.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.gif)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.gif)
.gif)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
From Cradle To Nearly A Grave
Two men working in a cradle on a London residential tower, with a front elevation being constructed with windows and sliding doors, have cheated an early...
Read Full Article
Big Fine For Scouse Scaffolding Scoundrels
Workers scrambled up the rungs of an unsafe scaffold to work at a block of flats in Merseyside. Now AIM Access Solutions has been fined £30,000 for its failure to assemble safe scaffolding.
It follows an investigation by the Health & Safety Executive on a site where previously a man died from a fall. AIM employee Robert Duffy. 45, passed away in hospital on 23 May 2021, three days after sustaining serious injuries while working at the Rice Hey Road site.
The HSE first identified serious issues with the construction of the scaffold and that the assembly instructions had not been followed while the scaffold tower was being built. No ladder was used access the scaffold. Instead, workers climbed the rungs of the scaffold itself as opposed to a proprietary ladder. The firm was convicted for these failings, with the fatality the subject of a separate prosecution.
The firm pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £30,800 and ordered to pay £5,040.75 in costs at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on 27 February 2025. HSE inspector Sam Eves said: “AIM Access Solutions did not ensure the tower scaffold was constructed correctly. The company failed to provide a safe way to get to and from the work platform, for example using an appropriately designed internal ladder.
“Companies should follow HSE guidance to ensure they effectively plan, manage and monitor similar construction work and reduce the risks to their employees.”
Roofer gets suspended sentence
In another case, a self-employed roofer has received a suspended prison sentence after a man suffered serious injuries after falling from scaffold in Devon.
Daniel Hooper was given a 16-week custodial sentence, which will be suspended for a period of 12 months, following Iain Smith, 36, falling from a height of more than 25 feet while working for him, on 13 June 2023.
Father of three Smith had been manually carrying old roof slates down a ladder attached to the scaffold platform at a domestic property in Honiton when he fell, suffering serious injury, including five broken vertebrae, as well as skull and rib fractures. Devon Air Ambulance took him to Derriford Hospital where he was put into an induced coma for five days. He has since made a remarkable recovery but does still suffer from the effects of his injuries.
Investigation
An investigation by the HSE found that Daniel Hooper, 28, trading as Hooper Roofing, failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of his employee as he did not undertake any planning or appropriately supervise the work at height or supply suitable equipment to do the task safely.
Planning
Falls from height remain a leading cause of workplace death and serious injury and HSE has published guidance about how these incidents can be avoided. It is vital that employers plan work at height on any size building or roof work project. Every employer should take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. While ladders can be used for accessing a scaffold platform, HSE guidance is clear that they should only be used for low risk and short duration tasks.
Work equipment or other measures must be used to prevent falls where working at height cannot be avoided. The HSE investigation found that ladders were used to transfer heavy slate tiles to and from the scaffolding platform and this practice was not, so far as reasonably practicable, safe. There are alternative methods of transferring the slate tiles to and from a scaffolding platform that eliminate the need for ladders to be used for this task. These include the use of a pulley system or use of a mechanical conveyor.
Sentence
Daniel Hooper, of Brook Road, Cullompton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community at Exeter Magistrates Court on 6 February 2025. He was also ordered to pay costs of £10,875. HSE inspector Thomas Preston said: “Falls from height account for around half of all deaths in the construction industry and Mr Smith is very fortunate to still be alive today.”
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
24th March 2025