An HSE inspector has slammed two construction companies for “appalling” safety standards at a building site in London.
The safety watchdog prosecuted principal contractor, Kubik Homes Ltd, and sub-contractor, Bellway Developments Ltd, after inspectors made several visits to the site in Wimbledon. Inspectors found that there was no safe access to the first floor of the building and a makeshift ‘staircase’ had been formed using a bag of sand and piles of blocks. In order to access the roof of a hut, which was positioned on the first floor, workers walked up wooden planks that had no edge protection to prevent falls.
Inspectors discovered a 2.5 metre-deep excavation, which had no barriers in place to stop workers from falling into the pit, and no supports in place to prevent the excavation from collapsing. The site was littered with multiple slip and trip hazards, uneven land, and building materials that had been stacked excessively high and stored haphazardly. The toilet at the site was also found to be in a filthy condition and had a leaking cold-water supply.
On 7 October 2009, Kubik Homes was issued with several Prohibition Notices, one of which was breached while inspectors were on site during a subsequent visit. The notices required: work to stop at the site until slip and trip hazards had been removed; suitable edge protection to be put in place; a safe method of access to the first floor to be created, supports to be implemented to secure the sides of the excavation; and a competent person to be put in place to manage health and safety at the site.
When inspectors returned to the site they saw two men walking on the first floor, which accounted to a breach of one of the Prohibition Notices. It became clear that work was still continuing in an unsafe manner, so a further Prohibition Notice was issued, which required all work to stop until competent site management was put in place.
HSE inspector Loraine Charles explained that the whole site was badly managed and Bellway Developments Ltd had failed to properly plan work at the site. The company was issued an Improvement Notice on 28 October 2009 for failure to provide sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision for the director and site supervisor, and for failing to protect its workers.
Inspector Charles also revealed that none of the workers from either company had a recognised qualification in site management. She said: “Although there was no incident, the potential danger to the workers was very high. Conditions on this site were simply appalling. This is a shocking example of bad management of a construction site and it is a miracle that no one was injured.
“Both these companies failed to understand the nature of their duties under health and safety law and failed to sufficiently improve conditions on the site despite repeated interventions by the HSE.”
Kubik Homes Ltd appeared at City of London Magistrates’ Court on 30 August and pleaded guilty to breaching s3(1) of the HSWA 1974. It was fined £8000 and ordered to pay £2426 in costs.
Bellway Developments Ltd also pleaded guilty to breaching s3(1) of the HSWA at the same hearing and was fined £8000, plus costs of £2384.
