Stone company in court for ignoring safety risks
Portland Stone Firms Ltd fined £20,000 after worker falls through fragile roof and on to concrete floor
A STONE quarrying company in Portland, Dorset, has been fined for safety breaches after a worker was seriously injured when he fell more than 4m on to a concrete floor while replacing roof lights on a fragile roof.
Weymouth Magistrates’ Court heard that the 50-year-old employee was on the fragile roof of Portland Stone Firms Ltd’s main depot in Easton Street when the incident happened on 16 August 2012.
The man was using a ladder and the roof purlins to gain access to the work site because the cherry picker he usually used had been removed from the site by the company.
While replacing a light, he stepped back off the purlins and fell 4.5m through the fragile roof and on to the concrete floor inside the building, sustaining a large gash to the back of his head and breaking part of his hip bone. He had to undergo a number of hip operations and later lost his job with the company.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the planning and supervision of the work was inadequate, suitable equipment was not provided, and Portland Stone Firms Ltd failed to ensure a safe system of work.
The HSE told the court that safety measures such as working platforms fitted with guardrails, proper crawling boards, edge protection around the perimeter of the roof, safety nets under the roof or a harness system to mitigate any fall should have been put in place by the company.
Portland Stone Firms Ltd pleaded guilty to two breaches of health and safety law including a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined a total of £20,000 and ordered to pay £18,992 costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Mehtaab Hamid said: ‘Employers must ensure that all work at height, particularly work on fragile roofs, is properly planned and organized and that employees are protected from falls. In this case, Portland Stone Firms neglected to implement basic safety measures to minimize the risk of falls and failed in their duty to ensure the health and safety of their employee.’
