A roofing company boss has been sentenced to jail after one of his builders fell 30ft to his death whilst working on a £7 million home in Kensington.
The owner of G&L Scaffolding and Roofing, Kevin Leathers, 41, had “flagrantly ignored” safety warnings when father-of-five Jon Currie, 36, was not wearing a harness when he fell, leading to “catastrophic brain damage” and ultimately his death in July 2017.
The experienced scaffolder lost his footing while taking down a temporary roof of corrugated iron panels. Leather pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and was eventually jailed for eight months, having been previously warned about his employees working in dangerous conditions.
Prosecutors stated that Leathers had been sent a letter reminding him of strict health and safety requirements and that his working practices were “unsafe” when his crew were spotted working without safety harnesses. When Mr Currie fell, he and another worker were again not wearing safety harnesses and no risk assessment had been carried out to identify potential dangers. Curries was also not qualified for the job that he was doing that day. Prosecutor stated that Leathers “failed to exercise his duty of care and as a result, Jon Currie died while working for him. Leathers intentionally breached or flagrantly ignored the law.”
Passing sentence, Judge Joanna QC said “after the letter in April, Leather could not have been warned in clearer terms about the dangers of the activities undertaken. He failed to take appropriate steps. If death results from such failures you must expect to receive an immediate prisons sentence.”
Leather was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence after Curries fell working on an extension to a double-storey basement.
This is another example of the extreme dangers faced when work is carried without the required equipment. Here at SafetyLiftinGear, we provide quality, effective height safety equipment including harnesses, lanyard and fall arrest blocks that assure your safety when working at all heights. You can browse our range below!
Our Height Safety Equipment >
For more information on our height safety equipment or to speak to one of our experts about any of our products, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com.
Industrial lifting clamps are used by many organisations across a variety of industries such as construction, engineering and shipping for a range of different applications. The type of lifting clamp used, however, will depend entirely on the nature and needs of the lifting operation. Here, we take a look at the different types of industrial lifting clamps available at SafetyLiftinGear and where you are likely to use them.
These clamps represent the additional types of clamps that you are likely to find being used across industries for very specific lifting operations:
All of the above clamps are available to purchase or hire directly from SafetyLiftinGear. Depending on your lifting application, our range of clamps can be modified to suit your exact lifting requirements, ensuring your tasks are completed in the safest and most efficient way possible.
For more information on our collection of lifting clamps, be sure to contact us today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com.
Over the past couple of weeks, the team here at SafetyLiftinGear have been working hard behind the scenes to bring to you our improved collection of cable handling products!
We know and understand how difficult it can be to handle cable if you’re not adequately equipped. In such circumstances, having the right equipment can make your lifting and transporting operations a lot safer and more efficient. That is why we strived to extend and improve our cable handling range to include new and improved products.
However, as a result of there being so many types of cable handling products available, it can be difficult to know exactly what you need to help complete your specific lifting application. To help you out and to show you what we have to offer at SLG, here is a selection of cable handling products that could come in handy when you’re at work.
Versatile and lightweight, cable drum jacks are an essential piece of equipment needed to keep your cable tidy. Cable drum jacks can be adjusted quickly to accommodate a wide range of cable drums and are commonly fitted with wheels in order for them to be moved around with little to no effort. These are best used as supports for cable drum spindles.
Heavy-duty pieces of equipment, cable drum rotators are often welded with steel sealed bearings, with one fixed and one adjustable diablo control allowing you to rotate the drum of your winch and wind in the cable with ease.
Sub duct pulling eyes, also commonly referred to as carrots within the lifting industry, come with a clevis pin and an eye at the opposite end to attach or draw rope through. These are often tapered and threaded to cover a particular length of sub duct and come in two types; PE1 and PE2. PE1 sub duct pulling eyes are suitable for a sub duct range of 24-29mm, whereas PE2 has a larger range of 29-37mm.
Sometimes referred to as cable stockings and cable socks, cable stockings are an incredibly efficient way to support or pull a variety of cables. Cable grips are manufactured from high tensile galvanised steel wire, providing them with increased levels of strength. Sometimes they’re even manufactured using stainless steel and Kevlar when operations are conducted in extreme condition or when an even stronger pull is needed.
Conduit rods are a suitable, efficient method of installing draw ropes and winch ropes into ducts, making them an ideal piece of equipment for cable pulling operations. Conduit rods are often manufactured with glass-fibre reinforced epoxy rods, with an outer polyethene coating which provides fantastic adhesion properties. Conduit rods also benefit from excellent levels of elasticity which makes them perfectly suited for any duct installation. Conduit rods are available on either a free-standing frame or on a mobile frame for larger rods.
Browse Our Cable Handling Products >
For more information on our collection of cable handling products or if you would like to talk to us to enquire about a particular product that you need for your applications, please do not hesitate to contact us today!
When working within the lifting industry, it is not uncommon to find certain operations requiring workers to work at height. Lifting equipment used within industries such as shipping, construction and engineering often involves significantly tall structures as well as smaller heights, both of which carry risks of harm if something were to go wrong. For this reason, it is imperative to have a height rescue plan in place to identify and avoid risks where possible and to react to problems should they ever occur. Here, we talk you through some of the things you can do to develop an effective height rescue plan.
When it comes to working at height, there are very clear laws in place for people to follow. Previously, the law required that anybody working at a height greater than two metres would have to wear the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). However, the law has since changed and now states that PPE is required “where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.”
While some say this new guideline can be open to some sort of interpretation, this can be defined as:
Before creating an effective height rescue plan, there are several considerations you will have to make. The first is to ensure you have the correct equipment and that it has all been fully inspected before use. Another is to ensure all staff members are properly trained to use all rescue equipment in the correct way. Once these things have been put into the place, you can then make a start on creating your rescue plan, which should include the following:
As part of your height rescue plan, you will have to conduct a thorough risk assessment of the site before any operation can begin. You will have to inspect any hazards that could be posed by the task and evaluate the risks involved. Falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatality in the UK each year, and for this reason alone, it is crucial that you have a rescue plan in place should anything go wrong.
If you’re wondering how SafetyLiftinGear can help you create an effective height rescue plan, we have an extensive range of PPE and height rescue equipment that will ensure your rescue plan is carried out in the safest and most efficient way possible. A wide selection of our equipment is available for hire as well as full purchase and can be customised to match your exact rescue needs.
Browse Our PPE Collection > Browse Our Rescue Equipment >
For more information, be sure to get in touch with a member of the SafetyLiftinGear team today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com!
From construction to shipping and mining to engineering, lifting equipment is used by a wide range of different industries for various tasks and applications. Often created using robust metals and other long-lasting materials, the majority if not all lifting equipment is designed and manufactured to last the test of time. However, regardless of where lifting equipment is used, it will no doubt be subject to some degree of pressure, strain and stress at one time or another and as a result, will need to be inspected and tested to ensure it is still safe and suitable to use.
There are two primary reasons as to why you will need to conduct inspections on your lifting equipment:
Both of the above pieces of legislation declare that all lifting applications are properly planned, which involves utilising the correct equipment that has been properly tested and inspected. PUWER states that all lifting equipment must be ”safe for use, maintained in a safe condition and inspected to ensure it is correctly installed and does not subsequently deteriorate.” Therefore, to ensure that you stay on the right side of the law, it’s imperative to regularly inspect your lifting gear.
As well as there being two reasons to conduct lifting gear inspections, there are also two types of lifting gear inspections. Firstly, there are inspections that can be carried out by yourself. It’s recommended that these are conducted before each lifting operation to ensure that the task can be performed as safely as possible.
The second type of inspection is a thorough, professional inspection conducted by a qualified person. These inspections should be completed once every six to twelve months, depending on the type of gear. Generally, loose lifting equipment such as eyebolts and shackles should be looked at every six months, whereas other equipment should be every twelve months. Once these inspections are complete, you will receive a certificate which confirms the equipment is suitable for use until its next inspection.
In order for your equipment to pass its lifting gear inspections, it’s important to keep it in good working order. Here are some things that you can do to ensure your lifting gear maintains a longer service life:
Did you know that SLG offers professional lifting gear inspections? If you need to get your equipment inspected, simply get in touch us and a member of our qualified team can help! For more information or to get any more lifting gear inspection questions answered, do not be afraid to contact us.
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If you don't provide your employees with the equipment they need, it can pose a serious safety risk to them, and a serious legal threat to your business. AU Roofing and Building Ltd found this out the hard way after one of their employees sustained serious injuries. We've got the inside scoop on the story for you here.
Back in October 2018, a team of employees from AU Roofing and Building Ltd were working on a roof in Elmes Avenue, Kent. The team of roofers were required to carry buckets of materials by hand down the scaffold access ladder to the street level below.
One particular employee, Davey Battams, struggled to keep 3 points of contact with the ladder as he descended down the ladder, and fell the remainder of the way onto the pavement. Battams suffered serious back injuries and was unable to continue working.
The HSE investigated this accident and was able to determine that the employer hadn't provided the basic lifting equipment aids that should be in place for tasks such as this. A simple wheel and pulley would have given workers a safer way to lower the broken tiles while dramatically reducing the chances of an accidental fall.
In court, AU Roofing and Building Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 and the court issued them a fine of £28,800!! On top of this, they were also ordered to pay legal cost amounting to £4,213.70.
At SafetyLiftinGear, we know that the right equipment could have prevented this accident from ever happening, and while we can't go back and change the past, we can advise you on how to work safely in the future. Here are just a few different pieces of equipment that AU Roofing and Building Ltd could've purchased to lessen the risk of a fall.
Our ladder fall protection kits are designed to keep you tethered to the ladder, preventing an accidental slip or fall from height.
Designed to take the pressure completely out of your hands, our powered scaffold hoist can move cumbersome items from on top of the scaffold to ground level safely.
These simple, manual pulley systems can take the strain of heavy items and lower them to safety, leaving your hands free to grip the ladder.
When you need to lift or transport important materials you'll find the following lifting solutions safe and easy to use.
If you can't find a lifting solution that fits the requirements of your upcoming job, don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Our friendly sales team will talk you through various different lifting options to help you find one that's right for the task at hand.
In the past week, the team at SafetyLiftinGear have been busy helping out with an exciting project in partnership with lifting specialists, King Lifting!
The project was focused around helping to lift Dorian, a restored ship used in both World Wars, namely during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
King Lifting had previously purchased a number of round and webbing lifting slings from us to assist with other lifting applications but in order to lift the Dunkirk ship, further equipment was required.
This time around, SLG supplied a 12ft Modular Spreader Beam frame (4 x 4 meter) with associated shackles in order for the weight of the ship to be properly carried (tare weight of the boat on the crane was 9.7 tonnes), helping it on its way to the next part of its journey.
Eight long years have passed since restoration started on Dorian in 2011, but now she is ready to take to the sea again, ready for the Return to Dunkirk. Organised by the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo in May 2020, SafetyLiftinGear is proud to have played a small part in the ship’s long and historical story.
We have an extensive range of the spreader beams used to help lift the Dunkirk ship in stock, ready for both hire and full purchase, depending on your needs! And just like many other products in our vast collection, our beams are able to be customised with different configurations and extra struts. You can browse our spreader beams and see images from the project below.
Browse our Spreader Beams >
For more information on our range of lifting slings and spreader beams, be sure to get in touch with a member of the SafetyLiftinGear today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com.
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