Agricultural firm failed to prevent fall risk
A Wiltshire firm has been prosecuted for compromising worker safety after using a homemade harness system during a barn renovation project.
The Agricultural contractor, of Steeple Ashton, Trowbridge, exposed employees to a fall from height risk at the Farm they were working on.
When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector visited the farm last year, she found two workers installing a roof to an outbuilding without adequate edge protection or nets to prevent them from falling.
The court heard they were using an unvalidated homemade running line and harness system, which would not have prevented a fall and which was unlikely to have prevented injury should a fall have occurred.
The company has been previously served with a Prohibition Notice at another farm after failing to take all reasonably practicable measures to plan and carry out work at height in a safe, controlled manner.
"In this instance there was no injury, but the company chose to ignore the previous warnings and continued to carry out work in an unsafe manner."
The Agricultural contractors were fined £4,000 for each charge (£8,000 in total) and ordered to pay costs of £3,986.
Updated on 9/6/2011