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A property company which failed to manage a construction project properly and employed a contractor without checking his competence, has been ordered to pay over £11,000 in fines and costs for offences under the CDM Regulations 2007.
The HSE prosecuted Perryman Properties and its contractor Demetrius Michael after an incident in which an unskilled labourer Aydin Acay fell through a fragile roof during renovation work at an old factory site, suffering two fractured vertebrae and serious injuries to his hands.
Perryman had hired Michael to do the refurbishment work, which included dividing the building into around 30 separate units. Michael then subcontracted some of the work to Ahmet Ergun, a self-employed builder trading as Ergun Building Services.
On 19 May 2008, Michael instructed Acay, who was working with Ergun, to inspect part of the structure’s roof. As he stepped onto a section of asbestos cement sheeting, it gave way and he fell about 6.5 metres to a concrete floor below.
As the project client, Perryman had not appointed a CDM Co-oridinator or Principal Contractor, had not suitable management arrangements in place, and failed to check the contractor’s competence. ‘Clients have one of the biggest influences over the way a project is run and because of this, they are accountable for the impact their approach has on the health and safety of those working on the project’ said HSE inspector Paul Hems.
City of London Magistrates told Perryman Properties to pay £7,000 in fines plus £4486 costs for offences under Regulations 4 (1) (a) and 9 (1) (a) of CDM 2007.
They fined self employed Michael £6,000 with costs of £4,430 after he admitted breaching Section 3 (2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act.
