COMPANY FINED AFTER SKYLIGHT FALL FATALITY
9 January 2018
Speaking of Singh, Judge Robert Brown said:
Leicester Crown Court heard how clothing factory worker
Ranyodh Singh, 33, was working with another employee on
a roof, re-siting a heater and new chimney flue, when the
incident occurred.
Adam Farrer, prosecuting, told the court that a gas heater
had needed to be moved to make room for another machine.
This required the installation of a new chimney. Singh, who
had only worked for the company for a matter of weeks,
reportedly volunteered to help the regular maintenance
employee with the installation. Both men accessed and sat on
the edge of the fragile corrugated roof to carry out the work.
The maintenance man then went to get a tool, leaving Singh
alone on the roof. He fell through a fragile skylight and died
approximately 6 months later as a result of his injuries. “He was a 33-year-old man who’d been there for two or
three weeks, with no experience or knowledge of working at
height and the employer had a responsibility to look after him.
“The fine I impose isn’t to be seen as a measure of the
employee’s life, no sentence could ever equate to the value of
a human life.
“I accept the company didn’t deliberately commit the breach.
“There was a total lack of appreciation by the company and
director of the legal obligation he was under.
“The deceased isn’t in any way to blame for the fatal
accident.
“There was a failure to instruct employees in relation to
working at height - and two employees were allowed to work
on a fragile roof.
“The work was unplanned and unsupervised and there were
no inquiries to establish the recognised industry standards.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
into the incident, which occurred on 31 October 2014, found
that the work at height on a fragile roof was not appropriately
planned, supervised or carried out in a safe manner.
IKO-Design Ltd of Parker Drive, Leicester pleaded guilty to
breaching Regulation 4 and Regulation 9(2) of the Work at
Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £100,000
and ordered to pay costs of £35,000. As reported in the
Leicester Mercury, IKO-Design cooperated fully with the HSE,
implementing recommendations and taking remedial action
to prevent an incident happening again. An independent
consultant was engaged to provide a comprehensive health
and safety policy. After the hearing, HSE Inspector Michelle Morrison said:
“A well planned job would have identified the risks from
working on a fragile roof, so that steps could have been taken
to prevent the risk of anyone falling from height. This tragic
incident was entirely avoidable if appropriate controls had
been put in place.
“Proper precautions should be taken when working on
roofs and near fragile skylights, even for short duration work.
Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take
appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below
the required standards.”
SUSPENDED SENTENCED FOR SCAFFOLDER AFTER
WORKING UNSAFELY AT HEIGHT
20 February 2018
28-year-old scaffolder Terrance Murray was recently
sentenced after working at height without suitable and
sufficient safety measures in place.
On 30 June 2017, a concerned member of the public
witnessed Murray erecting scaffold in an unsafe manner.
Photographs were taken of Murray standing on top of the
scaffold in Quay Street, Manchester, with no edge protection
and no harness attached to any part of the scaffold or building.
The fall height was estimated at between 13 and 18 metres.
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that if Murray
had fallen from this height into the concrete deck of the car
park below, there was a high probability that he would have
sustained fatal injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
found that Murray’s employers had taken reasonable steps to
avoid working unsafely at height. Murray was both well trained
and experienced, and had the correct equipment available to
use in order to work safely. He acted alone, against his better
interest and training, working without edge protection and
safety measures in place. Murray was also accompanied by a
trainee scaffolder at the time, thus setting an unsafe example.
Gareth Price, defending, said:
“There is no evidence of this being part of endemic practise.
It appears to be a one-off moment of stupidity.”
Terrance Murray of Largs Road, Blackburn pleaded guilty
to breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc.
Act 1974. He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended
for one year and 100 hours of community service. Murray was
also ordered to pay costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of
£115.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Seve Gomez-
Aspron said:
“Falls from height remain one of the most common causes
of work related fatalities in this country and should be taken
seriously.
“This case highlights the importance of following industry
guidance in order to erect scaffolding in a safe manner, which
does not cause risk to members of the public and workers
using the scaffold. It also serves to remind employees that
they have a duty to look after themselves.”
HM Inspector of Health and Safety, Matt Greenly, said:
“We are grateful to the court for recognising that, while no
one was hurt, the potential risk of harm or death was very
real.”
HSE INTERNATIONAL
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