H&S News May 2007

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In the first instance, Capitals Demolition (UK) Ltd fined £11,000 and costs of £5,861.  During demolition work, necessary precautions had not been taken to prevent falls through fragile roofs and the site was not properly fenced off.  A second visit to a site in Staines found employees working from an unsafe working platform and at a clear risk of falling from height.  Fined £10,000 and costs of £4,295.  Sites were inadequately managed and the work inadequately planned.

The HSC has postponed a decision on whether to give safety reps new statutory consultation rights after the HSE argued that the cost of amending regs far outweighs the potential benefits.

According to HSE figures, workplace fatalities have risen significantly in the first six months of the 2006-07 reporting year.  A total of 124 workers died between April and September 2006, compared with 212 in the whole of the previous 12 months.

The HSE has published a report of the public meetings held after the 2002 outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease at Barrow-in-Furness which killed 7 people.  The report also pinpoints Barrow local authority's failure to act on HSE guidance on safe management and RA procedures.

Westmead Business Group fined £39,000 after maintenance engineer Paul Raggett fell from a ladder.  Raggett was expected to work at height using a stepladder that was too short and badly worn.  No RAs, H&S policy or training records.  Failure to provide suitable equipment or safeguard employees' safety.

According to a new survey by the FPB, small businesses spend an average of 14 hours a month coping with H&S regs.  FPB Chief Executive Nick Goulding said this is "a real distraction from the day-to-day running of a smaller business".

A new set of competencies to help line management prevent and reduce stress at work have been issued jointly by the HSE and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Police issued penalties to around 7,000 drivers caught using mobile phones on the road in the first month after the tougher sanctions came into force at the end of February.

Pub and bar licensees are being invited to enter for BOC Sureserve's Safe Cellar Award.  Online entrants have to answer multiple-choice questions on what makes a safe pub cellar.

Contractor Alstom T & D and Corus UK each fined £100,000 and costs of £18,000.  Subcontractor Switchgear Engineering Services (SES) fined £35,000 and costs of the same.  Electrician Graham Mallard was set on fire while working on electrical equipment at Corus' Scunthorpe plant, and later died.

The HSE has issued a revised version of the COSHH Essentials brief guide G402 - Health Surveillance for Occup Asthma.

British Waterways fined £100,000 and costs of £32,386.  Mark Wells and his 19-year-old son Luke drowned after a hedge-cutting tractor they were driving fell into a canal.  The company had not properly risk assessed the work and had not made sure its contractors and employees knew of a safety bulletin specifying minimum margins between machines and canal edges.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health have commissioned a detailed review of the health of the UK's working population.  The information will serve as a benchmark against which to measure effects of the Government's Health, Work and Wellbeing Strategy.

BP is facing its harshest criticism yet over the Texas City explosion after the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) accused it of cutting costs, under-investing and failing to respond effectively to warning signs of a "possible disaster".  The accusations come in the federal agency's final report on the explosion.

According to findings from the DTI's first Fair Treatment at Work Survey, almost one million British employees have suffered workplace bullying or harassment in the last two years, with women being significantly more at risk than men.

The highlights of the safety body's annual conference.  (Louis Wustemann, Jocelyn Dorrell)

Manchester University's stress-management and wellbeing initiative.  (Jocelyn Dorrell)

The sensitive subject of alcohol and drugs policies and when testing is a legitimate option.  (Lucie Ponting)

A report on HSE tests showing which safety footwear offers best slip resistance.  (Louis Wustemann)

Biological agents are the subject in the latest article for students of the NEBOSH National Diploma.  (Lawrence Bamber)

Workers' Memorial Day is commemorated to "remember the dead: fight for the living".  This year the HSE officially marked the day by planting a tree at Red Grave Court, Liverpool in memory of those who have lost their lives or been injured at work.

The HSE is keen to remind anyone having gas work carried out that they use a CORGI registered installer.  Westley Maplesden was fined £4,000 after leaving a gas installation at Sugarloaf Animal Sanctuary with numerous faults.  The owner Mrs Janet Buckley was taken to hospital with C0 poisoning.  Maplesden was not CORGI registered to work on LPG gas.

Mr Malcolm Robinson, trading as Metalfab Engineering fined £3,000 and costs of £4,043.  A young person on work experience was injured when his glove/sleeve was pulled into a broaching drill he was using.  Inadequate instruction and training.

In Bev UK Ltd fined £15,000 and costs of £5,076.75.  Maintenance worker Mr Brynley Allen was injured after falling over 4m through a skylight on the roof of the company's Magor brewery.  No safety measures in place to prevent a fall.

Vehicle paint sprayers are 96 times more likely than the overall workforce to develop occup asthma, through breathing in harmful chemicals in paint mist.  HSE's advice to paint sprayers is 'don't expose yourself' to the risk.  Know and display the time it takes for paint mist to clear, and wear air-face masks for the duration of that time.

Following the successful Better Backs Awareness Day, the HSE and Luton Borough Council (LBC) will be in and around Luton Airport from 30th April, carrying out checks on H&S standards in workplaces.  They will be visiting a variety of premises, focusing on risks from manual handling.

Leading industry figures who were involved in drafting the new CDM 2007 regs will speak at an event on 23rd May at the Newcastle Marriott Hotel, offering guidance and advice from an industry perspective.

A seminar is being organised on 9th May at the Samsung Centre, Billingham to help representatives of a wide range of industries understand the causes of work-related dermatitis and what they can do to prevent it.  HSE Principal Inspector Bob Rajan will be a main speaker at the event.

The London Borough of Newham fined £125,000 and costs of £6,000 for failing to maintain adequately the communal areas of Walter Hurford Parade.  Ryan Dean, 13, fell backwards down a stairwell that was allowed to remain in an unsafe condition for over six months.

Fined £7,50 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  During installation of a refrigerant liquid drier, engineers drilled into charged liquid line.  Four people collapsed trying to stop release and rescue others overcome.

Fined total of £8,000 under CAWR 2002 and A(L)R.  Breach of asbestos regs during demolition of public house.

Fined total of £72,500 under HASAWA s2 and s3.  Triple fatality resulting from employees being exposed to risks from confined spaces.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s37.  Director of Envirowaste Ltd who failed to ensure sfarp that their employees and members of the public were not exposed to risks of slurry holding tanks.  Did not ensure that company had suitable and sufficient RAs and H&S policies.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s37.  Manager of Envirowaste Ltd who failed to ensure sfarp that their employees and members of the public were not exposed to risks of slurry holding tanks.  Guilty of offence which occurred "due to his consent or connivance".

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  IP suffered severe head injuries following fall from 3.5 metres.  Boarding on mezzanine floor had not been replaced.

Fined £1,500 under CDMR 1994.  Unsafe roofwork by Michael Allinson during disassembly of steel framed building.

Fined £8,000 under HASAWA s2.  Fatal accident to employee who came into contact with live overhead cables.

Fined £2,750 under PUWER 1998.  Complaint from ex-employees that an FLT was being used on unsafe ground in an area that had been prohibited by a previous Notice.

Fined total of £1,000 under WHR 2005.  General Maintenance Officer was carrying out repairs to a leaking rooflight when he fell through a rooflight.

Fined total of £175,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999.  Margaret O'Mara died at Hornegarth Nursing Home.

Fined total of £1,750 under WHR 2005 and MHSWR 1999.  A piece of glass fell onto a member of the public's head during window replacement work.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  IP reached inside the rewind end of an extrusion coating machine and became trapped between a set of rollers.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Accident to Wesley Yorke in 2004.

Fined £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Accident to Wesley Yorke in 2004.

Fined £3,500 under HASAWA 1974 s37.  Accident to Wesley Yorke in 2004.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Following amputation to maintenance employee cleaning bean sprout drying machine.

Fined total of £12,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2, MHSWR 1999 and CHSWR 1996.  Employee received fatal injuries as a result of a retaining wall collapsing onto him.  The wall collapsed as a result of an excavation close to the wall foundations.  No support provided for the wall, no RA or method statement.

Director fined total of £12,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2, MHSWR 1999 and CHSWR 1996.  Employee received fatal injuries as a result of a retaining wall collapsing onto him.  The wall collapsed as a result of an excavation close to the wall foundations.  No support provided for the wall, no RA or method statement.

Fined total of £28,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3.  Collapse of structure at HMP Lindholme.

Fined £1,500 under WHR 2005.  Unsafe roofwork during disassembly of steel framed building.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and s6.  IP fell through an 8ft hole, taking a compressor with him.

Fined £1,000 under WHR 2005.  Reroofing two terraced properties without scaffolding.

Boots Opticians Ltd have been ordered to pay Truro store manager Sophie Combarel, £170,643 damages for stress-related ill health.  The employment tribunal ruled that Combarel's mental breakdown resulted from Boots' "abject, complete and catastrophic failure" to appreciate the significance of her ill health and its failure to manage the situation appropriately.

According to the joint Annual CBI/AXA survey, 'Absence minded: absence and labour turnover 2006', last year 175 million working days were lost in the UK through days off sick, losing the economy an estimated £13.4 billion.

Workers' health has been identified as one of five priority areas to form part of a national approach to local regulatory enforcement.  The recommendation was made by Peter Rogers, Chief Executive of Westminster Council, in his Review for the Cabinet Office.

The fifth report issued by the Buncefield MIIB, in the wake of the 2005 explosion, has concluded that systematic assessment of inherent safety levels, high-integrity systems to prevent escape of fuel, and a positive safety culture and leadership ethos are essential if another Buncefield-type incident is to be avoided at Britain's major hazard sites.

New research published by Nuffield Proactive Health has found that a whopping 87% of employers believe that obese people are at a disadvantage in the job market, but only 4% have any measures to help employees manage weight issues.

A global campaign to tackle occup cancer has been launched with the chilling statistic that the disease is claiming at least one life every 52 seconds.  A cancer prevention guide, produced by the 'zero cancer' campaign, involved 11 global trade unions.

Rui Daniel Faria Velosa, owner of Sporting Clube de Londres fined £4,000 and costs of £2,000.  A customer received extensive burns from flammable alcoholic liquid that formed part of a chorizo sausage dish.  No suitable and sufficient RA of how to safely serve the dish, no implementation of the necessary control measures to prevent accidents happening and failure to report the accident.

Wardrop Joinery fined £25,000 and costs of £10,000.  Paul Hanton, a director of Wardrop, fined £7,500.  Employee Steve Woolston had two of his fingers severed in a woodcutting machine.  Wardrop fined for not ensuring its employees' safety and Hanton fined as the offence was committed with his consent, connivance, or was attributable to his neglect.

Redwall Developments fined £20,000 and costs of £686.  Two joiners were fitting windows from a telehandler with a pallet on the forks being used as a work platform to reach a window void on the second floor of a building (8m from the ground).  A Prohibition Notice was served.

A recent Court of Appeal decision to allow a train driver to appeal against a manslaughter conviction could help promote good safety.  (Michael Appleby)

Imagine having to make sure your H&S message is understood in 22 languages - welcome to the world of the Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA).  (Godric Jolliffe)

When an individual's poor performance or neglect are identified as the cause of a safety failure, it falls on safety professionals and human resources departments to decide the employee's fate.  What they can learn from the past.  (Peter Zymanczyk)

An attempt to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings about the discipline of ergonomics, and to convey how human factors professionals and ergonomists can address existing and new H&S challenges in the workplace.  (Trevor Evans)

Usually, safety is a figure of fun for the wrong reasons, but humour can be an effective training tool.  (Michael Millward)

The idea of talking finance can, for many practitioners, conjure up memories of being cornered by a colleague from the number-crunching division and asked to justify the cost of 20 new hard hats, but understanding how to put a monetary value on H&S can mean greater influence and resources for the department.  (Jonathan Edwin)

Leadership in H&S has a higher profile than ever before but do directors and senior managers understand sufficiently what good H&S leadership looks like in practice, as well as their legal responsibilities?  (Neil Molyneux)

With around 18,000 visitors due to descend on The NEC in Birmingham later this month for Safety and Health Expo, the Group's seminal efforts on one of the venue's most important safety issues - workplace transport.  (Gemma Prosser)

"Essential viewing" is how the Access Industry Forum (AIF), the 'alliance for access' representing the lead trade associations connected with working at height, is describing its presence at the 2007 Safety & Health Expo.

If you want to make sure your asbestos survey is worth more than the paper it's written on, listen up.  (Wayne Williams)

When was the last time you found an H&S notice board a fascinating source of information, or marvelled at a truly memorable H&S awareness poster?  Tips on how you can improve your communications.  (Clare Solomon)

Company directors can take very different attitudes towards the duties they have for their employees' H&S.  Ways in which changes to the law could have them all singing from the same hymn sheet.  (Lisa Fowlie)

There's an unacceptable number of fatalities and injuries in the construction industry but the revised CDM Regs should result in a step-change improvement. (Joy Jones)

The Court of Appeal has reduced by two years the manslaughter sentence imposed on company director Mark Connolly, whose "greed and deceit" resulted in the deaths of four railway maintenance workers.  The workers were killed when a three-tonne flatbed trailer ran away from a work site at Scout Green.  Connolly had, "for financial gain…deliberately dismantled" his trailers' braking systems.

Auchinlea Tyres fined £100,000 and the Managing Director, John Wallace, fined £24,000.  Donald Kelly, an 18-year-old trainee, was inflating a large JCB tyre when it exploded in his face, throwing him and the tyre around 5m.  He later died from massive chest injuries.  Failure to provide and maintain a safe system of work.

The HSC has decided to improve guidance for safety reps, but not to strengthen their rights.  The decision - or lack of it - came at a meeting of the Commission on 15 March and follows a consultation on worker involvement.

A survey carried out by the workers' H&S magazine, Hazards, found that persuading employers to act on workplace safety concerns is the most common problem faced by safety reps.

Published: 'Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regs 1989'.

On 1 April, the HSE took over responsibility for the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA), and enforcement responsibility for the Activity Centres (Young Persons' Safety) Act 1995 and the Adventure Activities Licensing Regs 2004.

On 1 April, the HSE assumed the security activities of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the operational nuclear safeguards work of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Bill Callaghan, the HSC's chair, has raised the possibility of greater self-regulation among "good performers".  Giving the annual Lowry Lecture, Callaghan said: "It must be to the benefit of both the regulator and the regulated that we spend less of our scarce resources on the relatively good performers and more on the poor performers".

Published: 'A study of the slip characteristics of natural and manmade stone flooring materials'.

Published: 'An analysis of the prevalence and distribution of stress in the construction industry'.

On 4 April, the HSE published a brief guide on the Work at Height Regs 2005, as amended by the Work at Height (Amendment) Regs 2007.

A look at the EC's new H&S strategy.  (Howard Fidderman)

A forthright analysis of a major HSE campaign on slips and trips at work.  (Howard Fidderman)

HSB's latest state-of-play table reviews all HSC/E activity and other important developments between 11 October 2006 and 6 April 2007.  The table also reports on the current position on legislative proposals, and provides readers with an early warning of important or likely developments in H&S.

C. J. Murfitt Ltd fined £14,000, Potton Ltd fined £7,000 and Shenley Carpentry Contractors Ltd fined £4,000.  Ordered to pay costs of £8,588 between them.  Workman Darius Griskevicius suffered serious injury after falling 5m into an unguarded stairwell in a block of flats under construction.  The risk presented by the work had been identified but the three companies failed to communicate and coordinate their activities effectively so as to ensure that the simple precautions needed were in place at all times.

The North West Contact Centre Project has brought together contact centres, H&S experts, local authorities and union reps to produce the new guidance on how slips, trips and falls can be avoided in the workplace.

HSE has called its eighth special leadership summit at the DeVere Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth on 23rd May to ask the asbestos removal industry to make further improvements in reducing ill-health caused by work with asbestos.  This follows an assessment of the industry's performance.

British Engines Ltd fined £5,000 and costs of £1,514.48.  Employee Leslie Anderson suffered serious injuries to his hand when it came into contact with a cutting disc.  No safe system of work, no guarding of dangerous moving parts.

HSE has served an Improvement Notice on Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) following two incidents resulting in three fatalities and a third incident resulting in serious injury at local bus stations.  Jack and Elsie Steel and Ann Kerridge were killed when hit by a bus whilst using a designated crossing point.  Ivy Kershaw was also hit by a bus at a crossing and is in hospital with serious injuries.

Tate and Lyle Industries Ltd fined £8,600 and costs.  Employee Danielle Davies, who had only recently started working with the company, lost part of her finger when trying to clear a blockage from a packaging machine.  Failure to ensure the H&S of employees and to carry out a suitable and sufficient RA.

Construction workers in Llanelli will be getting some tips on working in safety from the Working Well Together 'White Van' Roadshow which is touring building sites across South Wales on 14th and 15th May.  Advice will be offered to workers on any H&S issues raised, ranging from working at height to on-site transport.

McDonald and Ross Ltd fined £30,000 and Ron Boyd Trading fined £7,500.  Mr Nicholas McKellar died after a steel beam weighing almost 1,000kg fell from a vehicle as it was being unloaded.  Inadequate training in loading, unloading and transporting steel, and failure to assess the risks involved.

Fined £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Previously known as Outokumpu MKM Ltd.

Fined £9,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Accident to Steven Harris.

Fined total of £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3.  Highways operations carried out without a suitable assessment of the risks and in an unsafe manner.

Fined £7,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Elderly person received burns from a hot radiator.  No guarding.

Fined £15,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Failure to ensure employees were not exposed to asbestos.

Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Failure to ensure employees of contractor were not at risk from exposure to asbestos.

Fined £15,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  IP fell around 1.5m from the side of a pick-up.

Fined £5,000 under DSEAR 2002.  Failure to arrange safe storage of LPG cylinders at Maltby Service Station, Rotherham.

Fined £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Accident to member of the public who fell down a deep hole in the driveway that was obscured by leaves.  IP later died in hospital.

Fined £30,000 under CHSWR 1996.  Failure to prevent employees falling from a scaffold at a site in Palmerston Place, Edinburgh.  Employee had no knowledge or experience regarding inspection of scaffolds.

Fined total of £48,750 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  First charge: Scaffold dismantled at Palmerston Place without taking steps to ensure its stability.  As a result, the scaffold collapsed during strong winds injuring a member of the public.  Second charge: Failure to erect scaffold in such a way as to ensure sfarp the safety of persons not in your employment.

Fined £50,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Case brought following a lengthy investigation of a fatal accident.  Case unrelated to accident but considered necessary in view of public interest.

CFR Group PLC fined £100,750 and costs of £33,000.  28-year-old employee, Philip Martin, was electrocuted while wiring a water-unit as another employee in a power switch-room turned on the electricity.  No power lock off systems.  Inadequate signage, no RA.  Indication that contractors on site were working excessive hours.

Acas has launched a new tool for businesses to check how they currently share information and consult with their employees.  Following the introduction of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regs last month, all businesses with 100 or more employees must consult their workforce on issues such as strategic direction, job losses, H&S and mergers.

A £1.2 million plan to improve the H&S of Scottish workers identifies a range of actions, with timescales, to be delivered by the Scottish Executive and key partners.  They include expanding H&S advisory services and developing and promoting worker involvement.

In the countdown to England becoming smoke-free, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued public health guidance on the most effective ways to encourage and support employees to stop smoking.

The new UK policy for managing solid low level radioactive waste (LLW) is available online.

The EU Parliament has approved new rules to improve the safety of medical devices such as surgical equipment or implants.

Engaging workers in their own H&S and that of their colleagues is a major challenge in the effort to reduce work-related deaths and injuries in the UK.  Yet it is the only way that significant change is going to take place.  (Nick Cook)

The Government estimates that around 600,000 migrant workers are registered in the UK, many working long hours for low pay and often without any H&S training.  (Elizabeth Gates)

Are slips and trips on your company's agenda?  Accounting for over one third of major injury workplace accidents reported to the HSE they should be.  (Helena Allum)

The death of 14-year-old Charlotte Shaw while training for the Ten Tors challenge in Devon earlier this year has again raised questions about the exposure of young people to risk in an educational setting.  Some of the issues surrounding our approach to safety and young people.  (Roger Bibbings)

A new project is underway to help small firms get the assistance they need to manage H&S.

Teachers say schools are becoming 'glasshouses' in summer heatwaves and are demanding the right to walk out of classrooms if the temperature exceeds 27°C.  They warn that staff and pupils are risking 'dizziness, fainting, or even heat cramps'.

Building Workers International (BWI) is appealing for a renewed international effort to convince the Canadian Government to recognise that asbestos is the world's biggest industrial killer and that it should be banned in all countries.

When firefighter Simon Hawkins decided he wanted to return to active duties, just 18 months after losing part of his leg, it presented some unique challenges for the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.

William Reidy sentenced to 16 months in prison for charges relating to the keeping and depositing of asbestos waste, Leonard Imeson sentenced to 4 months in prison for charges relating to asbestos waste offences, and Neil Medley given 100 hours community service for falsifying documents.  The three men were working together in a demolition business run by Reidy, called Space Making Development (SMD).

Suzy Lamplugh Trust has launched the new 'Personal Safety at Work: Planning for safety and conflict management' DVD, which uses real experiences to show how simple strategies can help to keep us all safer at work.

A TV campaign to educate people about the dangers of driving and talking on the phone has been launched by the Government as part of its THINK! road safety series.

'Managing age: A guide to good employment practice' has been produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the TUC.  The guide addresses the main concerns of both employers and trade union reps surrounding the new age regs that came into force last October.

The Government appears to be responding to concerns raised by safety campaigners about proposed changes to funding for courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages.

In far away workshops, devoid of H&S regulation, men, women and children dismember mountains of toxic electronic scrap.  But Greenpeace campaigners say the world's e-waste should be everybody's problem.

Postal union CWU is supporting an e-petition calling for safer letterboxes.  It's 65,000 members carrying out deliveries on a daily basis are constantly bending down to letterboxes virtually at ground level, putting themselves at risk of back injuries.

The fourth European working conditions survey shows that UK workers are the least likely in Europe to take time off work because of illness caused by their work.

'Negotiating smoke-free workplaces - a guide for workplace' has been produced by the TUC, especially designed for workplace reps.

The TUC says that if children learned proper typing and keyboard skills at school it would help prevent thousands of them suffering RSI later on.

Acas has launched a new free online course to help employers avoid bullying or discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the workplace.

Do you supply or use temps or agency workers?  Make yourself aware of your responsibilities for their H&S and print off useful guidance from the Business Link site.

HSE has developed free interactive software to help farmers carry out a comprehensive H&S assessment of their farms and to raise levels of H&S awareness in the industry.

The warning comes after Harry Kindred (Newcastle) Ltd was fined £6,000 and costs of £608.40 for failing to comply with two Improvement Notices.  Conditions on the site presented a danger of causing slips and trips and falls from height.  Inadequate welfare facilities.

HSE inspectors attended a presentation ceremony at Liskeard Community Hospital on 18th May, at which a CO monitor was presented to the staff by local MP and active gas safety campaigner, Colin Breed.

Derby City Council fined £50,000 and costs of £20,000, and Peter Westran, Director of Horizon Windows and Glass Ltd fined £5,000.  Asbestos at Silverhill Primary School was disturbed while windows were being replaced, despite its presence being known by the Council and the contractor.

As the Six Cities Design Festival gets underway, the HSE is reminding designers of their obligations under the new CDM 2007 Regs.  The Regs aim to encourage and develop innovative thinking, so that H&S is incorporated in all new buildings, from construction to eventual demolition. 

Progressive businesses are being invited to a free introduction to health and safety at Battersea Evolution on 19 June.  The joint event will have opportunities to find out more about workplace H&S, food hygiene, fire safety and smoke free regulations.

Wye Valley Demolition Ltd fined £6,000 and costs of £13,621.49.  During demolition of a former grain store building, asbestos cement sheets, which should have been removed under controlled conditions, were smashed to the ground by a machine and then spread over the demolition site.

Fined £1,500 under WHR 2005.  Inadequate scaffolding following related PN.

Fined £17,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Relating to drill floor incident 3/2/06.

Fined total of £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s21.  Construction site at South View, Eaglescliffe had not, sfarp been kept in good order.

Fined £2,500 under PUWER 1998.  Failure to maintain protective device on vertical injection moulding machine.

Fined total of £10,000 under PUWER 1998 and HASAWA 1974 s2.  15-year-old IP on work experience alighted moving FLT driven by 16-year-old unauthorised driver, FLT ran over ankle.

Found guilty under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Contractor's employee and MoP injured when the contractor's employee fell from canopy above Oxford Street whilst erecting a marquee.  MoP injured by falling ladder.

Fined £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Employee and MoP injured when employee fell from canopy above Oxford Street whilst erecting a marquee.  MoP injured by falling ladder.

Fined £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Visiting HGV driver hit and injured by a reversing FLT during vehicle loading operations.  Safe system of work and sufficient information and instruction not provided, workplace not organised so as to effectively separate vehicles and pedestrians.

Fined £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Relating to accident to Davenport/Ilieva.

Fined £75,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Ymer Gashi was working in a trench when a bucket became detached from an excavator and landed on Mr Gashi causing fatal injuries.

Fined £60,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Company were PC for Eurolink site where fatal accident occurred.  Ymer Gashi was working for a subcontractor in a trench when a bucket became detached from an excavator and landed on Mr Gashi causing fatal injuries.

Fined £750 under HASAWA 1974 s7.  Ymer Gashi was working in a trench when a bucket became detached from an excavator and landed on Mr Gashi causing fatal injuries.

Bill Callaghan has called on leaders in the chemical and major hazard industries to reinforce partnership working practices with the HSE and the Competent Authority.  He emphasised the need and significance of board-level leadership and director responsibility on H&S to achieve a cultural change towards safety and to control major hazard risks.

Accident rates among members of the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) have fallen by 33% in five years.  The ECA's latest figures for the year to January 2007 show a one-third cut in injuries notified under RIDDOR, and a 59% reduction in major accidents since 2001.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that 23-year-old Michael Eyres can sue his employer, Atkinsons Kitchens and Bedrooms, for damages.  Eyres was left paralysed after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his van at the end of a 19-hour shift.  He has been awarded £400,000 in interim compensation and his final award is expected to exceed £1 million.

InBev UK fined £15,000 and costs of £5,076.  Maintenance engineer Brynley Allen was working on the brewery roof at Magor when he stepped onto a brittle plastic rooflight and fell 4.3 m, sustaining serious injuries.  No method statement, RA or safe system of work.

NICE has posted guidance on its website suggesting that employers should "think about allowing employees to attend stop smoking services during working hours without loss of pay".  The suggestion drew terse complaints from the BCC and the Forum for Private Business, but the FSB and the CIPD have welcomed the advice.

In the first of a new series, a former HSE inspector reflects on the lighter side of enforcing the law.  (Paul Smith)

Under new rules that came into effect on 23 April, so-called ambulance-chasing claims firms can no longer trade unless they are formally authorised and comply with a strict code of conduct.

According to a survey by Fireco, two-thirds of workplaces are breaching last year's new fire legislation by propping open fire doors.  Almost one in three premises audited lacked adequate escape route signage.

Allan St John Holt, head of H&S at Royal Mail Group and ex-president of IOSH, has died at the age of 63.  Alan received the OBE for services to H&S.

In the first of a short series on H&S enforcement in the major developing countries, a look east to China.  (Adrienne Gleeson)

If employees won't take any responsibility for their own safety, you need a hard-nosed approach to rule breaking.  (John Gilbertson)

You should apply the same risk management techniques to workplace bullies that you would to any inanimate hazard.  (Oliver Brennan)

A just-in-time method of providing safety instructions, where the writing is anywhere but on the wall.  (Lucie Ponting)

Opinion is divided on whether paying staff safety incentives cuts accidents or simply encourages employees not to report them.  (Jocelyn Dorrell)

An initiative that ties safety improvement tightly to business efficiency and customer satisfaction.  (Sara Bean)

On 1 July, England will follow Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in going smoke-free.  The best online guidance for employers.  (Bridget Leathley)

Combined RAs and DDA assessments for disabled workers.  (Duncan Abbott)

Accident investigation techniques are the theme in the latest guide for students of the NEBOSH National Diploma.  (Lawrence Bamber)

The National Community Safety Network is hosting the second 'National Convention for Safer Communities' on 19-21 June at Sheffield City Hall, South Yorkshire.  A diverse range of subjects will be covered, including fire safety issues, crime and health.

Men Shun Fireworks Co. Ltd fined £20,000 and costs of £50,000.  The company chairman, Run Guang Tan fined £20,000.  An inspection found there was no fire detection and alarm system or firefighting equipment in the Wetherby warehouse.  All five of its fire exit doors were barred and totally obstructed.  The site was also being used to store illegally a large quantity of palletised fireworks.

According to Communities and Local Government (CLG), the move to local risk planning and the increased emphasis by brigades on fire prevention has resulted in significant reductions in the number of fires and fire deaths.

With the introduction of the Fire Safety Order, it is more important than ever for facilities managers to be aware of the fire safety provisions that are necessary in and around buildings.

Fire safety officers in Lancashire are taking a robust approach to enforcing the new Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.  (Richard Stott)

H&S is at the forefront of the planning, design and construction arrangements for the London 2012 Olympics.  (Lawrence Waterman)

Alerting and informing building users, particularly disabled people, of the need to evacuate presents various challenges.  (David Gribble)

Emergency escape signage could be further improved to meet current public safety needs.  (Dennis Livingstone)

How the All England Tennis Club has addressed its fast-evolving fire protection needs.  (Nigel Pollard)

The HSE and the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives have joined forces to host a joint exhibition at the Royal Highland Agricultural Show, Islington on 21-24 June.  They will be promoting information and sources of advice, training and skills for a safe and healthy working life.

The HSC is announcing its decision to move to the next stage of its consultation process on the merger of HSC and the HSE.  Bill Callaghan, HSC Chair said, "Merging the Commission and Executive into a single body will give us a more robust governance framework, improve our working practices and create a stronger voice for H&S in Great Britain.".

As the countdown to the Tynedale Safer Working Community week continues, businesses across the district are likely to receive a visit from a joint team of inspectors from the HSE and Tynedale Council.  The team will be conducting inspections of premises throughout the week, and will also be promoting the safer working community events taking place next month.

Wigan and Leigh College's Hairdressing, Beauty and Holistic Therapy Department has taken special measures to reduce the affects of work-related dermatitis among graduates of its classes.

Bill Callaghan joined inspectors from Wychavon District Council and the HSE during two inspections of fruit and vegetable distribution depots in Evesham.  The event formed part of the HSE's national 'Moving Goods Safely' initiative that involves inspections on those sectors where the movement of goods forms a fundamental aspect of their business.

"There have been 40 confirmed incidents occurring at fairs and amusement parks in the North West since 2001, resulting in 22 major injuries.  …  These have occurred frequently because safety instructions have been ignored or overlooked."  (Paul Spurrier, HSE regional fairground inspector)

Well Ops (UK) Ltd, formerly Cal Dive International Ltd, fined £110,000.  Mr Derrick Love, 34, died after being struck by a 12m long well intervention tool, weighing 370kg on the offshore multi-service vessel, MSV Seawell.

Harrogate and District H&S Forum is holding a free 'Smoke Free Regulations' H&S event on 6 June at the Pavillions, Harrogate.  The event is aimed at small and medium sized businesses and will provide information and guidance on how to make sure all the requirements are being met.

The H&S Commissioner, Professor Sayeed Khan received a distinguished service award at the RoSPA Awards Gala Dinner.

Fined £45,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Nine-tonne Bison slab toppled from partially complete structure.

Fined £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Fatal accident occurred to employee, lone worker on Quad Bike.

Fined £100,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.  Fatal drowning accident involving contractors Mark and Luke Wells on the Kennet and Avon canal.

Fined £2,500 under PUWER 1998.  IP suffered injuries to his hand when he accessed the rotating worms of a mincing machine.  Inadequate guarding.

Fined £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3.

Fined £70,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Case resulted from investigation of fatality.

Fined £2,500 under CHSWR 1996.  Employee fell through a fragile barn roof.

Fined £80,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2.  Failure to prevent unauthorised access to areas containing uncovered vehicle examination pits.  John Ruby fell into one of the pits, resulting in his death.

Fined £4,600 under ALR.  Unlicensed removal of asbestos.

Fined £4,600 under HASAWA 1974 s37.  Unlicensed removal of asbestos.