Company Fined after Scaffolding Collapsed into School Playground

A COMPANY has been fined after scaffolding it erected collapsed onto a neighbouring primary school.

Swain Scaffolding Limited erected scaffolding 7m high and 8m long at the gable end of a residential property in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan. On 5 May 2017, the scaffold collapsed landing on a single storey roof above the playground of a neighbouring school.

At the time of the collapse, a group of nursery children were in the playground only a few metres away and, minutes before, the playground had been full of children playing during their lunch break.

Scaffolding Collapsed

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the scaffolding was not designed or installed to withstand foreseeable loads. It was not tied to the adjacent building, nor did it have adequate buttressing or rakers and was essentially a freestanding structure.

Cardiff-based Swain Scaffolding Limited was found guilty of breaching the Construction Design and Management Regulations and was fined £24,000and ordered to pay costs of £3452.50.

HSE inspector Gemma Pavey commented: “Failure to adequately design and install scaffolding, so that it can withstand foreseeable loads, creates risk to workers and members of the public who could be injured by an uncontrolled collapse.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”