Two construction companies have been fined after one man died and another worker was seriously injured when a concrete slab collapsed and fell 17 metres during the building of a multi-storey car park for Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 in 2005.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Laing O’Rourke Infrastructure Limited of Anchor Boulevard, Dartford in Kent and SGB Services Limited – a supplier of construction equipment – based in Kingston Road in Leatherhead.

An investigation revealed that the concrete slab collapsed because of the catastrophic failure of two Threading Shore Adapters (TSAs), which are used to secure parts of a temporary works structure. The batch used at the Heathrow construction site was found to be part of a substandard batch manufactured for SGB in 2003, two years before the accident. Despite a recall programme for the batch, the SGB supplied TSAs from the same batch to the Heathrow site.

In August 2005, 27-year-old carpenter Mathew Gilbert from Plymouth, and engineer’s assistant Parminder Singh, 21, from Slough, were standing on the concrete slab when it collapsed and fell to the level below.

Mr Gilbert was killed in the fall and Mr Singh suffered serious life-changing injuries, including a broken back, broken leg and broken jaw. He now has extensive scarring and suffers pain in his back when walking and sitting.

On Friday (06/11/09) at Isleworth Crown Court, Laing O’Rourke Infrastructure Limited and SGB Services Limited both pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

SGB Services Ltd also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 6(1) (c) of the Act.

Laing O’Rourke Infrastructure Limited was fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £75,000 in costs. SGB Services Ltd was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £30,000 in costs.

The court decided that, in supplying a batch of substandard TSAs in 2003, SGB Services Ltd had failed to ensure that the TSAs they supplied were able to carry maximum loads.

Laing O’Rourke Infrastructure Ltd was also found to have failed to have adequate systems in place to inspect the quality and condition of the TSAs before they were used in ‘safety-critical’ applications – and had failed to remove substandard TSAs from use when warned.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Karen Morris said the case demonstrated ‘an extremely serious failure’ of both the principal contractor and its supplier to ensure materials supplied for the work were fit for purpose.

‘The tragic death of one man and the serious injuries suffered by his colleague could have been prevented if both companies had had more robust systems in place,’ said Ms Morris.

‘It is vital that safety-critical components are inspected before use to ensure that defective equipment is not used. It is also crucial that recall programmes are carried out effectively and thoroughly, so that defective components cannot under any circumstances be brought back into circulation.’

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