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Posts with the 'Falls' tag
Firm fined £25,000 after worker fell to death
RTAL Ltd of Purley, Surrey - which manufactures items such as handrails and security fencing - has been fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs after a man fell to his death because a protective guard rail had been removed.
Andrew Taylor, aged 29, died on 24 January 2003 when he fell eight metres from a platform whilst installing a kiln.
Managing director of the firm Terry Green was also handed a £2,500 fine and ordered to pay costs of £500, after charges were brought under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Health and Safety Executive Inspector Sandy Carmichael said: "This was a serious breach of obligation to both its own staff and visiting workers, indicative of failure by the company to appreciate the risks from such complex work. Andrew Taylor's tragic and wasteful death could and should have been avoided by straightforward safety precautions."
Source: South Yorkshire Star
Safety warning - fixed rail vertical fall arrest system
The HSE advises against using the HACA fixed rail vertical fall arrest system type 0529.7102 which has recently failed the BS test that represents the appropriate standard for this type of equipment. The device is typically used when climbing ladders or rungs attached to fixed structures.
Further information is in the HSE website, http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/fixedrail011007.htm
Source: HSE Website
Prison sentence expected for skylight manslaughter
A supervisor has been told that prison is inevitable when he appears for sentencing for manslaughter on 29 November.
Paul Alker, 34, died in June, after falling through a skylight at a Wrexham store. Steven Smith, 36, from Rhostyllen, near Wrexham, admitted manslaughter, intending to pervert the course of justice and health and safety breaches.
The charge stated that Smith failed to ensure Mr Alker had sufficient training, knowledge or experience to carry out work at dangerous heights, or to carry out roofing works. He also failed to ensure people working on the roof had safety harnesses.
Smith admitted a second charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of Mr Alker and his colleague Aaron Pugh under the Health and Safety at Work Act. He also admitted a third charge of doing acts intending to pervert the course of justice - by installing safety harnesses after the accident and pretending they had been present.
Source: BBC
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