14/01/2011 - Builders fined for safety breach
A Cheltenham building contractor has been fined £2,000 after safety officers found staff were allowed to lift heavy building materials at height with no measures in place to prevent falls.
DA Cook (Builders) Limited, based in Winchcombe, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after inspectors visited the site in Dumbleton in December 2009. They discovered that structural steelwork weighing 92kg had been lifted into place using scaffolding only five-feet high while they were building a house extension.
This pre-emptive action by the HSE could act as a reminder to companies that they might still face problems and liability insurance claims even before an incident takes place.
There was also no evidence of a risk assessment being carried out for this kind of work by DA Cook when the HSE inspectors visited.
Staff had lifted the steelwork from the floor onto the scaffold before they fitted the structure into final position. No precautions had been taken to either mitigate or prevent falls from the scaffold.
This had happened on more than one occasion and the inspection also found the scaffolding had no edge protection. He concluded the work was not adequately planned or managed.
DA Cook (Builders) Limited, based in Winchcombe, pleaded guilty at Gloucester Magistrates Court of failing to comply with section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,800.
Copyright © Press Association 2011
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