Scaffolding firm given two week suspension

We often cover stories here regarding Scaffolders and issues with safety breaches on site.  In this case a Scaffolding firm, from Wallsend in North Tyneside has been suspended from operating their fleet for two weeks, not for a breach of safety regulation on site, but due to their failure to improve vehicle safety standards.

The business was warned that its vehicles would be impounded if they were used during the suspension period.

Evidence from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealed the company had failed to make any improvements to maintenance standards after an unsatisfactory inspection in May 2014.

At a follow up investigation in November the same year, a DVSA vehicle examiner found issues with missing paperwork, record keeping, driver defect reporting and safety inspection arrangements.

This was not the first time this Scaffolding firm had been called to a public inquiry. Back in 2013 they were called to a public inquiry due to concerns about driver compliance issues.

A spokesperson for the company has stated that the individual responsible for the issues is no longer working there and that they have now put steps in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

It’s sometimes the case that scaffolding businesses treat fleet management as the poor relation and very much second to scaffold activity, but our experience shows that the authorities expect high standards to be applied across all activities, with high financial penalties being imposed on those that choose to ignore the often stringent standards.

Simian clients are free to contact their Account Manager for further advice.