Contractor fell through unguarded floor hole

Open-access content Monday 9th January 2017

From the archive: Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

The company was installing a mezzanine floor at a factory in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey when the incident occurred on 13 January 2015. The contractor was working on the floor when he stepped backwards and fell through a hole where a lift was due to be installed.

Guildford Crown Court heard how the worker was hospitalised for two-months following the fall with a severe brain injury, which has meant he has been unable to work since the incident.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the company had failed to guard the hole in the floor plate or board it up preventing anyone from falling through on to the concrete floor.

M & L Installers pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations, reg 6(3) and was served with a £20,000 fine and ordered to pay £9,165.56 costs.

Inspecting officer Amanda Huff said that the serious incident and devastation could have been avoided with basic safeguards. "The contractor's injuries were life-changing and he could have easily been killed," she said.

Two-year jail sentence for director follows MEWP failure fatality

Tuesday 10th January 2017

The company was also fined £61,000 for failing to ensure that those using the equipment were not exposed to the risk of injury or death, for failing to maintain the equipment and for hiring the cherry picker out when it had not been certified as safe. Another company, J M Access Solutions, which had been hired to carry out statutory thorough inspections was also fined £30,000 for failing to do so.

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A cherry picker buckled while in use causing a fatality. Image credit: Crown Office

UPDATE Two-year jail sentence for director follows MEWP failure fatality

Tuesday 24th January 2017

The mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) was owned by Craig Services and Access, which was managed by Donald Craig. He was found guilty of a charge under s 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (HSW) Act at Airdrie Sheriff Court and sentenced on 6 January after a 16-day trial. Craig had denied the allegations.His company was fined £61,000 for failing to ensure that operators were not exposed to the risk of injury or death, for failing to maintain the equipment, and for hiring out the cherry picker when it had not been certified as safe.

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Twice subcontracted roof job leads to CDM and WAH regs fines

Thursday 26th January 2017

Chelmsford Crown Court was told that Dengie Crops, which grows and produces alfalfa for animal feed, contracted agricultural and construction machinery supplier Ernest Doe & Sons to renew a roof at its premises in Asheldham, Essex. However, Ernest Doe did not have the appropriate experience to carry out the work and subcontracted it to Balsham Buildings, a structural steel fabricator and cladding contractor. Balsham decided how the project should be carried out and subcontracted the replacement again to Strong Clad.

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CO exposure on construction site left worker hospitalised

Tuesday 31st January 2017

The workers were using a petrol saw to cut out an existing concrete floor at a fish factory in Hull. In order to protect the factory’s surfaces from dust, they created a sealed enclosure from timber and polythene. The space was not ventilated and in October 2015 there was a build-up of carbon monoxide from the saw, which left one worker hospitalised. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) investigation found Westland had not planned the work and failed to consider the dangers of an un-ventilated tent.

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Stepladder fall costs Volvo £900,000

Tuesday 13th December 2016

The accident happened at a Volvo Truck and Bus Centre depot in Enfield, north London on 17 September 2015. The technician was servicing a lorry owned by delivery firm DHL when he identified that the access rope to the back of the vehicle was broken and needed to be replaced. The rope was approximately 3.5 m off the ground and he fetched a stepladder from the warehouse to carry out the repair.

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