Plumber fined after putting family at risk

A Nottinghamshire plumber has been fined after putting, his son and a young family at risk of exposure to asbestos.

Dean Fisk had been employed to replace a galvanized water tank in the loft of a house in Gardendale Avenue, Clifton.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told Nottingham magistrates that Mr Fisk had failed to carry out an assessment to see if asbestos was present and in what form and condition.

As a result, while replacing the tank on 18 January 2012, Mr Fisk’s son, Jack, also a plumber, removed an asbestos box from around it, breaking some of the panels. HSE found he had not had any asbestos awareness training.

The loft became contaminated with potentially deadly fibres and licensed contractors had to be brought in to remove all traces of the asbestos at a cost to the home owner of £2,870. The home owner – a mother with a young son – lost a number of personal belongings including family photographs and items that had belonged to her late grandmother.

Dean Fisk, 53, of Flawforth Avenue, Ruddington, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 10(1)(a) and 16 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and was fined a total of £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,000. He was also ordered to pay compensation of £2,870 to the home owner.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Kevin Wilson said:

"Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, accounting for around 4500 fatalities a year. Tradespeople working in premises likely to contain asbestos have a duty to ensure they protect themselves and members of the public from risk of exposure to this hidden killer.

"This family home would not have been contaminated if the asbestos had been identified by Dean Fisk before the work was started. Work could then have been undertaken without disturbing the asbestos or have been carried out by a suitably trained person."

Staff and public exposed to asbestos during refurbishment work

A decorating company has been fined after it exposed employees, agency staff and members of the public to potentially fatal asbestos material.

The incident happened during a refurbishment project at offices in Sentinel House, Nuffield Industrial Estate, Poole over a period of several weeks in 2009.
Bournemouth Crown Court heard that MJC Decorating and Refurbishing Ltd began removing ceilings at the two-story block without carrying out a suitable survey in advance to determine whether asbestos was present.

A visit to the site by an HSE inspector revealed widespread contamination and spread of asbestos both inside and outside the building. Investigations revealed that some material removed from the site as non-hazardous may have included asbestos-containing materials.

As a result, four employees and 14 agency staff working under the control of MJC, were exposed to asbestos dust and fibres that can cause respiratory problems and even incurable lung diseases.

MJC workers carried out the removal of asbestos insulation board ceiling over two weeks while wearing normal work clothes that became contaminated with asbestos fibres. This may have led to the exposure of many more members of the public during their journey to and from the site over this two week period.
MJC Decorating and Refurbishing Ltd, of London Road, North Cheam, Sutton, Surrey, pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. It was fined a total of £45,000 and ordered to pay £36,943 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector, Helena Tinton, said:

"This was a very serious incident which carries severe risks for people's health.
"MJC's safety failings led to the needless exposure to dangerous asbestos fibres of its employees, agency staff and the wider public. The firm didn't carry out a suitable survey for asbestos material before the work started and failed to provide protection for workers on site.

"Regulations on dealing safely with asbestos have been in place for many years and are widely known in the industry.

"This totally needless incident would not have happened if MJC had carried out proper assessments."

Firm in court after worker's life-changing injuries

Wienerberger Limited has been fined for safety failings after a worker suffered multiple injuries when he fell from the roof of an industrial brick oven at a site in Bishop Auckland.

David Snow, 56, sustained a fractured skull and several breaks to his left leg in the incident at the company's brick manufacturing plant on 18 January 2012.
He has since needed major and on-going reconstructive surgery and more than a year later, Mr Snow, a former keen golfer and dog-walker, relies on crutches or a wheelchair to move about.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident, at the now-mothballed site in Eldon Lane, and prosecuted Wienerberger Ltd at Darlington Magistrates' Court.

The court heard Mr Snow, a kiln operator, was standing on the top of the large oven trying to release the exit door that had been jamming half-open since the Christmas shutdown. As he tried to free the jam, he lost his balance and fell some three metres to the floor.

HSE found the firm failed to provide any safety measures to control the risks of falling from height and failed to provide a safe system of work for releasing the jammed oven door.

Wienerberger Limited, Weinerberger House, Brooks Drive, Cheadle, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and were fined £13,500 and ordered to pay £4,190.70 costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Michael Kingston said:

"Mr Snow suffered major, life changing injuries as a result of this incident, but there was a real possibility that his fall could have been fatal.

"Weinerberger Ltd was aware of the oven door jamming but failed to put an engineering solution in place until after the incident. In addition no edge protection or any simple precautionary measures were provided temporarily to prevent Mr Snow, or any other employee, falling almost three metres to the factory floor.

"Falls from height continue to be the main cause of workplace fatalities even though simple and inexpensive measures can be implemented to avoid putting employees at risk."

East of England firms in court for employee fall

Two companies have been fined for safety failings after a worker suffered life-changing injuries when he plunged ten metres through a perspex rooflight onto a concrete floor at a Hertfordshire farm.

Constantin-Iulian Pascu, then 25, was working for NMH Property Services Ltd, of Harwich, who were installing solar panels at Bayford Hall Farm with Ipswich-based SEH Commercial Ltd.

On 7 December 2011, Mr. Pascu and an electrician from NMH Ltd, were at the farm to carry out the final connection and commissioning of the system. Both workers climbed up on the scaffolding to carry out checks roof level. However Mr Pascu then climbed onto the roof where he fell through a rooflight to the floor below.

Mr Pascu suffered a fractured spine, broken pelvis and lacerations. He needed plates and screws fitted to both spine and pelvis and was unable to walk unaided for four months. He remained off work for six months.

The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted both SEH Commercial Ltd and NMH Property Services Ltd at Hertford Magistrates' Court.
 
The court heard that SEH had erected scaffolding and safety netting under the work area. A standard rail system was fitted over the roof on which the solar panels were mounted.

But once the roof work was completed on 3 December 2012, the safety netting had been removed the next day.

On 6 December 2011, an NMH electrician was on site carrying out the electrical installation. He had noted a fault with the panel feed so had climbed the scaffold to check the roof level installation and had inadvertently smashed a perspex rooflight at the other end of the building.

HSE found that the site manager for SEH was present at the time and looked at the damage but he did not notice that the safety nets had been removed. The matter was not raised immediately through the company near miss procedure. Mr Pascu's fall through a separate perspex rooflight happened the following day.

SEH Commercial Ltd of Olympus Close, Ipswich, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,437 in costs after pleading guilty to failing to plan, manage and monitor the installation of solar panels on a fragile roof safely under Regulation 13(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

NMH Property Services Ltd of Orchard Close, Harwich, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,219 in costs after admitting breaching Regulation 9(2)(b) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Tony Mitchell said:

"Mr Pascu has suffered severe injuries but is fortunate to have escaped with his life.

"Falls from height are still the biggest killer in the construction industry and this case demonstrates the reality of what can happen when adequate arrangements are not in place to manage the significant risks of working at height.

"Fragile roofs are inherently dangerous. If the near miss the previous day had been properly followed up, then this incident could have been prevented. And had the nets remained in place then the consequences of a fall would have probably been much less severe.

"SEH Commercial Ltd failed to follow their own near miss procedure and so missed an opportunity to prevent the incident. NMH Property Services should have checked to ensure fall mitigation was in place before accessing the roof. There also appeared to be a lack of co-ordination between contractors which would have been evident in the near miss incident.

"All those involved in work on fragile roofs need to ensure that adequate fall prevention is, and remains, in place throughout the work."

Firms in court after worker fell from unguarded scaffolding

Two firms have been prosecuted after a labourer suffered multiple injuries in a fall from unguarded scaffolding.

Stephen Keegan, 56, of Frome, Somerset, was a temporary employee of Julian Chard Carpentry Ltd, which had been sub-contracted by C J Deighton & Co Ltd to construct timber frames for some properties in Studley Green, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, in March 2012.

Chippenham Magistrates' Court heard that Mr Keegan was helping to build the frames when he fell some two metres from an unguarded section of scaffolding. He suffered a fractured knee, broken collarbone, fractured wrist and perforated ear drum.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Swindon-based C J Deighton & Co Ltd failed to properly plan and manage construction activities on site to ensure that work, including work at height, was carried out safely.
The company also failed to provide adequate, up-to-date information to site management, scaffolders and contractors. This led to a fixed scaffold being provided for workers that failed to take account of changes to plans for the building, resulting in a lack of internal edge protection around the porch area where Mr Keegan fell.

The court heard that although site management identified the problem with the scaffold, their only response was to fit a temporary and inadequate guard rail. They also allowed work to be carried out for a number of days despite knowing it was unsafe to do so.

HSE inspectors also found sub-contractor Julian Chard Carpentry Ltd failed to supervise the work or put adequate safety measures in place to protect anyone working at height on the timber frame construction.

C J Deighton & Co Ltd, of Old Station House, Station Approach, Newport Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, was fined a total of £15,000 and ordered to pay £3,122 in costs after being found guilty in their absence of breaching Regulation 22(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Julian Chard Carpentry Ltd, of Vallis House, Vallis Road, Frome, Somerset, was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay £3,121 in costs after also being found guilty in their absence of breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

CJ Deighton has gone in liquidation and Julian Chard Carpentry has now ceased trading.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Helena Tinton said:

"This was a serious incident which could easily have been prevented. There were significant failures by both C J Deighton and Julian Chard Carpentry. With proper planning and communication a suitable scaffold could have been provided. Monitoring and supervision on-site should have identified the unsafe work at height and work halted until the scaffold was corrected or measures put in place to mitigate a fall.

"Mr Keegan has undergone several operations since his fall and is unlikely to get full mobility in his shoulder, knee or wrist. This was only a temporary job for Mr Keegan and, as a self-employed painter and decorator, his injuries meant that he could not work at all for six months and they will severely hamper his future ability to work."

Companies and director sentenced after worker's fatal fall

The director of a concrete structures firm has been ordered to pay a total of £25,000 in fines and costs after a worker died following a fall from height at a Swansea building site.

Carillion Construction Ltd, Febrey Ltd and director Michael Febrey, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at the Meridian Quay apartment development on 22 January 2008. Carillion and Febrey were fined on 23 November, 2012 and sentencing against Mr Febrey was adjourned until today’s hearing.

Self-employed father of two Russell Samuel, from Porth, was contracted by Febrey Ltd to work as a scaffolder at the site.

Swansea Crown Court heard that he was dismantling a scaffold ladder access platform ahead of the installation of a roof and staircase on the fourth floor when he fell around 19 metres to the ground, narrowly missing a carpenter working directly below.

Mr Samuel, 40, suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull. He was taken to Morriston Hospital but died two days later.

An HSE investigation found Febrey Ltd had inadequate and ineffective health and safety management arrangements and there was little or no communication, information and instruction provided to its workforce.

The management team on site was not adequately trained in health and safety, despite repeated warnings by its health and safety consultants. This led to persistent and systematic failures to control risks at the site.

Mr Febrey was aware of the failings within his company - his workforce had raised concerns about the site – yet he failed to take responsibility for the company’s failings which allowed this culture to continue.

Carillion Construction Ltd failed to ensure the safety of its employees and those under its control. The company, as principal contractor at the site, was made aware of and had detected many failings in the safety management of Febrey Ltd. However, it failed to gain improvement from the company.

Michael Febrey of 3a Rockleaze Road, Bristol pleaded guilty to breaching two counts of Section 37(1) of the same legislation. He was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.

Carillion Construction Ltd of Construction House, Birch Street, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £130,000 and ordered to pay £52,500 in costs in the earlier hearing.

Febrey Ltd, of Burcott Road, Bristol, which when into liquidation shortly after the incident also admitted breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. In his sentencing remarks, His Honour Judge Thomas said he fined the company a token amount of £85, which - had it still been solvent and able to pay - would have been in the region of £250,000.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Anne Marie Orrells said:

"Febrey Ltd did not manage health and safety. I can only echo the sentencing remarks made by Judge Thomas, that: ‘…there was a lack of proper and adequate expertise, training and direct responsibility for matters of health and safety. The personnel, the time, the resources and the will were all lacking to address the reoccurring problems of people working unsafely at height as necessary. Disregard for basic safety measures were left unchallenged. No one took ownership of the issue. In such an atmosphere, not only the inexperienced and the vulnerable, but the experienced like Mr Samuel, can become sloppy and complacent. It was against that background and in that culture that the accident happened.

"This culture was allowed to continue without proper managerial intervention and for that reason Mr Febrey, as the managing director, must bear a portion of direct responsibility. There was a void in the company’s organisation, which Mr Febrey must have recognised, but did not rectify."
Inspector Orrells added:

"Carillion Ltd. had a duty to plan, manage and monitor the work. Febrey’s failing were all too apparent, moreover Carillion were aware of it. Judge Thomas said: ‘Ultimately, what they did not do was stop it - they did not do enough, they did not achieve the desired necessary result. Nagging and warning are one thing- positive, effective action is another. Carillion should have taken robust steps to remedy a situation which they were perfectly aware of.’

"Falls from height are still the biggest killer in the construction industry and this is the tragic reality of what can happen when adequate arrangements are not in place to manage health and safety.
"Mr Samuel was a young man who had a lot to live for. His children and family will have to live with his loss for the rest of their lives. It is heartbreaking that his untimely death could so easily have been prevented."

Sub-contractor fined for safety failings at Devonport Royal Dockyard

A submarine maintenance company has been fined after a labourer crushed his hand while working on a submarine refit project at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth.

The 19 year-old worker had to have plates inserted to repair broken bones after his right hand was drawn into the rotating bar of a drum rolling machine whilst working for Thales Underwater Systems on 22 April 2012.

Plymouth Crown Court heard that the labourer had been working on the exterior of a submarine prior to the incident. He slipped on a wet floor and as he put his hands out to break his fall his gloved hand was drawn into a rotating bar of the drum roller, which was used to agitate contents of drums prior to mixing and dispensing of chemicals. He was hospitalised for three days for emergency treatment.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought today's prosecution, found that the metal fixed guard had been removed from the machine - a regular occurrence to enable the drum to be rolled with a valve already inserted to allow transfer of the drum content to the mixing equipment.
HSE established that Thales Underwater Systems Ltd did not conduct any risk assessments in relation to the operation of the machine, and that the company failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery by allowing removal of the fixed guarding.

Thales Underwater Systems, of The Bourne Business Park in Addlestone, Surrey, was fined a total of £50,000 and ordered to pay £15,236 in costs after pleading guilty to single breaches of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Georgina Speake said:

"This incident could have been prevented had the guard not be removed from the drum roller. Thales Underwater Systems clearly failed to ensure the safety of its employees, with painful consequences for the injured worker.

"The law clearly states that employers should take all reasonably practicable steps to protect employees from harm arising from their work. In the case of machinery, moving parts that could cause injury should be guarded or made safe so that people cannot come into contact with them."