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Company prosecuted after building collaspe - 01-05-2008 |
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned businesses to ensure that they have safe systems of work in place when demolishing buildings. This follows the prosecution of a Wandsworth based contractor after a building collapsed in Islington, London.
Keltbray Ltd, of Dormay Street, Wandsworth, SW18 1EY, was fined £15,000 with costs of £19,967.68 at the City of London Magistrates' Court. Keltbray Ltd had pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, after the demolition of an old post office which resulted in the building collapsing onto a pavement and road in Islington in June 2005.
Sarah Snelling, HSE inspector said:
"This was a serious incident which could have led to multiple injuries if not deaths. Demolition is a high-risk activity, which needs careful planning and effective protection for those in the area. On this occasion Keltbray Ltd underestimated the risk and this could easily have led to tragedy. HSE urges all demolition contractors to ensure that work is properly planned, even on what may be considered "simple" projects."
On 16 June 2005, demolition work began at a single storey section of a former post office at Queensland Road, Islington. The work started at the rear of the building, working towards the road, where the excavator operator was using a bucket attachment to punch through the roof between the steel beam of the structure, to then pull it down and in towards the excavator. When the operator and the supervisor went to breakfast, the structure was still standing.
On their return, they noticed that one of the steel beams in the final bay had dropped towards the ground. They decided the best way to make the remaining portion safe was to pull it into the site using the excavator. The supervisor was making his way to Queensland Road to ensure the area was clear, while the operator was positioning the bucket ready to pull the building inwards. However, before this could be done, the building collapsed onto the pavement and the road.
London Fire Brigade attended the scene and, after the rubble was cleared, reported no casualties, but several cars were damaged beyond repair.
The HSE investigation found, that before demolition, Keltbray Ltd did not do a full structural survey or open up any of the structure to look at how the steel members were connected. The demolition was planned for a Saturday when Queensland Road was quieter and it would be easier to cordon off the area. However, Keltbray Ltd did not apply for exclusion zones, provide barriers nor apply for a road closure. If a simple structural survey had been carried out, then the demolition could have been better planned with the need for a revised method of work and an exclusion zone being identified.
| Construction Safety
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