Cardiff-based construction company, Jehu Project Services Ltd, has been sentenced after a worker was seriously injured falling down a lift pit. The incident happened on 8 July 2015 at a construction site in Pontcanna, Cardiff. Stephen Harrison, a specialist drilling contractor, was employed by Jehu to help refurbish a 73-bed care home when he fell into the basement of a lift pit that was under construction. Mr Harrison stepped onto the ground floor having been working off a tower scaffold, but stood on a loose concrete block causing him to fall backwards, head-first, into a skip full of rubble on the floor below. A specialist Fire and Rescue team were nearby and after stabilising Mr Harrison, attached him to the hook of a tower crane and winched him out of the pit, over the site and into the carpark of a housing estate nearby where an ambulance was waiting. Mr Harrison suffered shattered vertebrae, five broken ribs, a punctured lung and spent 18 days in hospital. He is still recovering and although not paralysed, his injuries were life-changing and he will not return to work. HSE investigated the incident and found that Jehu had been using a system of lightweight barriers around the edges of the drop, along with bean bags at the bottom of the hole, but these were incompatible with all of the work that needed to be done by the different contractors and had been removed. Following the incident, all of the danger areas were fenced with scaffolding. Newport Crown Court heard that there were numerous management failings associated with this project, which included a lack of effective site management and supervision, a construction plan that did not properly consider obvious working at height risks and a lack of an effective Temporary Works Management System. Jehu Project Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Regulation 13(1) and Work at Height Regulations 2005, Regulation 6(3) and was fined £143,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £15,029.30. HSE Inspector Liam Osborne, who brought the case, said: “Jehu had been given many warnings in the past by HSE about the lack of effective planning, managing and monitoring on their construction sites, as well as warnings about unsafe working at height. The court heard some really positive steps the company are now taking to put these matters right, including making substantial management changes. “It is crucial that construction firms properly think through the risks involved before starting work, they then need to ensure there is a workable plan to iron-out or manage the resultant dangers. “There is a clear hierarchy for managing work at height risks, site managers need to prevent it if possible and then provide suitable fixed barriers. Lower-order measures, such as soft-landing systems or the use of harnesses should only be selected as a last resort and if it is safe and appropriate to do so”. For further information on working at height safely, go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm Notes to Editors: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

Anglian Water Business is helping a major hospital in Cambridge save energy, reduce costs and cut carbon. The water company worked with Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and consultancy firm SaveMoneyCutCarbon, to replace dated and inefficient fluorescent lamps with 650 LED panels and tubes in the hospital. It said this will result in an overall energy and carbon reduction of 53 per cent, and generate savings of £15,000 a year and a return on investment in less than four and a half years for the hospital. Anglian Water Business (AWB) already serves Addenbrooke’s entire wastewater treatment needs. The LED replacement project forms part of its commitment to proactively identify ways to add value for customers. AWB account manager Paul Vincent said: “We are delighted to help Addenbrooke’s implement significant financial and efficiency savings. “At [AWB], we are committed to working collaboratively with our customers to ensure they lower costs and consumption, whether it’s water or energy. “This project was made possible thanks to our partnership with SaveMoneyCutCarbon and interest-free funding from Salix Finance.” Energy manager at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Denis Garnham, said: “Energy, carbon and cost saving, whilst improving the quality of the hospital’s healthcare environment, lie at the heart of our sustainable development management plan. “This lighting upgrade programme is an excellent example of how we achieve this by bringing together our Salix funding stream, [AWB’s] forward thinking value-added services, and the impressive quality of SaveMoneyCutCarbon’s supply and installation teams. SaveMoneyCutCarbon chief operating officer Holden Cook said: “We know the financial pressures facing the NHS and so we were delighted to work with Addenbrooke’s Hospital and use our expertise in both the Salix Funding application and fully managing the LED lighting retrofit. “The money saved by the Trust in energy and maintenance costs can now be diverted into other essential areas, which is fantastic.” Anglian Water Business is a national water retailer, which supplies more than 140,000 businesses and public sector bodies across the UK. Source link