An Essex security firm has been fined after a maintenance engineer broke his elbow and ankle when he fell more than three metres through a ceiling.
The engineer had been working on an electrical control panel in a ceiling void when the incident happened on 21 December 2012.
Security Door Systems Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation identified that the company had failed to make sure the work was carried out safely.
Basildon Magistrates’ Court was told on 10 October that the engineer accessed the void by a ladder supported by a colleague. He used a wooden ply board as a work platform to make his way across the ceiling panels, which were attached directly to the underside of timber joists but after repairing the panel, and checking that the door it controlled was working, he fell through the ceiling to the floor below.
HSE found the company did not have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in place for undertaking work at height on the site. Following the incident, the control panel was relocated to ground level.
Security Door Systems Ltd of Thurrock Commercial Centre, Purfleet Industrial Park, Aveley, Purfleet, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £440 after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Corinne Godfrey said: “Security Door Systems was a regular contractor at that site but failed to carry out an adequate risk assessment that identified the fragile ceiling surface and the need to work above it”.
“In turn, they failed to implement measures to prevent falls through fragile ceiling surface when work was being undertaken in the void. Incidents involving falls through fragile roofs are unfortunately all too common. Employers have responsibility to ensure that suitable risk assessments are undertaken for work at height, and to make sure that robust and safe systems of work are implemented.”
In 2013, more than 6,300 employees suffered major injuries after falling from height at work. Falls from heights were also one of the three kinds of incident that caused more than half of worker fatalities.
Palmers can assist you with carrying out suitable and sufficient risk assessments as required by law, for which please contact Lara Murray. If you are facing investigation or prosecution on a health and safety matter, please contact Jeremy Sirrell.