Fall from Scaffold Results in Serious Head Injury
As health and safety consultants we often try to point out the dangers involved in working in construction. Falls from height are one of the most common forms of injuries and deaths, and yet there are still construction firms who fail their employees by breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Accidents of this type will always result in the firm being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. They are avoidable incidents which ruin lives and could be prevented if companies follow the laws and regulations which are in place.
Scaffolder Seriously Injured
A London property development company were recently taken to court after one of their workers fell five meters from scaffolding. The 46 year old migrant employee fell when he was working in Hackney. As a result of his accident he suffered injuries to his head, spine and pelvis. His injuries were life threatening, and now he is left being able to walk only with extreme difficulty.
His employees, Nabiganj Investment Company, were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive who discovered that they had failed the worker simply because they had not implemented several measures which could have prevented the accident.
Asbestos Found at the Scene
In addition to the fall the inspectors also discovered that there was asbestos in the debris at the site. They found that there had been no asbestos survey and that at least six other workers had been working in demolishing the floors of the building and had potentially been exposed to the asbestos.
Asbestos surveys are also a vital precaution to take and are demanded by law as asbestos is a known killer. A survey can be carried out through Health and Safety Consultants such as Veritas Consultants.
Fines for Company for Multiple Breaches
The London firm were taken to the City of London Magistrates Court where they pleading guilty for breaching several sections of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. As a result of their irresponsible failings they were fined £37,500 and ordered to pay £5,459.90 in costs.
The London court was also informed that the firm had been dealt with by the HSE on a few occasions. They had enforcement actions which were related to some of their other sites. These included Improvement Notices as they failed to comply with their client duties as stated in the Construction Design and Management Regulations and a couple of Prohibition Notices concerning working at height.
The experienced property development firm continually avoided their responsibilities. The workers had little knowledge of the English language and the firm had put them at risk which left one of the workers with terrible injuries which he will have to live with.
Construction Safety
Veritas offers numerous health and safety services including multiple services aimed purely towards the high risk construction industry. Asbestos surveys help you to comply with the law as it is your legal duty to manage the risks involved with exposure to asbestos. For further information on all the health and safety services offered by Veritas Consulting call 0800 1488 677 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0800 1488 677 end_of_the_skype_highlighting today.
Why is Health and Safety so important?
Year after year over 3000 people die on the roads. So why is the construction industry so concerned?
Firstly, as a caring society, we are surely all concerned at any death or injury. We do not categorise deaths, some being more important than others. The Government does in fact have a policy for reducing deaths from whatever source but the means, and ease of achieving this inevitably varies. One of the biggest changes to driving habits that has brought about a reduction in death is the use of seat belts. This has come about not just through a change to the law, but more fundamentally through a change in culture. A similar case can be made in respect of drink driving. The issue of culture is very relevant to the construction industry which historically has suffered from a rather macho culture.
Secondly, the major difference between death on the roads and those in the construction industry is that most of those that occur in construction are of persons at work. ( some members of the public are also unfortunately killed as a consequence of work activities however). The law pays specific attention to persons at work, recognising that they are more prone to exposure to risk and that this can be further exacerbated by employers who neglect to treat health and safety seriously, The very first examples of health and safety legislation made in 1802 were to protect children at work in the mines and mills during the industrial revolution. The primary source of protection now to persons at work in the UK is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. (Northern Ireland is in fact governed by a different Act, but the requirements are essentially the same).
Thirdly, construction is now the most dangerous industry there is in terms of deaths per annum.
Finally, although the law is framed primarily to protect people from a humanist viewpoint, there is another very important reason for controlling both health and safety risks. This is that the cost to the nation of work related accidents and ill health is estimated at £18bn per year. (Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy Statement published by DETR in June 2000)
This is a cost which the nation ie UK plc, cannot afford; in the same way companies and other organisations cannot afford to bear their proportionate cost. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and someone is paying the price for this in higher cost, insurance premiums, or in other ways. If we are to improve the standing of the industry, as a competitive world class player, we must tackle the causes of ill health and accidents.
The ‘business argument’ for strong health and safety management, integrated with other aspects of business management such as finance or environmental controls, is very strong and is increasingly recognised as a key element in corporate affairs.
So, in summary, the health, safety and welfare of persons at work is important from a moral perspective, a legislative viewpoint ie we must work within the law, and also from a commercial aspect ie the cost of accidents and ill health is unsustainable in a competitive market place.
Another great article from the Health and Safety Consultants
Construction Design and Management Regulations Presentation
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.
