Importance of Workstation Risk Assessments
Safety and health in the workplace is a serious matter. Evidence of how safety and health can be compromised in the work place continues to abound as incidents continue to occur. An executive of a scaffolding company is going to be fined for endangering two workers. These workers were injured when the scaffold collapsed. One man was 26 at the time of the 2011 incident. He suffered from a fractured right heel and left ankle. He had to jump six metres from the scaffold as it collapsed. The other worker was 46 at the time. He fell approximately ten metres though he was holding on to the scaffold as it fell. He was lucky to suffer only minor injuries.
The scaffold was not erected properly and it was found that there were issues in understanding how to put the scaffold together. The executive was investigated for the incident by the HSE during health and safety audits. The HSE found him guilty of work at height regulations thus he has been fined £3,000 and an additional £2,000 for other costs.
The men were lucky that their injuries were limited to fractures and minor injuries. When working at heights workstation risk assessments are imperative. The employer being fined did not check his employee’s work with the scaffold being erected. This is part of the reason he was found guilty. If reasonable actions had taken place, the workers would likely have been fine and unharmed during their workday.
