Bedford-based CJ Coatings Ltd had been employed to grind down and paint roof sheet edges on a commercial building in Hiron Way on the Budbrooke Industrial Estate.
Warwickshire Magistrates' Court heard yesterday (21 March) that the health and safety manager of a neighbouring building alerted the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to raise concerns.
HSE inspectors visited the site on 7 September 2011 and served a prohibition notice halting work until safety action was taken.
A subsequent investigation revealed that the roof contained 24 potentially-fragile roof lights that had not been identified as safe to work on. No protection had been provided to stop workers falling through them.
HSE also found that the scaffolding was a bit rubbish – edge protection was inadequate and there was no lower guard rail or toe-boards, creating a gap wide enough for someone to fall through.
CJ Coatings Ltd, of Mill Street, Bedford, was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £3,500 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
HSE inspector Paul Thompson said after the hearing: "The unsafe work HSE inspectors witnessed when they visited the site was not an isolated incident; it had been going on for several days. CJ Coatings failed to properly plan and supervise the work, allowing a whole catalogue of errors to occur, and in doing so put lives at risk.
"Work at height is a high risk activity. There is a need to adequately plan for such work and ensure those plans are fully implemented and monitored effectively to ensure the safety of those involved."
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