Scaffold Inspectors Prosecuted for Falsifying Records

Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how on 26th March 2014, a 49-year old worker was working on a re-roofing project. As he stepped down from an untiled roof onto a fixed scaffold, he fell through a gap between the scaffolding and the adjacent building. He suffered  injuries to his spine and had to wear a back brace for eight weeks.

In the time prior to the incident, two separate inspectors had signed the scaffold off as being safe for use, but investigations by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), revealed that the inspections had not been completed and the inspection records had been falsified to show that the scaffold was safe to use.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Matt Greenly said: “Scaffold Inspectors are relied upon by workers and must be trusted. Falsely completing reports without carrying out a thorough inspection can lead to serious risks being missed and life changing accidents occurring.”

Both of the guilty parties pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were each sentenced to 170 hours community service and ordered to pay £1,500 costs.

Independent scaffold inspection is the ideal way of meeting statutory scaffold inspection obligations. Not only does this ensure compliance with the Work at Height Regulations 2005, it also provides safety benefits by ensuring scaffolds are erected and used in line with the agreed specification.

Simian provides an independent scaffold inspection service, using fully insured CISRS qualified Scaffolders and Scaffold Inspectors.

Find our more about our scaffold inspection service here.