Newcastle upon Tyne Magistrates’ Court heard how Meldrum Construction
Services Limited (MCS) was the principal contractor for refurbishment
work at premises in Percy Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
MCS failed to plan for the requirement for temporary platforms to be
installed in the service riser to provide a safe work area.
Subsequently, temporary floors were installed to specifications they had
not been designed for. A worker stepped onto the temporary wooden floor
on the first floor riser which collapsed and he fell 4.5 metres to the
floor below, spraining both ankles.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the
incident which occurred on 6 July 2015 found that MCS failed to plan and
manage the construction phase of the project in that they failed to
plan and manage the temporary works within the service riser.
Meldrum Construction Services Limited of Panteon Building, Lancaster
Road, Dunston, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 13(1)
of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and was
fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1969.