Sign Making Firm Fined after Worker Falls 5.5m Through Roof

Posted on September 5, 2016

A firm that designs and manufactures plastic signs for high street retailers has been fined £120,000 after a worker falls 5.5m through a roof light.

Plastic fabricator Richard Perry, 43, and a colleague were covering roof lights with blackout vinyl at Whiteghyll Plastics’ factory on 13 June 2014. Perry stepped on a roof light and fell onto a concrete floor in the fabrications department.

Bradford Crown Court heard that the workers were trying to block out the sunlight to reduce the temperature in the factory. Perry, who had been employed at the firm for 18 years, and his colleague gained access to the roof by climbing through a window, according to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.

The HSE said that a number of managers missed several opportunities to stop them from carrying out the work. Including their line manager, who overheard them talking about accessing the roof.

HSE Inspector Andrea Jones said: “Two employees were on the roof for some time with no precautions in place to prevent them falling through fragile roof material or off the open edge. This accident would not have happened if these two employees had been appropriately supervised by management.”

Whiteghyll Plastics, whose customers includes Debenhams, Wallis and Paperchase, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. It must pay £37,655 in costs.