Inadequate roof-access equipment

A dairy farm failed to provide adequate protective equipment for a contractor who fell 16 feet through a fragile shed roof in Cornwall.

James Best, 24, was a self-employed labourer at Park Farm in Washaway, near Bodmin. On 12 July 2011, he was asked to help remove fibre-cement roof sheets from a shed, which was being dismantled so it could be rebuilt on another part of the farm.

Martin Dairy Ltd, which owns the farm, failed to create a written safe system of work and supplied Mr Best with inadequate safety equipment. It provided him with scaffold boards instead of crawling boards, which were too narrow.??

Mr Best was walking across the roof, while not standing on any boards, when one of the sheets gave way and he fell 16 feet to the concrete floor below. He sustained a broken jaw, damaged eye socket and a broken arm.??

HSE inspector Georgina Speake explained that the firm had not adequately planned the work and also failed to put nets, or a crash deck in place to reduce the severity of injuries in the event of a fall. She said: “There was no assessment of the state of the fragile roof and no written plan of works for the demolition, which is required by law.

“Martin Dairy did not provide proper equipment to do the job. Although there were crawling boards to allow safe access to the roof, these were not wide enough, increasing the risk of someone having to walk on the roof.

“This incident could so easily have led to a fatality and could have been prevented with proper planning. Falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatalities and serious injury in both the construction and agricultural industries, which continue to remain two of the most high-risk industries in which to work.”??

Martin Dairy appeared at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on 1 February and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was fined £4000 and ordered to pay £1033 in costs.

In mitigation, the company said it had no previous convictions and had an immaculate safety record for 30 years. It admitted that it had failed to plan the work, and said it subsequently hired specialist roof contractors to complete the work.