NEWS
FINES AFTER
LANGUAGE BARRIER
“RESULTS IN FATAL
CONSEQUENCES”
An Aberdeenshire business has been fined
for serious safety failings after a man died
when he fell more than five metres through
a fragile roof. A subsequent investigation
highlighted a lack of communication,
instruction, training and supervision
leading to the fall.
I
t was heard in court how 57-year-old Latvian national Nikolajs
Naumovs had arrived in Scotland only two weeks before his
fatal fall. He was brought to the site by his nephew, Nikolajs
Cernovs and son Vjaceslavs who were employed by local butchery
company Bruce of the Broch 1886 Ltd, which was converting
premises in College Bounds, Fraserburgh into residential property.
The two men were under the impression that they could bring
additional workers to help undertake the works if required, who
would be paid by the company for any work they did. Consequently
they asked Mr Naumovs and his other son Juris.
The evening prior to the incident the company’s managing
director had visited the property to plan the next day’s work with Mr
Cernovs and Vjaceslavs. Neither of the men had a thorough grasp
of the English language. They formed the impression that they were
to start removing the roof the following morning in his absence.
Peterhead Sheriff Court was told on 18 February that on 21
August 2009 Mr Naumovs was working with his nephew to remove
the asbestos cement sheets from the roof. They had reached the
roof using a telehandler, and, while the basket was on the ground
being unloaded, the two were sitting near the apex of the roof.
Suddenly and without warning, the roof collapsed beneath them.
12
HSE INTERNATIONAL
His nephew managed to grab something and was left hanging
from a wall but Mr Naumovs fell five and a half metres to the
concrete floor below and died at the scene from head injuries.
The following investigation concluded that the circumstances
leading up to the fatal incident showed poor communication, a
lack of instruction and supervision, the use of equipment which
was not suitable for the task, and the work being carried out in a
manifestly unsafe manner.
Although the men should never have been on the roof itself
at all, as the telehandler being used was not suitable for this
work activity, the company would have been able to intervene to
stop the roofing work had there been more effective and regular
supervision.
Bruce of the Broch 1886 Ltd, of Broad Street, Fraserburgh,
Aberdeenshire, was fined £80,000, reduced to £60,000 after
pleading guilty to breaching section 3 of the Health and Safety at
Work etc. Act 1974.
Following the case, HSE principal inspector Niall Miller said:
“This tragic incident could have been avoided had the work been
planned properly and carried out with the correct equipment.
“This type of work should ideally be undertaken without the
need to directly access the roof, for example by using a Mobile
Elevated Working Platform, or, if that is not possible, with safety
measures to minimise the risk of falling such as crawling boards,
fall arrest harnesses or netting.
“In addition, an employer needs to arrange suitable training
and instruction to ensure that persons working there clearly
understand not only what they are expected to do but also how
they are expected to do it in order to ensure a safe system of
work will be followed.
“In this case the difficulties arising from the language barrier
resulted in fatal consequences.” The risks associated with work
at height, and fragile roofs in particular, are very well known,
and HSE has produced substantial amounts of free advice to
assist duty holders to comply with the relevant legislative and
regulatory requirements.
Falls from height continue to be the most common cause of
fatality to workers. In the year 2013/2014 they accounted for 29
per cent of deaths reported to HSE, meaning that 19 workers lost
their lives after a fall that year.
For more information about working at height visit: http://
www.hse.gov.uk/falls`
Original Source: http://www.hseinternational.
co.uk/fines-after-language-barrier-results-in-fatalconsequences/