Complaint from member of public puts contractor in court
A scaffolding company has been prosecuted after workers were put at risk during refurbishment work.
Following a complaint from a member of the public HSE visited the site at Upper High Street Winchester on 18 December 2013, where Mr ******** ***** was contracted to provide a four lift scaffold and temporary roof for on-going refurbishment work to a property.
West Hampshire Magistrates Court heard that guardrails, harnesses or any other fall mitigation equipment were not in place to protect workers on the roof from the risk of falling. Items from the roof were also being removed in an unsafe manner potentially putting members of the public at risk.
Standard well below expected for dismantling scaffold
The company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 4(1)(a) and 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined a total of £18,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £1907.50. After the hearing HSE Inspector Adam Wycherley said:
“Although Mr ***** was an experienced Scaffolder, in this instance the standards of safety that he endorsed on site fell well below those expected during the dismantling of a scaffold.
Falls from height remain the most common form of workplace fatality – there is no excuse for not planning work at height properly or ensuring the appropriate safety equipment is used, the Scaffolding industry is well aware of the risks involved and the methods which should be put in place to manage these risks”
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