Roof safety must be ensured
June 10, 2008
Small and medium businesses are being urged to ensure employees working at height on roofs are doing so in safe conditions.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) made the plea following the prosecution of Body & Wheels Workshop, which was ordered to pay a total of £4,597 in fines and costs for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Margate magistrates' court found the firm liable for 18-year-old Aaron Green's four metre fall through an asbestos cement roof, from which he suffered a broken leg.
To compound the error, the HSE found the company allowed other members of staff to continue working on the roof with the two unsecured crawling boards used by Mr Green.
Steve Banfield, the HSE principal inspector, stated the employee was lucky to escape with less serious injuries.
"This case highlights the serious consequences that can occur when health and safety law is not adhered to, and demonstrates how working at height can be extremely dangerous if the correct procedures are not followed," he said.
Currently the HSE is running its Shattered Lives campaign to make employers and staff aware of the risks of slips, trips and falls and how they can be reduced.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) made the plea following the prosecution of Body & Wheels Workshop, which was ordered to pay a total of £4,597 in fines and costs for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Margate magistrates' court found the firm liable for 18-year-old Aaron Green's four metre fall through an asbestos cement roof, from which he suffered a broken leg.
To compound the error, the HSE found the company allowed other members of staff to continue working on the roof with the two unsecured crawling boards used by Mr Green.
Steve Banfield, the HSE principal inspector, stated the employee was lucky to escape with less serious injuries.
"This case highlights the serious consequences that can occur when health and safety law is not adhered to, and demonstrates how working at height can be extremely dangerous if the correct procedures are not followed," he said.
Currently the HSE is running its Shattered Lives campaign to make employers and staff aware of the risks of slips, trips and falls and how they can be reduced.
More Working at Height news:
Construction firms fined combined GBP 250,000 - November 21, 2008Inquest suggests accident 'due to lack of communication' - November 18, 2008
Cake scheme inspects Thames Gateway firms - November 17, 2008
Construction safety training day held in Colwyn Bay - November 14, 2008
Calderbrook Estates and contractor fined - November 13, 2008
