House builder and site manager prosecuted after bricklayer's fatal fall Such a tragedy, all for the lack of training and some simple guard rails... A Lincolnshire house building company has been fined and a site manager sentenced to community service after a self-employed bricklayer fell to his death from dangerous scaffolding. Justin Gillman, 26, of Holland Fen near Boston, Lincolnshire, died when he fell backwards almost two metres while working on a residential building site in Skegness on 26 February, 2010. Chestnut Homes Ltd and their site manager, Peter Tute, were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court today (5 September) after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified serious safety failings. They included allowing untrained people to build scaffolding, failing to check it was safe for use and for failing to ensure the safety of workers once it was in use. The court was told that Mr Gillman and a colleague were told by Mr Tute to extend some scaffolding around the walls of a block of three terraced houses being built. Neither were qualified or had any experience of erecting scaffolding, and as the site manager Mr Tute should not have entrusted them with the task. Mr Tute should have brought back a scaffold contractor to do the work. HSE inspectors established that Mr Tute did not provide Mr Gillman or his colleague with any instructions in how to build the scaffolding and left them to improvise and get on with it. They built a scaffolding platform that had no guard and the structure was a different height to existing scaffolding on the rest of the plots. As such, it was unsafe and posed a clear risk. However, according to the Scaffold Inspection Record for the site, the whole scaffold was inspected on the day Mr Gillman died and was adjudged as being safe by Mr Tute. On the day of the fatal fall, the weather was too poor for bricklaying so Mr Gillman and his colleague decided to load out the scaffolding with bricks for work the following Monday. Having loaded out two sides of the scaffolding, Mr Gillman loaded a further band of 80 bricks on a trolley and pulled it backwards, past some guard rails that were raised out of the way, and up a makeshift ramp onto the scaffolding. Mr Gillman fell backwards from the end of the unsafe scaffold where there was no guard rail to prevent him falling. The band of bricks he was pulling landed on him, and he died at the scene of his injuries. Chestnut Homes Ltd of Wragby Road, Langworth, Lincoln were fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Mr Peter Tute, 50, of Donington Park, Lincoln, was ordered to carry out 240 hours community service after pleading guilty to breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court will determine the amount of costs to be paid at a later date. Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Richard Lockwood said: "Before entrusting tasks to workers, principal contractors and site managers must ensure they are competent to do the task being given to them. "There needs to be adequate control over scaffolding to ensure that it is and remains safe and fit for the purpose. "Principal contractors must have robust systems that ensure that their policies and procedures are implemented properly on their sites." Justin's father, Alan Gillman, added: "Justin was a very hardworking chap who enjoyed working in construction. "He was building his own home for him and his girlfriend and he loved stock car racing. He'd been into racing cars since he was about eight-years-old. "He generally enjoyed life and never had a bad word to say about anyone. "If something positive can come from this case, and Justin's death, it's that I just hope people will be prepared to say 'no' to their employer if they're asked to do something they're not trained to do, or it wouldn't be safe for them to do." Company prosecuted for worker fall failings Eleven meters up with no edge protection, crawl boards, or netting?!? Thank goodness he survived, you may not, take heed. A Cheltenham company has been fined for safety failings after a worker was seriously injured when he fell more than 11 metres through a barn roof while installing solar panels. Daniel Harvey, 28, of Winchcombe, broke his back in three places, fractured his pelvis, broke several ribs, lacerated his liver and punctured a lung in the incident at a farm in Westbury-on-Severn on 10 December 2012. He is still unable to work and is awaiting a further operation that will determine his long-term prognosis. Mr Harvey's employer, BCL Renewables Limited, of Andoversford, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation identified concerns with unsafe work at height. Cheltenham Magistrates' Court heard on 6 September that Mr Harvey was working with a colleague to install some 624 solar panels to the roofs of four barns. He was on a barn roof attaching fixing brackets for the solar panels when the part of the roof he was stood on gave way, sending him crashing 11 metres to the concrete floor below. HSE found there was nothing in place to prevent or mitigate a fall, such as edge protection, crawl boards, or netting, and that the work was poorly planned and inadequately risk assessed. Magistrates were also told that Mr Harvey had received no formal training and had only worked at the company for five weeks. BCL Renewables Limited, of Andoversford Industrial Estate, Andovesrford, Cheltenham, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay a further £1,837 in costs after being found guilty in absentia of a single breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company recently entered voluntary administration and offered no defence in court. Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Paul Newton commented: "Work at height is inherently fraught with risk, and it is vital that adequate measures and safeguards are in place to prevent falls and protect workers. "You would expect a company specialising in the installation of solar panels to be well aware of the dangers and the required safety standards, but it would appear not from the evidence we uncovered. "BCL Renewables fell well below the required standards and Mr Harvey sustained potentially life-changing injuries as a result. He could have been killed, and I hope his completely avoidable experience sends a clear message to all involved in the emerging energy market that they must not compromise safety." Further information on safe working at height can be found online at www.hse.gov.uk/falls Crane hire firm fined for safety failings Falls from height account for over half of all fatal incidents in the construction industry, mainly due to p*** poor planning and preparation..... A Bridgend crane hire firm has been fined for failing to make adequate provisions for safe work at height. Pyle-based RW Christopher Crane Hire Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation identified issues with risk assessments and systems of work; and the availability of suitable fall arrest or restraint equipment. Inspectors also found there was no training or instruction given to workers required to operate at height, and the company was lacking basic procedures and policies covering such work. The failings came to light after HSE attended an incident in Cardiff on 1 October 2012. During stowing of a mobile crane jib by RW Christopher Crane Hire Ltd employees, it fell and hit a colleague who was working close to the crane, causing injuries to his back and ribs. Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (10 September) that there was no evidence to link the company’s failings to the incident. RW Christopher Crane Hire Ltd, of Village Farm Road, Pyle, Bridgend, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,904 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. After the hearing, HSE inspector Steve Richardson, said: “Falls from height account for over half of all fatal incidents in the construction industry. Work at height on cranes is recognised by the industry as being high risk and must be carefully planned and properly managed by trained and competent people with the correct equipment.” For more information and advice about working at height in the construction industry visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/campaigns/fallstrips/height.htm