Roofing Work News Roundup – June, 2017
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.
Our first news story involves a lucky escape for a 39 year old worker after falling through a fragile roof. While the man suffered multiple injuries which included a broken leg, elbow and ribs, punctured lungs and resulted in his spleen being removed, he was lucky to survive the 8 metre fall through the roof of a timber storage shed. His employer was fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by not taking precautions to prevent workers from falling through or off the edge of the roof.
In a similar incident, a groundwork company has been fined after a worker fell through a fragile roof and suffered a compression fracture of the lower back. The Health and Safety Executive investigation revealed that his employers had failed to adequately supervise the work at height and relied on the experience of workers to avoid injury. It was also revealed that the company failed to plan the work at height and no control measures had been put in place to prevent workers from falling through the roof.
Bank staff in Scotland have helped to stop a bogus roof work scam when they became concerned about a man in his fifties who was withdrawing thousands of pounds in order to pay for it. Staff alerted the police who have warned local residents to be wary of unknown or unexpected callers who contact homeowners claiming that maintenance work is required on their properties.
A cowboy builder has been jailed by Birmingham Crown Court after conning a couple out of £43,000 to pay for work that was never completed, leaving their home without a roof! The builder tried to cover his tracks by putting the money into his nephew’s bank account but the nephew was also handed out a suspended sentence of 12 months and order to do 250 hours of unpaid work and pay £4,000 in compensation. Birmingham Trading Standards received several complaints about the builder after other homeowners were left out of pocket after hiring him.
A school in Jersey has had to close for two days after rain damaged the building’s flat roof. The closure was necessary in order keep students safe while urgent repairs are carried out.