Shocking safety failure sees buildings collapse

On August 1st Ethos Construction Solutions Ltd and the company's director Pritish Lad were prosecuted after two properties collapsed in Westminster.

The reason for the prosecution was the sheer number of safety failings that occurred during a refurbishment contract Ethos had won. An inspection by the HSE identified the following:

• allowing existing structures to become weak and unstable
• no ‘temporary works plan' in place for workers, and no checks on whether workers were sufficiently trained to undertake the work
• the poor installation and positioning of building props
• the storage of large piles of bricks on several floors of still-standing buildings, posing a potential over-loading risk
• no assessment as to whether any evidence existed of a collapse risk
• an unsafe excavation of up to three metres deep running the length of the development site
• working-at-height risks
• fire risks because of poorly-stored flammable materials
• failure to provide suitable emergency exits
• insufficient fire detection and fire-fighting equipment

Ethos has to pay a £14,000 fine and £9,000 in costs. Pritish Lad is facing a fine of £9,500 and costs of £6,750.

This clearly demonstrates that any demolition needs a trained team in place and expert advice should be sought. If you have a demolition project of any size or type please contact us asap for a no obligation quotation to ensure that the project is done in accordance with all current legislation and ACOPs.

For a detailed account of what happened visit SHP Online