Quick links:
Construction
News

Construction worker fell 13 m down service riser

Open-access content Friday 1st April 2016
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

The 36-year-old David Ashley Construction employee, originally from Romania, was working in a building under construction at De Montfort University. He was dismantling falsework when the accident happened on 15 June 2015.

The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation and found there was an unsafe system of work and inadequate supervision.

David Ashley Construction was fined £20,000 after it admitted breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations, which require employers to plan and supervise work at height properly and ensure it is safely carried out. The company must also pay £1,776 in costs.

You may also be interested in...

©iStock/middelveld

 Prison for construction contractor over fatal trench collapse

Tuesday 12th April 2016
A company owned by William Ryan Evans was contracted to build a drainage field with infiltration pipes laid at the bottom of deep trenches, Swansea Magistrates’ Court was told. The pipes, which were 10 cm in diameter and made of lightweight, perforated plastic, aid the distribution of treated effluent through the field.
Open-access content
Excavated entrance exit to and from the site | Image credit: HSE

 HSE evacuated 3.5 m unshored pit

Friday 15th April 2016
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on a visit an HSE inspector found an employee at the bottom of the 3.5 m-deep unshored excavation and instructed him to exit immediately. There was also no edge protection around the top of the excavation to prevent people or objects falling into it. HSE inspectors had previously taken action on similar risks at other sites and still failed to ensure suitable and sufficient safe access to the site.
Open-access content

 Falcon fined £750,000 ten years on from Battersea collapse

Thursday 17th March 2016
The collapse happened in 2006 at a Barratt Homes development in Battersea. Crane driver Jonathan Cloke was in the cab as the jib fell 50 m on to Michael Alexa, a member of the public who was washing his car in a street beside the site. Both men died.Southwark Crown Court was told sections of the tower crane separated when 24 bolts failed due to metal fatigue.
Open-access content
©REX Shutterstock

 Didcot update: RWE to provide safe method of working plan

Monday 14th March 2016
One person was killed and five were injured when part of boiler house at the former Didcot A power station in Oxfordshire collapsed on 23 February. Three men are still missing. The joint statement said: “The site owners RWE have overall responsibilities for the safety of buildings and structure on their site. They must produce a plan for a safe method of working before the next stage of the recovery can begin. Once this is received and approved by HSE, emergency services are on hand to recover the missing men.
Open-access content
The building blocks fell into the cycle lane | Image credit: HSE

 Property developer ignored HSE recommendations and fined

Tuesday 26th April 2016
Altin Homes was leading the construction works at the former petrol station. It acted as client and main contractor and had hired several tradespeople and labourers. In June 2014 a stack of building blocks collapsed and fell through the site hoarding onto a pavement and cycle lane. “It was nothing other than good fortune that no pedestrians were passing along the pavement when the blocks fell,” said Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  inspector Matt Greenly.
Open-access content

 Hollywood safety pledge marks anniversary of crew fatality

Friday 1st April 2016
Initial signatories to the Safety for Sarah End Credits scheme include Warner Bros and the production company for The Vampire Diaries.The scheme asks producers to sign a letter of intent committing themselves to a working environment that “supports the highest creative expression of the project while respecting the safety of every participant”. The campaign was launched by the parents of Sarah Jones, a camera operator’s assistant, killed by a train while filming in February 2014.
Open-access content
Topics
Safe systems of work
Construction
News