A former scaffolding company director has been fined after two employees were injured in a scaffold collapse.
A 26-year-old man working for Robert Leslie Butler fractured his left ankle and right heel as he jumped six metres from a scaffold tower at student accommodation on Radford Boulevard, Nottingham, on 24 January 2011, as it fell to the ground.
Image source: ppconstructionsafety.com
A second employee, 46, was working at a height of around 10 metres. He managed to hang on to the scaffold as it fell. It crashed into the building opposite and he was able to slide down to the ground, suffering minor injuries.
The men, both of whom have asked not to be named, were in the process of dismantling the scaffold.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the scaffold tower had not been erected to industry standards and had not been fitted with adequate ties to secure it to the building.
Robert Leslie Butler, 46, of Owthorpe Close, Top Valley, Nottingham pleaded guilty breaching Regulations 4(1)(c) and 8(b)(ii) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by virtue of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Today Nottingham magistrates fined him a total of £3,000 and ordered him to pay costs of £2,000.
After the hearing HSE inspector Kevin Wilson said:
“The two men were extremely luck to survive this incident. There was no safe sequence of work in place to dismantle the tower. The fact the scaffold only had ties at the top meant that as soon as they were removed a collapse was inevitable.
“Work at height should be properly planned and a safe system of work developed. Mr Butler failed his employees in both respects.”
At the time of the incident Mr Butler was director of RB & Son Scaffolding Limited. The company has since been dissolved.
Via: hse.gov.uk
Wates Construction and MPB Structures have been fined a total of £100,000 over an incident in 2007 when seven construction workers were injured after scaffolding collapsed at Liverpool John Moores University’s Art & Design Academy.Liverpool Crown Court heard that workers had been pumping concrete onto the third floor of the building for most of the day on 19 September 2007 when the supporting scaffolding holding up the concrete suddenly collapsed. The workers’ injuries included cement burns to their skin and eyes, and bone fractures.
The Health & Safety Executive investigation found both the principal contractor for the project, Wates Construction, and the concrete subcontractor, MPB Structures, allowed the supporting scaffolding to be erected from a preliminary design, clearly marked ‘for discussion and pricing purposes only.’
The drawing did not include all the information needed to erect the scaffolding correctly or safely. The companies also failed to ensure the scaffolding was checked before allowing the concrete to be poured.
Both companies admitted breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 by putting workers at risk. Wates Construction, of Station Approach in Leatherhead, Surrey, was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £35,591 in prosecution costs on 10 April 2012. MPB Structures, of Crucible Road in Corby, Northamptonshire, was fined £50,000 with costs of £35,362.
Susan Ritchie, HSE inspector, said after the hearing: “This incident resulted in seven men falling roughly ten metres onto wet concrete which contained various bits of metal and wood.
“The companies should have made sure they had an appropriate design they could use to build from, and that the structure was inspected before the concrete was poured.
“Instead, more than 250 tonnes of concrete was poured onto scaffolding incapable of taking such loads and the inevitable happened – it collapsed. These basic errors could easily have resulted in several people losing their lives.
“This incident should act as a stark reminder that if you fail to plan and manage projects properly then there is a real potential for things to go seriously wrong.”
Last year, there were 50 workplace deaths and nearly 3,000 major injuries reported in the construction industry in Great Britain.
Wates Construction was charged with breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”
Dave Smith, chief operating officer for Wates Group, commented: “Safety is a core value at Wates and we remain committed to continuously improving our health and safety policies and procedures. We undertook our own internal investigation following this incident and have fully incorporated the findings and recommendations into our induction, training arrangements and policies.”
MPB Structures was charged with breaching Section 3(1) of the same Act. The section states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
Via: placenorthwest.co.uk
Balham High Road, Wandsworth has been closed off after scaffolding erected outside a building on the street collapsed this morning.
Firefighters were called at 3.20am to remove the 10m by 8m scaffolding tower, which was lying in the road and on the pavement opposite Sainsbury’s.
An infra-red camera and lights were used to make sure nobody was trapped underneath. A spokesman confirmed no one was hurt in the incident.
The road remained closed at 9am and traffic in the area has been severely affected.
Via: yourlocalguardian.co.uk
Cape has today announced the award of a two year contract extension from Wood Group PSN for fabric maintenance services to support the Shell Northern Plants at the St Fergus and Mossmorran facilities.St Fergus Natural Gas terminal
The integrated multi discipline contract covers the provision of access, Insulation, Asbestos management, surface preparation and coatings and is a key contract award to the Cape UK team.
Wood Group PSN is the largest provider of “Brown-field” services to the oil and gas industry. With a global network of over 26 000 people in more than 35 countries, they offer high integrity services that optimise the performance of facilities, maintain production, reduce operating costs, ensure asset integrity and extend the operating life of fields.
The contract award reinforces the long term relationship that WGPSN and Cape have forged in delivering safe and reliable services to the Shell Northern Plants, and Cape look forward to taking this new phase of the relationship forward to deliver long term sustainable value for its customer.
UK scaffold company NSG UK has opened a new office at the Wilton Centre on Teeside in northeast England. Operations in the region will be managed by Steve Raby.Tim Walker, NSG UK general manager, said: “The North East is a thriving centre for industry, manufacturing and engineering, and we felt the time was right to develop a site presence in the region. There is significant investment planned for the Teeside area which already has important industrial market and we are keen to capitalise on our longstanding relationships in the region and to play a part in its development.”
“This expansion is another sign of our commitment to growth and the aim of becoming the UK’s leading scaffolding and industrial services provider.”
NSG is owned by Montpelier, France, based Altrad.
Jason Gibbs
Advanced Scaffolder Jason Gibbs has set up a You Tube Channel in the hope of sharing to the world his day to day experiences of working as a scaffolder.
The series of videos gives you a first hand look into the world of a working scaffolder. Over the coming months you will see some of the great places he has worked and the sights he has seen from some of the tallest buildings in London.
httpv://youtu.be/mH7Ti6zXElo
Jason’s Comments: With the Beamwork done, we started taking the lump up – mostly 2 handed, its been hard going, but we’re upto the 4th floor… with another to be based later in the week on the same site thats 260ft high – which could be one of, if not the biggest Tube and Fitting Staircase in the world.
French scaffolding group Altrad has stepped up its expansion in the UK and added two more businesses to its collection of access firms.The latest round of deals sees the group take on nationwide access specialist Generation Hire & Sales and Midlands-based MTD Scaffolding.
Generation Hire turns over around £40m and employs 220 staff, operating across 14 locations.
It sells and rents non mechanical access equipment, scaffolding, system scaffolding, fencing and some light access products.
Mark Clifford, managing director, and Alan Wilkinson, commercial and financial director, will continue with the business.
To date Altrad has bought up BarOmix, Belle Group, Beaver 84 and NSG.
MTD was acquired through NSG business to strengthen its offering to the social housing sector.
The Deeside firms recently spent £500,000 on the Altrad Plettac Contur System Scaffolding, considered to be one of the most advanced in the UK.
Ray Neilson, managing director of Altrad subsidiary Altrad Belle UK, said: “This generation Hire acquisition forms part of the bigger plan to provide the UK market with products and services from Altrad, which specialises in the manufacturing and sales of scaffolding, cement mixers and wheelbarrows, together with providing additional services in the access sector.”
Altrad now has over 60 companies with the majority being located in Europe and several outside of Europe across the world.
Neilson added that Altrad was keen to hear from product and service related companies that are interested in joining the group.
Via: constructionenquirer.com
A comprehensive scaffolding access system provided by Harsco Infrastructure has enabled the refurbishment of an historic bridge at Mizen Head, on the Southern tip of Ireland.
The 50-metre long bridge spans a dramatic sea gorge 45-metres below, and connects the mainland of County Cork with Cloghan Island. The original reinforced concrete structure had been in place for 100 years, but its location and exposure to the elements had caused it to deteriorate, and it was in need of major refurbishment.
Harsco Infrastructure designed and installed a scaffolding solution using its CUPLOK® system. This provided full access to all areas of the bridge so that refurbishment could be carried out.
Harsco Infrastructure’s John Haffey commented: “The Mizen Head Footbridge is a popular landmark in this particular corner of Ireland, attracting a great deal of visitors. It is great news that the public can continue to enjoy the access it provides to Cloghan Island. It was clear that the bridge needed refurbishment, and our CUPLOK® scaffolding system offered the ideal platform for that to happen. Safety is always a major priority for Harsco, and the location of this project meant that it posed particular challenges in that area. It is testament to the versatility of our CUPLOK® system that we were able to achieve the objectives while still ensuring the highest levels of safety.”
Harsco’s CUPLOK® scaffolding system is a fully galvanised, multi-purpose steel system scaffold for general access, shoring and supporting vertical loads. Its versatility means it is ideal for a wide range of applications including continuous façade, circular scaffold, birdcage access and staircase access. It can be used in many projects, including renovation scaffolding, façade scaffolding, masonry scaffolding and support or staircase towers.
The UK Contractors Group (UKCG) which represents some 30 leading construction contractors (representing over a third of the total UK output on construction turnover) have recently agreed to support the popular guidance produced by the NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation), ‘Guide to Appointing and Managing Scaffolding Contractors’The document which has had over 1200 requests since its launch in the summer of 2011 has been reviewed by the UKCG and they has agreed that the guidance (which is available free to all of industry) is appropriate for UKCG members to work to.
Stephen Ratcliffe, Director of UKCG states…
“UKCG’s aim is to aspire to world class standards of best practice for UK construction and we are pleased to co-brand this guidance from the NASC as it complements our objectives perfectly. We recognise that NASC sets the standards for scaffolding in the UK and this guidance makes sound logical sense for all construction contractors to adhere to. ”
The guidance is a free specification document intended to provide advice and instruction for all organisations (or individuals) who are responsible for appointing, monitoring or managing scaffolding contractors, the guidance is appropriate for all sizes of construction contractors.
Whether the user is a Client, Project/Site Manager, Surveyor, CDM Coordinator, Estimator, Planner or Designer the document provides advice on the current best practice for scaffolding. This document could also be used to accompany any Tender or Pre-Qualification document.
The risk of an accident or injury to either operatives or the general public can be greatly reduced by properly planning scaffolding and to do this it is important to know what to demand from your scaffolding contractor at every stage of the process.
Rob Lynch, NASC President states…
“The demand for this guidance is a signal that industry is increasingly prepared to take the risks associated with scaffolding seriously. The UKCG’s support of this guidance will accelerate the adoption of this best practice across the construction sector. The NASC membership have all signed up to this best practice, employing one of the 204 NASC contracting members will therefore provide a significant degree of comfort to any contractor or client.’
The 15 pages of criteria are intended to improve the quality of all scaffold structures erected on any site and in accordance with current legislation, guidance and protocol. The content includes…
Scaffold types
Regulations, codes of practice and best practice
Competence
Scaffolders Safety and PPE
Scaffolding design
Minimum scaffold requirements
Scaffold handover and statutory inspections
Risk assessments and method statements
Summary of Scaffolder cards
Scaffold inspection reporting
The NASC encourages all scaffolding contractors to adopt this guidance as soon as possible in an attempt to move all scaffolding companies up to a position of current best practice, legislation and safety standards.
The guidance is provided in an editable Microsoft Word document format allowing the user to add any local variations their particular organisation may have.
The guidance document is available on request from the NASC, via [email protected] and is available to UKCG members via the UKCG website.News Source: nasc.org.uk
The death of a retired Dundee scaffolder after he fell while on a ”homer” last summer was a ”tragic accident,” a fatal accident inquiry has been told.George Carr should have been wearing a harness while working on scaffolding which had no guard rail due to the method it was being dismantled, a Health and Safety Executive expert said.
But Isabelle Martin also stated that a criminal prosecution was not appropriate as neither Mr Carr nor his workmateDavid Duff was in charge of the work at a house inDundee’s Somerville Place when he fell four and a half metres on June 16.
Sheriff Tom Hughes heard that Mr Carr — who was 67 and lived in Fintry Drive — was declared dead in an ambulance despite the efforts of householder Stewart Clark and paramedics. The cause of Mr Carr’s death was later recorded as multiple injuries from the blunt force trauma of falling from height.
Ms Martin told the inquiry both men were equally experienced and there was ”no instruction from either of them to each other”.
She told the inquiry: ”Mr Carr should have known that a harness should be worn when erecting or dismantling scaffolding and he wasn’t wearing one.”
She said the scaffolding should have been taken down in a ”progressive” manner and a guard rail should have been in place.
The scaffolding had been dismantled from east to west instead of from top to bottom, she said, which resulted in there being no guard rail, while a harness could have prevented the fall.
She agreed with a suggestion from solicitor Gary McIlravey, for Mr Duff, that the scaffolding had been erected as a ”favour” and that in general terms with the people who did this type of work as homers ”safety guidelines are not always adhered to”.
She replied: ”They should be but there is evidence of that.”
Ms Martin also agreed that the two men had worked together for such a long time they ”just got on with it”.
Asked if she considered what happened as a ”tragic accident,” she replied: ”Yes.”
She also agreed that in her report she stated that Mr Duff was not solely responsible for the work and that both men knew equally well how to properly erect and dismantle the scaffolding.
Earlier the inquiry heard Mr Carr was ”fit and able” to complete the task.
Householder Mr Clark said friend and neighbour Michael Garty had suggested that he knew of someone who could help with scaffolding for roof repairs in May last year. That led to Mr Carr’s friend and workmate of 45 years Mr Duff erecting scaffolding at the front of Mr Clark’s home.
It was when Mr Clark asked Mr Duff to return to move the scaffolding to the rear of the property that Mr Carr’s fall took place.
Mr Garty said he had worked in the scaffolding industry for nearly 30 years and had some spare scaffolding which workers at his offshore engineering company used for training. He told the inquiry that it was this, modular scaffolding which had been lent to Mr Clark as a favour.
”Mr Duff and Mr Carr have been foremen on projects we have worked on,” Mr Garty said. ”George had continued working offshore when he was 66 and he could have continued on. He was an extremely fit and able man and he had no obvious health issues.”
The sheriff will issue his findings at a later date.
Via: thecourier.co.uk
Liverpool Crown Court heard that workers had been pumping concrete onto the third floor of the building for most of the day on 19 September 2007 when the supporting scaffolding holding up the concrete suddenly collapsed. The workers’ injuries included cement burns to their skin and eyes, and bone fractures.
The Health & Safety Executive investigation found both the principal contractor for the project, Wates Construction, and the concrete subcontractor, MPB Structures, allowed the supporting scaffolding to be erected from a preliminary design, clearly marked ‘for discussion and pricing purposes only.’
The drawing did not include all the information needed to erect the scaffolding correctly or safely. The companies also failed to ensure the scaffolding was checked before allowing the concrete to be poured.
Both companies admitted breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 by putting workers at risk. Wates Construction, of Station Approach in Leatherhead, Surrey, was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £35,591 in prosecution costs on 10 April 2012. MPB Structures, of Crucible Road in Corby, Northamptonshire, was fined £50,000 with costs of £35,362.
Susan Ritchie, HSE inspector, said after the hearing: “This incident resulted in seven men falling roughly ten metres onto wet concrete which contained various bits of metal and wood.
“The companies should have made sure they had an appropriate design they could use to build from, and that the structure was inspected before the concrete was poured.
“Instead, more than 250 tonnes of concrete was poured onto scaffolding incapable of taking such loads and the inevitable happened – it collapsed. These basic errors could easily have resulted in several people losing their lives.
“This incident should act as a stark reminder that if you fail to plan and manage projects properly then there is a real potential for things to go seriously wrong.”
Last year, there were 50 workplace deaths and nearly 3,000 major injuries reported in the construction industry in Great Britain.
Wates Construction was charged with breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”
Dave Smith, chief operating officer for Wates Group, commented: “Safety is a core value at Wates and we remain committed to continuously improving our health and safety policies and procedures. We undertook our own internal investigation following this incident and have fully incorporated the findings and recommendations into our induction, training arrangements and policies.”
MPB Structures was charged with breaching Section 3(1) of the same Act. The section states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
Via: placenorthwest.co.uk 
The latest round of deals sees the group take on nationwide access specialist Generation Hire & Sales and Midlands-based MTD Scaffolding.
Generation Hire turns over around £40m and employs 220 staff, operating across 14 locations.
It sells and rents non mechanical access equipment, scaffolding, system scaffolding, fencing and some light access products.
Mark Clifford, managing director, and Alan Wilkinson, commercial and financial director, will continue with the business.
To date Altrad has bought up BarOmix, Belle Group, Beaver 84 and NSG.
MTD was acquired through NSG business to strengthen its offering to the social housing sector.
The Deeside firms recently spent £500,000 on the Altrad Plettac Contur System Scaffolding, considered to be one of the most advanced in the UK.
Ray Neilson, managing director of Altrad subsidiary Altrad Belle UK, said: “This generation Hire acquisition forms part of the bigger plan to provide the UK market with products and services from Altrad, which specialises in the manufacturing and sales of scaffolding, cement mixers and wheelbarrows, together with providing additional services in the access sector.”
Altrad now has over 60 companies with the majority being located in Europe and several outside of Europe across the world.
Neilson added that Altrad was keen to hear from product and service related companies that are interested in joining the group.
Via: constructionenquirer.com 
The 50-metre long bridge spans a dramatic sea gorge 45-metres below, and connects the mainland of County Cork with Cloghan Island. The original reinforced concrete structure had been in place for 100 years, but its location and exposure to the elements had caused it to deteriorate, and it was in need of major refurbishment.
George Carr should have been wearing a harness while working on scaffolding which had no guard rail due to the method it was being dismantled, a Health and Safety Executive expert said.
But Isabelle Martin also stated that a criminal prosecution was not appropriate as neither Mr Carr nor his workmateDavid Duff was in charge of the work at a house inDundee’s Somerville Place when he fell four and a half metres on June 16.
Sheriff Tom Hughes heard that Mr Carr — who was 67 and lived in Fintry Drive — was declared dead in an ambulance despite the efforts of householder Stewart Clark and paramedics. The cause of Mr Carr’s death was later recorded as multiple injuries from the blunt force trauma of falling from height.
Ms Martin told the inquiry both men were equally experienced and there was ”no instruction from either of them to each other”.
She told the inquiry: ”Mr Carr should have known that a harness should be worn when erecting or dismantling scaffolding and he wasn’t wearing one.”
She said the scaffolding should have been taken down in a ”progressive” manner and a guard rail should have been in place.
The scaffolding had been dismantled from east to west instead of from top to bottom, she said, which resulted in there being no guard rail, while a harness could have prevented the fall.
She agreed with a suggestion from solicitor Gary McIlravey, for Mr Duff, that the scaffolding had been erected as a ”favour” and that in general terms with the people who did this type of work as homers ”safety guidelines are not always adhered to”.
She replied: ”They should be but there is evidence of that.”
Ms Martin also agreed that the two men had worked together for such a long time they ”just got on with it”.
Asked if she considered what happened as a ”tragic accident,” she replied: ”Yes.”
She also agreed that in her report she stated that Mr Duff was not solely responsible for the work and that both men knew equally well how to properly erect and dismantle the scaffolding.
Earlier the inquiry heard Mr Carr was ”fit and able” to complete the task.
Householder Mr Clark said friend and neighbour Michael Garty had suggested that he knew of someone who could help with scaffolding for roof repairs in May last year. That led to Mr Carr’s friend and workmate of 45 years Mr Duff erecting scaffolding at the front of Mr Clark’s home.
It was when Mr Clark asked Mr Duff to return to move the scaffolding to the rear of the property that Mr Carr’s fall took place.
Mr Garty said he had worked in the scaffolding industry for nearly 30 years and had some spare scaffolding which workers at his offshore engineering company used for training. He told the inquiry that it was this, modular scaffolding which had been lent to Mr Clark as a favour.
”Mr Duff and Mr Carr have been foremen on projects we have worked on,” Mr Garty said. ”George had continued working offshore when he was 66 and he could have continued on. He was an extremely fit and able man and he had no obvious health issues.”
The sheriff will issue his findings at a later date.
Via: thecourier.co.uk