What happened
A construction company has been found liable for the serious eye injuries sustained by a self-employed worker who was struck in the face when stepping onto a scaffolding platform.
Injury
On 2nd November 2017, the worker was installing cladding to a new build home on Southwell Road, Kirklington. As he stepped onto the scaffolding platform, it flicked up and struck him in the face. This caused him to fall from the scaffolding and sustain serious injuries to his eye.
What should have prevented it
When investigating, the HSE found that Pearson Property Developments Ltd had failed in several areas. They had failed to sufficiently plan for work at height and did not have adequate site induction procedures in place. This meant that they were unable to check the competency of workers on-site. Equipment had not been signed off as safe to use and there was also insufficient supervision on-site. Improper work practices and use of equipment were therefore not seen and rectified.
Costs
Pearson Property Developments Ltd of Mountsorrel, Loughborough, were found guilty of breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 section 4(1) and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 section 5. They were fined £10,000 plus costs of £2,896.80.
Could CRAMS help?
With CRAMS in place, the Competent Person and all admins have a clear view of the competencies of all the workers under their care. Upon joining the company or starting work as a contractor, an account is created and populated with all the relevant CRAMS documents and training modules to ensure that workers are only carrying out tasks they are trained to do. CRAMS also offers functionality for team members to log issues with existing risk assessments should they spot issues with equipment or working methods. This triggers a review from the Competent Person on top of the regular reviews already built into the system as standard. All this can be accessed from any internet-enabled device so supervisors can access this information on-site and rectify issues as they arise.
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