Firm fined £85 over worker's 60ft fall death
A BRISTOL building company has been fined for "persistent and systematic failures" that led to a worker's death in a fall at one of its sites.
But because Febrey Ltd has gone into liquidation the fine levelled was just £85. A judge said that had the company, whose director Michael Febrey faces sentencing at a later date, still been in business it would have been fined £250,000.
Swansea Crown Court heard that Russell Samuel was dismantling a scaffold ladder access platform ready for the installation of the roof and staircase on the fourth floor of the city's Meridian Quay apartment development in Swansea in January 2008, when he fell approximately 60 feet to the ground below, narrowly missing carpenter Raymond Haines, who was working directly below.
Mr Samuel, 40, suffered multiple injuries during his fall, including a fractured skull. He was taken to Morriston Hospital but died two days later.
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The father-of-two, from Porth in Wales, was self-employed and contracted by concrete structures builder Febrey Ltd to work as a scaffolder at the site.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found the defendant, Febrey Ltd, had "inadequate and ineffective" safety management arrangements in place and there was "little or no communication, information and instruction provided to its workforce".
The HSE also said the on-site management team was not adequately trained, despite repeated warnings by its health and safety consultants, and this led to "persistent and systematic failures" to control risks of working at height.
Principal contractor Carillion Construction Ltd, of Wolverhampton, was fined a total of £130,000 and ordered to pay £52,500 in costs after admitting failing to ensure the safety of its employees and those under its control.
Febrey Ltd, of Burcott Road, Avonmouth, also admitted two health and safety breaches.
Febrey director Michael Febrey, of Rockleaze Road, Stoke Bishop, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach.
The HSE said his failing was found to have had a direct bearing on the sequence of events that led to the death of Mr Samuel.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
HSE inspector Anne-Marie Orrells said: "There were recurrent indicators that should have alerted Carillion to Febrey's persistent and systematic failures throughout the whole project.
"Yet Carillion failed to adequately address Febrey's significant failings. As the principal contractor on site, Carillion had a clear duty to plan, manage and monitor the construction work.
"Falls from height are still the biggest killer in the construction industry and this is the tragic reality of what can happen when adequate arrangements are not in place to manage health and safety.
"Mr Samuel's children and family will have to live with the consequences the defendants' failings for the rest of their lives."
Comments
by THEIRONS
Tuesday, November 27 2012, 7:02PM
“FOXXY_TOM - It is very good of you to not imply i am a liar.
The company i work for Initials is BB so as a expert you will be well aware they are Europe's 2nd largest company in their field Skanska being the largest. You say that the sites i work on may adhere to bygone rules . A simple question do you believe this basic health and safety rule , you are only required to lift a weight that your are comfortable with lifting , if i were to as a individual, i was to insist the company implement this basic rule , my employment would be terminated on the spot .
Over the years i have worked in nuclear power stations , coal fired , Llanwern Port Talbot Ebew Vale etc on all these sites as a sub contractor you are expected at times to work in dangerous conditions .This work is undertaken with the knowledge of my bosses , chief engineers of the power stations , and steel companies , as long as you have your hard hat they some how assume you are safe .
This story is about the death of a self employed scaffolder , being self employed is for many in the industry the norm , but scaffolding can be the most dangerous occupation in the industry, and not one in my opinion should be done on a self employed basis , it should be a job where utmost care needs to be taken and time taken for the utmost safety of those doing the job , which should require all scaffolders to be employed and on the books of the company they are doing the work on behalf of . But this is rarely the case in my experience , this industry will always have its dangers for those working in it , but this should not be at the desire of profit/ saving money.”
by bristollil
Tuesday, November 27 2012, 3:47PM
“@ foxxy_tom
Whilst I take your point that it is not appropriate to tar all employers with the same brush, Carillion is, I believe, a large national company:
"Principal contractor Carillion Construction Ltd, of Wolverhampton, was fined a total of £130,000 and ordered to pay £52,500 in costs after admitting failing to ensure the safety of its employees and those under its control."
If companies of this size cannot be trusted to ensure, as far as humaly possible, the safety of their employees it is a very sad day.
They MUST be held responsible. A fine of this amount is nothing to a company of this size and no doubt will be written off in some dubious way.
As for Febrey, well he should be made personally responsible for this and not allowed to simply shut up shop and move on to start up another company with a (slightly) different name to absolve himself of any responsibility.
I note he will be sentenced at a later date. I look forward to the outcome.”
by foxxy_tom
Tuesday, November 27 2012, 9:25AM
“Febrey are already back up and running and have been for some time.
THEIRONS; I work in the construction industry also, and totally disagree with your comments and would suggest that the sites you have worked on are now in the minority as opposed to the majority.
The construction industry, unfortunately, is inherently dangerous so there will always be a degree of risk involved. I sit on safety steering groups for the company I work for and I would suggest that you would struggle to find any other industry which puts the same amount of thought and planning into any works that go on as construction. Can you name me any other industry which has the same required level of health and safety training as construction, just to get on site?
THEIRONS; I'm not calling you a liar, all I am saying is that to tar the whole of the construction industry with the same brush based on your own experiences is wrong.”
by taxpayerbris
Tuesday, November 27 2012, 8:23AM
“And what is the bet that this company is back in business very shortly now the fine has been levied?”
by bristollil
Monday, November 26 2012, 8:33PM
“@ THEIRONS
I am really sorry to read your comments, though quite believe they are true.
Nobody goes to work to die, and as many systems as possible should be in place to ensure the safety of all employees.
Legislation is in place to protect the worker against this type of incident and employers MUST be held accountable BEFORE an incident like this occurs, not after it.
Condolences to Mr Samuels family. As already said, no one goes to work to die and employers have a duty to ensure this dosent happen.”
by THEIRONS
Monday, November 26 2012, 6:54PM
“Having been in the civil engineering / construction business for over 30 years. I can tell anyone who is interested , safety equates to a hi-Vi's jacket , and a hard hat, otherwise it is down to pure luck that deaths and serious injuries are avoided. And i am not talking about small firms like the one in this case , the company i work for is the largest in the UK , and there attitude is if you are not prepared to work in unsafe conditions , we will replace you with someone who will.So this hand wringing when the luck runs out is just that , nothing will change no matter what ever happens in the future , just more excuses will be found. It is a cut throat business, so why the shock when blood is spilt.”