Wigtown-based Penkiln Sawmill Company Ltd was handed a £10,000 fine on 23 September for safety failings, which led to a worker’s fall and resulted in multiple injuries.
Fifty-six-year-old employee Tony Heron was putting tin sheets on the roof of a lean-to shed at the firm’s Wigtown premises on 1 February 2013 when he fell eight feet through a fragile roof-light to the ground below.
Stranraer Sheriff Court was told that Mr Heron was on the roof of an old joiner’s shed, which adjoined the lean-to shed he was working on. He was putting sheets of tin onto the roof trusses of the lean-to and then fixing them in position by screwing them down.
The company had not carried out a risk assessment for the task and had failed to put any control measures in place to minimise the risk of a fall from height.
The pile of tin sheets Mr Heron was using had earlier been lifted up on to the roof of the old joiner’s shed by forklift. The employee had to take a sheet of tin from the pile, walk along the shed roof to fix it on to the lean-to roof, and then go back to get another sheet. The shed roof incorporated fragile PVC roof-lights.
On one of these trips, Mr Heron fell through one of the roof-lights to the ground below, suffering multiple fractures to his vertebrae and ribs and a cut to his head, which needed 14 stitches. His injuries meant that he had to wear a back brace for up to 24 hours a day for several weeks and, despite taking painkillers, he remained in constant pain.
He was unable to return to his job and now suffers impaired mobility in his spine. His back injury is not expected to improve.
An HSE investigation found the Penkiln Sawmill Company Ltd had failed to carry out any risk assessment or to come up with a safe system of work for the task that Mr Heron was engaged in at the time of the incident.
Suitable control measures would have included the provision of platforms, coverings, guardrails or similar means of support or protection on or around the fragile roof-lights or around the open edges of the roof to prevent a fall from height. The firm also failed to provide adequate information, instruction, training and supervision for the task.
The firm was fined £10,000 after pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
HSE inspector Lesley Hammond, said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident. Falling from height is one of the most common reasons for injury and even fatalities at work, and it is fortunate that Mr Heron survived such a fall, albeit with significant injuries.”
The HSE inspector added that the firm should have been aware of the risks and precautions that needed to be taken, before starting the work.
“The dangers of fragile roofs are well-known and consideration should have been given to using barriers to prevent access to the roof-lights, or taking steps to cover them over with suitable material.”
Falling through fragile roofs and roof lights accounts for almost a fifth of all fatal incidents, which result from a fall from height. On average, seven people are killed every year after falling through a fragile roof or roof-light. Many others suffer permanent disabling injuries.
For more information, visit: www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm
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