A construction
firm was fined after a 54-year-old employee suffered severe cement burns to his
knees while laying concrete flooring.
Sefton
Magistrates’ Court heard that on the 26 November 2014, an employee of DLP
Services (Northern) Limited, kneeled in wet concrete to manually finish the
concrete flooring being laid in a domestic bungalow. The cement burns to both
his knees resulted in 12 days hospitalisation and ongoing treatment.
The Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the firm failed to adequately asses
the risks and implement suitable and sufficient control measures to protect
employees from contact of the wet concrete with the skin. In addition, it did
not provide suitable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and there were no
welfare facilities on site.
The court heard
the company had been served with HSE Improvement Notices for lack of welfare
facilities in September 2014 and June 2014.
HSE inspector
Anne Foster said after the hearing: “The injuries the employee suffered were
entirely foreseeable and avoidable had the company implemented suitable
controls, such as the use of long-handled tools, or the provision of suitable
chemical resistant PPE. It is also wholly unreasonable to expect workers to
travel four miles to find welfare facilities.”
DLP Services
(Northern) Limited of Cobden Street, Brindle Heath Industrial Estate,
Pendleton, Salford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 22 (1)(c) of the
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and Regulation 7(1) of the
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. The company was fined
£14,000 with £1590 costs.
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