A Scottish civil engineering firm has been fined £800k for safety breaches after a 10-year-old boy died after falling down a manhole on a building site in Glasgow. This case highlights the need to ensure work sites are safe for anyone who enters them, even those who are trespassing.
An investigation by Police Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that insufficient measures had been taken to prevent children gaining access to the construction site.
The HSE investigation also found that R.J. McLeod (Contractors) Limited, the company in charge of the site, had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk of unauthorised persons gaining access to the site, which resulted in a failure to adequately inspect and maintain suitable perimeter fencing, and install other suitable security measures. HSE guidance on protecting the public can be found here: Public protection – construction industry health & safety (hse.gov.uk)
R.J. McLeod (Contractors) Limited, of London Road, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £800,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £60,000 at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 14 April 2023.
HSE Principal Inspector Graeme McMinn said “Shea should never have been able to get onto and play on that site. The security measures should have taken account of the adjacent children’s play park and the likelihood of children trying to gain access.
“The company should have had robust measures in place to maintain the fence line that was regularly being damaged and consider what additional security measures were needed to deter and prevent unauthorised access.
“The construction industry should be aware that some children can be drawn to construction sites as exciting places to play. It must do everything it can to keep them out of construction sites and away from danger to prevent a tragedy such as this happening again.”
Source: HSE