HSE PROSECUTION
MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC INJURED FROM FALLING FENCING
NOVEMBER 2014
A contractor has been fined for safety failings after a pensioner was seriously injured when a metal construction (Heras) fence collapsed and knocked her to the ground as she walked past a site in south east London.
The 91-year-old, fractured her hip and shoulder in the incident in August 2012. She required a lengthy stay in hospital and now struggles with her mobility and independence.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the contractor was responsible for the fence in question as it surrounded a development he was working on to create flats and a commercial unit.
The section that struck the pensioner was approximately two metres high and was a similar mesh style to fencing that is commonplace across the construction industry. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) established that it was poorly installed and wasn’t built or maintained to an approved design.
The contractor was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 in costs plus a further £5,000 in compensation after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Bernardine Cooney said: “The law clearly states that all temporary works, including fences and hoardings, are properly designed, constructed and maintained by competent people to ensure they are safe.
“This clearly wasn’t the case on this occasion and a pensioner was seriously injured as a result. She could have been killed, and the fence also posed a clear risk to other passers-by as well as workers on the construction site it served.
RECOMENDATIONS
A safe working area must be set up to accommodate the delivery of heras fencing panels to prevent the risk of public injury.
The fence panels must be stored / stacked lying down or stored in a stillage to reduce the risk of slipping and falling and will remain in situ until required. The propping up of fence panels against walls, lamp posts or trees is not recommended as stability cannot be guaranteed
The fence panels should be stored as close to the prospective fence line as possible, in order to minimise the lifting and carrying of the fence panels and to reduce any risk of inadvertently coming into contact with members of the public.
Check the fence panels for integrity, any damaged panels are to be quarantined and removed from site.
A Fence panel weighs 23kgs and due to the size will be handled by way of a two man lift. Panels are to be handled wearing rigger gloves.
The rubber footing for the fence panel weighs 24kgs and will be placed on the ground first so when the fence panel is brought to the fence line it will be stood up immediately and not strewn across the floor acting as a trip hazard.
The fence line must be double clipped and if necessary, braces are to be used to aid stability, particularly for areas of uneven ground to minimise the risk of the fence panel falling over. In the case where the fence panels are erected in a long line, braces or triangular sections are to be installed
Gated sections are available for regular access and egress into the working area, this alleviates the need to continuously unclip the bolted sections of the fencing
1. STORAGE
Contain within Guarded Area within your "lay down area"
2. SAFE STORAGE
Store flat or contain in fence stillage
3. DO NOT STORE UPRIGHT
Panels could blow over and cause injuries to pedestrians passing by
4. SECURE FENCING
Double Clip top and bottom and ensure that legs are inserted correctly within the composite feet
5. STABALISE FENCING
Triangular bracing is an effective example