Company fined after scaffolding collapsed

Coventry Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 3 March 2019, scaffolding, which was approximately 13 metres in length and four metres high and had been erected to protect the public from falling debris, had blown down in high winds.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the scaffolding was not adequately fixed into the structure and was not designed and installed to withstand foreseeable wind loads. The management of the scaffolding operation was well below the expected standard because it did not identify the need for a bespoke design, required to ensure the strength and stability of the proposed scaffolding structure. 

Climar Scaffolding Limited of Widney Avenue, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 19(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company has been fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,532.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Edward Fryer said, “Scaffolds need to be adequately tied, in line with the recognised health and safety requirements or a bespoke design should be created based on established engineering principals. In this case the scaffolding was not properly designed or adequately tied into the permanent structure. 

“It’s only a matter of fortune that nobody was seriously injured, the collapse presented a significant risk to the safety of the public.”