Prosecutions

The labourer employed by a contractor who had been contracted to work on the third level of a loading tower of scaffolding that had been erected as part of construction work taking place in Glasgow. The contractor had been contracted as stonemasons on the site by the main construction company.

On 26 April 2007, the labourer fell to the ground from the scaffold loading tower platform. He died later from his injuries. A single guard rail was found on the ground close to where the labourer was discovered.

Following the incident, inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that there was no safe system of work in place for loading materials onto the loading tower, nor had suitable assessment of the risks involved been made. The investigation also revealed that the loading tower did not have sufficient guard rails and toe boards and that neither company had ensured that the tower and access scaffolding was properly inspected on a regular basis.

Both companies were found guilty of health and safety breaches at an earlier trial. The construction company was fined £200,000 for breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc 1974 Act. The stonemason was fined £200,000 for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The HSE Inspector for Construction said:

"What happened to the labourer was entirely preventable and would not have happened if the proper steps had been taken.

"Loading up operations at scaffold loading towers are repeated on construction sites across Scotland probably thousands of times a day.

"There is no excuse for the contractors not to have agreed procedures as to how this work was to be done and ensured that this routine work was carried out safely.

"Where vital edge protection is removed temporarily to allow loading up to take place steps must be taken to ensure persons cannot fall during that work."