A scaffolding company has been fined £10,000 with £5,628 costs for safety failings after an employee fell through a rooflight.
The company had been contracted to erect access scaffold and perimeter handrails around the asbestos cement roof on a small industrial unit. An employee went up on to the roof to carry out the work but fell through one of the fragile rooflights on the roof. The subsequent HSE investigation found that the work had not being properly planned, or appropriately supervised which led to it being unsafe. As a result the company was fined for breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations.
Falls through fragile materials such as rooflights continue to be a serious concern. Before any work on roofs, particularly fragile roofs, is undertaken, a thorough risk assessment must be carried out in order to identify the potential hazards, plan the work properly and select the correct equipment to protect those carrying out the work.
We offer a range of products, such as the Roof Walk lightweight aluminium walkway, which have been designed specifically to allow work to be carried out on fragile roofs such as in this case.
Our Blog Tackling the issue of fragile roof safety explains in more detail what fragile roofs are and how to protect those working on them.