Collapse of Scaffolding Seriously Injures Nottingham Worker
A scaffolding company which is based in Kirkby in Ashfield has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety executive. They were found to be responsible for a collapse of the scaffolding in Nottingham which injured a local roofer. The roofing contractor had to take four months off work while he recovered from his injuries.
The contractor aged 48 fell off the scaffolding landing six metres below. In the fall he suffered painful injuries as his pelvis was fractured in four different places. The scaffold which collapsed was put in place for David Knowles in 2009. The accident caused an investigation from the Health and Safety Executive to see why it occurred and if it could be avoided.
The Health and Safety Executive discovered that the scaffolding was not erected correctly. A non-competent person had failed to build the scaffold according to the standard configuration and there were places where it had been incorrectly tied. Mr Knowles therefore was prosecuted by the HSE as he had not made sure that health and safety had been maintained to protect the people who were not employed by home.
Use Services to Make Sure You are Up to Scratch
Health and Safety services are able to help avoid situations like these. It is important to know your legal position when it comes to safeguarding the health and safety on site or in the workplace. Scaffolding is extremely dangerous and it is essential that the right policies are in place and that the correct procedures are followed at all times.
Health and Safety Consultants are able to assist construction workers with training and with planning when it comes to carrying out any job on site. As a result of poor management David Knowles ended up pleading guilty to the charges brought against him. For breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, section 3(1) he was fined £5000 and also a further £3944 in charges by the Nottingham Magistrates Court.
A Preventable Accident
Mr Knowles could have prevented the accident by making sure that a competent person had erected the scaffolding. Health and Safety services which are designed to assist the construction industry can be lifesaving and also help to protect you should an accident occur. It is vital that you ensure all your workers are trained for the work that they are responsible for.
To contact the health and safety consultants all you need to do is call 0800 1488 677 for more information. There is a wide range of services for this extremely dangerous industry. You can ask for a complete health and safety audit to discover any areas of weakness and learn ways to change in order to make sure you are operating legally and safely. The experts at Veritas Consulting are able to help by offering:
- Health and Safety Training courses
- Health and Safety Audit
- Competent Person Service
- Document Writing
- CSCS Card Test
- Construction Phase Plan
- CHAS Registration
- Health and Safety File, and more.
Talk to your personal health and safety advisor to see how you can benefit from these health and safety services.
Get your health and safety construction phase plan right first time – every time
A construction phase plan is a health and safety plan specifically created for construction. It’s a tailored plan for a construction project or work environment which ensures that key health and safety legislation is abided to and understood. This protects your business and your work force to minimise the risk of accidents and injury.
Construction comes with specific health and safety regulations due to the unique nature of the working environment and activities. With heavy loads, debris, construction tools and risks of falling, there are a number of issues which need to be assessed and addressed to keep everyone safe.
Formulating a construction phase plan is a legal requirement under the CDM Regulations 2007 a very worthwhile investment, and it’s even better value when construction phase plan templates are available from Veritas Consulting for only £60. This template allows you to analyse points which fully comply with CDM 2007 health and safety regulations. It’s a professionally created document which can guide you on exactly what to look at and how to formulate a credible and watertight construction phase plan.
Whichever form of construction phase plan assistance you choose, it’s a highly worthwhile investment, as it not only provides safety for the workforce, but also provides welcome piece of mind that all health and safety aspects have been properly addressed.
Click here to learn more and see samples of the £60 construction phase plan template from Veritas Consulting.
Creating a Construction Phase Plan Template
Creating a Construction Phase Plan compliance with the CDM Regulations
The Construction Phase Plan must be prepared by a Principal Contractor for a notifiable project in compliance with CDM prior to works commence. A Construction Phase Plan seeks to convey information provided by the client, CDM Coordinators, designers and others and efforts must be made to produce a document which is as comprehensive as possible.
It should be noted, however, that an initial Construction Phase Plan does not seek to be exhaustive – there may be unidentified hazards, which are present on the site, in the existing structures or arise during the planned works. The focus in this stage of the Plan document is to highlight known major hazards, particularly those which may be regarded as non-standard or abnormal in some way. The absence of a reference to a specific hazard should not be taken as a warranty that such a hazard is not present or cannot and will not arise during the works.
A Construction Phase Plan addresses health and safety issues.
Using a Construction Phase Plan Template
The Construction Phase Plan is to be developed by the principal contractor throughout the life of the project and should become a specific document which sets out the arrangements for securing the health and safety of all those carrying out the work and all others who may be affected by it.
When developing the health and safety plan the principal contractor should identify the hazards and assess the risk at each of the main stages of the construction phase including but not necessarily limited to those identified in the pre construction information. The principal contractor should also identify his organisation and arrangements for managing health, safety and the environment.
The Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan needs to be kept up to date, modified and altered in the light of changing circumstances. As the construction work progresses safety method statements and information from contractors starting during the various work stages will invariably mean parts of the health and safety plan have to be amended and updated.
Regular reviews of parts of the plan need to be made if there are design changes unforeseen circumstances etc. It is vital that such changes are notified to all those working on site who may be affected, in particular the CDM Coordinator.
Contractors Role and the CDM Regulations
Duties of Contractors
What Contractors must do for all Projects (Part 2 of the CDM Regulations)
Contractors must ensure:
- Clients are aware of their duties.
- Not start work until they have obtained the pre-construction information from the client (or PC).
- Plan, manage and monitor their own work to make sure that their workers are safe.
- Ensure they and those they appoint are competent and adequately resourced.
- Inform any contractor they engage, of the minimum time they have for planning & preparation.
- Provide workers (employed or self-employed) with any necessary information, training & induction.
- Report anything that they are aware of that is likely to endanger the H&S of themselves or others.
- Ensure that any design work they do complies with CDM design duties.
- Comply with the duties for site health and safety.
- Co-operate and co-ordinate with others working on the project.
- Consult the workforce.
- Not begin work unless they have taken reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access to the site.
- Obtain specialist advice (e.g. from a structural engineer or occupational hygienist) where necessary.
