Sefton Magistrates’ Court heard this week that on 26th November 2014, an employee of DLP Services (Northern) Ltd kneeled in wet concrete to manually finish the concrete flooring being laid in a domestic bungalow.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the firm had failed to assess the risks adequately and did not have suitable control measures to protect employees from contact of the wet concrete with the skin. In addition, it did not provide suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) and there were no welfare facilities on site.
The court heard that the company had already been served with HSE improvement notices for lack of welfare facilities in September 2014 and June 2014.
HSE inspector Anne Foster said after the hearing: “The injuries the employee suffered were entirely foreseeable and avoidable had the company implemented suitable controls, such as the use of long-handled tools, or the provision of suitable chemical resistant PPE. It is also wholly unreasonable to expect workers to travel four miles to find welfare facilities.”
DLP Services (Northern) Limited of Cobden Street, Brindle Heath Industrial Estate, Pendleton, Salford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 22 (1)(c) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. The company was fined £14,000 with £1590 costs.
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