Lightning bolt hits scaffolding on nuclear site

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A lightning strike caused temporary damage to the Dounreay nuclear site in Caithness, it has emerged. No-one was hurt, but a number of electronic systems for carrying out measurements and monitoring were affected and had to be repaired. Lightning hit scaffolding in the fuel cycle area, a high security zone with facilities once used to handle and store nuclear material and waste. The incident came during an electrical storm on 15 January. Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said the plant’s fire and ambulance service stepped up patrols for a time following the lightning strike. Environmental and radioactivity monitoring systems were unaffected by the incident, DSRL said. However, a number of electronic access systems such as turnstiles and fire detection surveillance were. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) have been informed. Buildings in the fuel cycle area were built during the 1950s. Via: www.bbc.co.uk

Mini Walsall industrial estate project will create new scaffolding jobs

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A derelict showroom in the Black Country will be converted into a mini industrial estate creating dozens of jobs, it can be revealed today. Four companies could take over the former Indigo Easyfit conservatories site in Walsall, close to junction 9 of the M6. Newly-formed home improvement company 1st Choice is hoping to start trading there in March, while Central Scaffold Services has also confirmed it intends to open a distribution hub at the West Bromwich Road site. The scaffolding company, which has 80 employees based at Friar Park Road, Wednesbury, has been running for 20 years and hopes the move will help the business expand. Both companies are planning to create new jobs. Two other companies are already in negotiations. Wayne Bottomer, managing director of 1st Choice, which will open a showroom for kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and conservatories, said his company would initially look for five employees with more to follow. About 30 sub-contractors would also be needed. Speaking on behalf of Central Scaffold Services, run by managing director John Dyke, he said some staff would be transferred from the Wednesbury site but more employees would be sought. Mr Bottomer, who formed his company last October, said: “The importance for companies moving to this site is so they can grow. “Some staff will transfer over but there will be about 30 new jobs created from the four companies. “I was in consultancy roles for a number of companies when John approached me and we discussed the feasibility of doing this. We are in negotiations with two companies at the moment.” Plans to change the use of the building, inserting a scaffolding refurbishment area and stone and granite masonry unit, and to install a roller shutter door, have been lodged with Walsall Council. Under the proposals there would be 37 car parking spaces, five less than now, but there would also be four additional spaces for bikes. Via: www.expressandstar.com

Scaffolder wanted by police

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THIS man is wanted by police. Tony Cook, 28, of Westfield, has been released on police bail after being arrested on December 10 on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle. Part of his bail condition was to sign on at Hastings Police Station every Tuesday and Saturday between 10am and 6pm but he has so far failed to do so. Police are now eager to track him down. A spokesman for Hastings Police said that Cook, a scaffolder, is a regular in Westfield pubs and uses a gym in Hastings. Anyone who sees Cook or knows where he might be is urged to call Hastings Police on 0845 6070999. Via:www.hastingsobserver.co.uk

Ladder ban lands city council taxpayers with £1m scaffolding bill

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THE cost of using scaffolding at Stoke-on-Trent’s council houses and public buildings has rocketed by £1 million in just 12 months – after health and safety officials banned ladders. Kier Stoke had charged the city council £423,000 for the use of scaffolding in 2008/09. But taxpayers paid out £1.4 million in 2009/10 after Kier Stoke imposed the ladders ban. It costs £35-a-day to erect scaffolding at a property, with the structures remaining for an average of eight days. Now council officials are trying to reduce the cost by persuading Kier to use cheaper platform towers. Tenants and councillors today described the ladders ban as ‘health and safety gone mad’. City Independents deputy leader Councillor Dave Conway, said: “I’ve warned my wife that if the bathroom light goes we will have to put scaffolding up. “It’s nonsense. Pensioners whose lights have gone outside their homes have had to wait for scaffolding. “It’s health and safety gone mad.” Community Voice councillor Mike Barnes said: “Kier has had a ladder ban across the country since January 2010 after someone fell off a ladder and seriously injured themselves. “Since then, small jobs are being held up by Kier because they need scaffolding and it costs us £35-a-day. “There are pensioners who need a new security light which someone six feet tall could put up by hand, who are having to wait six months because scaffolding is needed.” Tenant David Burton gave up waiting for Kier to change the bulb on the security light outside his home and changed it himself – after standing on his tip-toes. The 37-year-old, of Blurton, said: “I live in a ground-floor flat and don’t get home from work until 11pm, so I need the light. “After three weeks waiting I phoned the council and they said there was a ladder ban so they would have to use scaffolding. “But if I stood on my tip-toes I could reach it myself. “In the end I bought a bulb and changed it myself and it works fine. Kier came out five weeks after I called them but by then it was too late.” Council officials today described the £1.4 million bill as a ‘significant amount’. A spokesman said: “The money was spent to provide safe access to roofs, windows and guttering to carry out necessary housing repairs through our contractor Kier. “We are working with Kier to reduce this cost by introducing new safe and efficient methods of access like platform towers rather than scaffolding. “We are confident that we can carry on reducing the cost with wider use of platform towers.” Via: www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk

Harsco plans to revitalize, add jobs in Harrisburg, Camp Hill

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Industrial services and engineered products company Harsco Corp. announced plans today for revitalizing its Harrisburg Steel operating site, creating 20 jobs. The company plans to invest more than $2 million in the site’s preparation to turn it into a regional super center for its infrastructure business group. Full operations are expected to begin in April. The company has also relocated the senior leadership of its Harsco Metals, Harsco Minerals, Harsco Infrastructure and Harsco Industrial groups to the corporate headquarters in Camp Hill, bringing in approximately 35 senior-level executives and supporting managers. The company has secured nearly 10,000 square feet of additional nearby office space for its corporate functions. The 21-acre Harrisburg operations site, near the Capitol in downtown Harrisburg, will become Harsco’s northeast and mid-Atlantic region super center for rental scaffolding, shoring and forming resources used in the construction and maintenance of building projects, energy plants, airports, highways and civil works facilities. Of the 20 jobs the company expects to create at the site by the end of the year, most will be for handling inventory and equipment maintenance. Via: www.pennlive.com

HSE Press Release: Firms sentenced after Bolton steeplejack falls to death

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HSE Press Release: Firms sentenced after Bolton steeplejack falls to death
Two companies have been fined a total of £85,000 after a steeplejack fell 50 metres to his death from an Edwardian chimney in Bolton, and a colleague was left clinging on for his life.
John Alty
John Alty and another worker were at the top of the disused chimney at Swan Lane Mills in Great Lever on 4 June 2007 when the scaffolding they were on collapsed. The 40-year-old father-of-one from Blackburn was pronounced dead at the scene but his colleague survived by clinging to a ladder on the outside of the chimney. Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd and Ken Brogden Ltd were both prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following Mr Alty’s death. Angela Alty, the mother of his 19-year-old daughter, Jamie Lea, had recently separated from Mr Alty before his death. She said: “Things have been very difficult since John passed away. A big hole has been left in both our lives. Moving on is hard and not one day passes where we don’t think about him and what might have been.
Disused chimney at Swan Lane Mills in Great Lever
“The way his death happened is difficult to come to terms with. I often sit and wonder what if I had given my marriage another go. Maybe we would have gone away and he wouldn’t have been on that chimney. “Going out and socialising with friends at my local pub seems a real chore. The only place I feel happy at the moment is at work, maybe because there I have something else to think about.” Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Mr Alty’s employer, Bailey International, had been hired to carry out repairs to the brickwork on the chimney, and its two employees had been taking down the scaffolding when it gave way.
Two employees had been taking down the scaffolding when it gave way
The HSE investigation concluded that the company had not used strong enough anchor fixings to attach the scaffolding to the chimney, despite knowing that the brickwork at the top was in a poor condition. The Macclesfield-based firm, which employs around 30 people, also failed to check the scaffolding design and to test the fixings before they were used. The court was told that the scaffolding had been damaged on a previous job, and that Heywood-based Ken Brogden had been hired to repair it. But instead of grinding out the joints and welding them back together, the company welded over the weakened joints. HSE Inspector Stuart Kitchingman said: “If the work had been properly managed, and carried out to industry standards, then Mr Alty would still be alive today. “Our investigation found that the most likely cause of the scaffolding collapsing was the weak anchor fixings. But we could not rule out the poorly repaired joints on the scaffolding as a possible cause of Mr Alty’s death. “Working as a steeplejack is a potentially dangerous job, and they need to be able to rely on their employers to provide equipment that keeps them safe. Unfortunately, the scaffolding and fixings that were provided simply weren’t up to the job. Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd, of Grimshaw Lane in Bollington, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 towards the cost of the prosecution at Manchester Crown Court on 28 January 2011. Ken Brogden Ltd, of Manchester Street in Heywood, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £10,000 with costs of £16,000. Last year, more than 4,000 employees suffered a major injury as a result of a fall from height at work and 12 were killed. More information on preventing falls in the workplace is available at: www.hse.gov.uk/falls. Via: www.hse.gov.uk

Death fall companies in court for sentencing

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TWO companies have pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches after an experienced steeplejack fell 300ft to his death from the top of a mill chimney.
Tragic Steeplejack John Alty
John Alty, aged 40, was at the top of the disused chimney at Swan Lane Mills complex in Great Lever in June 2007 when the scaffolding gave way. The father-of-one was pronounced dead at the scene, although his colleague and fellow steeplejack, survived the incident. Following the tragedy, Macclesfieldbased Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd and Heywood-based Ken Brogden Ltd were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after police ruled out any suspicious circumstances. The two companies pleaded guilty to the charges at Trafford Magistrates Court on December 16. Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974. Ken Brogden Ltd has admitted breaching Section 3 (1) of the Act. An inquest into Mr Alty’s death, held in March last year, heard how his employers, Bailey International Steeplejack Company, had been contracted to carry out repairs to the top of the chimney. Mr Alty, from Openshaw Drive, Blackburn, was described as an experienced steeplejack. But the inquest was told he was not wearing a safety harness, which could have saved him as he dismantled the last section of scaffolding at the top of the chimney. Fellow steeplejack, Paul Morgan, said he had worked with Mr Alty many times and he had always been seen wearing a safety harness, a compulsory requirement at the firm. Mr Morgan added it was a “major shock” to discover Mr Alty had not been wearing the safety equipment on the day of his death. The inquest jury ruled Mr Alty’s death was an accident. Mr Alty’s wife, Angela, aged 40, described her husband as a “lovely bloke with a lively character”, who had died doing a job he loved. The couple had separated nine months earlier. Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd and Ken Brogden Ltd will be sentenced today at Manchester Crown Court. Å The chimney from which Mr Alty fell is not connected to the Swan Centre, which is based at Swan Lane Mill 1 and 2. Via: www.theboltonnews.co.uk

Man taken to hospital with head injuries following scaffolding fall in Harpenden

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A MAN was rushed to hospital after falling from scaffolding in Harpenden yesterday. The air ambulance landed close to the scene, on the Common, at around 3.40pm, after receiving reports of a man in his 50s who had suffered head injuries as a result of the fall in Leyton Road. Ambulance service spokesman Gary Sanderson said: “We believe the man fell off scaffolding and landed on wooden planks on the next level below. “When our paramedics arrived at the scene, they found him approximately six feet up, he had received a head injury.” The injured man was assessed at the scene and taken to hospital by paramedics but the air ambulance was not needed. Via: www.stalbansreview.co.uk

Former scaffolder dies after tragic plunged off faulty ladder

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A safety conscious window cleaner and former scaffolder suffered fatal head injuries after falling from his ladder, an inquest heard. Roland Jungbauer, 43, was a former scaffolder turned self-employed window cleaner with a conscientious attitude to safety at work, Wakefield Coroner’s Court was told. There were no witnesses to the fall, which happened as Mr Jungbauer, of Ossett, was working at a house in Grey Court at Outwood, Wakefield, last March 9. Householder Katie Mellor was out when Mr Jungbauer was cleaning her first floor windows. Coroner’s officer Colin Mantell said when she returned home, just before 3pm, Mr Jungbauer told her: “Let me in I’m freezing.” Mr Mantell added: “She opened the door and he collapsed in the doorway.” Mr Jungbauer was taken to Pinderfields Hospital at Wakefield and later transferred to the intensive care unit at Leeds General Infirmary. He did not regain consciousness and died from a severe, traumatic brain injury at LGI seven days later. In a statement read to the court, Mr Jungbauer’s sister Sally said her brother was a “conscientious worker – always aware of his own safety.” She added: “He used to be a scaffolder and was used to working at heights. He did not take risks and to the best of my knowledge he had never fallen from his ladder before.” Miss Jungbauer’s life-long friend and fellow window cleaner Paul Wilkes said in a statement how he noticed after the accident that Mr Jungbauer’s ladders were broken on the third rung up, adding: “I know he only bought the ladders last year. He always kept his equipment in good working order.” Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy coroner Melanie Wiliamson, said: “Tragically, for some reason Mr Jungbauer did fall from his ladders. We do know the third rung up was broken, how that happened we do not know.” He did not regain consciousness and died from a severe, traumatic brain injury at LGI seven days later. In a statement read to the court, Mr Jungbauer’s sister Sally said her brother was a “conscientious worker – always aware of his own safety.” She added: “He used to be a scaffolder and was used to working at heights. He did not take risks and to the best of my knowledge he had never fallen from his ladder before.” Miss Jungbauer’s life-long friend and fellow window cleaner Paul Wilkes said in a statement how he noticed after the accident that Mr Jungbauer’s ladders were broken on the third rung up, adding: “I know he only bought the ladders last year. He always kept his equipment in good working order.” Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy coroner Melanie Wiliamson, said: “Tragically, for some reason Mr Jungbauer did fall from his ladders. We do know the third rung up was broken, how that happened we do not know.” Via: www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

3 Workers Killed, 11 Hurt In Riyadh When Scaffolding Collapsed

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RIYADH: Three workers died and 11 were injured after a scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in Riyadh on Monday, officials said. First Lt. Muhammad Al-Hubail, acting spokesman for the Civil Defense in Riyadh, said the accident happened at Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University. He said the injured workers were taken to the National Guard Hospital. “An investigation has been ordered into the incident. Many Civil Defense units and helicopters participated in the rescue operations and airlifting of those injured to hospital,” he added. Located east of Riyadh, the university was established under the instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to bring together all female colleges in the national capital under one roof. Via:arabnews.com
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