Construction firm fined £10,000
27/07/2010
A construction firm that failed to protect its workers in South Wales from falls has been fined £10,000 after serious failings were found during a health and safety inspection.
When a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector visited the Gee Construction Ltd site in Castlegate, Caerphilly, a number of shortcomings were discovered.
In the inspection on October 22, 2009, failings - including unguarded lift shafts on the first and second floors, and inadequate edge protection to prevent workers from falls - were found. The Basildon-based company, which was the principal contractor at the site, had also previously received two prohibition notices for work at height issues in 2008 and 2009.
HSE inspector David Kirkpatrick said: "When we visited the site, we found clear failings that left workers at risk of falling from height, and it was necessary to stop all activity above ground floor level until safe systems of work were put in place."
Gee Construction Ltd was fined and ordered to pay £4,514 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching of Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 at Caerphilly Magistrates Court on May 24.
Copyright © Press Association 2010