Solar panel installer falls through roof into pool

Grant Prior 10 years ago
Share

A solar panel specialist has been fined £153,000 after a worker was seriously injured in a fall through a fragile roof light in Kent.

The worker, from Ashford, fractured his shin and a vertebra in the incident at a home in Hawkinge on 30 April 2013.

The roof light the 32-year-old man crashed through was on an outbuilding housing a swimming pool.

Although the water partially cushioned his fall, he made a heavy impact with the side and flooring around the pool, and was unable to return to work until January this year and only then on a part-time basis.

Glasgow-based P V Solar UK Limited was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court after an investigation by the HSE found that more could and should have been done to prevent the fall.

The court had heard in a hearing in January 2016, when the company pleaded guilty to three health and safety offences, that the injured worker was part of a three man team working on the pool building to replace faulty solar panels that were initially installed by the same company in April 2011.

The fragile roof also contained eight roof lights and he fell through one of these as he walked on the roof while carrying a panel.

HSE established that a scaffold tower, ladder and safety harness had been provided for the panel replacement work.

But none of the installation team had received any formal training or instruction on how to use them.

Other measures could also have been taken, such as providing full scaffolding or hard covers for the rooflights.

HSE established that although the initial installation work in 2011 was completed without incident, the safety equipment provided on that occasion was also lacking, which again placed workers at risk.

The court had also been told that P V Solar was served with a Prohibition Notice by HSE to stop unsafe work on a fragile roof in Bristol in May 2011.

The company was therefore well aware of the need to ensure that adequate provisions were in place to prevent or mitigate falls during work at height.

P V Solar UK Limited, of Cambuslang Road, Glasgow, was fined a total of £153,000 and ordered to pay a further £29,480 in costs after pleading guilty to three safety breaches.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said: “The injured worker suffered serious injury in the fall and could have been killed.

“He and his colleagues were effectively left to their own devices with equipment that was not wholly suited for the task at hand. In short, better equipment, training and supervision should have been provided.

“Working on or near a fragile roof or materials is not a task to be undertaken without proper planning, and without having the appropriate safety measures in place at all times. There is considerable free guidance available from the HSE regarding the precautions needed when working at height, including on or near fragile roof coverings.”

Latest news

Galliford Try still stumped by legionella at £45m health centre

Contractor takes control of water system at building still stood empty nearly a year after completion
9 hours ago

OCU moves into district heating with Valmech buy

Sheffield mechanical specialist to lead new district heating platform
8 hours ago

Costain takes Morgan Sindall’s spot on Eastern Highways deal

Firm steps into EHA4 just nine months after framework launch
11 hours ago

HSE issues emergency guidance after Assent collapse

Higher-risk schemes must reapply to the regulator before work can restart
23 hours ago

Knights Brown profit jumps as energy and coastal work surge

Turnover up 15% to £116m as firm gears up for AMP8 water boom
12 hours ago

Speller Metcalfe appoints former Mace Boss Mark Castle

Industry veteran takes on contractor's first Non-Executive Chair role
12 hours ago

Green light nears for Edinburgh’s £1.3bn coastal town

Cruden Homes ready to kick off Granton Waterfront’s first 847 net-zero-ready homes
12 hours ago

Construction quizzed over plans to tighten asbestos regs

Plans to increase protection for site workers
12 hours ago

Green light for Surrey Police HQ and homes plan

Leatherhead site to deliver new base and 225 homes after RAAC-hit Reigate closure
1 day ago

Go-ahead for GPE’s latest London HQ project

Whittington House upgrade forms part of 220,000 sq ft cluster near Tottenham Court Road
1 day ago

New faces join £1bn YORcivil Major Works framework

BAM, Esh, Jackson and Octavius secure spots for first time
1 day ago

Cladding firm sunk by BSR delays

Essex based aluminium cladding specialist hit by hold-ups
2 days ago

Go-ahead for £44m Oxford science park expansion

Oxford site set for five new lab and tech buildings after council approval
2 days ago

Glencar wins Warrington M62 service station job

Work to start early next year at junction 11 motorway services hub
1 day ago

Spencer Group stays on growth track despite £5m impairment

Strong pipeline and £83m work in hand set platform for another big year
2 days ago

Gratte Brothers expands across North of England

M&E specialist has eyes on more data centre work
2 days ago

Tilia Homes to start work on brownfield site in Northampton

Construction will transform 30-acre landfill site
1 day ago

Contractors courted for £1.7bn London DLR extension job

Firms urged to register for Thamesmead extension talks next month
4 days ago

Multiplex scales contracts league with London tower job

£400m city Dovetail Building deal tops October ranking
5 days ago

Vidi Construction went down owing £6m to subbies

Failure of main client sunk Coventry contractor
4 days ago

J&D Pierce founder hands reins to new MD duo

Joint managing directors named as Derek Pierce moves up to chairman role
5 days ago

Willmott Dixon plugs fire safety gap for CLT builds

First certified fire tests pave way for cross laminate timber builds
5 days ago

Green light for new £1.3bn neighbourhood in Salford

Ten resi towers to be built alongside 15 retail units
5 days ago

Buyers report fastest activity decline in five years

Construction hopes for better New Year
5 days ago

Ten high-rise schemes in limbo after building control firm folds

BSR pledges to reallocate cases and keep Gateway 2 clear-up on track.
6 days ago

Vistry sees demand start to return for new social housing

New build demand from housing associations rises as Government support starts to kick-in
5 days ago

Travis Perkins suppliers stunned as payment times increase

Builder's merchant giant could now take nearly three months to pay bills
6 days ago

Costain natural resources boss heads to Mitie

Sam White joins Mitie to lead 16,000-strong Technical Services arm
6 days ago

Willmott Dixon gets green light for Kirkby school rebuild

Contractor to start phased construction schedule at Nottinghamshire site
5 days ago

£60m homes plan for Sheffield city centre scrubland

Capital&Centric pushes ahead with 192-home Fitzwilliam project
6 days ago