Two men injured when the roof they were working on collapsed had not been given any instructions about where to secure man anchors, or the use of walkovers to cross the most fragile parts of the roof.
In January 2014, the two Lichfield men were fitting an extractor fan on the partially completed roof of a vehicle spray booth, when it gave way beneath them.
Both fell more than four metres; one sustained severe heel fractures, is now on crutches and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, while the other was in a full-body cast for 16 weeks.
The HSE report on the incident notes that “no safe system of work” was in place to cross the fragile parts of the roof, such as walkovers that could have relieved the pressure on any one weak point.
Man anchors were also not used, as the HSE says “having failed to visit the site … [the employers] could not therefore provide instruction on where to attach a fall protection harness”.
Fragile roofs and rooflights contribute roughly one fifth to the total number of fatalities due to falls from height, roughly seven deaths per year – but with the right fall protection, these incidents can be avoided entirely.