A glass company who potentially put workers in unnecessary danger has been prosecuted for health and safety offences after the company, Intercity Glazing Systems Ltd, based in Drighlington, made employees work at height without a safe system in place, leaving them at risk of falling up to six meters.
An health and safety executive visited the building site on Carlisle Road, Bradford, in May 2009, and found that they had failed to provide adequate safety provisions or proper supervision and management the staff working at height.
It was also found that equipment, including tower scaffolding, was not being used safely, and guardrails were also missing from some parts of the working area. The system of work used by the company to install glass above the ground floor was so unsafe that the work was stopped when HSE served Prohibition Notices on the company.
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Intercity Glazing Systems pleaded guilty at Bradford Magistrates’ Court today to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,538.
HSE inspector, David Welsh, said:
“In the construction industry falls from height are a serious risk and a major cause of death and life-changing injuries.
“A significant proportion of the falls from height that occur on sites every year result from work where the risks are not being dealt with adequately by proper supervision and control.
“When a business expects work at height to be done using particular work equipment it has a duty to ensure that workers use that equipment safely.”
