London exhibition venue firm, The Business Design Centre Ltd, and a building contractor have been fined for safety failings after a specialist contractor fell through a fragile skylight. Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how the Business Design Centre allowed workers to cross an unsafe roof, which contained three fragile skylights and open edges, and failed to prevent contractors crossing the same …

A King’s Lynn roofing company has been prosecuted after a worker fell seven metres from a scaffold access ladder while assisting with chimney repairs. Kings Lynn Magistrates Court heard how the worker was subcontracted by J Webber Roofing Limited to assist with removing waste, mixing cement and bringing tools up to colleagues who were working on the chimney at a domestic …

A Bradford self-employed trader has been sentenced this week for safety breaches after poor scaffolding arrangements at a domestic property put himself and others at risk. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mark Podstawski, 47, after an investigation found poor planning, the absence of guard rails and a scaffold not of a recognised design, put himself and others, including people on the ground at risk. …

Roger Bisby had a  Dustblocker from Addex on test for a month and found he didn’t want to let it go. The ultimate seal of approval for me must be when I end up buying a product that I have tested. Yes, I admit, I sometimes get a deal, but I obviously have to justify the purchase to my accountant …

A Bolton based scrapyard, The Scrappers Ltd, that featured in a recent BBC documentary series has been sentenced after an employee suffered facial injuries at work. The vehicle breakers firm and Terry Walker, a consultant for the company, appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester where they denied breaches of health and safety law. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to health …

Two scaffolders from St Austell, Cornwall have received suspended prison sentences after a worker fell 7m to his death. Roger Stoddern, 47 (pictured), was dismantling scaffolding on 24 June 2013, when he fell from a flat roof of a property in St Mawes. He was taken to Derriford Hospital but died three weeks later due to the severity of his …

A Surrey construction company has been fined after a contractor was run over on a large site in Wokingham. David Cole was a site foreman on the large housing development project, which started in April 2013 and has a completion date of April 2017. He was struck by and pulled under a large bulk powder carrier. On 7 December 2014 …

An unregistered gas fitter has been ordered to complete 250 hours of community service for illegally installing a LPG gas boiler and hob at a Newquay home as well as producing fraudulent documentation. Dean Marshall, aged 47, of Dukes Way, Newquay, installed the gas boiler and gas hob at a property on Chynowen Lane, Newquay several years after his registration …

Valero Energy UK Limited has been fined £400, 000 following a serious accident at its Pembroke Refinery. Judge Peter Heywood sitting at Swansea Crown Court heard the Berth 6 access tower walkway that provided gangway access to a stationary tanker vessel on 5 March 2012 had dropped 3.5 metres, causing operator David Thomas to be trapped by a slack wire rope. He …

Since our first look at Speedskim the range is now being distributed by Ox Tools. It is fair to say that the Speedskim is not for everyone as some plasterers simply could not adapt to it but for those plasterers who have embraced it the main benefit is they can complete the laying down of finish plaster without the trowel. …

Construction firm Montway Ltd has been fined £144,000 after worker fractures spine when he fell off a roof during demolition work.

A Gas Safe registered engineer from Middlesex has been fined for safety failings after he carried out an unsafe installation. In a one day trial at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court it was heard how Michael Efthymiou, a self- employed gas engineer, carried out an unsafe installation of a gas combination boiler and flue at a domestic property in Crossfield Road, Clacton-on-Sea. An investigation …

Two roofing companies and one of their directors have been fined after a worker fell to his death through a skylight. Cardiff Crown Court heard how 46 year old Lance Davies, a father of seven, died after falling over seven metres through a roof light at industrial premises in the Crumlin area of South Wales. An investigation by the Health …

Nearly 85% of public sector construction managers, and 58% of private sector contractors and suppliers say the current skills shortage is negatively impacting the quality of their workmanship, as well as one in ten citing it as critically impacting their ability to keep to budget. Sustainability in the Supply Chain, a new report from built environment specialist Scape Group which …

A Bulgarian construction firm has been fined after a member of the public reported unsafe working practices during the construction of an adventure course in Markeaton Park, Derby. Derby Magistrates’ Court heard how a passing member of the public noticed work at height being carried out from a pallet on the forks of a telehandler at the site in Markeaton …

With the temperatures set to soar to over 30c in parts of the UK this week the TUC is today calling on employers to make sure their staff working outdoors are properly protected from the sun and the heat. A new report Cool it published by the TUC today says that staff working outside in high temperatures are at risk …

Two security companies have been fined after a security guard died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

A school in Brentwood has pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations after a worker was injured as he fell from a roof. Chelmsford Crown Court heard how in January 2014 a maintenance team at the school was working to replace components on a bay window of a residential flat within the school grounds. A 63-year-old employee was working …

Travis Perkins, the UK distributor of building materials to the trade, construction and home improvement markets, and British Military Fitness (BMF), the provider of outdoor fitness classes, are celebrating a year-long partnership. The partnership, which forms part of Travis Perkins’s commitment to employees’ health and wellbeing, has run 120 dedicated BMF lunchtime sessions with Travis Perkins and plc brand Wickes …

A Hertfordshire-based home improvement company has been fined after the unsafe removal of asbestos material from a domestic property. St Albans Magistrates’ Court heard how Ace of Hearts Home Improvement Limited (AOH) removed asbestos containing materials (ACM) from a domestic property in St Albans. Asbestos damage The Asbestos Insulation Board (AIB) soffits surrounding the underside of the guttering around the …