Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how Jair Morales was installing plywood boards covering holes on the third floor of the building when he fell a distance of 3.95m to the floor below.
The court heard no steps had been taken to prevent him falling through the opening as he installed the plywood boards. Mr Morales suffered fractures in his pelvis and his arm following the fall and has been unable to work since the accident.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Kier failed to ensure the work was properly planned and carried out in a safe manner.
Kier Construction Limited of Tempsford Hall, Bedfordshire pleaded guilty to breaching section 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, has been fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,534.
Speaking after the case HSE inspector Owen Rowley said: “This incident could have been a lot worse. The system that Kier Construction Ltd has in place to control the risk from installing the protection for openings was not implemented on site, ultimately resulting in the accident.
“The risks of working at height are widely recognised throughout the construction industry. This case highlights the importance of ensuring that all work at height is properly planned and carried out safely.”
This highlights the lack of responsibility these huge company’s take in order to protect the people working on there sites that has been going on for years among most construction firms. By subbing out work they think they don’t owe a duty of care and fob off the responsibility onto the contractors. Unfortunately the subbys get the brunt of this by not being supplied with appropriate equipment in order to undertake the task safely and pressured into working in an unsafe manner with the consequences being if they don’t get on with it they don’t get paid or sacked for… Read more »
[…] company Kier Construction Limited were fined £400,000 after a worker fell from height. HSE note the case highlights the importance of ensuring working at height is carried out correctly and […]
Subbys should have been vetted before being let on site, method statements risk assessment’s etc.,.they should come to site fully prepared for safe systems of work MWP’S etc. PPE (as a last resort)etc. without reliant on borrowing the main contractors plant etc.. Equally their tender quote for the works they’re carrying out should have included this in the costing’s so their tender reflects the plant/machinery required to do the job safely. This should be scrutinized and companies of the such are rejected at tender stage. But crafty unscrupulous subbies, (if they can )get away from hiring expensive plat hire they… Read more »
Plywood covers are stone age safe guards and until old habits are changed these accidents will continue.
There are now specific safe guards such as “Penoguard”, which is a 2 in 1 device. It acts as a floor cover and opens out to create a 4 sided guardrail.
The cost of the device may appear high at first glance but the 400K fine could’ve have been spent better