Randell and Janes Roofing Specialists this week offered a guilty plea to an offence under Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The prosecution followed the fall of a teenage apprentice from a house roof in Carmarthenshire when a fragile roof sheet collapsed beneath him. An HSE investigation found that the contractor had not planned, supervised or carried out the roofing works in a safe manner.
The apprentice fell 3 metres to the ground, fracturing his arm in the accident. The contractor admitted that control measures such as fall arrest equipment; air bags etc. had not been established.
HSE inspector Phil Nicolle commented:
It is disappointing that a company whose primary business is roofing work displayed such significant failings.
There are several ways to reduce the risk of injury from falls and though the company owned a large number of bean bags which would have served this purpose, they were not used.
As is the case in many accidents on construction sites it was found that the site supervisor had not undertaken any health and safety training.
At Ammanford magistrate’s court, the company was fined £2,000 and made to pay the prosecution costs of £1,500.
