Bridge Mills Ltd, the owners of a Yorkshire business park, have been fined after a workman fractured an ankle when he fell from a ladder whilst carrying out work in disused premises.

The incident occurred when the 68-year-old maintenance worker was removing several heat exchange units from the roof space in a former machine shop in Huddersfield Road.

He was working from the ladder which was being “held by a cleaner” at various heights of some 4-5m when the ladder was “knocked from the cleaner’s hands”. The workman realised he was falling and jumped clear, rolling over to protect himself as best he could.

Kirklees Magistrates were told (7 Jan) HSE found several failings namely:

• no clear responsibility for health and safety in the company;
• work at height not planned or organised with no safe system of work in place; and
• risks not assessed and workers not provided with work-at-height training;

The correct equipment for the job was not provided and the ladder used was not tied at the top or effectively balanced.

Worker safety treated in a ‘vague and haphazard’ manner

Bridge Mills Ltd, which owns and manages the Bridge Mill site in Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth, was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £1,355 in costs after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Jackie Ferguson said:

“The worker was fortunate not to have suffered a far more serious injury – it doesn’t take a fall from a great height to inflict a life-changing injury or even death. The fact that he saw the ladder slipping allowed him to mitigate the potential consequences.

There were several safe methods open to Bridge Mills Ltd for the removal of the heat exchange units, including working from an integrated working platform. Instead, the health and safety of workers was treated in a vague and haphazard manner.

Falls from height remain the biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of injury. Working at height without the right equipment, training or systems is wholly unacceptable and extremely dangerous, and HSE will not hesitate to prosecute when companies put their workers lives at such risk.”

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Nature’s Power Ltd has been prosecuted after a trainee employee suffered multiple fractures in an 8m roof fall. The 22 year-old fractured his vertebrae, ankle, wrist and pelvis in the incident in Highbury, North London, on 3 December 2012.

Westminster Magistrates’ heard the firm had been fitting a flue liner as part of installation work for a wood burning stove.

The trainee was attempting to slide together an extendable roof ladder while balanced at the top of the access ladder against the house. HSE investigators found the access ladder was too short to clear the guttering and did not extend to a point where he could step off safely.

When the roof ladder began to slip from his hands he fell from the access ladder. There was nothing for him to hold on to help him regain his balance and he fell three storeys to the ground below.

Nature’s Power Ltd, of High Street, Rickmandsworth, was fined a total of £30,000 and ordered to pay a further £5,840 in costs after being found guilty in absentia of two separate breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Keith Levart said:

“It was clear the access ladder had been used unsafely and that Nature’s Power Ltd had failed to plan the work properly, taking into account the specific issues that arose from using that site.

If used correctly, access and roof ladders can provide safe access to chimneys. However, this one could not clear the guttering, which led to this entirely preventable incident and a trainee worker suffering serious injuries. It is only a matter of good fortune that these injuries were not fatal.

There is no shortage of advice and information about safe use of ladders. Where necessary, there is ancillary equipment available such as adjustable ladder stays, and straps for securing it to the building.”

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It has been reported by the Manchester Evening News that an inquest has heard how a workman fell to his death when the ladder he was using slipped whilst ”fixing a faulty door” at a Deeside factory in March 2012. 

Alan Smith, 64, suffered severe brain injuries in the fall and died the next day. He visited the site to fix a large roller door.

Colleague Tom Smith said: 

“It all happened so fast. I just felt the ladder start to go. I looked around and realised the door had fallen down and the ladder had slipped off. I remember shouting to someone to get help. I can only assume the ropes weren’t put on properly and they slipped. That’s all I can think of.”

Coroner John Gittins said he would recommend compulsory training for working at height (and with ladders) refreshed on an annual basis. He said staff should be “reminded to carry out risk assessment” so that future tragedies can be prevented.

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We are pleased to announce that we have passed the Ladder Association audit for another year. Our approved training centre is audited annually to ensure our continuing compliance with the high standards of the scheme.

Our course aims and objectives are to enable delegates to:

• Select appropriate work at height equipment for a task
• Assess and determine when it is appropriate to use ladders and stepladders

• Correctly locate and safely use ladders and stepladders
• Inspect ladders and stepladders for damage

And ensure delegates have an understanding of:

• Legislation and regulations affecting work at height
• Product standards and classifications for ladders and stepladders

• Hazards affecting the use of ladders and stepladders

Upon successful completion every delegate receives a certificate and Ladder Association photo card as objective proof of competence.

Ladders are not banned in the workplace,so if it's right to use a ladder, use the right ladder and use it safely.

Courses run monthly and cost £170pp + VAT. Courses include Ladder Association “user” and Ladder Association “Ladder Inspector”. For more information on our Ladder Safety Training click here.

A linen hire service and a laundry company have both been fined for safety breaches after a worker fell from a ladder while trying to clear a blockage in an industrial-sized laundry machine.

A female employee of AAA Linen Services, who worked at their Park Royal headquarters in North West London, shattered her left ankle after she fell when the ladder slipped. She later needed 13 screws inserted in her foot to help repair the damage and has been unable to work since.

The incident, on 20 December 2010, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which today (3 June) prosecuted AAA Linen and the supplier of the machine, Laundryquip LLP, of Northamptonshire, for safety failings.

Westminster Magistrates were told that Laundryquip LLP had provided the reconditioned machine and installed it without suitable access steps that had been ordered by AAA Linen Services. In their place, AAA provided workers with a standard office chair to climb on when they needed to access the machine.

The worker, 41, a team leader at AAA Linen Services, had decided to use a ladder to reach and clear a machine blockage after having nearly fallen on a previous occasion while using the chair. The unsecured ladder slipped sending her falling to the factory floor.

Laundryquip LLP of Market Place, Brackley, Northants, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £16,500 in costs after being found guilty of a breach of Section 6(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

AAA Linen Services Ltd of Sunbeam Road, Park Royal, London NW10, which entered a guilty plea in August last year to a breach of Section 2(1) of the same Act between 29 October and 20 December 2010. The firm was also fined £5,000 with £4,500 to pay in costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Nick Fry said:

"AAA Linen failed to ensure their employees' safety when they needed to work at height to clear blockages on this large laundry machine. A chair was clearly the wrong choice of equipment and exposed workers to unnecessary risk. Their action led to an avoidable incident in which a woman was caused a great deal of pain and suffering.

"All work at height must be properly planned, organised and carried out by competent persons. Measures need to be put in place to avoid, prevent or reduce the risks of falls.

"Laundryquip LLP, as the supplier of the machine, had a duty to ensure that the machine was safe when put to use and, in this instance, they fell well below the acceptable standard of care.

"Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of injury."

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It has been reported by ITV (7 May) that a toddler has been rescued after climbing onto a hotel roof in Oxfordshire. The toddler is said to have used a ladder to get to the roof at the Tree Hotel in Iffley.

A passer-by climbed up a drainpipe to rescue the 2 year-old child who was “perched on the edge” of the roof.

A Fire Service spokesperson said:

“The brave actions of the member of the public made sure that the child was safe and the Fire Service could bring everyone down to the ground.”

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Gethin William Kirwan, 35, suffered fatal head injuries when he fell from the ladder at a house in Llanrhos Road, Penrhyn Bay near Llandudno, last Thursday.

Paramedics took him to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan but he did not survive.

Mr Kirwan, who grew up in Deeside, but at the time of his death lived in Halkyn Road, Hoole, had been working for the North Wales Cladding firm.

Andrew Peet, also of Halkyn Road, said he knew Mr Kirwan through his brother Carl when they grew up in Aston, Flintshire.

He said: “My brother knew him quite well, they were in the same year together at school. He went to St Ethelwold’s Primary School then Deeside High School – now John Summers High.

“I remember he was a little mischievous when growing up, but we all were at that age. Their family was well known in the area and did a lot for the community.”

Sandeep Sridhar, shop manager and owner at the Nisa Local branch on Ermine Road, Chester, said Mr Kirwan had been a frequent customer.

He said: “We were very sorry to hear about the news. He would come twice a day – once in the morning, once in the evening – and we would have a great chat with him.

“He loved wine gums and would always buy some when they were in stock.”

John Gittins, North Wales central coroner, opened and adjourned an inquest in Wrexham into the death.

He said pathologist Dr Mark Atkinson conducted a post-mortem examination at the hospital on Monday and gave the cause of death as head trauma.

North Wales Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident.

A Llanrhos Road resident told of her shock at news of the death.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “It happened several doors away from us.

“We heard that the man fell into the front garden. It was a horrible, freak accident.

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the woman who lives at the house. I heard she was very shook up and another neighbour went round to comfort her.”

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It has been reported by the North Wales Daily Post that a roofer died after falling from a ladder at Llandudno in North Wales. Gethin William Kirwan, aged 35, suffered fatal head injuries whilst working for the North Wales Cladding.

The North Wales central coroner, opened and adjourned an inquest in Wrexham into the death. Dr Mark Atkinson conducted a post-mortem examination and gave the cause of death as head trauma. North Wales Police and HSE are investigating the incident.

A local witness told the NWDP:

“It happened several doors away from us. We heard that the man fell into the front garden. It was a horrible, freak accident. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the woman who lives at the house. I heard she was very shook up and another neighbour went round to comfort her.”

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