Roofing Work News Roundup – April, 2018
Here at D-marc we’re in the business of making work at height, namely roofing work, safer with our innovative rooftop barrier solutions. As such, we keep a close eye on the news for stories about roof work and working at height in general so that we can provide our readers with useful and relevant information that will keep them up to date with what’s going on in our industry. Once a month, we’ll publish a roundup of the news that affects our sector in one easy place so that readers can get a quick overview of the most important happenings over the past month. If you have anything to add or know of any stories that you’d like us to cover, please don’t hesitate to let us know, either by email, on our Facebook Page or on our Twitter feed.
First comes news that a double glazing company has been fined £850,000 after a window installer fell from a ladder and broke his kneecap whilst attempting to install a first-floor window. The ladder being used was not tied or footed and the fall occurred from a height of more than three metres.
Meanwhile, police in Surrey are on the lookout for two men who charged a Frimley Green pensioner £1.650 to carry out some minor roof repairs and clean the guttering and then absconded without completing the work. The 82-year old’s sorry tale is a clear demonstration of the importance of checking the credentials of somebody who knocks on your door out of the blue, offering to carry out repairs (some of which may not even be necessary). We’ll be bringing some advice over the coming weeks on how to avoid being scammed and how to check that your roofing contractor is legitimately qualified to do the work.
A rope access company owner has been handed a suspended prison sentence after a worker fell through a fragile barn roof whilst installing solar panels. Two workers were preparing for the installation work to be carried out by running a rope along the ridge of the barn and attaching it to a large tree. Unfortunately, the roof collapsed, sending a hapless worker plummeting 8 metres through the roof which resulted in a six month hospital stay and the worker being unable to walk. The investigation carried out discovered that the person in charge of planning and supervising the work had no experience of fragile roofs and that rope access is an unsuitable method of access for them.
The good news is that a secondary school in Harlech has reopened for classes seven weeks after its roof was ripped off by Storm Emma on March 1st. In the meantime, classes were relocated to a library and a local youth club to ensure that roofing work did not affect student preparing for exams. The first phase of the repair work has been completed, but re-roofing the majority of the school building should be finished by the end of the coming summer holidays. Contractors plan to work closely with the school to make sure that the work does not impede school activities and that the work is carried out on each section in specific order.