Prosecutions

The HSE is warning building contractors involved in constructing basements to make sure that they plan the work properly and install sufficient temporary supports when excavating the foundations of houses.

The warning follows the prosecution of a construction company based in Tunbridge Wells for breaching a prohibition notice, and failing to protect against falls into, and the potential collapse of, excavations at a project to develop a house in London during June 2008.

The court heard that despite advice being given to the company, and a prohibition notice being issued to stop work immediately, they continued to work in excavations approximately three metres deep in a sandy ballast ground, lacking sufficient supports to prevent the ground from collapsing or to stop people from falling into the pits.

The company pleaded guilty at a Magistrates’ Court, to breaching Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Regulation 31(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The court imposed fines of £6,500, £1,000 and £1,000 respectively for the breaches. The court also ordered the company to pay costs of £9,526.29.

An inspector from the HSE commented: “Basement conversions are significant civil engineering projects. They are not akin to normal extension work. If insufficient methods are used to support underpin excavations, then people's lives can be put in jeopardy.

“In this case the sandy content of the soil made the excavation work particularly treacherous and there had already been a partial collapse in one of the pits. One cubic metre of soil weighs well over a tonne and can cause extremely serious or fatal injuries if it suddenly falls onto somebody in an enclosed pit”.