Working at height must be risk assessed

Companies are being warned over the need to carry out risk assessments if employees are to work at height after a man fell from a spray booth suffering multiple fractures and bleeding in his brain.

Spray-Craft Coating was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,100 costs by Wellingborough magistrates court after failing to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent falls in the workplace and neglecting its duty to properly plan work as set out in Regulations 4 (1)(a) and 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The incident occurred in 2007 when the employee fell over two metres, suffering multiple injuries and slipping into a coma for a fortnight.

Peter Snelgrove, the Health and Safety Executive's inspector for Northamptonshire, said all companies must carry out effective risk assessments and plan work to a meticulous degree.

"It is totally unacceptable that so many lives of employees who work from height continue to be put at risk. Falls from height remain the most common kind of accident causing fatal injuries," he said.

According to the HSE, tasks such as gutter cleaning, roof work and machine maintenance all pose a risk of falling from height.