Well, I must apologise for not keeping the blog as up to date as usual this month. It seems everyone here at the Midland Ladder Company is either on holiday, madly clearing their desk in readiness to go on holiday, or, just back from holiday and frantically trying to get back up to speed after being made dopey by all the sunshine on the beach, Andrew…

Here’s a summary of the latest working at height safety news, it always amazes me how daft some people can be in the workplace. Please take note and learn from others mistakes, there is some humour here, especially in the Myth Busters section below.

But, there is a serious side too, The latest HSE statistics show that 40 workers were killed and more than 3,400 were seriously injured in falls from height in 2011/12.

Kent firm in court over building site “shambles”

20 August 2013

Release No:

LSE/13

An Ashford-based building company has been prosecuted for repeatedly failing to manage risks on a construction site and exposing workers to needless risk of injury.

Canterbury Magistrates were told today (20 August) that the development site in Ramsgate, run by Ecobuild Homes Ltd, had been visited by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors seven times in five months.

Between July and November 2012, HSE visited the site in Harbour Street where the company was redeveloping a restaurant into flats. The court heard that on one visit, Inspectors had had no choice but to stop some work at the site immediately owing to the dangers faced by workers of falling from height and issues with electrical safety.

Ecobuild Homes Ltd was served with three prohibition notices halting specified work activities, and two improvement notices setting out required improvements to safety standards. The site manager was also issued with a prohibition notice because the operation of the site was far below minimum legal safety standards.

HSE found issues relating to fire safety, accumulation of rubble, debris and bricks falling into a neighbouring property, and site security.

Ecobuild Homes Ltd, of North Street, Ashford, Kent, was found guilty in their absence to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to comply with an Improvement Notice and guilty to a breach of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Magistrates fined the company, which had failed to appear at court for the second time, a total of £40,000 and ordered them to pay costs of £10,035.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Caroline Penwill said:

“There were elements of this development that had evidently become a shambles – but a dangerous one.

“If HSE visits a construction site and has to issue prohibition notices preventing further work, that in itself shows that there is a very real and immediate risk to workers there, and possibly to members of the public.

“Ecobuild Homes Ltd failed on several fronts to safeguard the workforce from risks that are well known in the construction industry. They either did not identify those risks or neglected to manage them effectively.

“Proper management of work activities and competent site supervision are essential but the company fell well below the required standards.”

For advice and information on construction safety, visit www.hse.gov.uk/construction

Firm fined after worker seriously injured in roof fall

19 August 2013

Release No:

SCO/024/13

A Motherwell firm has been fined for safety failings after a worker was seriously injured when he fell more than four metres from the flat roof of a single storey extension being built at Ardrossan.

The 33-year old labourer, employed by Murdoch Mackenzie Construction Limited, was working on a farm in Ardrossan, on 23 February 2011, when he fell over an unprotected edge whilst walking backwards spreading out polythene sheeting on the flat roof.

The worker, from Larkhall, who has asked not to be named, landed on the ground below in a gap between newly installed decking and the building that was being extended. He suffered serious injuries including a fractured collar bone and bruising to his right lung. He needed an operation to insert a metal plate and bone graft to repair his collar bone.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court was told today (19 August), that he was one of two men working on the roof, which had scaffolding to only two sides and no guard or handrails or other edge protection.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that there was a total lack of edge protection or any other means to prevent falls from height along the roof edge where the worker fell. The scaffolding had not been built around the full roof edge to allow patio doors to be fitted, but it was never assembled in that area even after the doors were put in. The work on the roof carried on and was therefore undertaken in an unsafe manner as a result.

Murdoch Mackenzie Construction Limited, of Coursington Road, Motherwell, Lanarkshire was fined £13,400 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Following the case, HSE Inspector Graham Mitchell, said:

“This was an entirely avoidable incident. This employee sustained serious injury from which he is still recovering.

“Murdoch McKenzie Construction was subject to enforcement action in 2010 after another of its employees fell from a flat roof house extension on which he was working. Although that worker escaped serious injury the company should have taken that incident as a clear signal that it needed to improve its safety procedures and monitor their implementation.

“Just three days after the incident in Ardrossan an attempt was made to provide edge protection by fitting wooden hand rails along one edge which was clearly too late to be of any use to the injured worker. The company was already using scaffolding, so it would have been straightforward and relatively inexpensive to have planned the work and stopped anyone going onto the roof until scaffolding had been continued along the unprotected edge.

Falls from height remain one of the most common reasons for injuries and even fatalities at work and it is extremely fortunate that this employee survived such a fall.”

Construction firm fined after worker seriously hurt in fall

15 August 2013

Release No:

NE/060/13

A construction firm has been fined for safety failings after an agency worker suffered serious arm injuries in a fall while working on a County Durham residential home.

David Hammel, 55, of Langley Park, has been left unable to resume his work as a joiner after sustaining the injuries after falling two and a half metres from a wall on 9 July 2012.

Consett Magistrates’ Court heard today (15 August) that Mr Hammel was an agency worker employed by Newcastle-based MGM Ltd, the principal contractor for a new-build residential care home in Front Street, Dipton, Stanley.

Mr Hammel was part of a four-man gang installing roof trusses of various sizes to form part of the new roof. He had climbed onto and was standing on a wall plate on top of a block wall that formed the shell of a second-floor room waiting to receive and manoeuvre a roof truss into place. But the roof truss slipped and knocked him off the wall plate. He fell into a corridor sustaining multiple fractures of his right arm and elbow.

Mr Hammel has since had two operations to rebuild his elbow with the insertion of a titanium hinge. He has been told by doctors he is unlikely to resume his job because he does not have full function of his arm as a result of the injuries and reconstructive surgery.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the measures in place by MGM Ltd to prevent a fall were wholly insufficient. It identified that the firm’s planned system of work required a crane to be used to lift, hold and support the trusses while they were temporally fitted into place. However, on the day of the incident there was no crane on site and the gang of joiners were allowed to install the roof trusses manually instead.

The investigation concluded that if a crane had been used it is highly unlikely that the roof truss would have fallen or slipped.

MGM Ltd of Rhodes Street, Newcastle, was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £6,184 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

After the hearing, HSE inspector John McGill, said:

“This was a wholly avoidable incident resulting in serious injury.

“Work at height is inherently fraught with risk and falls remain the single biggest cause of deaths and serious injury in the construction industry. It is therefore essential that work at height is properly planned, managed and monitored to ensure it is carried out safely and that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent falls and protect workers.

“Work at height activities should only ever be undertaken by competent personnel with the right equipment, knowledge and experience.

“This incident also emphasises the need for those who control work activities to ensure that they establish safe systems of work, make sure they are adhered to and that effective supervision is in place.”

Speaking after the court case Mr Hammel said:

“I hope this prosecution will act as a reminder to building contractors of the responsibilities they have to individuals on site. I’m still here to tell the tale but it could have been a lot worse. This incident has ruined my career and I wouldn’t like to see it happen to anyone else.”

More information about safe working at height can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls

Essex firm fined for Hampshire roof fall

12 August 2013

An Essex construction firm has been fined for safety failings after an employee broke his spine when he fell through a skylight opening at a construction site in Hampshire.

The worker, who does not wish to be identified, made a full recovery following the incident at Fontley Road in Titchfield, near Fareham, on 16 August 2011, but was unable to work for six weeks.

His employer, Prestige Construction Services Ltd, of Rainham, was today (12 August) prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation revealed there were inadequate measures in place to prevent or mitigate the fall.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard the worker was helping to construct the roof of a new build community centre. There were several holes in the roof where skylights were to be placed, but they were left exposed, with no coverings or guard rails on or around the holes, and no safety nets underneath.

The worker fell almost four metres to the floor below, with his spine taking the impact. Magistrates were told that he is fortunate to have made such a swift recovery and sustained no lasting damage.

Prestige Construction Services Ltd, of West Close, Rainham, Essex, was fined a total of £30,000 and ordered to pay £9,000 in costs after pleading guilty to single breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

After the hearing HSE Principal Inspector Steve Hull said:

“You would expect a construction company to be fully aware of the risks posed by working at height and to take the appropriate safety precautions. Yet that clearly didn’t happen here, and the employee could easily have paid with his life as a result.

“The incident was entirely preventable had Prestige Construction Services put effective measures in place to prevent or mitigate a fall – as is essential at all times during roofing work.”

More ‘elf and safety excuses exposed by watchdog

9 August 2013

As the heatwave in Britain subsides, it seems the country’s jobsworths have been suffering from heatstroke as The Health and Safety Executive releases yet more barmy ‘elf and safety myths, in its drive to bring common sense back into decision making and to combat misuses of health and safety legislation.

HSE’s Myth Busters Challenge Panel was set up in 2012 to provide quick advice to people subject to ridiculous or disproportionate health and safety decisions by insurance companies, local authorities, employers and overzealous jobsworths.

The Panel has received over 200 cases since being launched in April last year with nearly all rulings finding a decision was made without having any basis in health and safety law.

Minister for Employment Mark Hoban said: “It’s time businesses and others stopped hiding behind health and safety when the simple truth is that they are either jobsworths or giving poor customer service. Their attitude gives health and safety a bad name and it undermines good health and safety which keeps people safe and enables them to enjoy the summer.”

HSE Chair, Judith Hackitt added: “The stories just keep on coming in – you just could not make them up. I am proud of what our Myth Busters Panel has achieved in exposing the real reasons behind all of these so-called “health and safety” stories. If we understand what is really driving this blatant misuse of health and safety then we can all tackle the root causes – jobsworths be warned!”

Here are this summer’s top myths;

1. Jenna Barton was enjoying a break in Suffolk when she saw a young family stopped in their tracks by a sign in a chip shop window that struck her as particularly fishy.A notice declaring “under three year olds are not allowed on the premises or in the restaurant” was hanging near the front door at the chippy in Aldeburgh.Jenna, 33, a facilities supervisor, from Colchester knew there would be no health and safety regulations applying to children entering restaurants or takeaways, but alerted the Myth Busters to confirm it was a nonsense excuse.

   Of course, the Panel ruled this was yet another case of health and safety being used as an excuse and a complete over-reaction to an easily controlled risk. The restaurant should simply ask parents to control their children while in the premises if it doesn’t want little ones running around, not cite non-existent health and safety rules.

   Jenna said: “At the time it seemed like overkill and I know enough about the law to realise they were using the old health and safety line as an excuse, thinking no-one will challenge it.”

2. A children’s soft play centre in Oxfordshire has signs up stating “customers must not consume their own food or drink on the premises due to health and safety reasons”.Unsurprisingly though, customers ARE allowed to consume hot drinks and cooked meals on the premises as long as they are bought from the play centre’s own cafe.One disgruntled mum informed the Panel who were happy to clarify that of course no health and safety laws exist that would stand in the way of customers consuming their own food in circumstances as described. The panel all believed this was a clear case of commercial motives being conveniently hidden behind the catch-all health and safety excuse.
3. Patrons of a Village Hall in Burford, Oxfordshire will probably be glad they don’t have to get their hands clean by doing the washing up as the Committee reckons putting your hands in soapy suds is a health and safety issue.It has told people using the hall for private parties, christening etc they must use a dishwasher as a requirement of health and safety.What nonsense, there is no health and safety legal requirement that would stipulate use of a dishwasher, so whatever the real reason, the Panel says the washed-up Committee should stop misleading folk and come up with a better excuse to get out of doing the dishes!
4. A leading DIY store was hardly doing itself any favours when it refused to help a customer do-it-himself and cut a piece of timber in store.The customer popped into his local branch of a high street DIY store to pick up some timber beading for his home improvements. However, when the wood was too long to fit in his car he asked staff to cut it down to size. He was stunned when the assistant said he could not help as it was against health and safety rules. The bemused customer then asked for a saw to do it himself and was again rebuffed as the store said it would liable if he hurt himself.He approached Myth Busters who ruled that the company should be fully aware of the risks and how to safely use the tools and equipment they sell. The Panel put this case down to poor customer service and urged the store to practice what it preaches.
5. A local gym raised a few heckles (and chuckles) when a notice stating that for “health and safety reasons, members are requested to only use the hair dryers for hair on the head” appeared in the changing rooms.One fitness enthusiast was left scratching his own barnet at the bristly directive so alerted the Myth Busters. They of course ruled there is no occupational health and safety legislation regarding the use of hairdryers to dry hair on body-parts other than the head. The Panel stated; “This is clearly an easy excuse to deter people from using hair dryers inappropriately in a public place and the health club should give the real reason for their decision rather than hiding behind the health and safety catch all.
6. One might think that it would be in the best interests of hotels, restaurants and bars to provide the means for customers to leave the premises in the same way they found them. Not so one hotel…which refuses to provide toilet brushes in its bathrooms for patrons on the grounds of, you guessed it, health and safety.Despite there being absolutely no law preventing the use of bog brushes in loos around Britain, the hotel has taken it upon itself to refuse to supply the bristly cleaners to customers on the well-worn excuse of ‘elf and safety grounds. Now experts at the Health and Safety Executive’s Myth Busters Challenge Panel have flushed the nonsense excuse down the proverbial pan.Bemused customer Malcolm Forbes, 64, from Hertfordshire contacted Myth Busters after staying at a plush hotel in Newport, South Wales in June. When the company director and father of two tried to flush out the real reason for the ban, he was told it was for health and safety reasons.

   The Myth Busters ruled that no legal requirements exist that prohibit the provision of toilet brushes in hotels or other public conveniences. Lots of shared toilet facilities in offices, bars, supermarkets etc do provide them with any hygiene risks easily managed.

   Whatever the real reason for the brush ban, HSE thinks the hotel operator should come clean and stop pulling the public’s chain. If true grounds are for commercial reasons or reducing cost then be clear and flush these tired excuses away.

   Malcolm said: “I couldn’t believe it when they cited health and safety. What about the effect on staff having to face dirty pans every morning? The hotel should not embarrass customers in this way. They have not thought this policy through and have just used health and safety as a cover”.

   “I can’t imagine what the real reason is but I do know I would not want any of my family working as a housekeeper at a hotel that actively discourages residents from cleaning the pan after themselves.”

7. A table tennis table used by factory workers in break times was removed after a jobsworth claimed it was a health and safety risk. The panel smashed that nonsense out of the court by declaring there are no health and safety rules that prevent employees playing table tennis in their leisure time. A suitable location is all that is needed.
8. One diner who went to a department store in London for breakfast thought staff were yolking when he was told he couldn’t have a fried egg for health and safety reasons.Stunned at this response he probed further and was told someone in another store left a frying pan on the heat causing a fire, so a decision was made to stop supplying fried eggs in all store restaurants.The Myth Busters said this was a classic case of an over the top and misguided response to a problem. Banning the sale of fried eggs will not stop other pans being overheated if staff do not take appropriate care. Fire is a risk when cooking but one that can be easily managed. The store later admitted this was not a health and safety decision at all but a matter of company policy.
9. One overzealous racecourse steward confiscated a sun parasol from a racegoer because he said it posed a health and safety risk. Despite the searing heat this summer, the steward told the lady in question that someone could use it as a weapon. Bizarrely this silly rule ignores the fact that when it is raining, umbrellas are allowed.The Panel said there was clearly no health and safety issue here – many of us carry umbrellas with points when we travel on crowded public transport every day without incident. The racecourse has a clear policy that states that they reserve the right to refuse articles being brought into the event. On this occasion, someone judged that a parasol could be used as a weapon – a bizarre decision and certainly not health and safety.
10. A Chinese restaurant in East Sussex refused to provide a customer with a finger bowl giving health and safety as the reason. The bemused diner complained to the Myth Busters who were clear that this nonsense excuse was blatantly used to hide the poor customer service. There is no health and safety regulation that could possibly be interpreted as a reason for banning finger bowls.

Eight metre fall for trainee lands firm in court

8 August 2013

A Hertfordshire firm has been prosecuted for safety breaches after a trainee employee suffered multiple fractures in an eight-metre fall from a roof.

The 22 year-old, from High Wycombe, who does not wish to be named, broke two vertebrae, his left ankle and wrist, fractured his pelvis and tore ligaments in the incident in Poets Road, Highbury, North London, on 3 December 2012.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) yesterday (7 August) prosecuted the injured worker’s employer, Nature’s Power Ltd of Rickmansworth, after identifying a number of safety failings by the company.

Westminster Magistrates’ were told the firm had been fitting a flue liner down the chimney as part of installation work for a wood burning stove. The trainee was attempting to slide together an extendable roof ladder while balanced at the top of the access ladder against the house.

However, HSE’s investigation found that the access ladder was not long enough to clear the guttering and so didn’t extend to a point where he could step off safely. When the roof ladder began to slip away in his hands, it pulled him off the access ladder. As there was nothing for him to hold on to help him regain his balance, he fell three storeys to the ground below sustaining serious injuries.

Nature’s Power Ltd, of High Street, Rickmandsworth, was fined a total of £30,000 and ordered to pay a further £5,840 in costs after being found guilty in absentia of two separate breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Keith Levart said:

“It was clear the access ladder had been used unsafely and that Nature’s Power Ltd had failed to plan the work properly, taking into account the specific issues that arose from using that site.

“If used correctly, access and roof ladders can provide safe access to chimneys. However, this one could not clear the guttering, which led to this entirely preventable incident and a trainee worker suffering serious injuries. It is only a matter of good fortune that these injuries were not fatal.

“There is no shortage of advice and information about safe use of ladders. Where necessary, there is ancillary equipment available such as adjustable ladder stays, and straps for securing it to the building.”

The latest HSE statistics show that 40 workers were killed and more than 3,400 were seriously injured in falls from height in 2011/12.