10k Fine For Stacking Bricks on Scaffolding - HSE Tougher Fines Kick Into Action!
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10k Fine For Stacking Bricks on Scaffolding – HSE Tougher Fines Kick Into Action!
The HSE enforcement of tougher fines begins, a construction firm who repeatedly ignored warnings about dangerously stacking bricks onto scaffolding has been fined £10,000.
Waterloo construction (Manchester) Ltd failed to have the correct safety measures in place to prevent the bricks from falling and injuring people.
The company was notified and served with a notice to take action and move the bricks after being spotted by a Health and Safety inspector in November last year.
Health and Safety officers visited the site on three separate occasions following the company being issued with an official notice to remove the bricks.
Upon visiting the site on three occasions Health and Safety officers found the bricks still being stored on the scaffolding.
Waterloo construction (Manchester) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, after failing to comply with a Prohibition Notice at a hearing at Trafford Magistrates' Court.
The building company based on Bowling Green Way, Rochdale was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay court costs of £1,445.
"I noticed that the bricks were being stored on the scaffolding platform above the height of the toe board, which meant there was a risk of them falling if they became dislodged.
"If one of the bricks had fallen from the scaffolding and struck someone on the ground below then they could have suffered serious head injuries.
"We gave Waterloo Construction (Manchester) Ltd several opportunities to improve safety, returning to the site on three separate occasions after my initial visit, but bricks continued to be stacked unsafely on scaffolding.
Further health and safety information within the construction industry is available at www.hse.gov.uk/construction.
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