Kent scaffolding firm fined £40K following collapse

Kent-based RPS Scaffolding Ltd has been fined following an incident where the scaffolding the company erected collapsed, injuring two workers.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that in August 2020, two workers were injured when the scaffolding they were working from on Thorpebank Road in London collapsed.

An HSE investigation found that RPS Scaffolding Ltd erected a scaffold to enable the exterior of the property to be decorated. The scaffold erected did not conform to standard configuration and it was erected without strength and stability calculations being carried out.

Soon after the two workers accessed the top lift of the scaffold and it collapsed. One of them suffered a fractured shoulder, elbow and wrist while the other suffered a fractured shoulder.

RPS Scaffolding Ltd of Ashford, Kent pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The court fined them £40,000 and awarded full costs of £4,705.16.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Adam Thompson, commented: “The Work at Height Regulations are clear, where scaffolding is erected that does not conform with a generally recognised standard configuration then strength and stability calculations shall be carried out.

“RPS Scaffolding Ltd’s failure to do this resulted in a scaffold that was unsuitable for its use that collapsed within the first morning of its use, injuring two people and putting the public at risk.”