Falls 'biggest cause of death' in construction industry

12:12:00 Tuesday 27th July 2010

Substantial fines have been handed out to a construction company following an investigation which found that it had failed to protect its workers from falls at height.

Following the investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, (HSE) at Gee Construction Ltd's Caerphilly site, a number of failings, including unguarded lift shafts on the first and second floors and inadequate edge protection to prevent workers from falls and other workplace accidents, were discovered.

Falls are the biggest cause of death within the construction industry - statistics from 2008/2009 show that 53 people died in the construction industry, 21 of which were as a result of a fall from a height greater than two metres.

At Caerphilly Magistrates Court, Gee Construction pleaded guilty to breaching of Regulation 6 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was issued with a £10,000 fine and ordered to pay £4,514.25 in costs.

HSE inspector, David Kirkpatrick said, “When we visited the site, we found clear failings that left workers at risk of falling from height, and it was necessary to stop all activity above ground floor level until safe systems of work were put in place.”

“This case must serve as a warning to companies of the need to ensure working at height is properly managed.”

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