Welcome to the latest edition of Construction infonet.
Construction infonet is a free eBulletin from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to provide a regular update on health and safety issues for all in the construction industry.
As mentioned in January’s edition, HSE inspectors are now carrying out intensive inspection initiatives across GB aimed at stopping dangerous practices on building sites. The inspection initiative runs from Monday 14 February 2011 until Friday 11 March.
In Merseyside, HSE inspectors carried out checks at 88 sites on 14 and 15 February. A quarter of these sites were found not to meet legally required health and safety standards.
Several of the sites visited received more than one enforcement notice either stopping work activities immediately or requiring improvements to be made. In total, inspectors issued 22 prohibition and 21 improvement notices, with more than half of the notices relating to unsafe work being carried out at height.
HSE’s Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) will be holding an open meeting on Wednesday 16 March in London. If you would like to attend the meeting please follow the link below to register your interest. Please note seats are limited in number.
Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
9 February 2011 – A Sheffield construction company, MacDonald Joinery & Construction Ltd, has been fined after a worker suffered serious injuries while working on the refurbishment of a Teesside store.
Carl Major, 31, of Nottinghamshire, had been stripping out fixtures and fittings when he was hit on the head by a falling lighting pelmet. He was knocked off the step ladder he was using and fell around three metres onto a concrete floor. Mr Major suffered serious head injuries and was in a coma for two months. He later developed epilepsy and still requires medical treatment. He has been unable to return to work.
The HSE investigation revealed that prior to him beginning work at the store, MacDonald Joinery & Construction had failed to provide Mr Major with the necessary information and instruction to enable him to carry out his work safely. Although the company had produced a risk assessment and a system of work for working at height in the store, neither were sufficient. As a result of this the company failed to identify the dangers its workers would face.
MacDonald Joinery & Construction Ltd pleaded guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6228.75.
17 February 2011 – A Birmingham construction firm has been prosecuted by HSE for putting its staff at risk when working at height.
An HSE inspection on 16 October 2009 revealed that three employees from Spanclad Construction Ltd, of Edgbaston, were replacing skylights at a height of over 5m, with no protection from falls. The boards had no guard rails, there was nothing for the workers to hold onto and there was no safety protection underneath - such as netting, soft landing bags or a birdcage scaffold - to prevent them from falling through the fragile roof onto the concrete floor.
Spanclad Construction pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £5,271 costs.
11 February 2011 - Two construction companies have been fined a total of £45,000 after a worker suffered severe injuries to his hand.
Labourer Sean Forsythe, 22, from Streatham in London, was cleaning a screed pump, which is used to move concrete from a mixer to the floor of a building. The HSE investigation found the screed pump had no safety grill to stop the blades when it was lifted. Magistrates heard a few months earlier another grille had broken off a pump but was not replaced- despite a written procedure being in place.
Kent Commercial Finishings Ltd of Heathfield, East Sussex - the contractor who hired the screed pump pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of work Equipment Regulations 1998, and was fined £3,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.00.
LCS Interiors Ltd of Welwyn Garden City was responsible for the weekly inspection of the plant and machinery. The company was found guilty of breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £30,000.
John Alty fell 50 metres to his death on 4 June 2007. He had been working at the top of a mill chimney in Bolton when the scaffolding he was on collapsed. In this video, Angela Alty, the mother of his daughter Jamie Lea, and HSE inspector Stuart Kitchingman speak about the incident.
Improve the health and safety of your business by attending a health and safety event near you.
Places are available at the following Working Well Together (WWT) events:
Call 0845 300 9923 or visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm
We issue eBulletins on a regular basis and would welcome your feedback and views as well as any suggestions/contributions for future articles.
Thank you to those who have provided feedback on the previous editions - we have tried to incorporate as many of the suggestions as possible.
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