 A scaffolding company has been fined £20,000 after one of its employees fell from a piece of scaffolding equipment which was unguarded.
The man was working on a mobile scaffold at a new shopping centre which had just been constructed when he fell three metres from the scaffolding.
Despite the relatively low height from which he fell, the man was seriously injured and had to be admitted to hospital with head injuries.
The HSE found that the tower scaffold which he was working on was not properly assembled and did not have the correct edge protection on it. It had also not been inspected prior to use.
These oversights led to a serious accident and the company responsible have been called to rights over the accident.
The HSE inspection showed that while the injured person was not working directly for E&F Joinery, they were in control of the work and for planning and supervising it.
As a result, E&F joinery, a company based in Surrey, were held responsible and stood in court. The company has since pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.
They were charged on three counts of breaking the working at heights regulations and were consequently fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,895.
“This incident resulted in the injury of a worker, which should never have been able to happen,” said Helen Donnelly, HSE Inspector.
She went on to outline the risks associated with working at height and the need to ensure safety measures are followed at all time.
“Falls from height remain the most common kind of accident resulting in severe injuries, “ she said. “Companies involved in refurbishment, building or maintenance should ensure that the work is planned properly and sensible measures taken so that workers are not exposed to risk.”
She added that:“ This case graphically illustrates that work should be planned, and that scaffolding should be checked to have the adequate edge protection."
According to the E&F Group of Companies: “We continually strive to ensure that all our site, factory and office workers are best equipped in health and safety knowledge to deal with any and every situation that may arise.”
E&F Joinery is accredited within the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS) for having “demonstrated compliance with, and sound management of, current basic health and safety legislation.”Updated on 15/11/2008
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