09.06.2010

Hesitant Death Wish

A reader in the UK spotted a man employed by a well known contractor, climbing onto the wet roof of a well known pub, to reach an area that needed resealing. A ladder (untied and not footed) had clearly been used to gain access on to the fairly steep roof but was not sufficient to reach the work area.

So the man climbed sideways from the ladder to the roof and with no edge protection risking a potentially fatal fall.
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A photo from accross the road

Our reader took this photo with his camera phone from the car park some distance away and then stopped to ask the man on the roof what type of work his company did. He admitted that he was taking a risk but said that this was often the case as his company failed to assess the access equipment requirements for a job in advance so forcing him to make do.
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Close up you can see how the man has transferred from the ladder to the steep roof

Our readers says: “On getting home I looked up the company website and was saddened to see what appears to be a very well respected company that appears to take health and safety seriously if you judged them on their membership of the various organisations (ROSPA,CHAS,SCA&Construct Line) listed. But on this occasion seemed to get it wrong.”

It is surprising that companies that appear to take safety seriously and join all of the right organisations, then fail on the follow up in the real world. If this man had slipped and seriously injured himself, not only would the contractor have been in serious trouble, but the chain that owns the pub would also be facing prosecution.