An untrained, inexperienced worker who fell through the roof of a pig shed while installing solar panels escaped serious injury because he landed on a soft layer of animal waste.
York magistrates heard that the worker, who does not want to be named, had been employed by Solar Fit PV Ltd for just two weeks, when the incident occurred on 23 July last year, at Rotsea Carr Farm in Cranswick, East Yorkshire.
He was on all fours cutting rails for the panels when he suddenly heard a crack and the roof gave way. The man fell four metres and landed on the waste, still on his hands and knees, suffering a radial fracture to his left elbow and bruising to his legs.
The court was told that three days prior to the incident Solar Fit PV Ltd had taken measurements and started the installation of 100 solar panels on the roofs of two large pig sheds. On the morning of the incident, the farm owner spoke to the firm’s director on site because he was unhappy with the way the work was being carried out. He warned that the two roofs were fragile and no work should take place without using crawl boards, which he made available. The firm did not contest this in court.
The HSE found Solar Fit took no action as a result of the farmer’s advice and both the director and the inexperienced employee carried on working unsafely on the roof. The director then left the site, having instructed the worker to level the rail already on the roof and chop further rails for the panels. The worker was continuing with the task unsupervised, when the roof collapsed beneath him.
The HSE found no precautions had been taken to prevent falls through the fragile roof and there was no edge protection along the ridge, or to the left of the roof. A handrail to the right of the roof did not extend to give full protection. The work was completed with the appropriate measures in place, including the use of appropriate crawling boards in combination with safety nets — a fact the company referred to as part of its mitigation.
An aggravating feature of the case was that the injured worker was left unsupervised despite having no experience, or training in the high-risk activity. The director, however, was well-trained in work at height and should have known better, concluded the court.
At a hearing on 9 May, York-based Solar Fit PV Ltd was fined £3000 on each of two counts, having admitted breaching reg.4(1) and reg.9(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was also ordered to pay full HSE costs of £6585.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Andy Denison said: “This worker was extremely fortunate not to have suffered more severe injuries in a fall of four metres. It could even have proved fatal.
“Solar Fit PV Ltd failed to assess the risks before this job started, and therefore failed to plan it properly and ensure it was carried out safely. They then chose to ignore the farmer’s warnings to use the crawlboards he had left for their use.”
He continued: “The company left an inexperienced worker alone to work on the roof without suitable safety measures in place, having told him to walk on the purlins, which is extremely dangerous. Falls through fragile roofs and rooflights account for some 22 per cent of falls from height in the construction industry — or seven deaths and around 300 major injuries a year.”
The Safety Conversation with SHP (previously the Safety and Health Podcast) aims to bring you the latest news, insights and legislation updates in the form of interviews, discussions and panel debates from leading figures within the profession.
Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, subscribe and join the conversation today!
