A London construction company and its sole director have been fined after a mobile scaffold tower overturned on Putney High Street, seriously injuring two members of the public.
Add Prop Limited was acting as principal contractor on a project to convert a commercial building into residential flats when the incident happened on 19 July 2023.
Operatives assembled the tower scaffold under the supervision of company director Atif Riaz, who was also acting as project manager and site supervisor.
The tower had been assembled incorrectly and without adequate measures to separate it from members of the public. It was then covered with sheeting, which caught the wind and acted as a sail.
The structure overturned onto the busy high street, striking and trapping two pedestrians and causing serious injuries.
Tower not erected by competent workers
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the scaffold had not been assembled or inspected by adequately trained and competent people.
It had also not been erected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or recognised industry guidance.
HSE said Add Prop Limited failed to ensure the temporary structure was designed, installed and maintained so it could withstand foreseeable loads, including the effect of wind on the sheeting.
The company had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice relating to unsafe work involving a tower scaffold at another site.
Inspectors also found that Riaz had been negligent in his roles as sole director and project manager. Despite the established risks of wind loading on scaffold structures, neither he nor the company adequately considered those risks before the tower was sheeted.
Following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Add Prop Limited was found guilty of breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £7,000 in costs.
Riaz was found guilty of an offence under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £1,730 and ordered to pay the same amount in costs.
HSE inspector Daniel Burton said members of the public had a right to expect scaffolding they passed was safe and properly installed.
“The risks associated with scaffold towers and wind loading are well known within the construction industry. This kind of incident simply should not happen,” he said.
“HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies and, where appropriate, directors who fail to do all that they should to keep workers and members of the public safe.”
