Demolition safety compliance is under scrutiny again after a UK event structure company and its director were fined following a dismantling job that left a worker with life-changing injuries. The Health and Safety Executive found that a ratchet strap, never designed for lifting or lowering loads, was used to lower a steel beam weighing over 100kg during work at a hotel and golf course site. The strap failed, the beam fell, and the worker suffered multiple fractures, a punctured lung and a broken leg after an operation and months in hospital.

What stands out for site managers is the process gap behind the injury. There was no documented method statement setting out how the steel frame should come down safely, and the equipment used had not been checked against its intended purpose before the lift began. Demolition and dismantling work is high risk by nature, and enforcement cases like this one consistently trace back to the same cause: work starting without a written, task specific plan.

This is exactly the gap FlexManager’s Risk Assessment Method Statement (RAMS) and Permit to Work tools are built to close. Supervisors can require a signed off method statement and an equipment check before any high risk task begins, while Asset Inspections confirm lifting gear is fit for purpose rather than assumed safe.

How confident are you that every high risk task on your sites starts with an approved method statement and verified equipment? Book a demo with FlexManager to see how RAMS, permits and asset checks work together on site.