Roofing Work News Roundup – June, 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 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.
A roofing contractor employed by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to provide safety measures to prevent employees from falling. This resulted in a worker falling through a roof light on a corrugated roof. The worker misplaced his footing when moving a board and stepped onto the roof light, falling onto a concrete floor below and sustaining spinal injuries and several broken ribs. This case highlights just how important it is to protect workers by providing safe access to work areas, such as a roof walker system and rooftop demarcation barriers.
A pair of rogue roofers have been found guilty of fraud and jailed for preying on elderly residents that were vulnerable to their con. Shaun Doyle and his brother Jack Doyle fleeced an elderly gentleman out of £25,000 after claiming his roof needed repairs and carrying out the work without his permission. Police became involved and the deceptive duo were prosecuted for the offence. However, it’s cold comfort for the gentleman who lost the lump sum to the pair as due to a lack of available assets, Shaun was only made to pay back £443 and his brother a measly £1.
As standards in roofing evolve on an almost daily basis, re-roofers are being warned to get the best current advice available before starting re-roofing projects. It’s often the case that re-roofing projects are carried out before new legislation or requirements are taken into consideration which may result in a shorter lifespan for the roof, or, in the worst cases, irreparable damage. With dry fix systems increasing in popularity in recent years, changing weather patterns, updated legislation and energy efficiency requirements can make it challenging to stay up to date with current legislation.
According to a construction industry insurance leader, price comparison websites should be prevented from offering quotes to small businesses in the construction sector. The use of such websites has led to a huge insurance shortfall in Britain’s construction sector and there are now calls for the Housing Minister to introduce legislation preventing price comparison websites from offering their services to construction contractors, many of whom are tempted into cheap insurance deals which fail to cover the work they undertake for their clients.