Workers escaped major injury from health and safety failure
Workers on a school roof fell, but were able to get away with minor injuries. The school was in Didsbury. The court heard about the case where they were on the roof to fix a leak at Barlow Moor High School. One of the workers leaned on the wooden handrail that then collapsed. The other worker tried to grab him, but they both fell onto the scaffold platform that had protruding metal poles. It was about a 1.5 metre fall. The construction company was fined due to the health and safety at work incident in 2011.
The workers were about three metres off the ground working on the major refurbishment project. One worker suffered from a twisted right knee and bruising on the ribs, and the other suffered from a fractured rib. The metal poles on the scaffolding could have impaled one or both workers. This is why they were lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries. Workstation risk assessments could have accounted for the poles, making certain they were unable to impale a person. The company will pay 6,500 pounds in a fine and 2,500 pounds in court costs.
It is important that workers are protected. A business has a duty of care to ensure that no one is harmed while working on a construction site. Winter and Company offers several courses including a workstation risk assessment training course. If you feel your safety and health might be lacking at the workplace, this course can help you fix any holes there might be. Fines are something a company should not have to deal with, especially when proper care is provided for workers. By getting the proper training now you can certainly avoid any issue with safety and health later on.
