Inquiry hears firm sent in invoice for eight men pretending to work during one day
A partner in the firm responsible for fitting the new insulation and cladding to Grenfell Tower has told the inquiry into 2017鈥檚 fire that 鈥渉e can鈥檛 see how鈥� cavity barriers were installed the wrong way around and back to front as part of the flawed refurbishment.
Grahame Berry of subcontractor Osborne Berry denied the firm had struggled to get enough qualified workers for the refurbishment, which led to the loss of 72 lives, when he appeared before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry yesterday.
Like his business partner Mark 鈥楾aff鈥� Osborne had done on Monday, Berry 鈥� known as 鈥楤ez鈥� to the project team 鈥� agreed that photographs of the work taken during post-fire investigations had shown workmanship that was 鈥渟hocking鈥� and 鈥渦nacceptable鈥�.
Particular issues included Siderise cavity barriers intended for horizontal use that were found installed both vertically and back to front on the tower and other barriers that fitted poorly. Both scenarios were not isolated incidents and meant the barriers were unfit to stop the spread of fire and smoke.
Inquiry barrister Kate Grange QC asked Berry how it was possible that nobody noticed such examples of poor workmanship on site.
鈥淚 can鈥� t see how it鈥檚 arisen because of the other checks that people have come 鈥檙ound after we鈥檝e installed the stuff,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here were checks after we鈥檝e installed all our stuff on the building anyway, the insulation, the firebreaks as such. So I can鈥� t see how that got missed.鈥�
Grange asked who else Berry expected to be checking the installation of the cavity barriers and insulation that Osborne Berry was tasked with fitting before the rainscreen cladding specified for Grenfell Tower was put in place. Berry named Harley Facades鈥� project manager Ben Bailey.
Grange asked whether it was possible that the casual fitters and fitter鈥檚 mates who worked for Osborne Berry had been left to their own devices and that their work had gone unchecked.
鈥淢ost of the time we were always on site looking at what people are doing on various mast climbers around the building,鈥� Berry said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 happened but I can鈥� t see how it would have happened as such.鈥�
Grange asked whether any specific training had been given to Osborne Berry鈥檚 team about how to install vertical cavity barriers properly.
Berry said team members had been told which type of barrier to use vertically and which to use horizontally and had seen mock-ups of correct installations. He said they had also been shown how to install the barriers correctly.
But he also told the inquiry that there had been a gap of 鈥渁 good two months or more鈥� between the installation of the horizontal cavity barriers on the tower and the installation of the vertical barriers.
Earlier in the session, Grange asked Berry whether he had read the marketing and installation guidance for the Siderise products. He said he had not.
Berry gave similar answers for installation instructions for the Reynobond aluminium composite material (ACM) cassettes used on the tower and the Celotex RS5000 and Kingspan K15 insulation installed on Grenfell tower.
He also said he was not sure whether he had ever installed Siderise cavity barriers before and that he could not recall fitting cavity barriers with an intumescent strip 鈥� like those on the horizontal Siderise barriers 鈥� previously.
No labour shortages
Berry was asked whether he and Osborne had ever struggled to find properly qualified fitters and fitter鈥檚 mates to help them on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment.
Grange showed him an August 2015 email exchange with the Total Site staff agency in which he wrote that if he did not have four extra fitters on site the following Monday he would be in 鈥渞eal trouble鈥� with the managing director of the company he was working for.
Berry was asked whether he had ever been forced to take on workers who didn鈥檛 have the right skills to do the job. 鈥淣ot that I鈥檓 aware of, no,鈥� he replied.
Berry was asked about another part of the Total Staff email trail in which the agency staff member said: 鈥淚 have replaced all four guys.鈥�
Grange asked whether Berry had ever said he did not want particular fitters or fitter鈥檚 mates to return to the site because of concerns about their work. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 recall anything like that, no,鈥� he replied.
Berry was also asked about September 2015 report from Jonathan White, one of project client Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation鈥檚 contracted-in clerks of works.
White wrote: 鈥淭he external cladding is still very behind. Instead of an increase in labour, a decrease has happened with only two men on site. Further delays will occur.鈥�
Berry said he did not think there would ever have been only two men on site fitting the cladding.
Invoices
Tuesday鈥檚 hearing heard Osborne Berry had originally priced its work on Grenfell Tower at 拢252,465 in September 2014 鈥� a price that project external-envelope contractor Harley Facades had accepted. But the cost rose to 拢367,000.
Berry said the increase in cost related to 鈥渆xtras鈥� that were not known about in 2014, such as the discovery that the windows Osborne Berry were installing at Grenfell did not come pre-glazed and the need for a layer of EPDM synthetic rubber to go around the frames.
He was also asked about an October 2015 invoice to Harley for around 拢27,000 that included itemised entries for one day when he and Osborne were on site but had nothing to do, which was priced at 拢360. Another entry was for 拢880 and was described as 鈥�8 men no work for 1 day machines up in air to look like working鈥�.
In explanation, Berry said: 鈥淚 think that was a time where we had no materials on site for that particular day or so, and Rydons had a client meeting with a potential client for another building,鈥� he said.
鈥淗arley asked us to be up in the air to look like we were working so it was like a normal building site as such, rather than people just sat downstairs doing nothing.鈥�
Berry said the team had gone up the mast climbers and pretended to work for the day. Asked whether the team had pretended to work for the whole day, Berry replied: 鈥淏ar lunch break, obviously.鈥�
Berry said he did not know who the client had been.
Complaints
Harley鈥檚 Ben Bailey and Berry鈥檚 business partner Mark Osborne were asked in their evidence about a complaint from Grenfell refurbishment main contractor Rydon containing allegations about Berry鈥檚 on-site behaviour.
The April 2015 email from Rydon project manager Simon O鈥機onnor said there had been a number of complaints about Berry knocking on residents鈥� windows asking for tea, scaring animals inside flats, showing a 鈥渃omplete lack of respect for health and safety鈥� and criticising the quality of Rydon鈥檚 work. One of the health and safety concerns involved climbing between mast climbers on the site.
O鈥機onnor鈥檚 mail said he would have Berry removed from the site if there were any further incidents.
Grange asked Berry about the complaints. He said there was no truth to any of them.
Asked specifically about climbing between mast climbers, Berry replied: 鈥淚鈥檓 not stupid enough to climb across a climber when it鈥檚 10 or 12 or 15 floors up in the air. I wouldn鈥檛 be that stupid or naive to do that.鈥�
Berry said the only time the fitting team ever got out of a mast climber when it was in the air was when they were working on the roof area and that they had been wearing clip-on harnesses in such circumstances.
The inquiry continues.
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