A Leicestershire firm has been fined £10,000 for failing to take safeguards to protect workers on a high rooftop - demonstrating the need for further OHSAS 18001 training.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that it prosecuted Cobham Advanced Composites for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act at Loughborough Magistrates' Court after it allowed three contractors to work on a seven-metre high roof without adequate protection.

According to the HSE, no measures were in place to protect the workers from falling at the back of the building, where the majority of the work was being carried out.

"Falls from height cause more workplace deaths than anything else.. Working at height can be very dangerous if the right measures are not taken to protect workers," commented HSE inspector Mhairi Lockwood, prosecuting.

Figures compiled by the HSE indicate that in 2008-09, more than 4,000 UK workers suffered a major injury due to a fall from height.

Posted by Andy Finch

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