Three companies have been fined a total of £90,000 after a worker was seriously injured when he fell nearly six metres from a platform with unguarded rails.
Southwark Crown Court heard that on 4 March 2013 two workers accessed the top level of a unit which was to be dismantled as part of construction work at a site in Westferry Road, London.
One of the workers slipped and fell over the side of the platform, hitting the wall and then landing on the concrete floor 5.9 metres below. He sustained multiple injuries including internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, and fractures to his pelvis and right arm and has been left unable to work.
Meta Management Services Limited (trading as Aktrion), of Rutland Court, Edinburgh, who was the principal contractor for the project, pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 22(1)(c) of the Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2007 and was fined £9,000 with £1,942 in costs.
Goss Graphic Systems Limited of Beech House, The Oaks Business Park, Longridge Road, Preston, pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 13(2) of the Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2007, and Regulation 4 of the Working at Height Regulation 2005 and was fined a total of £27,000 with costs of £7,000.
Beck and Pollitzer Engineering Limited of Burnham Road, Dartford, Kent pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 4 of the Working at Height Regulation 2005 and was fined £54,000 with costs of £14,000.
Notes to editors:
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. hse.gov.uk
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More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/
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HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk
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Guardrails
Our range of collective fall protection measures include guardrails these are designed to completely remove the risk of a fall from height and comply with all relevant British and European standards.
Our Guardrail has been specifically designed to provide permanent edge protection where regular access for maintenance and inspections is required. The system's design provides permanent edge protection without the need to mechanically fix the system through the roofing membrane or building's structure.
Working at Height & Rescue Equipment
Total Access (UK) Limited has established an enviable reputation for being the leading independent supplier of working at height equipment. We have built our business on a reputation for gaining a clear understanding of our customers’ requirements and providing them with excellent technical advice/back up whatever their problem.
As a totally independent supplier of over 17 brands, Total Access (UK) Limited has a large selection of products to offer our clients whatever their remit be it comfort, weight, adjustability, flexibility, price, technical specification or advice and support.
Fall Arrest Blocks
Fall arrest blocks can also be known as: retractable fall arrest blocks, fall arrest devices, fall arresters, inertia blocks, inertia reels, retractable type fall arresters, retractable lanyards, self-retracting lanyards & “sala blocks”.
What does a Fall Arrest Block do?
In the event of a fall the braking mechanism on the drum holding the rope or webbing (that is attached to the users harness) is engaged and arrests the fall.
All self-retracting fall arrest blocks are designed for use in vertical / near vertical applications, & some have also been tested and approved for use in other applications, for example horizontally (such as a fall off a flat roof) where the classification / type of edge is also detailed (for example a smooth edge as small as 0.5mm radius).
