But the concrete subcontractor the victim was working for dodged a £250,000 fine by going into liquidation after the tragedy.
Carillion and Febrey Ltd were jointly prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive following the incident on 22 January 2008.
Self-employed father of two, Russell Samuel from Porth was contracted by Febrey to work as a scaffolder at the Swansea site.
Swansea Crown Court heard he was dismantling a scaffold ladder access platform ready for the installation of the roof and staircase on the fourth floor, when he fell approximately 19 metres to the ground below, narrowly missing carpenter Raymond Haines, who was working directly below.
Samuel, 40, suffered multiple injuries during his fall, including a fractured skull. He was taken to Morriston Hospital but died two days later on 24 January 2008.
The HSE investigation found that Febrey had inadequate and ineffective health and safety management arrangements in place and there was little or no communication, information and instruction provided to its workforce.
The management team on site was not adequately trained in health and safety, despite repeated warnings by its health and safety consultants, and this led to persistent and systematic failures to control work at height risks at site.
The failing of its director was also found to have had a direct bearing on the sequence of events that led to the death of Samuel.
Carillion failed to ensure the safety of its employees and those under its control.
The company, as principal contractor, was made aware of and had detected many failings in the safety management of Febrey but failed to gain improvement from Febrey on many occasions.
Carillion pleaded guilty safety breaches and was fined a total of £130,000 and ordered to pay £52,500 in costs.
Febrey Ltd has gone into liquidation and was fined a total of £85, although the judge said he would have fined them £250,000 before it became insolvent.
Speaking after the hearing, 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.”
Febrey director, Michael Febrey, of Bristol pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and will be fined at a later date.
