British Companies Urged to Secure Workers at Height

Following a West Yorkshire worker sustaining serious back injuries when he plunged more than three meters from a terrace retaining wall on a construction site, Great Britain businesses are being urged to take proper precautions when their staff work at height.

There were no guardrails in place to prevent the working falling from height as he accessed a work area. He suffered a fractured vertebra and a long-term disability as the result of his fall.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) successfully prosecuted Illson (Builders & Contractors) Ltd, of North Parade, Burley in Wharfedale, for a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 over the incident, which occurred at the Corn Mill in Burley. The company was acting as principal contractor on the construction site.

Illson also pleaded guilty to a charge under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 for failing to notify HSE construction work was due to take place on site. The injured worker’s employer, Kendal Varley Ltd, also pleaded guilty to the same CDM Regs charge.

Bradford Magistrates Court heard that because both companies were the clients for the work, they should have appointed a Construction Design and Management coordinator (CDMc) to notify HSE of the construction work. Their failure to do so led to the responsibility for non-notification reverting to them.

Illson (Builders & Contractors) Ltd was fined £5,000 ($7,287) and ordered to pay costs of £1,800 ($2,623) for both offences while Kendall Varley Ltd was given a fine of £2,000 ($2,915) and costs of £1,800 ($2,623) for the one offence. (workersxzcompxzkit)

After the hearing, HSE Inspector David Welsh noted, “If HSE had been correctly notified that work on the Corn Mill was going to take place, it could have inspected the site and the injury may have been averted. The measures in place at the time – the responsibility of Illson (Builders & Contractors) Ltd – simply did not amount to a safe system of work, and as a result a worker sustained a serious, long-term, fall from height injury.”

\Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.

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