Building firm in court after Wolverhampton house collapse

A Wolverhampton building firm has been fined for neglecting basic construction safety after it dug a trench that caused the partial collapse of a house next door.

The partially collapsed house after the incident

 

Wolverhampton magistrates heard that Astbury Design and Build Ltd had been employed to build an extension at a property in Blackburn Avenue.

The firm’s owner Paul Astbury dug a foundation trench to the left of the house but it was far too close to, and the same depth as, the foundations of the neighbouring semi-detached house.

On the night of 23 February 2012, the night after the trench was dug, part of the house, an upstairs bedroom and integral garage collapsed.

Around a third to a half of the property had to be demolished, but the house has since been re-built. Fortunately, the tenants were not at home, and there were no injuries.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Astbury Design and Build Ltd had failed to notify the owner of the next door property of the intention to dig the trench, or how he would be doing it, as required under Party Wall Notification laws.

The neighbour had already appointed a party wall consultant regarding the ongoing works as there were negotiations about shared guttering and the fact the party wall blocked an existing window in the garage. The consultant had warned Mr Astbury not to undermine the foundations.

Astbury Design and Build Ltd, of Bushbury Road, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was today fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £4,500.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Gareth Langston said:

“This was a serious incident that could have easily been prevented had Astbury Design and Build Ltd followed the recognised procedure relating to party walls and detailed the work to the neighbour’s consultant. The consultant would have realised the implications and stopped him. Even so, Mr Astbury is an experienced builder and should have known better in the first place.

“The trench should have been dug in metre-long sections, pouring in concrete and waiting until it had set before digging the next section. This would have underpinned and supported the wall of the neighbouring house.

“It was extremely fortunate that the occupants were out of the house at the time of the collapse. This could so easily have had much more serious consequences.”

Firms fined after worker loses finger in unguarded machinery

A tin can factory worker had his ring finger ripped off by unguarded machinery while feeding metal sheets onto a conveyor, a court has heard.

Brian Allen, 53, of Aberffrwd, Tredegar, has suffered continuing pain and discomfort and is unable to grip properly with one hand since the incident at Ardagh Metal Packaging at Dragon Parc, Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil, on 25 January 2011.

Both his employer and the company that supplied the machinery, Crabtree of Gateshead, appeared before Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates in proceedings brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The court heard that Mr Allen was feeding the metal sheets into the conveyor of a coating machine when his wedding ring got caught and his finger was severed.

An HSE investigation found that Crabtree had designed the machine with an automatic feeder and not intended it to be fed by hand. Their risk assessment had not foreseen hand feeding and identified the conveyor area as medium rather than high risk. As a result they supplied the machine without a suitable guard which allowed Mr Allen to access dangerous moving parts.

Ardagh failed to identify the risks to workers from the unguarded conveyor, and an Improvement Notice was served requiring the company to make the machine safe.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (UK) Ltd, of Salhouse Road, Norwich, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £11,754 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Crabtree of Gateshead Ltd, of the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, was fined £3,000 with costs of £14,570 after pleading guilty breaching of Regulation 11(1) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992.

HSE Inspector Paul Cartwright, speaking after the hearing, said:

"Brian Allen sustained a painful injury as a result of an incident that was entirely avoidable.

"Risk assessments by Crabtree identified that the conveyor could cause injury and a warning was included in the operating manual, but they nonetheless supplied the machine without adequate guarding.

"Ardagh, meanwhile, failed to identify the risk despite the practice of hand feeding sheets into the conveyor being well known to operators.

"This case demonstrates the need for employers to carry out their own assessment of the risks posed by machinery, based on the circumstances in which the equipment will be used. It is not sufficient to assume that is safe as soon as it is purchased.

"Involving workers in the risk assessment process is crucial. Had the employees been consulted by either company it would have been apparent that hand feeding of sheets onto the conveyor took place. This would have alerted Ardagh and Crabtree to the need for adequate guarding, which has now been installed."

School fined after pupil's climbing wall injury

An Essex high school has been fined for safety failings after a 14-year-old boy fell more than four metres from a climbing wall.

The climbing wall at Manningtree High School

 

The teenager was one of four pupils selected to try their first-ever 'lead climb', a more advanced, mainly rock-climbing technique, during a PE lesson at Manningtree High School on 17 October 2012.

He had managed to clip on to three points as he ascended the climbing wall but struggled with the fourth. A fellow pupil, similarly inexperienced, had been told to 'belay' the rope for the boy, keeping it taut or feeding more as necessary. After the climber grew tired, the instructor told him to let go of the climbing wall, which he did.

However, instead of being supported by the belay technique, he fell unrestrained over four metres and hit the safety mat on the floor. The pupil, now 15, suffered a fractured heel bone, which was later pinned and plated.

The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted Manningtree High School at Colchester Magistrates' Court.

HSE found that prior to the lesson none of the four pupils were aware what lead-climbing was or the risks involved and none had been properly trained or prepared for the more advanced type of climbing that was being attempted.

In addition the school failed to have an adequate safety management system in place for lead-climbing, and the instructor was not competent to teach or supervise lead-climbing.

Manningtree High School, of Colchester Road, Manningtree, was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £1,641 in costs after pleading guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to adequately protect the pupils against the risk of falls.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Glyn Davies said:

"A teenage boy sustained a totally preventable injury that required an operation, saw him on crutches for more than 14 weeks, and from which he is still recovering.

"Inexperienced pupils receiving climbing instruction during PE lessons are completely reliant for their safety on the competence of their climbing instructor and the adequacy of the school's safety management system.

"Unfortunately in this case pupils were let down by Manningtree High School's failure to ensure the climbing activity was carried out safely and sadly this resulted in one pupil getting hurt."

Company sentenced for exposing worker to deadly fumes

A bath restoration company has been fined for safety failings after a worker died from inhaling toxic fumes in the bathroom of a South West London flat.

Colin Pocock, 55, was using an industrial paint and varnish remover to strip a resin coating from a bath at a housing association property in Eton Close, Wandsworth, when he was overcome by fumes on 16 June 2009.

The stripping agent contained dichloromethane, also known as methylene chloride, a carcinogenic toxic chemical. Fumes rapidly built up in the confined space and he died at the scene as a result of over exposure.

His body was discovered by the occupant of the flat, who does not wish to be identified.

Southwark Crown Court heard that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the death and found there was insufficient natural ventilation in the bathroom. Mr Pocock's employer, Multicrest Ltd, a franchisee of Renubath Services Ltd, should have provided mechanical ventilation equipment to compensate.

HSE found written documentation from Multicrest stating that work of this nature should only be done in well ventilated areas, but no equipment was provided to employees. Managers were unaware of how work needed to be done in bathrooms and failed to provide adequate safe working arrangements.

Multicrest Ltd, of Castle Business Village, Station Road, Hampton, Middlesex, was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £56,286 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Steve Kirton said:

"This is a shocking death resulting from totally inadequate ventilation in the enclosed bathroom space in which Colin Pocock had to operate.

"The risks associated with stripping agents containing dichloromethane are well known, yet he was exposed to lethal fumes with virtually no protection. Mechanical ventilation equipment is often a necessity, but all he had to rely on was a small open window, a basic mask and pot luck.

"The use of substances that create toxic fumes must only be used where the fumes cannot build up and affect people, and the work must be properly planned and supervised - none of which happened on this occasion."

Today's sentencing at Southwark Crown Court follows an earlier prosecution of Renubath Services Ltd, Multicrest's franchising company, for identical failings linked to inadequate ventilation arrangements.

The company, now in liquidation, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £21,202 in costs at Westminster Magistrates Court on 30 May 2012 after also pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in proceedings brought by HSE.

It follows an investigation into work on properties across South West England between February 2006 and July 2009.

Firm fined for London skylight fall

A Midlands firm specialising in the installation of solar panels has been fined for safety failings after a worker sustained life-threatening injuries when he fell through a fragile skylight at a north London warehouse.

Skylight at a north London warehouse 

Brian Dolan, 58, from Warwick, fractured his skull in two places, broke five vertebrae and three ribs, and suffered hearing impairment in the incident at Blundell Street in Islington on 1 March 2012.

He was hospitalised for more than a fortnight and was unable to work for seven months. Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that self-employed labourer Mr Dolan was working for Rugby-based Grenergy Solar Ltd to help install 342 solar panels on the roofs of two warehouse buildings.

His fall occurred on the second day of the work when he plunged almost five metres to the concrete floor below. A pallet of flour in the warehouse partly broke his fall, but not enough to prevent serious injury.

Precisely how he fell is unclear, but a subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that irrespective of what happened there were no measures in place to prevent or mitigate a fall, such as safety netting beneath the skylights.

Magistrates were told that had the work been properly assessed, with appropriate safety measures taken, then the incident could have been avoided.

Grenergy Solar Ltd, on Main Street, Thurlaston, Rugby, Warwickshire, was fined a total of £12,000 and ordered to pay £9,041 in costs after pleading guilty to two separate breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

After the hearing HSE Inspector Paul Hems said:

“You would expect a company like Grenergy Solar Ltd that specialises in roof installations to be fully aware of the risks posed by working at height on, with or near fragile surfaces, and to take the appropriate safety precautions.

“Yet that clearly didn’t happen here, and Mr Dolan could easily have paid with his life as a result. The District Judge commented, in relation to the system of work proposed but never actually implemented by the company, that it was a ‘defective process and implementation of it was defective’.

“Mr Dolan suffered terrible injury in a wholly preventable yet depressingly frequent incident, and it is imperative that effective measures are put in place at all times to prevent or mitigate falls.”

Care home provider fined after dangerous gas work put lives of elderly residents at risk

A Dumfries and Galloway care home provider has been fined for allowing unqualified handymen to illegally install two gas boilers at the premises in Sanquhar.

The "shoddy and dangerous" gas work later led to the emergency evacuation of frail residents of the Queensberry Care Home and an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

At Dumfries and Galloway Sheriff Court, Harveys Healthcare Ltd was fined £55,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of Regulation 4 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974.

Harveys Healthcare Ltd, of Laurie’s Wynd, Sanquhar, admitted failing to ensure that the men they employed to replace the central heating boiler were qualified and registered with the Gas Safe Register.

The court was told that on the morning of 3 February 2010 a strong smell of gas was detected from the boiler room of the home and, following advice from Transco, the affected unit – caring for nine elderly and infirm residents – was evacuated. A gas engineer issued an ‘immediately dangerous’ certificate, capped the gas supply to the boiler room and expressed concerns about the authenticity and validity of gas safety certificates supposedly relating to the installation of the two boilers.

HSE discovered that the "Gas Safe" registered heating engineer whose name appeared on the gas safety certificates had no knowledge of the work in the premises. The certificates also contained inaccuracies relating to the engineer’s postcode and registration numbers.

The investigation also discovered that the handyman Abdul Kareem who is believed to have carried out the work has never been registered with the Gas Safe Register or its predecessor, CORGI. In addition, it was found that excessive amounts of paste had been added to pipe joints, probably in an attempt to prevent gas leaking. A forensic expert who examined sections of the pipework concluded that this was completely unacceptable, would only ever have stopped the escape of gas on a temporary basis and clearly demonstrated incompetence on the part of the person who had assembled the joint.

Following the case, HSE Principal Inspector Jim Young, said:

"Care homes house very vulnerable people and the failure by Harveys Healthcare Ltd to ensure that people employed by them were suitably qualified and registered to carry out work with gas systems is particularly worrying.
"The company failed in its duty of care toward a group of elderly and infirm residents and displayed a cavalier attitude toward their safety.

"Although thankfully nobody was injured, the work carried out by Abdul Kareem was extremely shoddy and resulted in an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal situation."

Russell Kramer, chief executive of Gas Safe Register, said:

"In the right hands gas is safe but gas work should only ever be undertaken by a suitably qualified and competent Gas Safe registered engineer

Worker's arm injuries lead to fine for demolition company

A Birmingham demolition and excavation company has been fined after a worker suffered serious arm injuries when he became trapped in an unguarded crushing machine.

The 33-year-old plant operator at Coleman and Company's site in Meriden, Warwickshire, was hurt when his right arm was drawn in between the rollers and conveyor belt.

The worker, from West Bromwich, suffered fractures to his right arm along with wrist injuries and bruising. He later needed several skin grafts in hospital and has yet to return to work.

Solihull Magistrates' Court heard that without the swift reaction of his colleagues, who ran to his aid to stop the machine, the injured worker could have lost his life.

The incident, on 8 November 2012, at the company's site in Cornetts End Lane, was investigated by Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted Coleman and Company for two separate breaches of safety legislation.

HSE found the incident could have been prevented had the company noticed that the machine's fixed guards had been either removed or lost, and had taken steps to replace them.

Coleman and Company Ltd of Shady Lane, Great Barr, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and section 11(1) of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £1,114 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Karl Raw said:

"This was an avoidable incident involving a dangerous piece of equipment which is designed to crush concrete. As such, the consequences of a person coming into contact with moving parts of the machine can be severe.

"The worker involved was very fortunate not to have suffered even more serious injuries.

"Coleman and Company exposed workers to serious risk by failing to ensure that the workers were protected from dangerous moving parts of the machine by suitable guarding mechanisms. In addition, the company should have had a system of monitoring in place to identify if guards were missing, defective or inadequate."