News From CROSS - Confidential Reporting of Structural Safety

Cross Newsletter 17 reports on lessons that can be learnt from failures and near misses in the construction industry. A selection of the issues are provided below, full reports can be found at, http://www.cross-structural-safety.org

Failure of Non Structural Items Can cause death or Serious Injury

A four year old child died from severe chest injuries after a 110lb stone mantelpiece fell on him at his home. The top of the mantelpiece became detached as a result of a failure to use fixings. The lack of national industry standards and regulation for the fitting of fire surrounds, including training, installation, quality inspection, secondary review and audit paper trails are cited as contributory factors. Fixtures and fittings of this type do not normally come within the remit of Building Regulations, the Department of Communities & Local Government said after receiving the Coroner’s letter: “We will consider carefully the coroner’s comments… safety is our key concern and we will consider whether there is a need to provide guidance in future on this issue.” The Health & Safety Executive’s investigations into the child’s death are on-going they have already contacted both Stone Federation Great Britain and the National Fireplace Association offering to work with them on developing standards for fixing stone fireplaces.

Exploding Foam

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating several incidents involving foamed concrete, including a serious accident at a sewage pumping station where contractors were injured as a result of a gas explosion. In this incident, a dry well had been filled with a large volume of foamed concrete over the previous three days and a spark from an angle grinder being used to cut handrails is believed to have ignited an explosive gas mix that had accumulated. The foamed concrete mixture contained Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA)this may in certain circumstances produce hydrogen gas. Aluminium metal particles present in the IBA react with the water and cement to generate hydrogen. The use of foamed concrete without IBA is not affected. The HSE is considering a prohibition on the use of foamed concrete containing IBA.

Council Face Prosecution Over The Death Of A Child

A local authority is being taken to be prosecuted over the death of a two-year-old crushed when a faulty wall collapsed during a storm. The child died from multiple injuries after a 6ft by 8ft (1.83m by 2.44m) panel of a boundary wall was blown over by gales in January 2007.

It is believed that the prosecution is in relation to the council's alleged failure to "maintain, repair and inspect" the defective wall. At the inquest into the child’s death the coroner said that latent defects in the wall meant the tragedy was "an accident waiting to happen".

Cross states that the problem with free standing walls can be difficult to assess particularly when they are old but Local Authorities and engineers generally can help by drawing attention to obviously defective or badly maintained or designed walls which may be dangerous.

Concerns On Stability Require Prompt Action

Concerns have been raised about overall building stability during extension and conversion projects. Removal of internal walls and floors can lead to a loss of stability. An incident has been reported where a client failed on several occasions to act upon advice given by an engineer and to install an internal bracing scaffold. The engineer contacted the Local Authority Building Control and subsequently the HSE became involved. The work was stopped until the issues were addressed.

CROSS state that “it is apparent that there are those who do not appreciate the fundamentals of stability especially in temporary works or building alterations. The need in all these cases is for a sound understanding of how structures behave and renovation of old buildings can often introduce significant risks if not approached in the appropriate manner.”