Building firm’s MD banned over unsafe London site

Open-access content Tuesday 2nd October 2018

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Building firm's MD banned over unsafe London site

Kewie Doherty's company, C J Langs, was also sentenced after inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found unsafe work-at-height practices, a lack of suitable equipment, and untrained operatives working without supervision.

They had visited the site in Sherborne Gardens, Ealing, following an accident in January 2017, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told.

C J Langs pleaded guilty to breaching reg 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 over its failure to plan, manage and monitor the work. It was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £6,000 costs.

Doherty pleaded guilty to breaching s 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was disqualified from being a company director for three years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work. He must also pay costs of £1,673.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore where the Work at Height Forum took place. Image credit: © iStock/ Jui-Chi Chan

Singapore WaH injuries drop as focus shifts to fragile surfaces

Thursday 4th October 2018

Launching the government’s “target zero falls” campaign at the Work at Height Forum at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, minister of state for national development and manpower Zagy Mohamad said that there had been 358 cases, down from 388, during the first seven months of the year. Mohamad said the number of deaths due to falls from height was on a downward trajectory, from 24 in 2009 to eight in 2017.

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Director put workers at risk on unnecessary building project

Friday 19th October 2018

Barrie John Henry Birch was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, suspended for two years, and disqualified from being a company director for five years after his firm, BBS Improvements, carried out unsafe and unnecessary building work. Workers were put at risk because there was no scaffolding.The fraudulent activity was uncovered when a member of the public lodged a complaint with Worcestershire Trading Standards about BBS Improvements’ work on the roof of a domestic property in Redditch in May 2017.

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Structural steelwork co in the frame for £150k fine over roofer’s spinal injury

Thursday 13th September 2018

An employee of Northern Structures was removing roof sheets from a timber-framed farm building on 20 September 2017 when he fell through one of the asbestos cement roof sheets, landing 4 m below. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that, although Northern Structures had provided a risk assessment and method statement to remove the roof sheets from below the frame, the method was then changed so the worker had to stand on the roof and remove the sheets.

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Irish regulators launch farm inspection campaign to minimise work at height risks

Monday 1st October 2018

The Health and Safety Authority in the Republic of Ireland and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) are launching the campaign today, which will include a special focus on the risks of work on fragile roofs.Many agriculture buildings use fragile roofing materials that cannot support a person’s weight. The Irish regulators have found that serious and fatal falls often occur when farmers are repairing storm-damaged buildings.

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Dessert maker fined £50k for MD's mother's fragile ceiling fall injuries

Tuesday 25th September 2018

Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard on 21 September how the MD's mother, an Indulgence Patisserie employee, was asked to sort shoes, which were stored on a floor next to an unprotected area of fragile ceiling tiles when the incident happened on 8 January 2016.While carrying out the non-routine task, the employee fell around 2.7 m. The injuries she sustained resulted in a five-day hospital stay.

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Asbestos negligence during refurb earns building owner six months in prison

Wednesday 10th October 2018

A routine Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection found that property owner Whaid Ahmed did not check whether asbestos was present at 1-3 Stephenson Square in Manchester before carrying out renovations to the building between 1 April 2012 and 12 October 2017. The HSE undertook a survey following the inspection and found large amounts of asbestos, some of which was in poor condition. The discovery suggested asbestos could have been removed with no controls from areas of the building where renovation was complete.

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