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Contractor fined after failing to take sensible roof safety precautions
A roofing contractor has been prosecuted after power washing the sloping roof of a semi-detached house without precautions to prevent falls from the slippery roof surface. B Tile Protection (Arthur Boswell T/A) failed to ensure scaffolding, edge protection or other safety equipment was in place.
Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard that an HSE inspector visited the site in Manchester after receiving a complaint from a concerned member of the public. The Inspector observed a workman standing at the ridge of the roof (more than 7m) above the ground.
A power washer had been used to remove moss and other detritus from the roof on 15 September 2010. The inspector issued an immediate prohibition notice stopping work on the roof without precautions.
Nothing in place to prevent 6m fall
Mr Boswell of Booth Lane, Moston, Middlewich pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was fined £260 and ordered to pay £3,275 in costs.
HSE inspector Declan Geraghty said:
“There was absolutely nothing in place at the property to stop Mr Boswell’s employee falling more than 20 feet to the ground and sustaining serious or fatal injuries.
At the time of my visit, the employee was using a power washing to clean moss and other detritus from the roof, this would have made the roof slippy and therefore increased the risk of a fall.
Around a dozen roofers are killed each year in the UK as a result of falls from height, and the majority of these deaths could have been prevented if those carrying out the work had planned the work properly and taken adequate precautions”.