The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has stressed that anyone involved in lifting operations on building sites has a responsibility to make sure they are properly planned and supervised, following the prosecution of two construction companies at the Old Bailey. John Doyle Construction Ltd of Welwyn Garden City and Exterior International Plc of London, were fined a total of £350,000 following an investigation into a fatal accident on a building site on 6 August 2002. An employee died at the Albion Riverside Development in Battersea, when a large timber panel shutter fell to the ground and struck him as it was being lifted to the ninth floor. In 2004 - 2005, there were 72 fatal injuries to construction workers.
Speaking after the case, investigating HSE inspector Emma Davies said, "had these construction companies carried out an appropriate risk assessment, the employee would be alive today. When carrying out lifting operations on site, three key elements must be in place to ensure safety, a competent person is involved in planning the lift, the lift is adequately supervised, and the lift is carried out in a safe manner."
Both companies pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and legal costs are still to be determined.
