A construction worker fell more than seven metres from an unsecured ladder during the refurbishment of a property in central London.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that R & G Construction Ltd was the principal contractor responsible for replacing a roof and building a basement at a residential property at Eaton Mews North in Belgravia.
Vasile Ionel Vatca, 28, was an agency worker employed at the site by R & G Construction, and he was clearing debris from the roof when the incident took place on 7 March last year. He was climbing down an unsecured ladder when it came away from the building and dropped backwards, causing him to fall seven metres to the ground. He suffered fractures to his right leg, left heel, and left wrist. He spent a week in hospital and has still not returned to work.
The HSE’s investigation discovered that a month before the incident the company had removed a scaffold from around the roof, but had failed to put any additional edge protection in place.
HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers issued a Prohibition Notice to the company, which required work on the roof to stop until edge protection was installed. He also issued two Improvement Notices that required the firm to remove the debris, as it could potentially have fallen from the roof, and provide washing facilities and toilets.
The inspector told SHP that the company did not have effective management systems in place, which would have identified the need for edge protection. He also explained that workers had been provided with a fall-arrest system, but its employees were not trained how to use the equipment, which was not a suitable substitute for edge protection.
Inspector Verrall-Withers said: “This was an appalling and entirely preventable incident, which has severely affected a young man’s life.
“If the company had properly planned and organised the work and sufficiently assessed the risks of working at height, along with the use of appropriate work equipment – the likelihood of this happening would have been much reduced.”
R & G Construction appeared in court on 15 February and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.4(1)(a), reg.5, and reg.6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £7515 in costs.
In mitigation, the firm said it had no previous convictions and fully cooperated with the investigation. It completed the work safely by re-erecting the scaffold.
After the hearing, inspector Verrall-Withers added: “Companies have a duty to take sensible steps to prevent falls. The priority is to provide equipment to prevent people falling in the first place, such as guardrails and working platforms. If these are not reasonably practicable, then options that arrest the person’s fall, such as nets and harnesses, can be considered.”
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Why the improvement notice for removal of waste, when he prohibited work on the roof?
Why no IN for lack of training for fall arrest? even though it was not a valid fall prevention method given the windows beneath (pendulum effect may result in impact)
Not quite sure how a comapny can carry out this much work without proper welfare as per Schedule 2 CDM, yet they get another 21 days to comply? + no management structure, CDM again, Competence, CDM again?
Still, they are better informed now.