A construction company in Wolverhampton has been fined £6,600, as their employees were at risk of injury or death throughout a roof demolition.
No safety measures were put in place to prevent the workers falling from the roof. Additionally, other people on site were put at risk from the men throwing materials off the roof in an uncontrolled manner. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concluded the roof edge lacked scaffold edge protection and a rubber chute ought to have been fitted.
The company in question pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 6(3) and 10(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. As well as the £6,600 fine, £900 in costs was added to the bill.
Martin Overstall, the prosecuting HSE inspector stated, “All too often HSE inspectors are called out to serious or fatal incidents in roof work where the precautions are minimal or absent - it is simply not good enough.
Building firms must plan a safe method of working, before starting to work on a site. They must put the right precautions in place to protect their workers and others in what can be a highly dangerous industry.”
I wonder how many firms are operating without taking the necessary safety measures in place? More people ought to report firms they see who are clearly breaching legislation.Nicola Slee
www.constructionnet.co.ukwww.cloudsuk.comwww.eurosafeuk.co.ukwww.roofaware.co.uk
