Another week and yet another report on a prosecution following a fall through a fragile skylight.
A roofing company has been fined £18,000 with costs after an employee fell through a fragile rooflight. The employee and two colleagues were working on an asbestos cement roof as part of a re-roofing contract on an adjoining industrial unit. The employee fell some 3m to the ground and suffered injuries to his head, wrist and hip.
The HSE investigation found that the work had not been properly planned or adequately supervised. As a result the company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations which requires that "every employer shall ensure that work at height is properly planned, appropriately supervised; and carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe" The Regulation also states that planning should include the selection of work equipment in accordance with Regulation 7.
Under Regulation 7, collective protection measures must be given priority over personal protection measures. In this case, simple measures such as using collective protection in the form of a walkway system that has been designed specifically for use on a fragile roof could have prevented the accident by protecting those working on the roof from the fragile skylight.
Our Solution
Our Roof Walk system has been designed specifically for situations such as this and consists of an open mesh walkway that is lightweight, easily portable and suitable for fragile roofs.
Click here to watch our Roof Walk video and see for yourself how easy it is to assemble and use the walkway system.