
£1million for breaching Section 2, with full costs £6,311 and a victim
surcharge of £120.
HSE Inspector Martin Giles
said:
“Colin Reddish’s death was
entirely preventable. Parker Hannifin Manufacturing Ltd had already tried
unsuccessfully to lift the machine using a fork lift truck but instead of
learning from this failure they carried on. Their ad hoc approach to managing
dangerous tasks resulted in one of their workers losing his life.
“All companies can learn from
this incident and make sure they have properly risk assessed the situation
before they start and that they have trained staff with the right type of
experience to carry out the task in hand safely. Taking an extra few minutes to
properly think through a problem could save a worker’s life.”
Somerset manufacturer prosecuted for worker’s death
A company in Somerset has been
fined after the death of a worker who fell through a factory roof skylight.
Taunton Crown Court heard
Samuel Wright Maxwell, 46, of Wells Somerset was employed by Cooper B Line
(CBL) factory in Highbridge, Somerset.
As a maintenance worker, Mr
Maxwell had permission to go onto the roofs for various tasks and did so
regularly without adequate and sufficient safety measures being in place.
On the 17 May 2013, he was on
the roof working when colleagues below heard a crash, discovering Mr Maxwell
had fallen through a skylight onto the concrete floor of the rack assembly area
seven metres below. He died shortly after the fall.
The roofs at CBL were extensive
and people worked on them regularly, without proper precautions to prevent them
falling.
The Health and Safety Executive
investigation found that CBL management failed to appreciate the risks to their
maintenance workers when working on the roofs. They had carried out an inadequate
generic risk assessment, which failed to identify the risks and control
measures necessary when its employees were working at height.
Mr Maxwell’s partner, Gwenaelle
Ansquer said:
“Losing Sam in this way casts a
huge black cloud over my life and the life of our daughter. Even now over three
years later, I still feel like it happened yesterday. I have been waiting all
that time for CBL to accept the responsibility for something that should never
have happened. I wish that they had done that from the beginning. I cannot
believe they ever tried to deny it”.
HSE Inspector Annette Walker
said:
“The senior management of
companies must learn from this tragic case that they need to take the health
and safety of their workers seriously. In this case a confusing system of work
had developed and unintentionally encouraged dangerous methods. Falls from height continue to account for a
significant proportion of all workplace deaths and serious injuries. Falls
through fragile roofs and skylights sadly happen all too often. Businesses
should ensure that all roof work including routine maintenance is properly
planned and carried out safely.”
Cooper B-Line Limited, of
Walrow Industrial Estate, Highbridge, Somerset, pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined
£210,000 and ordered to pay costs of £36,493.52.
Self-employed trader fined for safety failings
A Bradford self-employed trader
was sentenced today for safety breaches after poor scaffolding
arrangements at a domestic property put himself and others at risk.
The Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) prosecuted Mark Podstawski, 47, after an investigation found poor
planning, the absence of guard rails and a scaffold not of a recognised design,
put himself and others, including people on the ground at risk.
Mark Podstawski of Horton Bank
Top in Bradford pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (2) of the Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974 and was given 200 hours community service and ordered
to pay £918.02 costs by Bradford Magistrates Court.
After the hearing, HSE
inspector Paul Thompson commented:
“Mr Podstawski had been served
with a Prohibition Notice six months prior to this incident when he
breached the Work at Height Regulations for similar circumstances. This
incident could and should have been prevented. Scaffolding should always be
erected to the appropriate standards and previous enforcement action should
not be ignored”.
Roofing firm fined after worker’s ladder fall
A Kings Lynn roofing company
has been prosecuted after a worker fell seven metres from a scaffold access
ladder while assisting with chimney repairs.
Kings Lynn Magistrates Court
heard how the worker was subcontracted by J Webber Roofing Limited to assist
with removing waste, mixing cement and bringing tools up to colleagues who
were working on the chimney at a domestic property on Beech Avenue in
Kings Lynn on 10 July 2015.
The company had erected a
scaffold platform around the chimney with an access ladder attached to it. The
worker climbed up the ladder carrying a cement filled bucket with a radio
attached to it, on his shoulder. He lost his balance and fell approximately
seven metres to the ground. The fall resulted in multiple fractures to both of
the worker’s wrists and his lower left arm. He required surgery and steel
plates and will never regain full use of his hands.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) found that J Webber failed to adequately plan work
at height which involved manual handling of construction materials and waste up
and down scaffold ladders.
J Webber Roofing Limited of 81
Gayton Road, Gaywood, Kings Lynn pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(a)
of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay
£1,582 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing HSE
Inspector Kasia Urbaniak said:
“The risk of falls from ladders
is well known. Ladders are being frequently misused where often better
specifically designed equipment is easily available. This incident which has left a worker without
the full use of his hands could have been easily avoided if a ‘gin wheel’ had
been installed on the scaffold platform to transport tools and other
construction materials.”
Contractor seriously injured in fragile skylight fall
London exhibition venue firm,
The Business Design Centre Ltd, and a building contractor have been fined for
safety failings after a specialist contractor fell through a fragile skylight.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court
heard how the Business Design Centre allowed workers to cross an unsafe roof,
which contained three fragile skylights and open edges, and failed to prevent
contractors crossing the same unsafe roof on a number of occasions.
The court also heard that James
Murphy, 64, from Chigwell
in Essex, who had been appointed by The Business Design Centre Ltd to undertake
repair work at the site, had led a specialist lead contractor over the unsafe
roof on 14 May 2015. As he walked over the unsafe roof the lead contractor fell
through a skylight, falling 5.5m. He suffered serious injuries including a
shattered pelvis, broken wrist, and a broken elbow.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that the Business Design
Centre failed to ensure that access to and from the areas of the roof which
required repair was suitable and safe, and that sufficient measures were in
place to protect against the risks of falling from height.
James Murphy failed to ensure
that the job of accessing and then inspecting the auditorium roof was properly
planned.
The Business Design Centre
Limited, of Upper Street, Islington, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1)
and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, was fined £300,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £2925,56
James Murphy, of High Road,
Chigwell, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(a) of the Work at
Height Regulations 2005, and was fined £4,000 and also ordered to pay costs of
£2925.56
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