A construction company has been fined after an employee died after falling over 6 metres.

Plymouth Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of C & R Construction (SW) Ltd suffered fatal injuries after falling whilst carrying out work installing roof sheets on a new agricultural building.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which occurred on the 11 May 2016, found that the company failed to provide suitable edge protection, failed to ensure there was a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from the use of the edge protection and failed to ensure those installing the edge protection and supervising the work had received adequate training.

C & R Construction (SW) Ltd of Lower Park, Crediton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2 (1) of The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,060.40.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Kate Leftly said: “Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work related fatalities in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known.” “If suitable edge protection had been installed, the tragic death of this employee could have been prevented.”   Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk ^[2]/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3]
4. Further information about safe techniques can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/faq-height.htm#roofwork