UKH

From my office desk I can see the backs of the buildings on Queen Street in Edinburgh. One of them is having some work done on its roof. Over the past few days three guys have been working up there, teetering up and down a steeply pitched slate roof wearing no PPE of any kind apart from hi vis waistcoats (presumably to make it easier to spot them as they plummet to the ground).

This morning they have put up a ridge ladder. I'm pretty sure that you are meant to turn the ladder over once you've used the handy wee heels to slide it up to the ridge from below, so that the f*ck-off metal hook can locate the top of the ladder securely. These guys have left it hooked to the ridge just by the wheels, which doesn't strike me as being a particular safe working practice.

Is there someone I could contact who is empowered to take action on this...or should I just let Darwin have his way with them?

In reply to Martin W:


You could try the Local Authority Planning Dept, or the local HSE - how would you feel if a person did fall to their death and you had concerns but just hadn't bothered calling about it?

In reply to Martin W:

Leaving the chaps on the roof to Darwin is fine, the person they might land on or drop the ladder on not so much. Contact these people http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20137/health_and_safety/399/health_and_saf...

Thanks all, good to have some reassurance that I'm not just being a nosey elf'n'safety nazi about this. The HSE has been made aware. The risk to people below has been mentioned.

The firm's transit van was parked out front of the building, complete with parking ticket (no surprise there).

In reply to Martin W:

Definitely call someone. A few years ago I was watching a couple of builders on a site near my flat who were doing some completely mental things while demolishing an old building . I was seriously thinking about calling the cops but one of them got nervous and persuaded his pal to stop so I didn't. The next day they had an accident and one of them died.

In reply to Martin W:

1. Phone the Building firm. They might be able to get there in minutes, or phone their staff to stop work immediately.
2. Contact the owners of the building. If you can find them, they could stop work immediately.
3. Contact HSE. However, they might not have someone readily available to carry out a inspection visit and would probably have to at least meet up with the owners of the building to arrange access, etc.

Whatever happens, take photo's and still report it to HSE.

In reply to Sir Chasm:


Not if they've been sent up there by a penny-pinching boss relying on their naivety to not demand the correct safety measures.

Watching the lads tear apart the industrial unit just across from our office during the hottest part of the summer was a real treat. Paper overalls, high vis (generally tied around the head, no edge protection and a shit ton of what was clearly asbestos blowing around. We shut our windows opposite and called the HSE. Stopped them within 24hrs.

In reply to Martin W:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/ for the main reporting but that'll be a slow response. I'd be most tempted to go over and speak to the building owner or the company (I'm sure they'll have a van or similar advertising their company at the site).

In reply to Martin W:

Get a good camera with video facilities.

In reply to Martin W:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/roofers...

In reply to Martin W:
HSE or client. I've seen this kind of thing 3 times now - twice in Edinburgh and once in Cardiff Scotland I am a Chartered Engineer, so have professional as well as moral obligation. 1st incident another engineer in the office reported it before me, 2nd incident reported to the HSE, they handed it off to a local authority inspector who came out the next day, followed up with the building owner (the workmen were gone), then the firm doing the work, then reported back to me. Third time I was working on a site opposite and took a picture of two guys carrying a roofing sheet up a ladder to the top of an industrial unit in banditville, central scotland. The building occupier saw me taking the picture and told the workmen boss. He came over to me in an extremely threatening manner demanding I delete the photo or he would call the HSE to my site... I had already sent the photo to a colleague, so could delete it in front of Mr dick but still have a copy .
If they're not smart enough to use some common bloody sense then they're unlikely to be smart enough to handle well meaning constructive observations!

In reply to Martin W:

Oh, and get a picture and send it the idiots on ladders competition (Google it, there are some crackers!), because using the wheels to secure the ladder over the ridge is just priceless! If it wasn't for the earlier post about not reporting and a death the following day, I'd be rolling on the floor laughing at using the roof ladder upside down!

In reply to hpil:

Had a look at that and came across this one!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3aaAXbnk1tM/Tluj0gbwixI/AAAAAAAAFRY/_51STa5gG50/s...

In reply to hpil:


Indeed.

I have had an update from the local HSE office, confirming that an inspector has paid a the site a visit and enforcement action has been taken.

If have noticed that scaffolding has been going up to roof height at both the front and rear of the building in the last couple of days.

I wasn't entirely keen on the propane gas cylinder that was perched on a small, borderless flat roof, with no visible means of restraint. I wonder what would have happened if it had somehow managed to topple or roll off and take a 60-80ft fall on to a hard surface below? Well, it's gone now, anyway.