May 29, 2015
London construction company Darma Limited has been fined over £13,000 after an unannounced inspection from HSE found dangerous conditions on a basement excavation site.
The inspection of the site on Filmer Road in Fulham was carried out during a clampdown on poor safety conditions on basement projects in November 2013.
The inspection found workers were being exposed to extremely dangerous conditions on the site, being made to work in and around deep excavations of up to four metres in depth that were not properly supported.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that basement excavation under existing buildings poses significant dangers and safe systems of work must be in place at all times. These include the appointment of a temporary works engineer, clear and competent site management and adequate shoring and propping of all excavations. Darma Limited failed in its duty to provide any of these measures – putting workers at risk of death.
The company were fined £13,400 and ordered to pay £4,719 in costs after admitting a breach of regulation 31(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Dominic Long said: “Conditions on this site were appalling, with deep unsupported excavations throughout the basement. This not only put the large number of operatives in the basement at risk of death but could also have led to the collapse of the building itself.
“Darma Limited showed scant regard for the safety of the workers they were responsible for, it was extremely fortunate no one was seriously injured or killed.
“HSE will take robust action against any company or individual putting lives at risk. This prosecution along with the level of fine demonstrates that companies willing to disregard the safety of workers should expect to face severe consequences.”
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This is a great article; I think it is something that is still very relevant to today’s temporary works coordination when carrying out basement designs and construction. With today’s property house prices increasing, it makes it more and more feasible to extend into the basement. However, I think the health and safety element can often be missed. Partly due to choosing the “cheapest” quote by the client, and partly due to a lack of understanding of engineering principles and the repercussions of failing to comply with CDM Regulations 2015 or in this case 2007.
It will be interesting to see how cases like this progress in the future, I would like to think it won’t happen again, however, sadly I believe that it will. I wonder if there will be more duty enforced on the client if they were a commercial customer. Even perhaps the principal designer? I think that if these fines are issued to either Principal Designer or Client, this will help the selection of competent construction teams in the future.
Another factor may be the attitude towards temporary works on building sites; these can often be overlooked and contribute a significant proportion of costs towards the works. I think as an industry, temporary works are being given more thought, with the introduction of temporary Works coordinators for larger clients. However, I don’t see this as an easily accessible role for private individuals and small companies.
I have done some research on finding temporary work coordinator consultants, who fit a part-time role, and there are not many out there. As an industry whole, not just the private market. I’m sure with time this will improve, and our health and safety reputation will continue to grow. Thanks again for an excellent article with a real warning, luckily no one was hurt, and it was made safe before anything could happen.