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May/June 2023 issue

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Work at height
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News

Tip-off leads to developer’s £200k fine for CDM breaches

Open-access content Thursday 31st August 2017
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

Tip-off leads to developer's £200k fine for CDM breaches

Tip-off leads to developer's £200k fine for CDM breaches

Westminster Magistrates' Court was told on 30 August that a member of the public had raised concerns about conditions at the building site in Mitcham, south London and alerted the HSE.

Inspectors had first visited Pitcairn Road in October 2016 and found that Selliah Sivaneswaran, owner of the property, had failed to appoint a principal contractor for the development, which involved the demolition of old flats and the construction of four one-bedroom flats and two-bedroom flats.

The HSE had halted the demolition because workers were being exposed to a range of risks, including exposure to asbestos, falls from height, and fire. Inspectors had served enforcement notices and provided advice.

They revisited the site on 4 January 2017 after the tip off from a member of the public and discovered that the work had restarted, even though the site was still unsafe.

The demolition continued to be carried out by hand with workers climbing onto the unguarded roof and throwing debris down. Workers were at risk of falling up to 4 m through holes in the floor and the partly demolished staircase. Sivaneswaran had also failed to provide welfare facilities and there was a significant fire risk with workers not being able to escape.

The court was told that two days before the sentencing hearing, the HSE had to return to the site and take further action.

Sivaneswaran had paid cash in hand to untrained workers, did not engage a site manager and provided none of the legally-required site documentation.

Selliah Sivguru Sivaneswaran, of Harlyn Drive, Pinner, pleaded guilty to breaching reg 13(1) and 4(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £1,421 in costs.

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An artist's impression of the development, showing the cliff drop in the foreground. Image: HSE

 *UPDATED* Builder ignored WAH, fire and confined space risk

Friday 8th September 2017
North Somerset Magistrates’ Court was told that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took enforcement action against Ikon Construction after a member of the public alerted inspectors to poor standards on a site in Clevedon, north Somerset in May 2016.HSE inspectors had previously found failures to plan and manage work on four of the company’s other sites and had issued six notices of contravention and three prohibition notices. One site had been visited multiple times.
Open-access content
Image credit: HSE

 Joiner left paralysed after house builder failed to provide fall protection

Thursday 31st August 2017
Lincoln Magistrates’ Court was told on 25 August that the 60-year-old joiner was working on the first floor of a building in Grimsby, Lincolnshire when the incident occurred in December 2016. He was installing joists and flooring for Mager Homes and had stepped back after laying a floorboard when he missed his footing and fell through a gap between the joists to the ground floor.The joiner sustained broken vertebrae and was left paralysed from the chest down. He now uses a wheelchair and cannot return to his former trade.
Open-access content
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 Waste site owner jailed for repeat breaches

Wednesday 30th August 2017
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) first attended the site of Swansea-based waste disposal firm Crofty Point Metals in July 2013 after being notified of a fire and used gas cylinder explosions. The fire was the result of deliberate arson and followed two similar incidents.Swansea Crown Court was told last week that the HSE had been contacted by South Wales Fire Service on 9 July 2013 following the third incident at Crofty Point’s site on the Crofty Industrial Estate, Penclawydd, Swansea on 26 June 2013.
Open-access content
The construction site at Marine Parade in Clevedon, north Somerset. Image: HSE

 Builder ignored timber frame fire risk

Friday 25th August 2017
North Somerset Magistrates’ Court was told on 24 August that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had taken enforcement action against Ikon Construction over its failure to plan and manage work correctly at several sites before a member of the public alerted the HSE to the company’s activities on a site in Clevedon. The court was told that the HSE had issued several notices of contravention and prohibition notices covering temporary works, work at height, plant safety and fire assessment and control relating to timber frame developments but the company had failed to act.
Open-access content

 Worker fractured skull in 6 m scaffold fall

Wednesday 23rd August 2017
R J Scaffolding had not trained its employee, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said, nor had it given him appropriate equipment.It also found that the supervisor overseeing the work was not competent. The worker was in an induced coma for two weeks after the fall on 2 June 2016. Bristol Magistrates’ Court was told that he sustained five skull fractures and lost the sight in his right eye.   R J Scaffolding pleaded guilty to breaching reg 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. It has been fined £26,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,658.
Open-access content

 *UPDATE* Developer lands £200k fine for CDM breaches

Tuesday 12th September 2017
In October 2016, a member of the public raised concerns about conditions at the building site in Mitcham, south London and alerted the HSE. HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers visited Pitcairn Road and found workers demolishing a two-storey block of flats in preparation for the construction of six flats.
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