Welcome to the latest edition of Construction Infonet, held over from last week due to technical problems.
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.
The HSE construction website has been redesigned. The site contains new guidance material and tailored advice to show different people in the construction industry what you need to do to meet your legal responsibilities for health and safety.
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Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
7 May 2010 – Two companies and a managing director have been fined a total of £170,000 after a 23-year old worker from Kettering fell more than nine metres, leaving him paralysed from the chest down. He was installing a new racking system when he fell to the concrete floor below.
SDI Group UK Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and were fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.
Steel Construction Ltd pleaded guilty to the same offence and were fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £22,000 costs.
Richard Mark Berwick pleaded guilty to breaching section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000. He was also disqualified as a director for four years.
11 May 2010 - Lincoln College has been fined £1,500 after a window cleaner fell four metres - suffering broken ribs and a serious back injury.
James Theaker, 50, was employed by A Nicoll & Son Ltd, when he was contracted to clean windows at Lincoln College. Mr Theaker accessed the roof of the main reception building using a ladder and leaned against the building to clean nearby windows, when he fell.
Lincoln College pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 for failing to conduct a sufficient risk assessment. As well as the fine, the college was also ordered to pay £9,500 towards prosecution costs. A Nicoll & Son Ltd, of was prosecuted in October 2009 by HSE after pleading guilty for its role in the incident and was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,948.20.
13 May 2010 - There were no guardrails in place to prevent Graham Parkin falling from height as he accessed a work area. He suffered a fractured vertebrae and has been left with long-term disability problems as a result.
HSE successfully prosecuted Illson (Builders & Contractors) Ltd of Burley in Wharfedale, for a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. They also pleaded guilty to a charge under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 for failing to notify HSE that construction work was due to take place on site. Kendal Varley Ltd, Mr Parkin’s employer, also pleaded guilty to the same CDM Regs charge.
Illson (Builders & Contractors) Ltd was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,800 for both offences while Kendall Varley Ltd was given a fine of £2,000 and costs of £1,800 for the one offence.
13 May 2010 - HSE prosecuted the building’s designer, Peter Wallace of the Wallace Partnership, and the principal contractor, Jack Smith (Builders) Ltd, following the collapse of a building in Kirkham which seriously injured a worker.
The HSE investigation found that a concrete block pillar, used to support the first and second floors, had been resting on the ground floor instead of going down into the foundations.
Peter Wallace of the Wallace Partnership, of Pope Lane in Preston, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Jack Smith (Builders) Ltd, of Cottam Lane, Ashton in Preston, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Both charges related to the safety of workers being put at risk.
Peter Wallace was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £12,318 towards the cost of the prosecution at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court on 12 May 2010. Jack Smith (Builders) was fined £3,000 with costs of £12,318.
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