13.05.2010

Greater Manchester roofers warned over safety

Building firms in Greater Manchester are being urged to improve safety standards after nearly 180 formal warnings about work at height were issued last year.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors served 148 enforcement notices in the county in 2009, immediately stopping unsafe work being carried out at height. They issued another 29 requiring safety improvements to be made.

Please register to see all images

A Greater Manchester roofer working without scaffolding or other safety equipment

HSE is concerned that some companies may be trying to save money by allowing employees to work on roofs without scaffolding or other safety equipment, putting lives at risk.

Neil Jamieson, a Principal Inspector for HSE in the North West, said:
"We're worried that some roofing and building companies in Greater Manchester are trying to cut down on costs and undercut each other by not using scaffolding and other safety equipment. Falls from height kill dozens of workers every year and seriously injure hundreds more. But the number of deaths will carry on rising if firms don't accept they're putting their workers in danger."

"We will continue to take action against companies that do not take the safety of their workers seriously, and will prosecute those that fail to provide the necessary scaffolding. It simply isn't worth companies trying to cut costs if lives are going to be put at risk. And it will cost them time and money in the long run if we decide to take any kind of enforcement action."

Falls from height are the biggest single cause of workplace deaths in the UK, with two deaths in Greater Manchester during 2008/9. Another 521 workers in the county suffered serious injuries from a fall.