HSE Warns Of The Dangers Of Working At Height, UK
Surjit Singh Kundi trading as Kundi Electrical, from a base in Oldbury, was ordered, by West Bromwich Magistrates, to pay £25,000 in fines, with £2,301 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. This case followed an HSE investigation into a fatal incident on 20 April 2007.
The court heard that, on that day, Mr Satnam Singh, 62, fell 5-6 metres through a fragile rooflight whilst preparing to undertake work on the roof of a textiles factory in Smethwick. Work had already been undertaken to replace plastic rooflights following a burglary at the site and further work was being undertaken by Kundi Electrical to repair recurring roof leaks.
In undertaking this roofing work, equipment and building materials were being carried across roofs, which are well known in roofing and building industries to be fragile, when Mr Singh fell through and died later in hospital from the injuries sustained.
The roof of the textiles factory was being accessed up a ladder and across several different types of pitched roofs of several factory units and an adjacent engineering company, below which employees were working.
HSE Inspector Georgina Speake said:
"The roofs which were being repaired and those being used for access were totally unprotected, exposing anyone crossing them or working beneath, to the most serious risks. Mr Kundi had failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment to identify the risk associated with the work being undertaken. The findings should have been passed on to employees so that they were aware of the hazards and then measures needed to minimise the risks put in place. The risk was wholly predictable therefore avoidable. Such falls remain one of the biggest killers in the construction industry and last year, across the country, 45 people died after falling while working at height.
"Many incidents can be avoided if employers identify a safe way of tackling a job, provide all necessary protective equipment and ensure that workers or casual employees are fully trained and properly supervised. In this instance there were a number of optional methods and routes of access which would have greatly reduced the risk. Precautions that need to be taken to prevent falls are often simple and there is free guidance readily available to help employers take the right action."
Notes
- Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as it is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
- Section 3(1) states " It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety"
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