Five separate parties have been sentenced for allowing unsafe work practices and poor welfare standards at a construction site in Upper Norwood.

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified a catalogue of issues at land belonging to a former church on Chevening Road in October 2012 after receiving complaints from a neighbouring school and a member of the public.

Four flats and four homes were being built at the site by Unicorn Services Limited, run by director Yi Long Chen and principal shareholder Mou Qiang Chen, on behalf of Chalice Homes Limited, run by sole director Steven Mooney.

All five appeared at Southwark Crown Court yesterday (9 February) after admitting breaching safety legislation and placing workers at unnecessary risk from injury or illness.

The court heard that failings at the site included:

A mini digger and dumper, both of which were poorly maintained, were left with the keys in the ignition free for anyone to use – despite the fact no-one at the site was trained or qualified to use them
There was no traffic management system, with nothing in place to segregate people from moving machinery – a failing exaggerated by the fact the site was next to a junior school
A raised storage area above a rest room was exposed and unguarded – meaning heavy items could have fallen onto workers below, as could anyone who accessed the area
The site manager was unqualified and could not speak English – so he was unable to communicate with site visitors or delivery drivers and provide any necessary safety briefings
There was no hot water, no wash area or washing up facilities, and no heating – with the general hygiene and sanitation standards described as wholly inadequate
There were no safety records or method statements for any work activity

The court was told that the Chens and Mr Mooney were well known to HSE after serious safety concerns were also noted at another construction site under their control.

In September 2011 HSE served eight Prohibition Notices to stop dangerous work at a site in nearby Sylvan Hill. It resulted in Unicorn Services being prosecuted and Mr Mooney, then the director of another standalone company set up for the development in question, receiving a written warning.

HSE told the court that despite this intervention, the poor safety and welfare standards at Chevening Road proved little had changed, and that it was indicative of a blasé attitude towards the wellbeing of workers.

Mou Qiang Chen, of Gonville Road, Thornton Heath, was fined a total of £2,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) 1974.

Yi Long Chen, of Oriel Close, Mitcham, was fined £1,000 after pleading to a single Section 37 breach.

Their company, Unicorn Services Limited, was fined a total of £9,000 for two breaches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM Regs) and a single HSWA breach.

Steven Mooney, of a registered address on Croydon High Street, was fined £11,000 with £5,000 after pleading guilty to the same HSWA breaches as Mr Mou Qiang Chen.

Chalice Homes, which is no longer trading, was fined a nominal £200 for two further CDM Regs breaches.

All five parties accepted their respective charges on the first day of a trial last October after initially pleading not guilty when the case was first heard by Westminster Magistrates.

After sentencing HSE Inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers commented:

“Although nobody was harmed at the development site in question, the risks were clear – as evidenced by the fact that both the neighbouring school and a member of the public independently contacted HSE with their concerns.

“Given the long history of previous HSE enforcement and advice against the respective parties, the failure to protect workers, as well as others in the vicinity, was totally unacceptable.

“It is extremely disappointing that the defendants made the decision to plead not guilty, elect for a Crown Court trial and then cause numerous delays during the pre-trial procedures. The HSE case and weight of evidence was clear from the outset, and the attitude of only acknowledging any wrongdoing at the last possible moment – in this instance the first day of the trial – is telling.”

An Aberdeen-based building and joinery firm has been sentenced after a worker suffered serious injuries when he fell three metres from scaffolding that he was dismantling.

John William Wilson, then 47 and from Aberdeen, broke his left ankle, damaged the ligaments in his right ankle was knocked unconscious and cut his head. He was in hospital overnight and remained in plaster for six weeks as a result of his injuries.

The specialist Health and Safety Division of COPFS today prosecuted Mr Wilson’s employer, Rae Brown & Company Ltd, for health and safety breaches.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that on 24 July 2012 Mr Wilson was asked by Rae Brown & Company to move the scaffolding and take it to another site. He and a colleague, an apprentice, arrived at the farmhouse owned by the partner of one of the company’s directors where two scaffolding towers had been erected.

The towers had been erected in a narrow space between the farmhouse and a garden wall so that general maintenance work could be carried out.

As Mr Wilson dismantled the structure he removed some elements which left the poles unstable. As the poles moved, the metal board he was standing on moved and fell, taking Mr Wilson with it.

An HSE investigation found that neither Mr Wilson nor the apprentice working alongside him had received any formal training in the use of the type of scaffolding they were asked to work with.

Rae Brown & Company Limited, of Rose Street in Aberdeen, was fined £4,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of Regulations 4 and 8 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Liz Hunter said:

“The risks from falls at height are well known in the construction industry. Erecting and dismantling scaffolds should only be done by trained and skilled persons or under the supervision of such a person because you cannot entirely eliminate the risk of falls.

“No such training or supervision was provided by Rae Brown and Company to Mr Wilson and his apprentice. They should never have been allowed to dismantle scaffolding that had been left unsecured and unsupported in this way.

“The correct method would have used competent erectors following the instructions in the scaffold manual, including safe ladder access and removal of components from below whilst working from a complete platform. The scaffold should have been erected on level ground that was free from debris and other trip hazards.

“As a result of the company’s failings, Mr Wilson sustained injuries that left him unable to work for 11 weeks and it was pure luck that the apprentice was not seriously hurt too.”

Falls from height are the biggest single cause of workplace deaths in the construction industry. Information on improving safety is available at HSE Construction Industry Safety .

An investigation into the death of a worker installing guttering at a home in Llandudno found he was using an unsafe ladder, a court heard today.

Gethin Kirwan, 35, who lived in Hoole, Chester, was working at a property in Llanrhos Road on 4 April 2013 when he fell from the ladder, sustaining a fatal head injury.

Thomas Price, who runs a roofline products’ business, employed Mr Kirwan to carry out the work and was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Wrexham Magistrates’ court today (18 February, 2015).

HSE’s investigation found that the ladder provided by Mr Price was in an extremely poor state. Although HSE accepted the ladder was not responsible for Mr Kirwan’s fall, it did have a number of serious safety defects which had the potential to cause serious incidents. Two other ladders provided for use on the job had similar critical defects.

HSE found the feet of the ladder were worn through, rungs were bent and one was missing. The defects were obvious through even a cursory inspection and made the ladder unfit for use.

Thomas Price, of Marnel Drive, Pentre, Deeside pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and was fined £4000 and ordered to pay £4000 in costs.

The court also granted a Forfeiture & Destruction Order for the ladders.

HSE Inspector Chris Wilcox, speaking after the hearing, said:

“Although Mr Kirwan’s death was not attributable to the ladder it was in an appalling state and should never have been used.

“All work equipment must be maintained in a safe condition for use and checked regularly for any damage. For ladders, a quick and simple visual check should be done to look for any obvious defects.

“The most common and critical issues are worn or missing feet and damage to the rungs and stiles which are very easy to spot.”

An East Lothian firm has been fined for serious safety failings after a worker was left paralysed when he fell almost four metres through a fragile rooflight.

Neil Knox, then 69, of Pencaitland, East Lothian, is confined to a wheelchair after suffering irreparable damage to his spinal cord in the incident on 14 March 2013 as he replaced plastic rooflights on a farm shed in Lauder, in the Scottish Borders.

Jedburgh Sheriff Court was told today (23 Jan) that Mr Knox, a time served and experienced worker without any formal training in roofwork, was employed by David Miller Contracts Ltd to carry out roof repairs at the farm.

Mr Knox had climbed onto the roof using a ladder and crawlerboards to allow him to access the rooflights. He removed three of them before being called down for a tea break.

Mr Knox has no recollection of the incident that followed. A colleague knew he had gone back up onto the roof as he heard him moving about before hearing a loud noise. He found Mr Knox lying on the floor underneath a fourth rooflight which had a large hole in it.

Mr Knox was airlifted to hospital with broken ribs, a broken sternum and punctured lungs. His spine was fractured in two places, damaging his spinal cord, which has left him confined to a wheelchair with no movement or sensation in his legs. He also only has 50% lung efficiency due to partial paralysis of his chest muscles.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that David Miller Contracts Ltd had identified that the roof surface was likely to be fragile but failed to carry out a site-specific risk assessment and subsequently failed to plan the work properly.

The company also failed to identify that the work to replace the rooflights could be done from a working platform beneath the roof, or by using safety nets or harnesses to keep workers safe.

There were no measures in place to prevent someone standing on the fragile roof or rooflights other than the crawlerboards, which did not have any handrails to prevent workers stepping off them.

David Miller Contracts Ltd, of Steading Cottage, Newlands Farm, Gifford, East Lothian, was fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Work At Height Regulations 2005.

Following the case, HSE inspector Ritchie McCrae said:

“This was an entirely avoidable incident. Falling from height is one of the most common reasons for injuries and even fatalities at work.

“David Miller Contracts Ltd should have been aware of the risks and the precautions that needed to be taken before starting the work. The dangers of fragile roofs are well known and consideration should have been given to using a platform underneath the rooflights or installing safety nets.

“The system of work planned by the company was unsafe, resulting in terrible life-changing injuries which have had a profound effect on Mr Knox and his family.”

Falling through fragile roofs and rooflights accounts for almost a fifth of all the fatal incidents which result from falls from height. On average, seven people are killed every year after falling through a fragile roof or rooflight. Many others suffer permanent disabling injuries.