August 28th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has urged the construction industry to take more precautions to avoid falls from height in the workplace.
This comes after an accident in which a 31-year-old man died when he fell from scaffolding in Hastings earlier in August.
Melvyn Stancliffe, HSE inspector for the case, commented that workers must be properly trained and provided with equipment to ensure they are not at risk if working at height is unavoidable.
"It is simple – work to the recognised industry standards and working practices and falls can be prevented," he added.
Additional figures from the HSE reveal that falls are the biggest cause of fatal injury in British workplaces, with 34 out of the 72 deaths in the construction industry in 2007-08 resulting from a fall from height.
In addition, there were another 4,000 major but non-fatal injuries – such as broken bones – in the construction sector during the same timespan.
Tags: Broken Bones, Construction Industry, Construction Sector, Deaths, Fatal Injuries, Hastings, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse Issues, Old Man, Risk, Scaffolding, Timespan, Working At Height, Working Practices, Workplaces
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June 2nd, 2009
A builder who was involved in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project has been awarded compensation after being seriously injured in a fall.
Parminder Singh, 24, was in a work cradle along with a colleague named Matthew Gilbert when the girder holding it snapped, This is London reports.
The pair fell to the ground and Mr Gilbert died. Mr Singh suffered serious injuries to his back, leg and head.
He still suffers from nightmares and said his injuries have permanently affected his life.
"Life has been very difficult. I have been left with one leg shorter than the other and unless I move about my body seizes up," Mr Singh commented.
He took legal action against the firm held responsible and has now been awarded £270,000 in compensation.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, the highest rate of fatal and major injuries to employees between 2007 and 2008 was in the construction industry.
Tags: Colleague, Construction Industry, Girder, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Heathrow Terminal 5, Life Quot, Matthew Gilbert, Mr Gilbert, Mr Singh, Nightmares, This Is London
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April 27th, 2009
A construction worker who claims he has been unable to return to work since an accident in 2006 is seeking compensation from his former employer.
Iain Cowan was working as a banksman for Norwest Holst – the main contractor on the building of the M20 motorway – where he was overseeing the digging of a trench, Building magazine reports.
He told excavator operator David Price to stop the machine and move it sideways while he talked to colleagues, but Mr Price did not do so and Mr Cowan was knocked into the trench.
After being taken to hospital, it was found that Mr Cowan had a fractured spine, a chest injury and a cut leg.
He is now suing Norwest Holst – since renamed Vinci Construction – for negligence and £250,000 in damages, claiming that the company had not provided a suitably trained machine operator.
The company has not commented on the case.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 3,764 reported major injuries in the construction industry between 2007 and 2008.
Tags: 250k, Banksman, Chest Injury, Colleagues, Construction Industry, Construction Worker, Cowan, Damages, David Price, Excavator Operator, Fractured Spine, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, M20 Motorway, Machine Operator, Main Contractor, Negligence, Norwest Holst
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March 20th, 2009
An inquest has heard how two men were killed in a workplace accident when an untrained colleague loosened the bolts of the crane they were working on.
Gary Miles, 37, and Steven Boatman, 45, were 105 feet up from the ground in February 2005 as they carried out work for Eurolift (Tower Cranes), which is owned by WD Bennett’s Plant & Services, Building magazine reports.
Their colleague Dave Smith loosened the bolts of the crane’s tower while the pair were in the air and then signalled for them to move the crane around.
However, the pressure on the equipment was too much and the crane collapsed.
Mr Miles and Mr Boatmen were thrown off and landed on the roof of a school. Both died at the scene.
WD Bennett’s Plant & Services had no health and safety representative onsite because he had called in sick that day, the court has heard, but the company denies breaches of health and safety regulations and the case continues.
The Health and Safety executive is in the process of drawing up a register of safety checks on tower cranes after pressure from the construction industry.
Anyone responsible for workplaces which use cranes should ensure that tower cranes are erected and dismantled by competent people who have the necessary training and experience.
Tags: Amp Services, Boatman, Boatmen, Bolts, Breaches, Colleague, Construction Industry, Crane, Dave Smith, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Health And Safety Representative, Inquest, Onsite, Safety Checks, Safety Regulations, Tower Cranes, Two Men, Workplace Accident, Workplaces
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February 17th, 2009
A contractor has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a workman suffered a serious injury in a fall.
The unnamed 59-year-old bricklayer fell internally through a stairwell from the first floor of a house that was under construction in Castleford, which is situated close to Pontefract in West Yorkshire.
He landed on his head and suffered serious injuries.
The main contractor of the site – Ballenwood Properties – admitted to a breach of the 2005 legal regulations for working at height and was fined.
HSE inspector David Welsh said that falls from height are a major hazard within the construction industry, but that the easiest way to avoid them is to cover all openings such as unfinished staircases.
"A significant proportion of the falls from height that occur on sites every year are internal falls and the risks are frequently not dealt with adequately," he added.
Tags: Breach, Bricklayer, Castleford, Construction Industry, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Main Contractor, Proportion, Staircases, Stairwell, Welsh, West Yorkshire, Worker Injury, Working At Height, Workman, Yorkshire
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