A carpentry contractor has been fined after a 22-year-old man died after being struck by building material on site.
On 30th October 2019, Niall McCormack from Kettering, Northamptonshire had been working for KM Carpentry Contractors Limited installing roof trusses at a new-build site at Alconbury Weald in Cambridgeshire.
Both the truss packs and party wall spandrel panel had been lifted by crane onto a pair of semi-detached properties the day before the incident – temporarily supported by timber restraints.
Mr McCormack was working with another carpenter to remove trusses from the pack, to then spread and install across the building. As the two carpenters were in the process of spreading, the wind caught a spandrel panel, pushing it against the remaining trusses in the pack. Both the truss pack and spandrel panel fell into the work area. Niall McCormack was struck by the falling material and suffered a fatal head injury.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that KM Carpentry had failed to identify the risk of wind loading and the effect that this could have on the stability of the spandrel panel prior to being secured in place. The method statement for the installation of the spandrel panels included lifting and placing them on the roof only after the roof trusses had been installed and permanently secured. This could not be followed as they had both been placed on the roof at the same time as the roof trusses the day before.
At Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on 25th April 2024, KM Carpentry Contractors Limited, of High Street, Higham Ferrers, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act. It was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £6,974 in costs.
HSE inspector Jenny Morris said after the hearing: “Our thoughts are with Niall’s family, a 22-year-old who was just setting out on his career in the construction industry. This case highlights the importance of identifying the risks associated with a work activity and ensuring a safe system of work is devised and then followed.”