A construction company and its sole director have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a mobile tower scaffold fell onto a busy high street, seriously injuring two members of the public.
The scaffold had been put up during conversion of a commercial building into flats. It had been assembled incorrectly, with inadequate measures to separate it from members of the public, before being covered in sheeting. The director was the project manager and had supervised its assembly. The sheeting acted as a sail and the scaffold overturned in the wind. Two members of the public were trapped and suffered serious injuries.
An investigation by the HSE found that the company had failed to ensure that the scaffold was designed, installed and maintained so that it could withstand foreseeable loads, including those created by wind acting on the sheeting. It had not been assembled or inspected by adequately trained and competent persons, and not been put up in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions or established industry guidance. The director had been negligent in his role as both sole director and project manager.
The company, which had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice in relation to unsafe work involving a tower scaffold at another site, was found guilty of breaching Regulation 19(2)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,000. The director was found guilty of an offence under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £1,730 and ordered to pay the same amount in costs.