Legal News
£105,000 penalty for unsafe Cwmbran construction site (9 August 2016)
Date: 09/08/2016
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a Cwmbran-based company, after it was found to be running an unsafe timber-construction site.
On 27 July, HSE made an unannounced visit to inspect JG Hale Construction Limited’s site in the centre of Blaenavon.
Inspectors found that a total of 54 timber-frame houses were under construction – construction of timber-frame houses carries a serious fire risk if not planned or managed properly because the structures are made from wood.
If a fire starts, the speed and intensity of fire spread can be extreme – putting workers and even members of the public at risk of harm.
The company also manufactures timber frames for the construction industry.
HSE found that measures to prevent a fire starting and getting out of control had not been properly taken – all the houses were under construction at approximately the same stage, with little fire protection, a lack of site management control, insufficient means to detect a fire and raise the alarm, poor control of ignition sources and a general lack of emergency planning.
Workers were also found to be at risk of being struck or crushed by construction vehicles on site. HSE served Improvement Notices regarding fire and vehicle safety issues –and these were complied with after two further inspection visits.
J G Hale Construction Limited – of Milland Road, Neath in South Wales –pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 27 and 29 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
The company was fined £40,000 and £60,000 for each breach, respectively – and was ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £4,633.76 and a statutory surcharge of £120.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Liam Osborne said:
“Hale Construction had been given plenty of warnings about fire-safety and traffic risks in the recent past, including from HSE.
“Timber-frame houses are perfectly safe once they’re finished and protected –
but when under construction, they can be very dangerous.
“Stringent fire-safety standards need to be in place well before the build starts – and then maintained and monitored”.
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