26/07/2010 - Firm fined over building site risks
Lift shafts were unguarded and safeguards were not in place to protect workers from falling at height at a construction site in South Wales, a court heard.
Gee Construction Ltd was fined £10,000 and must pay £4,500 costs after admitting breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The firm was the main contractor on the site at Castlegate, Caerphilly, at the time of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection. The Basildon-based company had already had two prohibition notices for work at height issues in 2008 and 2009.
The HSE brought the prosecution at Caerphilly Magistrates' Court following a visit to the site on October 22 2009. The inspection recorded shortcomings including unguarded lift shafts on the first and second floors and insufficient edge protection for workers.
HSE inspector David Kirkpatrick said: "When we visited the site, we found clear failings that left workers at risk of falling from height, and it was necessary to stop all activity above ground floor level until safe systems of work were put in place."
Almost half of the deaths recorded in the UK construction industry in 2008/2009 - 21 out of 53 - were as a result of a fall from a height over two metres.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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