Aberdeenshire man prosecuted for unsafe work at height
15:18 - 12/03/2010
Aberdeenshire man prosecuted for unsa...
A sole trader has been fined £15,000 for a ‘preventable’ incident in which one of his workers fell from the roof of a farm building and broke his leg in two places.
The incident took place on 20th November 2008 at Little Hilton Farm near Turiff, Aberdeenshire. Mr. Robert Mackie, 36, who lives in the area, was trading as RDM Engineering at the time and had one of his employees fixing a roof sheet onto the roof of a new potato store at the farm.
Mr. Mackie had not planned the work properly or put the appropriate safety measures, such as guard-rails to prevent falls, in place. His failure to efficiently control the height work had disastrous consequences when the employee in question slipped and fell from the roof, landing on an adjacent roof three metres below.
The incident led to a prosecution and fine for Mr. Mackie, who pleaded guilty at Banff Sheriff Court to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The HSE are currently trying to raise awareness of workplace safety through their Shattered Lives campaign, which aims to reduce the number of slips, trips and falls in the workplace. Statistics show that falls from a height are one of the commonest causes of workplace injury and that, during 2008/09 in Scotland, 10 people died and 1,423 were injured while working in construction.
HSE Inspector Liz Standen said: “All employers carrying out work at height must ensure that the risks are fully assessed, the job is thoroughly planned and that suitable equipment is used. There is no excuse for leaving roofs under construction unguarded against falls.
“I find it very frustrating that people continue to be needlessly injured and killed because of a lack of basic planning and simple precautions. […] These incidents are nearly always preventable when using the right equipment for the job.”
We can now offer online training to raise awareness of working at height in a cost effective way. Pete Stock, E-Learning Account Manager, explains: “Working at height is extremely dangerous and this makes it essential that all employers ensure their employees are aware of the dangers by undertaking adequate health and safety training. We offer a course through our e-learning range, to help to raise awareness of Working at Height, which can prove useful for employees in situations similar to this.”
To find out more about the Working at Height Awareness training, or any of our 40 e-learning titles, please contact us today.
The incident took place on 20th November 2008 at Little Hilton Farm near Turiff, Aberdeenshire. Mr. Robert Mackie, 36, who lives in the area, was trading as RDM Engineering at the time and had one of his employees fixing a roof sheet onto the roof of a new potato store at the farm.
Mr. Mackie had not planned the work properly or put the appropriate safety measures, such as guard-rails to prevent falls, in place. His failure to efficiently control the height work had disastrous consequences when the employee in question slipped and fell from the roof, landing on an adjacent roof three metres below.
The incident led to a prosecution and fine for Mr. Mackie, who pleaded guilty at Banff Sheriff Court to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The HSE are currently trying to raise awareness of workplace safety through their Shattered Lives campaign, which aims to reduce the number of slips, trips and falls in the workplace. Statistics show that falls from a height are one of the commonest causes of workplace injury and that, during 2008/09 in Scotland, 10 people died and 1,423 were injured while working in construction.
HSE Inspector Liz Standen said: “All employers carrying out work at height must ensure that the risks are fully assessed, the job is thoroughly planned and that suitable equipment is used. There is no excuse for leaving roofs under construction unguarded against falls.
“I find it very frustrating that people continue to be needlessly injured and killed because of a lack of basic planning and simple precautions. […] These incidents are nearly always preventable when using the right equipment for the job.”
We can now offer online training to raise awareness of working at height in a cost effective way. Pete Stock, E-Learning Account Manager, explains: “Working at height is extremely dangerous and this makes it essential that all employers ensure their employees are aware of the dangers by undertaking adequate health and safety training. We offer a course through our e-learning range, to help to raise awareness of Working at Height, which can prove useful for employees in situations similar to this.”
To find out more about the Working at Height Awareness training, or any of our 40 e-learning titles, please contact us today.
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