Risk, Health and Safety Information

Health and Safety in the news this week

Fire in Shepherd’s Bush Tower Block

A fire in Shepherd's Bush Green in London affected five floors of the 18-storey Shepherd’s Court building, resulting in its evacuation.

At least 120 firefighters from London Fire Brigade tackled the blaze, which they brought under control, and Hammersmith and Fulham Council arranged rest areas and housing for those affected.

London Ambulance Service said it treated two patients at the scene, but neither required hospital treatment. One person was treated for smoke inhalation.

Fire crews were investigating the cause of the blaze, and remained at the scene “damping down”.

The blaze damaged around a quarter of a four-room flat on the seventh floor, half of a flat on the eighth floor, around a quarter of a flat on the ninth floor, half of a flat on the tenth floor and a small part of the flat on the eleventh floor.

Shadwell fire station manager Paul Hobbs said: ""The fire spread from the seventh floor via the outside of the building.  Crews wearing breathing apparatus used jets to extinguish the fire on each floor of the building. They worked quickly in difficult conditions to tackle the fire.  At the height of the blaze, nearby Shepherd's Bush station was closed and the adjacent West 12 shopping centre evacuated."

HSE prosecution round up:

Man sentenced for pretending to be Gas Safe Registered

A 35-year-old self-employed worker from London has been given two suspended jail terms for falsely claiming to be Gas Safe Registered.

At the Old Bailey the court heard how the man signed Gas Safe certificates for a number of properties. This was only discovered after a gas leak was reported by National Grid at a rented property.
Brian Winters of Hertford Road, Edmonton was found guilty of four charges of regulation 3(7) of the Gas Safe Installation and Use Regulations 1998 and was given an 18 month suspended sentence for two years for the property where a gas leak occurred and 12 months suspended for two years for the three other charges.  He was also given two community orders.
Health and Safety Executive Inspector Monica Babb said after the hearing: 

“Gas Safe registered engineers are regulated and have to ensure they can prove they are competent. This safe guard is removed when people choose not to register, putting people at risk in their homes.  It is important that anybody who has gas work carried out checks their engineer is carrying a valid gas safe registered identification card. They should also check online or call Gas Safe Register to confirm they are competent to carry out the work.”

Construction firm sentenced after worker falls down a lift pit

Cardiff-based construction company, Jehu Project Services Ltd, has been sentenced after a worker was seriously injured falling down a lift pit.

The incident happened on 8 July 2015 at a construction site in Pontcanna, Cardiff. Stephen Harrison, a specialist drilling contractor, was employed by Jehu to help refurbish a 73-bed care home when he fell into the basement of a lift pit that was under construction.

Mr Harrison stepped onto the ground floor having been working off a tower scaffold, but stood on a loose concrete block causing him to fall backwards, head-first, into a skip full of rubble on the floor below.

A specialist Fire and Rescue team were nearby and after stabilising Mr Harrison, attached him to the hook of a tower crane and winched him out of the pit, over the site and into the car park of a housing estate nearby where an ambulance was waiting.

Mr Harrison suffered shattered vertebrae, five broken ribs, a punctured lung and spent 18 days in hospital. He is still recovering and although not paralysed, his injuries were life-changing and he will not return to work.

HSE investigated the incident and found that Jehu had been using a system of lightweight barriers around the edges of the drop, along with bean bags at the bottom of the hole, but these were incompatible with all of the work that needed to be done by the different contractors and had been removed. Following the incident, all of the danger areas were fenced with scaffolding.

Newport Crown Court heard that there were numerous management failings associated with this project, which included a lack of effective site management and supervision, a construction plan that did not properly consider obvious working at height risks and a lack of an effective Temporary Works Management System.

Jehu Project Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Regulation 13(1) and Work at Height Regulations 2005, Regulation 6(3) and was fined £143,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £15,029.30.

HSE Inspector Liam Osborne, who brought the case, said:

“Jehu had been given many warnings in the past by HSE about the lack of effective planning, managing and monitoring on their construction sites, as well as warnings about unsafe working at height. The court heard some really positive steps the company are now taking to put these matters right, including making substantial management changes.  It is crucial that construction firms properly think through the risks involved before starting work, they then need to ensure there is a workable plan to iron-out or manage the resultant dangers.  There is a clear hierarchy for managing work at height risks, site managers need to prevent it if possible and then provide suitable fixed barriers. Lower-order measures, such as soft-landing systems or the use of harnesses should only be selected as a last resort and if it is safe and appropriate to do so”.

Bulgarian firm fined for poor work at height

A Bulgarian construction firm has been fined after a member of the public reported unsafe working practices during the construction of an adventure course in Markeaton Park, Derby.

Derby Magistrates’ Court heard how a passing member of the public noticed work at height being carried out from a pallet on the forks of a telehandler at the site in Markeaton Park, where a high ropes adventure course was being constructed by Bulgarian based firm Walltopia.

The member of the public first reported this to the company but despite receiving assurances the matter would be dealt with, unsafe work at height continued. They then reported it to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

HSE’s investigation at the site found work was taking place on a section of roof 11 metres off the ground, without the use of any means to prevent two workers falling from the open edges. In addition, these workers were accessing the roof by climbing from the basket of a cherry picker.

Walltopia of Bulgaria Boulevard, Letnitsa, Bulgaria, was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,013.25 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

After the case, HSE Inspector Lee Greatorex said:

“Using a pallet on a telehandler for planned work at height is an unacceptable means of access. It appears that the company failed to put in place control measures after being alerted about this.  Walltopia failed to follow recognised industry standards during work at height and did not make effective changes to the control of their working methods following the matter being brought to its attention. Work at height should always be sufficiently planned and managed to protect workers from being exposed to extreme risks from falls from height. In this case someone could have suffered significant injuries or death”.

Distillery blaze left 21-year-old worker engulfed in flames

A distillery in Oldbury has been fined after an employee was engulfed in flames in a fire that destroyed the warehouse and its contents.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how ethyl acetate (highly flammable liquid) was being transferred from a bulk storage tank into an intermediate bulk container when an employee was engulfed in flames. The 21-year-old sustained twenty percent burns to his head, neck and hands.

The fire, at the Alcohol Limited distillery on Crosswell road in Oldbury, destroyed the warehouse and caused damage to nearby cars and houses. West Mercia Fire and Rescue Service were called to bring the fire under control.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 26 November 2012 found that the most likely source of ignition was a discharge of static electricity generated by the transfer of the liquid.

There was poor maintenance of pipework and associated valves. There was a failure to competently inspect the equipment or monitor the systems of work.

Alcohols Limited, of Charringtons House, The Causeway, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £270,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,009.

After the hearing HSE inspector Kieron Jones said:

“Companies that fail to ensure the integrity of their safety critical equipment place their employees, members of the public, emergency services and their entire livelihood at risk of serious harm.  Poor management of highly flammable liquids can have catastrophic results both for individuals and businesses.”

Source: www.hse.gov.uk