Health and Safety of Concrete Collapse Investigated
The HSE conducted an in-depth investigation in to an incident at John Moores University. Seven construction workers are lucky to be alive following the collapse of 250 tonnes of concrete. It was wet concrete. The incident has cost two companies £100,000 in fines because of the incident. The construction workers were building the new Art and Design Academy for the university when the incident happened.
The court heard about the incident in 2007 when seven workers were able to escape with their lives after concrete fell. Workers were injured and some had issues with burns on their skin and eyes. A few suffered bone fractures. The health and safety audits conducted regarding the incident showed issues with two companies. Wates Construction and MPB Structures were responsible for the supporting scaffolding and concrete. The details were not a part of the plans resulting in an issue with the scaffolding being correctly erected.
Both companies admitted to the health and safety risks in which they placed workers. Wates will pay £50,000 in fines along with £36,000 in additional costs. MPB will also pay £50,000 in fines and additional costs. The incident wherein seven men fell into wet concrete could have been avoided had the structures been put up correctly and had the concrete not had issues. The structure where the concrete was being poured needed to be checked before it was actually used, but it did not lead to the incident.
