On the 10th April, Safestyle were fined £850,000 after a worker fell from his ladder and broke his knee cap.
On 1st March 2017, a window installed was installing a first-floor window at a property in Doncaster. The ladder was not footed or tied, and after falling 3 metres, the worker required surgery to his knee.
HSE found Safestyle’s system for working at height was inadequate. Rather than installing windows from the inside, ladders were used on the outside and added serious risk. There were no supervisions in place and workers were left on their own.
Safestyle pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were fine £850,000 with £1083 in costs.
The HSE Inspector Stuart Whitemsith said: “This incident could easily have been prevented had the company implemented reasonably practicable precautions.
“Such precautions include having effective and enforced safe systems of work, whereby windows are installed internally where possible, or by using suitable access solutions which provide edge protection, and having a formal system in place to ensure works are appropriately supervised.’’
Working from height accidents can be prevented. Park City offers training which improves the basic skills and techniques of working at heights to national standards, which you can find out more about here.
