Contractors fined following unsafe work at height

A ground maintenance company has been found guilty of unsafe work at height following an incident in which two workers were found to be working on a roof top ‘without suitable measures in place to prevent a fall from height’.

According to reports, in January of 2017 a subcontractor and his employee hired by said ground maintenance company were photographed working on a roof top, with one worker at the roof edge anchored to a rope that was attached to a piece of webbing strap, which his fellow worker was also holding on to, no suitable anchor point was used throughout the incident.

Following a thorough investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it was found that the ground maintenance company had failed to ensure that the subcontractors had appropriately planned their work at height to ensure it was carried out safely, breaching Regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and were subsequently fined £1300. The subcontractor was fined £2000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

One of the most common causes of workplace fatalities are falls from height, and therefore it is essential that all businesses using scaffolding or carrying out roof work or any other work at height, plan to ensure that adequate training and equipment is provided, so that employees can carry out their work in a safe manner.

For the team at Simian, our main business objective is to support businesses across the UK and internationally to bring their safety up to the required standards to ensure that their workforce remains safe.

Contact the Simian team today for more information on our scaffolding safety support services or book your place on one of our upcoming scaffolding training courses.