Construction firm failed to plan or monitor renovation project
MJM Fitout was contracted to strip out a two-floor gym in Farringdon Road, central London as part of a renovation of the building. The work involved demolishing walls, removing redundant cabling, and stripping down ventilation ducting.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the construction firm had contracted agency staff to do the work and all of them were foreign nationals. The site manager was rarely on the site and was not adequately monitoring the work.
He arranged for a tower scaffold to be delivered in pieces, which would be assembled by a scaffolding company. But he failed to communicate this plan to the agency workers and they subsequently built the scaffold themselves.
The workers erected the structure without looking at any instructions and were not trained for the task. They failed to install stabilisers to the scaffold and, once it was erected, they began using the platform to remove ventilation ducts from a roof above the squash court, which was located in the basement.
On 19 April 2011, one of the workers, who wishes to remain anonymous, cut a 4.5m strip of ducting and let it fall to the ground. As it fell, it struck the scaffold and caused it to overturn. The worker fell more than four metres to the ground and sustained two fractured vertebrae and broke five ribs. He has only recently been deemed fit to return to work.
The company reported the incident to the local council but it took more than six weeks for the authority to notify the HSE. When HSE inspector Keith Levart visited the site he found the work was complete.
During the subsequent investigation he learned that the project hadn’t been properly planned, or managed by the site manager, who continually left the workers unsupervised. The company had also failed to send any of its management to monitor the work.
Inspector Levart said: “The worker suffered painful injuries, which could have been avoided had the labour crew been properly managed and had their work on site been adequately monitored by MJM Fitout Ltd.
“The temporary staff had effectively been left to their own devices and were working in an unplanned and unsafe manner. It illustrates the clear need for companies to have practical arrangements in place to ensure that all personnel involved in and undertaking construction work understand what is expected of them, and are able to cooperate and communicate with one another.”
MJM Fitout appeared in court on 23 January and pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. It was fined £8000 and ordered to pay £3500 in costs.
In mitigation, the company said it has subsequently replaced its senior management and the site manager has also left the company. It also said this was its first safety conviction and it regretted the incident.