Director and property owners sentenced for trench collapse death.

The director of a Hertfordshire building company and the co-owners of a south

London property undergoing conversion have been sentenced for safety failings
after a worker was killed in a trench collapse.
The property was co-owned by brothers Mukesh Shah and Kiran Shah, who
appointed HMB Services and Mr Patel as the principal contractor to oversee the
project. As part of the works, a trench had been dug out that was approximately
seven metres long and almost three metres deep. This was being extended at one
end at a 90-degree angle to form an L-shape.
A digger was helping to shape the extension whilst Mr Xian Hou Ye was working in
the deeper existing section. As work progressed, the inside corner of the L-shape
caved in and buried him under approximately 8.7 tonnes of earth. Xian Hou Ye, 56,
was crushed and suffocated in the fatal incident at Waldram Park Road, Lewisham,
on 30 September 2010. He was one of a group of workers contracted by Croxley
Green-based HMB Services Ltd and company director Vijay Patel to convert an
existing three-storey property into nine flats.
The HSE investigated the incident and found the trench was inadequately supported
with sheets of plywood and timber props. A More substantial supports or using a
safer method of trench construction, known as battering, could have provided
adequate protection.
Mukesh Shah and Kiran Shah, both of the Optima Business Park, were each found
guilty of two separate breaches of the Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007. Mukesh was fined 40,000 with costs of 34,750. Kiran was fined
25,000 and was also ordered to pay 34,750 in costs. The brothers were also told
they would be jailed if they failed to make the necessary payments.
Vijay Patel, of Valley Walk, Croxley Green, Herts, was ordered to undertake 270
hours of community work after pleading guilty to a single CDM Regulations breach.
The court ruled he had no means to pay a fine or contribute towards costs.
HMB Services Ltd, of the same address, is now dissolved so the company avoided
prosecution.
Mukesh and Kiran Shah were having this conversion undertaken as part of a
business venture and they were therefore clients in this project. A client has a very
major influence over how a construction project is run as they have responsibility
for appointing competent advisors, principal contractors and ensuring that
arrangements are in place for carrying out the project safely.
The clients in this case failed on all fronts. They had no advisors to help them
understand what was required of them, the principal contractor they appointed was
not competent to manage this work safely and there were no formal arrangements
in place to ensure the safety of those workers on site.
Legislations Breaches.
1.

Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management)

Regulations 2007 states: The principal contractor for a project shall

2.

3.

plan, manage and monitor the construction phase in a way which ensures
that, so far as is reasonably practicable, it is carried out without risks to
health or safety, including facilitating (i) co-operation and co-ordination
between persons concerned in the project.
Regulation 9(1)(a) states: Every client shall take reasonable steps to
ensure that the arrangements made for managing the project (including
the allocation of sufficient time and other resources) by persons with a
duty under these Regulations (including the client himself) are suitable to
ensure that (a) the construction work can be carried out so far as is
reasonably practicable without risk to the health and safety of any
person.
Regulation 9(2) states: The client shall take reasonable steps to ensure
that the arrangements referred to in paragraph (1) are maintained and
reviewed throughout the project.

Preventing accidents in excavations site.

The Manager should:
Ensure that excavations are made safe by, trench supports, battering back, fencing
or equally effective measures. Provide training, which highlights the risks. Ensure
adequate inspections, at weekly and after bad weather, are carried out on all
excavations. Provide competent supervision; ensure that plant does not work too
close to the edge of an excavation.
Worker Should:
Never go into an unsupported trench where there is a risk of collapse. Never work
outside the protection of trench boxes or trench supports. Keep plant a safe distance
from the excavation edge. Never work underneath an excavator. Be alert to risks
from underground services or undermining adjacent structures. Maintain fencing
and other safety measures in order to protect others.
Planning - Prioritising decisions and managing risks:
Always batter back edges or support the sides of excavations to reduce risk of
collapse. Control plant movements around excavations and ensure that top blocks
are used where necessary. Ensure safe means of access and egress into and out of
the excavation. Ensure that excavations are adequately protected, by fencing to
protect the public and other workers. Provide information, instruction and training
to support your safe system of work.
Reference:
[1] HSE. (2013) Director and property owners sentenced for trench collapse death.
[online] Available at: http://press.hse.gov.uk/2013/director-and-propety-ownerssentenced-for-trench-collapse-death/ (Accessed: 01 November 2014).
[2] HSE. Structural stability during excavations. [Online] Available at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/excavations.htm#collapse
(Accessed: 01 November 2014).
[3] HSE. Second Edition (2009) Protecting the public. [Online] Available at:
http://www.hseni.gov.uk/hsg151_protecting_the_public.pdf
(Accessed
01
November 2014).