A man has been fined after the lack of guardrails on a construction site that was his responsibility left passing members of the public at risk.
The Birmingham construction client failed to install adequate edge protection on a first-floor site, and with no guardrails, there was nothing to stop escaped objects from falling on to passers-by on the public pavement below.
It’s a perfect example of when edge protection is not only the edge of a raised platform, but also the edge of your construction site, beyond which there could be any number of passers-by including children.
The HSE reports that the man was actually aware of his responsibilities, but had failed to act on them, putting him in breach of the Construction (Management and Design) Regulations 2007.
HSE inspector Chris Gregory added that the offender “had a duty to ensure that the safety of those working onsite, and those members of the public passing by, were not put at risk; he failed on both counts”.
The man was fined £3,000 with just over £1,250 in costs, after a passing member of the public spotted the dangers and reported the site to the HSE.