Rydon Construction and groundworks contractor Oliver Connell & Son have been fined a total of £860,000 after a worker fell to his death when a temporary platform collapsed.
Southwark Crown Court heard how, on 24 July 2015, Vasile Nichitut was working on the fifth floor of the construction site at the Green Man Lane Estate in London, when he walked onto a temporary platform covering a vertical shaft, which collapsed beneath him. He fell approximately 14m and died as a result of his injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Oliver Connell and Son had failed to ensure that work at height was properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe and practicable manner. It found there was no temporary works design for the platform and the company’s system for installing and inspecting it was inadequate.
Rydon Construction failed to plan, manage and monitor the work involving the temporary platform to ensure that construction work is carried out without risks to health or safety. They failed to identify the lack of design drawings and carry out suitable checks on the platform.
Rydon Construction, of Rydon House, Station Road, Forest Row, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and have been fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £40,740.88.
Oliver Connell and Son, of Zanrose House, Horsenden Lane South, Greenford, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and have been fined £360,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4834.08.
HSE inspector Owen Rowley said: “The consequences of temporary works failing can be dire. All contractors involved must ensure that an effective system for managing the temporary works on site is established and adhered to. Crucially, all temporary works require a design to ensure that they are suitable for purpose.
“In this case the failure to manage the risks associated with temporary works and work at height led to the entirely preventable death of Mr Nichitut.”
