Prosecutions

The Sheffield company pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 in relation to poorly erected scaffolding.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that during an inspection by HSE people were seen working on scaffolding that was extremely unsafe and posed a risk of serious, if not fatal, injuries due to the manner in which it had been constructed.

The HSE had previously inspected the same site just three months prior and ordered all work to be stopped, due to health and safety failings, including problems with the scaffolding.

The company was today fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs for breaching Regulation 8(a) and 8 (b) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Following the hearing HSE Inspector David Bradley commented:

"This company had failed to heed previous health and safety advice which is extremely disappointing. The scaffolding was so dangerous that people should never have been allowed to use it.

This company received extensive advice from HSE going back several years. The company had also been served with 11 prohibition notices for failures to address health and safety issues on site. A recurring theme in this advice is the company's failure to address the risks to people working at height.

The risks of working at height, and the controls required to avert these risks, particularly with scaffolding, are well documented. Falls from height remain the largest cause of fatal and serious injuries in the construction industry. 

We hope today's prosecution serves as a reminder to all companies using scaffolding that they need to ensure it is fit for purpose. Furthermore, HSE will not hesitate to prosecute, even when there has been no incident, should conditions on site be so poor to merit this."