Welcome to the archive section of Health & Safety News, a free service which is updated weekly. As well as producing Health and Safety News, HASTAM is an established provider of heath and safety consultancy, health and safety training and audit software (CHASE).
H&S News February 2009
| HSE demands that loads are safely secured after driver dies. |
| Coastal Container Line Limited fined £150,000 with costs of £26,732 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Lawrence Allen died when his load of steel shifted and punched through the back of his cab. The steel was being moved between Gladstone Steel Terminal and the quayside using roads within the dock complex, a distance of about one and a half miles. HSE is warning employers that they must properly restrain loads on vehicles - whatever the distance travelled. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/036/09 29/1/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Tesco rings up £20,000 fine for sliced fingers. |
| Tesco fined £20,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and PUWER 1998. A dough-dividing machine had a faulty interlock switch which resulted in employees being instructed to use the emergency stop button instead. Lifting the lid off the machine without pressing the button became commonplace. Monitoring by management should have noticed this and rectified the situation. As a result the blade sliced off the tips of two fingers of an employee. |
HSW February 2009:2 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Tachograph fine. |
| Ferris Holidays has been fined £51,000 for road safety offences after it allowed drivers to exceed their legal hours limits. Ferris maintained the violations were technical and would not have put passengers in jeopardy. The company's 18 drivers were also fined a total of £8,325. |
HSW February 2009:7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Grid's noise payout. |
| A retired National Grid employee has won a £4,000 out-of-court compensation award for occup deafness. Stanley Owston had worked for them until the early 1990s, doing work involving jackhammers and compressors but was not issued with hearing protection till the mid 1980s. An audiogram in 2006 revealed noise-induced hearing loss in both ears. |
HSW February 2009:7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Legal brief: Chargot - risk and reasonable behaviour. |
| In the first of an occasional legal column, a consideration of several cases involving challenges to the way the Health and Safety at Work Act is defined in practice. (Melissa Jones) |
HSW February 2009:9 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Asbestos fine adds to bankrupt Woolworths' woes. |
| Woolworths fined £20,000 plus £20,000 costs under HASAWA 1974 s2 and LCH Contracts fined £50,000 and costs of £50,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Till refurbishment work was to be carried out at two stores, involving the removal of AIB ceiling tiles. Methods of work agreed with local councils were not adhered to. Not enclosing the areas of work resulted in the shelves and stock being left covered with dust. The work was carried out overnight and LCH left without carrying out a thorough cleanup, leaving Woolworths' staff to do so using dustpans and brushes. The assistant manager at one store was told to open the store the morning after the work. Asbestos dust was detected in samples taken three months after the work. |
HSW February 2009:10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Legislative calendar. |
| Calendar of new and upcoming legislation. |
HSW February 2009:10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| 2009 - What's in store. |
| Key figures in the H&S world offer their views of the issues that will dominate the year ahead. |
HSW February 2009:14-16,18-19 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| A problem shared: HSE's new strategy. |
| Judith Hackitt's hopes for the recently launched draft strategy. (Louis Wustemann) |
HSW February 2009:21-23 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| How to win friends ? |
| Some simple influencing techniques to help ensure people listen to your safety messages. (Tim Marsh) |
HSW February 2009:24-26 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Health and safety pay survey 2008. |
| Around 650 people took part in the third HSW annual pay survey. (Louis Wustemann) |
HSW February 2009:29-31 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Hard habits. |
| Why managers can't afford to turn a blind eye to addiction. (Kate Nowlan and Mark Snelling) |
HSW February 2009:33-34 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Reinventing the wheel. |
| Considering the value of driver assessment and training software and how to pick the right product. (Bridget Leathley) |
HSW February 2009:36-38 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Handle with care. |
| Considering the designer's role in promoting ergonomically sound work methods in construction. (Lawrence Bamber) |
HSW February 2009:40-42 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Fake high-vis gear puts lives at risk. |
| Fake and substandard high-visibility clothing is putting workers' lives at risks. Inquiries by HSB have shown that major retailers throughout England have been selling substandard high-visibility garments. Garments bought and tested by the Reflective Equipment Manufacturers Assoc (REMA) during 2007 and 2008 in a dozen LA jurisdictions found substandard garments on sale in two of the UK's largest supermarket chains, as well as a car-accessory chain and two multi-chain discount stores. Some were almost useless in making wearers visible at night. BERR has promised to fund an investigation into the problem. |
Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):1 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Cancer awareness. |
| The TUC has published a guide on occup cancer to accompany the launch of a major campaign to raise awareness of workplace toxic chemicals and substances that may cause illness later in life. |
"Occup cancer: A workplace guide" Internet: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/occupationalcancer.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):4 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Core criteria drive. |
| More than 20 organisations have signed a joint statement supporting a set of common H&S criteria to assist small firms seeking contracts of work. |
Internet: www.rospa.com/occupationalsafety/sme/initiative.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):4 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Death predictor. |
| A long-running study of civil servants has come up with the first evidence of a link between individual causes of sickness absence and an increased likelihood of early death. In workers who had at least one medically certified sickness absence of more than seven days in a three year period, there was a mortality rate 1.66 times greater than those with no certified spells. |
"Diagnosis-specific absence as a predictor of mortality: The Whitehall II prospective cohort study. Head et al 2008" BMJ Online First http://tinyurl.com/431q5a Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):6 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Welfare "conditionality". |
| The Government has published proposals for making people claiming employment and support allowance (progressively replacing incapacity benefits) subject to "progression to work conditionality". The proposals will form the basis of the Welfare Reform Bill which will be introduced into Parliament later this year. |
Internet: www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/raisingexpectations/ Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):6 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Absence - rates. |
| HSE-commissioned research has been unable to corroborate ill-health, injury and absence statistics collected by six major employer organisations with those reported by workers under the Labour Force Survey. The main hindrance was that the statistics had been collected in different ways. |
"The feasibility of comparing sickness absence surveys and the Labour Force Survey" Internet: http://www.hse.gov.uk/RESEARCH/rrhtm/rr673.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Agriculture - fatalities. |
| The HSE has published detailed analysis of agricultural deaths in 2007/08. 39 workers died during the year, the major cause being overturning of vehicles or being struck by vehicles (34 per cent). |
"Fatal injuries in farming, forestry horticulture and associated industries" Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/ Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Chemicals - advice. |
| The HSE has developed a new portal to signpost users quickly to their area of interest on the HSE chemicals pages. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/chemicals/index.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Chemicals - CHIP. |
| Consultation will close on February 13 on proposals to replace the Chemical (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations. The 2009 Regulations, which will be known as CHIP 4, are due to come into force on 6 April. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd220.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Chemicals - REACH. |
| HSE has published a four page leaflet on "substances of very high concern". |
"Substances of very high ? " www.hse.gov.uk/reach/svhc.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Corporate responsibility - CHaSPI. |
| Greenstreet Berman, which developed the Corporate Health and Safety Performance Index (CHaSPI) for HSE, has been asked by them to review its uptake and use. |
Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Economics - costs of failure. |
| The HSE as published revised total costs to society of workplace injuries and ill health. The revisions reflect a recent HSE paper on calculating the costs. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/economics/eauappraisal.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):7 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Gas - installers. |
| Capita, the provider of the new gas installer registration scheme, has unveiled the scheme's new brand: Gas Safe Register. |
Internet: www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):8 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Lead - advice. |
| The HSE has updated its web pages on working safely with lead. The advice covers the risks and management of exposure to lead, legislative requirements and health surveillance. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/lead/index.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):8 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Noise - musicians. |
| HSE-commissioned research has found that classical musicians "are reluctant to wear any type of hearing protection when playing solo or exposed pieces of music, which require them to play at the highest possible standard". |
"Musicians' hearing protection: A review" www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr664.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):9 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Noise - Regulations. |
| HSE-commissioned research into the effect of noise Regulations has found "no evidence to suggest that lower compliance leads to greater risk of noise induced hearing loss". |
"Epidemiological evidence for the effectiveness ? " Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr669.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):9 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Pesticides - incidents. |
| Inspectors from the HSE's Field Operations Directorate investigated 94 complaints about pesticides in the year to 30 March 2008 - a decrease of six on the previous year. |
"Pesticides incidents field report: Field ? " Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/fod/pir0708.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):9 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Stress - benchmarking. |
| The HSE has published a new version of its stress management standards Analysis Tool, which allows organisations to identify potential stressors. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/news.htm#revisedtool Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Stress - workers. |
| The HSE has revised its basic four-page leaflet for employees on what to do about stress at work, including advice on the HSE's stress management standards. |
"Working together to reduce stress at work - a guide for employees" Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Transport - roads. |
| HSE has included on its website guidance from the cross-industry Road Workers' Safety Forum on roadside activities including maintenance works and the repair or recovery of broken down vehicles. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg238.pdf and www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/roadside.htm Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Vibration - employees. |
| HSE has published a new version of its "pocket card" "Hand-arm vibration: Advice for employees" (INDG296(rev1)). |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg296.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Working at height - roofs. |
| HSE has revised its leaflet on working on roofs, the single biggest cause of fatal and major injuries in construction. |
"Working on roofs" INDG 284 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg284.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):10 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| The new HSE strategy: ask not what regulators can do for you. |
| The HSE's new draft strategy. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):11-14 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Whose bright idea was that? |
| Since it was developed in the 1930s, "high-visibility" gear has become an icon of H&S. Reflecting on its past, present and future. (Becky Allen) |
Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):15-18 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| "Barnsley doesn't flood" - the lessons from summer 2007. |
| Safety practitioners should be adding flooding to the ever lengthening lists of risks they need to address. (Andrea Oates) |
Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):19-23 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| NHS Plus: putting the health back into the NHS and SMEs. |
| Seven years on, a belief that the state-provided occup health service's time may finally have come. (Lucinda Ponting) |
Health and Safety Bulletin January/February 2009 (375):24-28 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| HSE demands firms take safety seriously after teenager injured. |
| East Lancashire Box Company was fined a total of £12,000 and costs of £3,451 under HASAWA 1974 s2, MHSWR 1999 and an offence under the EWYPCA 1920. A 16 year old employee was cleaning a slow-moving roller using a cloth wrapped around his hand. The cloth became entangled in the top roller, dragging his hand into the machine, breaking a finger and causing crush injuries to two of his fingers. He was employed with the specific task of folding and breaking out cardboard boxes. However, if he completed these tasks, the teenager was told to help with tidying up. Failure to ensure the H,S&W of an employee, failure to make a suitable risk assessment and employment of a child in an industrial undertaking. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/037/09 29/1/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| HSE warns companies to follow correct asbestos handling procedures. |
| Westpoint Schoolcare Ltd was fined £1,000 and costs of £515 under CAR 2006. The company failed to properly assess whether asbestos was present before starting refurbishment work and also failed to take the necessary steps to prevent its employees being exposed to asbestos dust and undertook licensable work without holding a licence. The school being refurbished provided the company with information from their asbestos register clearly identifying asbestos, however, the company did not properly act on this information. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/038/09 29/1/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| HSE warns firms to use adequate guarding after worker suffers severe hand injuries. |
| Anglian Timber Ltd was fined £5,000 and costs of £19,280 under PUWER 1998. A man had his index finger amputated and suffered significant damage to his right hand. He had been training to become a physiotherapist. He was producing timber fence rails on a modified spindle moulding machine. He thought the extraction system was blocked and opened the lid to the machine, which was not secured and interlocked. In checking that extraction pipes were clear his hand made contact with the cutters on the rotating head, resulting in severe injuries to his right hand. |
HSE (East) Press Release HSE-E01-09 30/1/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Free gas safety awareness event for Burton landlords. |
| The HSE is working with East Staffordshire Borough Council Housing Team to help make sure tenants in private rented property in the Burton area are safe in their homes. Landlords and Managing Agents were invited to a free Gas Safety Awareness Event to find out more about their responsibilities for ensuring tenants' safety in properties where gas appliances are installed. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release WM/495/09 2/2/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Helping to prevent accidents in Scottish care homes. |
| The HSE together with LACORS and the Care Commission held a seminar for care home owners. The event was by invitation only. Over the past 2 years, care home owners have reported over 11,000 work-related accidents in the UK. While the majority of these involve employees, 34 resulted in deaths to people who use care services. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release SCO/013/09 4/2/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| HSE invites scaffolders to February's Free Safe Scaffolding Events in Worcester and Stafford. |
| Organised by HSE in conjunction with the construction industry's local Working Well Together groups, the FREE safe scaffolding event will be held on Thursday 12 February at Worcester Rugby Club and on Thursday 26 February at Staffordshire County Showground. The half day sessions are free of charge and open to the self-employed or those with a small building construction or contracting company. Other areas holding the event will be Shropshire, Hertfordshire, Wolverhampton and Dudley. |
Info: 0121 607 6293 or cheryl.eeles@hse.gsi.gov.uk HSE (West Midlands) Press Release WM499/09 4/2/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| HSE warns employees after worker breaks finger. |
| Advance Castings Co Ltd was fined a total of £3,500 and costs of £3,000 under PUWER 1998. An employee's finger was broken and others injured in the unguarded part of a rotating chain drive. The operator put his hand in an unguarded gap to check the chain tension on hearing a rattling noise and the moving chain drew his hand in until it became trapped and injured by the teeth of the chain sprocket. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release WM/471/09 4/2/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| HSE warns farmers - make sure machinery is properly guarded. |
| Lumgair Brothers was fined £4,400 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and MHSWR 1999. A 16 year old boy lost his thumb which was trapped in a potato grading machine. The machine had remained unguarded for about 6 months. The guard was found on site, close to the machine by HSE on the day of the accident. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release SCO/017/09 5/2/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Death of elderly woman calls for better risk assessment. |
| Four Seasons Homes No.4 Ltd was fined a total of £66,000 and costs of £21,355 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999. In a care home that they own a care assistant was working alone transferring an 83 year old woman from a commode to a bed using a hoist. The woman was left sitting unattended on the edge of her bed and being partially paralysed was unable to stop herself from falling to the floor. She later died in hospital. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release WM431/08 6/2/09 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Amec Group Ltd |
| Fined £150,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality. |
HSE Prosecution 4083690 26/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Shell U.K. Limited |
| Fined £150,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality |
HSE Prosecution 4084012 26/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Allan Buttrill |
| Fined £2,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Scrap crane with no brakes driven/pulled onto low loader by untrained driver fell off injuring driver. Accident not reported. |
HSE Prosecution 4113203 26/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Western Power Distribution (South West) plc |
| Fined £200,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Fatal electrocution of a member of the public. |
HSE Prosecution 4112250 27/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Perthshire Oil Heating |
| Admonished under HASAWA 1974 s3. Householder sustained serious injuries after falling through open hatch in hallway. Hatch had been left unguarded by central heating contractor. Adrian Newth t/a Perthshire Oil Heating was not fined but ordered to pay £300 in compensation to the injured party. |
HSE Prosecution 4112752 27/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| British Gas Services Limited |
| Fined £2,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Householder sustained serious injuries after falling through open hatch in hallway. Hatch had been left unguarded by central heating installation contractor. Ordered by court to pay injured party compensation £2,700. |
HSE Prosecution 4112882 27/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Power Systems Services Ltd |
| Fined £7,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. No Sep Penalty under MHOR 1992. IP was agency worker employed by Company as a welder. PSS are contracted by EDF to provide maintenance to the airheaters. IP saw 2 employees trying to remove wear shoes and having some difficulty due to the weight. IP and another agency worker went to help and in the process suffered a dislocated shoulder. RA generic, MS had no mention of how? weight?, was assigned to two people, and requires employees to "manhandle shoes in and out". Central wear shoes weigh in excess of 100kg when new. |
HSE Prosecution 4116396 27/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Jamia Al-Karam |
| Fined £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Prosecution raised following accident investigation. Fall from height. |
HSE Prosecution 4127625 27/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Aggregate Industries UK Limited |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Shot firer sustained badly broken leg whilst blasting a face 14m forward (and below) the blast shelter, when struck by a rock falling from the face behind it entering through the rear of the shelter. Company failed to maintain the face behind the blast shelter such that instability or movement which was likely to give rise to risk to health and safety of any person was avoided. |
HSE Prosecution 4110425 28/11/08 Week ending: 06/02/09 |
| Airbus hit for £200,000 over fatal Concorde tour. |
| Airbus UK Ltd fined £200,000 and costs of £85,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. BAC Trading Ltd fined £10,000 and costs of £1,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Mr Horace Livall died after falling through a gap between Concorde and the access walkway whilst it was on exhibit in Filton Aerodrome. Neither Airbus nor BAC had undertaken a risk assessment. |
SHP February 2009:11 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Clampdown on bad drivers. |
| Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick has announced new measures to tackle reckless and drunken road users. People's views on better enforcement and legal updates are being sought. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Bulletin January 2009: 5 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Signs of poisoning. |
| According to England's Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, health practitioners and the public generally do not realise the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning. There are approx 50 accidental deaths per year in the UK from CO poisoning, and over 200 cases of recorded non-fatal injury. |
"Carbon monoxide - are you at risk?" Internet: http://tinyurl.com/cxo2gm RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Bulletin January 2009:10 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Belting up. |
| Every day someone dies simply because they are not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle. To remind drivers and passengers of legal requirements, the DfT is running adverts highlighting devastating consequences of failing to belt up. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Bulletin January 2009:11 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Insurers told to redouble their efforts to help trace EL policies. |
| The Government has urged insurers to improve the way that they record details of employers' liability (EL) insurance policies, after figures showed that thousands of injured workers were blocked from claiming compensation because they could not trace their former employers' policies. |
SHP February 2009:6 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Slapdash absence management costing business. |
| A pan-European report says that organisations are missing out on significant costs savings because they are struggling to manage their employee absence rates. |
Internet: www.mercer.com/healthsurveyeurope SHP February 2009:7 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Survey punches hole in compensation-culture claims. |
| New research suggests that most people have modest expectations of awards for damages following injuries at work, casting doubt on the oft-made claim that there is a compensation culture in Britain. |
SHP February 2009:8 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Don't disregard excessive working hours, warn TUC. |
| The TUC believes the recession is not the time for their usual light-hearted promotion of "Work your proper hours day" on February 27, but they don't want employers to ignore the issue. They think that people will inevitably put in extra hours if it can help protect them against redundancy or keep their employer in business - but this shouldn't mean they should ignore excessive working. |
SHP February 2009:8 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| A missed opportunity. |
| Although the Law Lords, with the Chargot decision, opted to keep the situation as it is, their comments are nevertheless important in the light of the new Health and Safety (Offences) Act. (Kevin Bridges) |
SHP February 2009:17 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Justice delayed - justice denied? |
| One of the questions most frequently asked in relation to SHP's "In Court" series is: why did it take so long for this case to come to court? The answer, and suggestions as to what the profession can do to improve the situation. (Kevin McLoughlin and Si?n Wall) |
SHP February 2009:32-34 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Throw it out to the audience. |
| In the major hazards sectors, ensuring your processes are as safe as possible can seem a very technical exercise. Leaving management of such issues to the "Process-safety exerts" is likely to leave a company's workforce disengaged from the risks involved. (Jeremy Bending) |
SHP February 2009:37-39 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Team CDM. |
| How the duties outlined in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations are met by the various and numerous parties involved in the building work for the London 2012 Olympics. (Jonathan Scopes) |
SHP February 2009:40-42 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Net gain. |
| Legislation governing work at height stipulates that, where protective measures are used, collective methods must be prioritised over personal equipment. Safety nets come under the former - an insight into how they should be managed, maintained and installed competently. (Tony Seddon) |
SHP February 2009:45-46 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Low profile. |
| Oscar Wilde once said, "Life is not complex, we are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing." Try telling that to the serial mis-users of "safer" low-level access equipment. (Peter Bennett) |
SHP February 2009:49-50 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Slips, trips and falls are no joke. |
| A total of 61 people died and more than 14,000 suffered serious injury as a result of a slip, trip or fall from height in British workplaces last year. These shocking statistics have prompted the launch of an awareness raising campaign from the HSE. The second phase of the Shattered Lives Campaign has been launched to highlight the devastating consequences of slips, trips and falls and to encourage employers, in consultation with their employees, to take action. |
HSE (National) Press Release E013:09 9/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Slips, trips and falls can be costly - as firm discovers. |
| Sunlight Services Group Ltd was fined a total of £5,600 and costs of £8,951 under WHSWR 1992 and MHSWR 1999. The company failed to ensure there was a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the wooden decking near a diesel pump and also to ensure every floor in the workplace was suitable for the purpose for which it was used and was not slippery. A driver was stranded after slipping and breaking his ankle as he prepared to fill his truck with diesel. He was alone for 20 minutes until managing to contact his wife by mobile phone and she called an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived they found the surface to be slippery and had to remove some of the decking before they could remove the man. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/WM/510/2009 10/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Two construction firms prosecuted following fatal accident in Doncaster. |
| UCS Civils Ltd (for Universal Construction Services Ltd) was sentenced after pleading guilty in an earlier hearing and fined £40,000 and costs of £31,600 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Pochin Concrete Pumping Ltd was fined £40,000 and costs of £45,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Michael Broughton, an employee of UCS Civils Ltd, was working with a group of employees pouring concrete to form the floor of an office building. A truck-mounted concrete pump was being used to take fresh concrete from delivery lorries to the building floor. A suspended hose used to pour the concrete "whipped" violently when the pump was restarted, throwing one man some distance and fatally injuring another. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) and (North West) Press Release YH/42/09 and HSE/NW041/09 10/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Remove risk of dangerous falls warns HSE. |
| Ballenwood Properties Ltd was fined a total of £4,000 and costs of £2,970 under RIDDOR 1995 and WHR 2005. A 59 year old self-employed bricklayer suffered serious head injuries when he fell 2.7 metres through a stairwell opening on the first floor of a house being built. Ballenwood also failed to report the injury, which is a legal requirement. The HSE take non-reporting of major injuries seriously and in appropriate circumstances will add this to any prosecution charges that are brought. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release YH/41/09 10/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Scottish construction industry aims high to ensure safe games legacy. |
| The construction industry in Scotland will get the opportunity to learn how it can contribute to the success of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games at a special event organised by the Scottish Construction Forum (SCF) and the HSE. The "Aiming High Landing Safely" seminar will highlight health and safety best practice in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics and help raise the bar for the Glasgow 2014 Games. The event will take place at Glasgow City Chambers on 18 February 9.00 am - 1.00 pm. Lunch included. |
Internet: www.intel-events.co.uk/scf Info: 01786 820254 HSE (Scotland) Press Release SCO/026/09 10/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Helping to prevent accidents at Scottish fish farms. |
| Scottish fish farmers have attended the UK's first aquaculture and maritime safely awareness event in Oban. Through practical demonstrations it reminded fish farmers of good practice and provided an opportunity for the industry to get together and share their experiences. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release SCO/025/09 12/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Free safety event could help builders avoid the cost of enforcement action. |
| The HSE in Wales is urging self-employed builders and the owners of small building firms to get free safety advice at an event in Colwyn Bay next month. The event on 4 March is run by the North Wales Working Well Together Group, made up of representatives from across the construction industry in North Wales, as well as local authorities and the HSE. |
Info: email cathryn.mizen@cskills.org or call Dafydd Ellis on 07770 947326 or Celia Williams on 07767 655782 HSE (Wales) Press Release 075/W/09 12/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Safety crackdown improves safety on Teesside industrial estates. |
| More than 100 businesses based on industrial estates across Teesside were visited in a crackdown by HSE and local council inspectors last month. 4 companies were served with INs and 1 company a PN. Further action is also being taken in relation to landlords' responsibilities under Health and Safety legislation at one industrial estate. |
HSE (North East) Press Release NE/043/09 12/2/09 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Clear Flow Industrial Roofing Limited |
| Fined £1,750 under WHR 2005. Person seen standing on fragile roof with no edge protection. |
HSE Prosecution 4137643 1/12/08 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| PAS (Grantham) Ltd |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. |
HSE Prosecution 4131188 4/12/08 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| The Sunlight Service Group Limited |
| Fined £20,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An engineer employed by the company, had an accident while replacing a conveyor belt. His arm was dragged into a moving conveyor and he received serious injuries to his arm, requiring several operations. At the time of the accident, there was no risk assessment or safe system of work in place for this activity which took place regularly across the whole company. |
HSE Prosecution 4132481 4/12/08 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Harjinder Kumar |
| Fined £3,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. IP was helping employee to decant petrol from a car petrol tank into a can using a pump connected to a battery. During the operation some petrol splashed onto the IP. Employee on completing the task left IP briefly and when he turned his attention back to IP he saw his hand on fire which he doused himself. Employee asked IP if he was okay and if he needed to go home or needed any treatment. IP said he was fine to remain at work. IP did not return after lunch. Unsafe system of work and inadequate supervision. |
HSE Prosecution 4129967 5/12/08 Week ending: 13/02/09 |
| Risk Assessment lacking at rail depot. |
| Maintrain Ltd fined £75,000 under HASAWA 1974. A worker at one of the company's depots received an electric shock when he removed a cover from a train's axles. The train should have been isolated at the time but was not. Failure to conduct adequate risk assessments and to implement safe systems of work. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:5 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Fines for care provider and property manager. |
| Southern Cross Healthcare Limited ordered to pay out £100,000 under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 after pleading guilty to charges relating to inadequate fire safety standards in one of its care homes. In a separate case, property manager Armajit Singh was fined £5,600 and ordered to pay substantial costs after being found guilty of seven breaches of the Order. |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:5 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Pier pressures. |
| Britain's seaside piers are icons of its coastal heritage, but they are at high risk of fire. (John Ivison) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:25-28 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| High definition. |
| Fire safety engineering was a critical aspect in the design of the new Highcross shopping centre in Leicester. |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:32-35 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Water moves. |
| Outlining new research to better understand how water from sprinklers travels to and interacts with fire under different conditions. (Paul Hart) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:38-40 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Probable cause. |
| Probabilistic risk analysis should be used more often for fire-engineered designs - an example of a proposed hotel design. (Michael Belsham) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:41-46 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Breaking news. |
| How glass can break under fire conditions and the problems that fire engineers face in predicting it. (David Maeso) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:49-52 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Next door. |
| Best practice advice on the correct specification of fire-resisting metal doorsets is set out in a new guide. (Tony Fitzpatrick) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:53-55 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Closing arguments. |
| The importance of self-closing devices for fire doors and the criteria they should meet. (Graham Hulland) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:56-58 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Test resources. |
| Fire-resistance testing of fire doors and the role of third-party certification. (Mark Cummings) |
Fire Risk Management February 2009:59-61 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Time up for opt-out. |
| The European Parliament has voted in favour of ending the UK's opt-out clause from the European-wide Working Time Directive. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:3 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| PPE warning. |
| Paul Thomas, a door fitter, has been awarded £5,000 in compensation after he partially lost sight in his right eye because he was provided with unsuitable safety glasses. He was fitting soundproof doors and had to drill into concrete above his head. The goggles he was wearing had ventilation holes in the top and concrete dust fell into his eyes causing alkali burns. He was unable to work for four months because of his injuries. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:4 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| £900m cost of Buncefield blast. |
| The total economic cost of the Buncefield oil depot fire and explosions in 2005 is estimated to be around £900m. £625m of this is financial compensation for businesses, homeowners and LAs. The costs to the aviation industry through loss of fuel is around £250m. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:5 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Court report. |
| Some recent H&S prosecutions under Section 3 of HASAWA 1974. (Edward Hodson) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:12-13 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Back to basics. |
| Over a quarter of a million employees reported suffering from a work-related back injury last year, and most people will experience at least one bout of back pain during their lifetime, but there is a lot that can be done to prevent it. (Jo Johnson) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:15-18 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Lift trucks. |
| Fork lift trucks are involved in around a quarter of all reported workplace transport accidents in Great Britain, resulting in major injuries and fatalities. How employers can ensure they keep lift truck safety at the top of their priority list. (James Clark) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:23-27 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| On the wild side. |
| A visit to Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire and one health and safety manager with more than two-legged creatures on his mind. (Nick Cook) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:31-35,37 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| All for one. |
| In its new strategy, the HSE is calling on all stakeholders in GB's health and safety system including employers, workers, their representative bodies and other third party organisations to work with it towards a common set of H&S goals. How this could work in practice and other key issues raised in the draft document. (Roger Bibbings) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal:46-47 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Record number of farmers respond to campaign to reduce deaths. |
| In just six weeks, more than 6,000 farmers from up and down the UK have responded to the HSE's latest campaign to prevent deaths on British farms. Agriculture remains one of Britain's most dangerous industries. |
HSE (National) Press Release E017:09 20/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| HSE & NFU. |
| Paul Temple, NFU Vice President and Judith Donovan, HSE's Agriculture Champion, have made a promise for farmers to come home safe, at the launch of the annual NFU conference this week. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release 090216 NFU 16/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Asbestos inspections for companies in Thanet, Canterbury, Dartford and Dover. |
| HSE, together with local authorities, has carried out its first week of targeted inspections in Kent to make sure companies are not exposing workers to potentially harmful asbestos fibres. In week one, 151 visits were undertaken, which resulted in 33 asbestos related INs and two asbestos related PNs. The aim of the campaign is to remind businesses of their responsibilities under the CAR 2006. |
HSE (South East) Press Release COISE/0202 16/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| HSE warns of danger of unqualified drivers using forklift trucks after reversing injury. |
| Line Mark (UK) Ltd, fined £6,665 and costs of £2,052.82 under HASAWA 1974 s2. They allowed an employee to drive a FLT without training and it reversed into a supervisor, breaking his leg. |
HSE (North West) Press Release HSE/NW042/LINE/09 16/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| All in construction industry must play their part in driving up standards, says HSE chief inspector. |
| HSE Chief Inspector of Construction welcomed the excellent turnout of key players in the construction industry at the major conference in Glasgow. He told delegates that in these difficult economic times it was more important than ever for those with influence within the industry to come together and discuss and debate H&S issues. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release SCO/030/09 18/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| HSE calls for better training after 68 year old falls from scaffolding. |
| James and Patricia Smith, husband and wife partners at the JHS Group, fined under HASAWA 1974 s2. Both James Smith and Patricia Smith were fined £2,000 with costs of £2,000 each. The 68 year old man was working for the JHS Group on a barn roof when he fell 7.5 metres through a gap between the building and the scaffolding, fracturing his neck and skull, breaking his tibia and fibula and suffering bleeding on his brain. These injuries would not have occurred if the scaffolding had been erected properly. The Smiths relied on an employee without training to erect the scaffolding. |
HSE (North West) Press Release HSE/NW/044JHS/2009 20/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Waitrose puts safety on the menu at Newcastle store as its backs HSE campaign. |
| Quality food retailer Waitrose has put safety firmly on the menu as staff at its newest store in Newcastle pledged their support for the HSE in the latest phase of its "Shattered Lives" campaign, highlighting the devastating consequences of slips trips and falls in the work place. |
HSE (North East) Press Release NE/052/09 20/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Company fined after worker loses part of finger. |
| Julian Christian Designs Ltd was fined a total of £3,000 and costs of £2,500 under MHSWR 1999 and PUWER 1998. An employee was using an inverted, unguarded router to machine pieces of wood. Whilst using the router, which was rotating at over 8,000 revolutions per minute, the employee's glove got caught in the cutter tool and pulled his hand into the cutter, amputating the top joint of his ring finger and cutting the middle finger to the bone. The company had not carried out risk assessment for the work being undertaken and the cutter piece was not adequately guarded. The injured employee was untrained in the use of woodworking machines and only had limited experience. |
HSE (South East) Press Release COISE/0102 20/2/09 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Anthony Wilson Homes Ltd |
| Fined £25,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. |
HSE Prosecution 4046397 8/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| M J Curle Limited |
| Fined £5,000 under MHSWR 1999. |
HSE Prosecution 4046400 8/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Dean Entertainments Limited |
| Fined £28,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to conduct their undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, persons not in their employment who may have been affected thereby were not exposed to their health or safety with regard to asbestos. |
HSE Prosecution 4005120 9/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Edward Dean Melville |
| Fined £7,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to conduct their undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, persons not on their employment who may have been affected thereby were not exposed to their health or safety with regard to asbestos. |
HSE Prosecution 4005887 9/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Xtratherm UK Ltd |
| Fined £5,250 under PUWER 1998. Agency worker injured his hand while cleaning conveyors on new production line. Investigation identified interlocks on safety cage access gates had been defeated allowing access while machinery was running. |
HSE Prosecution 4130817 9/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Caltherm (UK) Limited |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. |
HSE Prosecution 4137902 9/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| J G Pears Newark Ltd |
| Fined a total of £100,000 under HASAWA 1974 and MHSWR 1999. Employees overcome by H2S gas whilst cleaning a blockage at the condenser of the blood and feather plant. No risk assessment or safe system of work available for maintenance activities or clearing blockages on condenser/pipework of plant. |
HSE Prosecution 4065999 11/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Kulwinder Bola |
| Guilty under HASAWA 1974 s22, prison suspended. Guilty under CDMR 1994 and GSIUR 1998, Conditional Discharge. |
HSE Prosecution 4083145 11/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Hydrovern Limited |
| Fined £1,350 under PUWER 1998. IP working on a drill press when his hand become entangled with the moving drill bit. |
HSE Prosecution 4135613 11/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Kellys International Ltd |
| Fined £1,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. |
HSE Prosecution 4144813 11/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Sita UK Limited |
| Fined £180,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality. |
HSE Prosecution 4097858 12/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Staffordshire County Council |
| Fined £83,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality. |
HSE Prosecution 4124698 12/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Andrew Goodison |
| Fined £500 and Conditional Discharge under GSIUR 1998. Work carried out on a Siricco Hotbox gas fire when not a member of a class of persons approved for the time being and work carried out on a Moffatt MGH621 gas hob when not a member of a class of persons approved for the time being. |
HSE Prosecution 4125923 12/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Mirbaz Khan |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and CDMR 2007. Non compliance with CDM Regulations. Not managing H&S on site and breach of PN. |
HSE Prosecution 4132166 12/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Denso Manufacturing Midlands Ltd |
| Fined a total of £28,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3, and MHSWR 1999. Decommissioning of site. Fire suppression system discharge in confined space, access not adequately controlled. |
HSE Prosecution 4135478 12/12/08 Week ending: 20/02/09 |
| Rail cuts risk "second Hatfield" say union leaders. |
| Cutbacks in funding for railway maintenance could be ushering Britain towards another disaster on the scale of Hatfield or Potters Bar, rail union leaders have claimed. In an open letter to Transport Minister Geoff Hoon, representatives of the RMT, TSSA and ASLEF unions warned that passengers' lives are being put at risk by funding cuts which could "jeopardise the safety of the network". |
Safety Management February 2009:4 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Higher fines for safety crimes enter law. |
| The Health and Safety (Offences) Act became law at last in January after years of failure and parliamentary machinations. This means that any accident which took place on or after 16th January 2009 will be susceptible to much larger fines than were previously available to the courts, and even the possibility of prison. |
Safety Management February 2009:4 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| "Recession cutbacks could risk safety". |
| A leading safety lawyer has warned that the last thing that businesses should do during the current recession is to make cutbacks in H&S. Reducing spend on H&S, even in these times, makes no sense - less money means less safety, which will endanger workers and increase the chances of costly safety prosecutions and compensation claims. |
Safety Management February 2009:5 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE recruitment drive is on. |
| HSE has begun its promised search for new construction inspectors with job adverts appearing in the press and online. |
Safety Management February 2009:5 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Site deaths to "soar in the recession"? |
| Construction union UCATT has warned that construction sites could become more dangerous during the recession as they feel that the industry is too willing to pay "lip service" to safety. |
Safety Management February 2009:5 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Head of construction deaths inquiry defends role before panel of MPs. |
| The head of the inquiry into deaths in the construction sector has been forced to defend her appointment in front of a parliamentary Select Committee, as criticism builds over the nature of HSE's role in the supposedly independent process. Although the HSE's involvement with the inquiry is unclear, both MPs and the unions have repeatedly expressed concerns that the Executive is having too much influence over what is supposed to be an independent inquiry. |
Safety Management February 2009:6 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Discretionary Directors' duties not adopted as hoped. |
| There has been a worryingly low take-up of the guidance on Directors' Duties published by the IoD in collaboration with the HSE at the end of 2007. Only 6 per cent of Directors have taken or planned further action on H&S as a result of reading the guidance. |
Safety Management February 2009:6 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| View from the Hill: the new Offences Act. |
| The Health and Safety (Offences) Act became law at last in January after years of lobbying and effort by campaigners and MPs. The man who finally brought it to life - MP Keith Hill. (SM) |
Safety Management February 2009:9-10 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Chemical plant fined six-figure sum for release of highly toxic fumes. |
| Veolia Environment Services fined £101,000 and costs of £65,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 (two breaches) and s3 (one breach), MHSWR 1999 (one breach) and four environmental charges. Toxic fumes were released at its waste facility in Bootle during an incident which left four members of staff requiring medical attention. |
Safety Management February 2009:20 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Getting workplace transport into motion. |
| Vehicle movements are one of the biggest causes of fatal and major injuries at work accounting for an average of 60 deaths a year in the last decade. It is time the situation improved, some tips for employers on how to get started. (Carol Grainger) |
Safety Management February 2009:28-31 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Noise at work - how do you measure up? |
| Strict controls on exposure to noise at work have been in place for many years, yet one million UK employees are still believed to be exposed to noise at levels which put their hearing at risk. Tips on how to deal with the decibels. (Tim Turney) |
Safety Management February 2009:33-34,36,39 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Cultivating a proper culture of safety. |
| Culture has been defined as "shared behaviours, beliefs, attitudes and values regarding organisational goals, functions and procedures". Why fostering a genuine culture of safety awareness from the top down is so important. (Neal Stone) |
Safety Management February 2009:40-42 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| All shook up? Not if you can help it ? |
| Exposure to vibration from powered hand-held tools can lead to a debilitating health condition that makes it impossible to even hold a cup of tea. A reminder of employers' duties to control vibration exposure at work. (Colin Chatten) |
Safety Management February 2009:45-47 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Prosecutors should credit SME's efforts. |
| One of the recommendations in a new report published by BERR is that HSE and LAs should exercise greater discretion in deciding whether to prosecute small businesses that have tried to comply with safety regulations. |
Internet: www.berr.gov.uk/files/file49881.pdf HSW March 2009:2 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Concentration lapse led to chlorine leak. |
| Total Fitness UK fined a total of £15,000 plus costs of £17,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Although written procedures for the dosing of the chlorine tank were in place, they were frequently not followed resulting in David Blenkinsop being alone to do the job and mistakenly putting chlorine granules into an acid tank instead of the chlorine tank. |
HSW March 2009:8 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Boots depot's "appalling conditions" led to back injuries. |
| Alliance Boots, the company that owns the Boots the Chemists chain, has been ordered to pay compensation to two employees who injured their backs after working without lifting equipment or a risk assessment for more than two years. Nigel Williamson and Robert Cole were awarded compensation of £3,300 and £5,000 respectively. They were moved from their roles as warehouse operatives to work in the dispatch department, mending metal cages and wooden pallets. They were not trained to carry out their work without hurting their backs, and were not given any lifting equipment. It took the threat of an injunction for any risk assessment to be carried out. |
HSW March 2009:8 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Quarry firm pays for flawed risk assessment. |
| George Farrar Quarries fined a total of £9,000 (£3,000 per offence, reduced from £4,500 for guilty plea) under MHSWR 1999, WHR 2005 and COSHH Regulations and costs of £4,532. They were also ordered to pay Jacek Durek compensation of £3,000. He broke both his ankles when he fell from a tipper truck. Inadequate risk assessment, allowing unnecessary work at height and failing to limit employees' exposure to sandstone dust. |
HSW March 2009:10 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Legislative calendar. |
| Calendar of new and upcoming legislation. |
HSW March 2009:10 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Going to extremes. |
| If the cold and snow in Britain recently seemed harsh, they are nothing to a normal day in the Antarctic. The challenges of building in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. (Becky Allen) |
HSW March 2009:14-16 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Pitch perfect. |
| Talking to managers about task analysis and focussing their minds on the likelihood of accidents rather than simple hazards is the way to their hearts. (Duncan Spencer) |
HSW March 2009:18-20 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Working with epilepsy. |
| The latest of the series supporting workers with non-work-related conditions. (Becky Allen) |
HSW March 2009:22-23 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Site specifics: mental health. |
| The most useful websites for guidance on reasonable adjustments for workers with mental health conditions. (Bridget Leathley) |
HSW March 2009:24-26 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Cradles without graves. |
| How to ensure the cleaning and maintenance access equipment suspended from your building is maintained and operated safely. (Harvey Dun) |
HSW March 2009:30-32 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Don't supersize me. |
| It may be tempting to go for a fall-arrest harness with all the bells and whistles you can find, but is it worth it if it makes you less rather than more safe? (Dave Merchant) |
HSW March 2009:35-36 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| The evolutionary ladder. |
| The Work at Height Regulations brought new trends in access equipment and an array of product options - demystifying your choices. (Ian Webber) |
HSW March 2009:38-39 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Safety podcasts: a matter of time. |
| Timing and timeliness are all-important when it comes to podcasting. (Bridget Leathley) |
HSW March 2009:43 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE asks: Are you developing property? |
| 38 people died last year in construction refurbishment, repair and maintenance projects. HSE has launched a campaign to increase H&S awareness amongst those involved in developing property as part of their business. It has been discovered that many people developing property for business do not know about the legal responsibilities clients have under CDMR 2007. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/property HSE (National) Press Release E016:09 23/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE tosses health and safety myths. |
| Contrary to popular belief H&S is not responsible for banning Pancake Day races. To demonstrate its commitment to having fun Stephen Williams, HSE's Chief Inspector for Construction, took part in the annual Better Bankside Pancake Day Race. |
HSE (National) Press Release E020:09 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| St Helens company prosecuted after ignoring improvement notice to repair hole in workshop roof. |
| DG Engineering Co. Ltd was fined a total of £5,000 and costs of £1,628 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s21. They failed to carry out repairs or comply with an IN to repair the workshop roof, which placed the health and safety of employees at risk. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/045/09 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE launches new website to prevent work-related stress. |
| HSE unveiled a new stress website that will help businesses prevent work-related stress. The website includes updated advice and guidance, tools to help prevent stress at work, a self-assessment questionnaire for line managers, case studies and good practical examples of things that have worked well for other organisations. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/stress HSE (National) Press Release E019:09 25/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Uxbridge construction company fined £15,000 for unlicensed removal of asbestos at Hackney site. |
| Waite Construction Ltd fined £15,000 and costs of £26,488 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and CAR 2006. No survey had been carried out to check for asbestos, despite it being reasonably foreseeable that it would be present in the old property. HSE inspectors found pipes clad with asbestos had been removed and cut, even after local authority officers had advised that work be stopped. |
HSE (National) Press Release COI/LON/000/2009 26/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Chipboard manufacturer fined £25,000 following serious workplace accidents. |
| Egger UK fined £25,400 and costs of £11,881 under MHSWR 1999 and PUWER 1998. They were also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £15. In one incident, a worker received serious crush injuries when a set of clamps, which formed part of a pressing machine, fell on top of him whilst he was attempting to clear a blockage. In the other, just three months later, another worker became trapped between a conveyor and a processing machine. The severe injuries he received resulted in his leg having to be amputated below the knee. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NE/064/09 26/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Factory operators warned over dangerous machinery. |
| 600 UK Ltd was fined the maximum penalty in a Magistrates Court of £20,000 and costs of £5,046.80 under HASAWA 1974 s2. A 47 year old workman suffered a compound fracture of his arm, lost tissue and suffered muscle and nerve damage when the sleeve of his overalls became entangled in a vertical jig borer he was using. He attempted to disengage the drive on the machine by using the lever, but the spindle continued to rotate because of a fault on the brake and he had to be freed by workmates. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release YH/57/09 23/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE safety warning on gas safety as Staffordshire landlord is prosecuted following death of a tenant. |
| Shahid Hussain was fined £40,000 and costs of £44,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. He has to pay the fine by 31 January 2010 or face a prison sentence of 18 months. HSE started an investigation into the management of gas appliances in rented properties after a single man, who lived alone, died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Mr Hussain was found to be managing a business letting 12 properties of which 9 had gas appliances fitted. Only 2 had current Landlord Gas Safety Certificates, others were found to be 'Immediately Dangerous' or 'At Risk' putting more tenants at risk. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release WM/514/09 23/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE invites agricultural workers to attend farm safety day in Wisbech. Migrant workers particularly welcome. |
| HSE is inviting local agricultural workers from Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire to attend a free farm safety day in Wisbech. It is being held at the College of West Anglia on Saturday 14 March and is open to all employees in the agriculture industry. |
Info: Contact Colin Ryan on 01582 444318 or colin.ryan@hse.gsi.gov.uk HSE (West Midlands) Press Release HSE-E-138 23/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Asbestos inspections for companies in Gravesend, Medway, Tunbridge Wells, Shepway and Tonbridge and Malling. |
| HSE, in partnership with local authorities, has carried out its second week of targeted inspections to make sure companies are not exposing workers to potentially harmful asbestos fibres. Out of the 91 companies visited the inspections resulted in 14 asbestos related INs and 2 asbestos related PNs |
HSE (South East) Press Release COISE/0302 23/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Slips, trips and falls are no joke in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, work places. |
| The second phase of the Shattered Lives campaign was launched this month to highlight the devastating consequences of slips, trips and falls in the work place and to encourage employers, in consultation with their employees, to take action. |
HSE (South East) Press Release COISESTF02 23/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE targets construction sites in St Albans, Bedford, Southend, Rayleigh, Cambridge, Norwich Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. |
| HSE will be carrying out targeted inspections on construction sites in the East of England from Monday 2 March. They aim to inspect 1500 refurbishment sites across Great Britain throughout March, to tackle poor health and safety standards. |
HSE (East) Press Release HSE-E-145 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE issues warning: carry out gas work when you're not registered and it could cost you thousands. |
| Self-employed plumber Colin Lesley Harvey, who trades as Harvey's Heating or Harvey's of Harpenden, was fined £1,000, costs of £1,895 and £15 victim surcharge under GSIUR 1998. Mr Harvey had carried out work on gas fittings. A number of faults were discovered after the work was finished, including a leak in the boiler and other problems with the heating. He was not registered with Corgi to carry out such work. An inspection by a Corgi Inspector revealed the installations were "At Risk", could not be used and required immediate remedial action. |
HSE (East) Press Release HSE-E-145 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE prosecution follows death of young Polish worker. |
| Transition International Ltd was fined £20,000 and costs of £50,000 and a £15 victim surcharge under HASAWA 1974 s3. A 24 year old Polish worker suffered severe burns, from which he later died, when an explosion took place in an induction furnace melting ferro-titanium. It was accepted that the explosion was probably caused by water entering the furnace from a contaminated drum of scrap material. At the time of the incident, the young worker had been wearing a hooded sports jacket made of synthetic material and jeans, rather than the recommended protective jacket and trousers suitable for molten metal environments. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release YH/62/09 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE prosecutes Meltham Company after two workers injured by unguarded machinery. |
| ABG Ltd was fined a total of £3,000, costs of £2,633.20 and a victim's surcharge of £15, following two charges under PUWER 1998. A young trainee, Adam France, was working on a laminating machine when his hand was drawn in by the unguarded in-running nip of the haul-off rollers in such a way that the skin was pulled, causing severe hand injuries. He has been unable to work for a lengthy period. A week later after this accident another employee, David Ealse, was also caught by an inadequately guarded roller press resulting in the loss of a thumb. He too has been unable to work for some time. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release YH/63/09 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| "You cannot outsource your responsibilities" HSE warns after the prosecution of a health and safety consultant. |
| Richard Atterby, a Health and Safety Consultant, was fined £1,000 and costs of £700 under HASAWA 1974 s36. George Farrar (Quarries) Ltd was fined a total of £9,000, costs of £4,532 and compensation of £3,000 under MHSWR 1999, WHR 2005 and COSHH 2002. A stonemason who fell over 3 metres from the side of a tipper truck that was being loaded with waste stone, breaking both heels. Also there were inadequate controls to protect the health of employees at risk of inhaling stone dust. Richard Atterby had provided H&S services for George Farrar (Quarries) Ltd for over 3 years. His work involved carrying out risk assessments on behalf of his client. George Farrar (Quarries) Ltd failed to make suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk to the health of their employees from exposure to respirable crystalline silica, arising from the processing of sandstone, as a result of the poor quality of Mr Atterby's advice. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release YH/63/09 24/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire construction sites targeted in new Health and Safety campaign. |
| The HSE are to target 1,500 construction sites - including sites across the East Midlands - as part of a campaign to tackle poor safety standards. HSE inspectors will be out in force in a bid to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries in the construction industry, especially in the refurbishment, repair and maintenance sector. The initiative starts on Monday 2 March. |
HSE (East Midlands) Press Release HSE/EM/240/2009 25/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Health and Safety Executive inspection initiative to combat death toll in construction industry. 200 North West sites targeted. |
| The HSE are to target 1,500 construction sites - including 200 sites across the North West - as part of a campaign to tackle poor safety standards. HSE inspectors will be out in force in a bid to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries in the construction industry, especially in the refurbishment, repair and maintenance sector. The initiative starts on Monday 2 March. |
HSE (North West) Press Release HSE/NW/002/2009 26/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE warning follows hospital fall. |
| Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (formally Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust) was fined £18,000 and costs of £15,399.05 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A patient on a ward at a General Hospital was found to have fallen almost 12 metres to the ground from a window that had been fitted with a device intended to limit its opening to no more than 10cm wide which, because it was poorly maintained, did not restrict the window adequately. The patient survived the fall but suffered a number of fractures and serious internal injuries. |
HSE (Yorkshire and the Humber) Press Release YH/65 25/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| HSE warns companies to manage risks of falling from height. |
| Wynbrook Ltd was fined £10,000 and costs of £3,362 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Wynbrook was the Principal Contractor on site and had hired a telescopic materials handler and a man-carrying cage so that workers could access difficult to reach places. On one occasion the driver, who had not been trained in the use of the cage, failed to secure the cage which had been put onto the forks of the handler. As a result, an electrician was lifted up and the cage fell off, dropping two and a half metres to the ground. |
HSE (East Midlands) Press Release HSE/EM/241/09 25/2/09 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Lace Market Properties Ltd |
| Fined total of £17,0000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and WHR 2005. Non compliance with PN and WAH issues. |
HSE Prosecution 4115103 15/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Mrs AP Kukadia |
| Fined £5,000 under GSIUR 1998. |
HSE Prosecution 4131974 15/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| R Goddard and Co. (Tisbury) Ltd |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Fatal accident at Boscombe Down Airfield, Wiltshire. |
HSE Prosecution 4119340 16/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Dave Lucey Limited |
| Fined £15,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Fatal accident at Boscombe Down Airfield, Wiltshire. |
HSE Prosecution 4119345 16/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Styolzle Flaconnage Ltd |
| Fined £18,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. No penalty under MHSWR 1999 and PUWER 1998. IP was leaning into the forhearth area in the area of a mechanism drive, when IP's clothing became entangled around the drive shaft. Clothing gradually pulled IP's arm into the shaft which resulted in injury. |
HSE Prosecution 4131879 16 /12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| W H Davis Ltd |
| Fined £5,000 under PUWER 1998. The IP was placing a piece of steel lengthwise into the machine rolls to straighten it. He held onto the plate as it was being fed into the rolls. His glove caught, pulling his hand into the rolls. He pressed the emergency stop to prevent being pulled in any further. |
HSE Prosecution 4108789 17/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Christeyns UK Ltd |
| Fined £2,750 under PUWER 1998. Employee injured whilst cleaning an unguarded outlet valve on a ribbon blender. |
HSE Prosecution 4133984 17/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Oakwood Leisure Limited |
| Fined £250,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality. |
HSE Prosecution 4066524 18/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| Britannia Superfine Ltd |
| Fined total of £40,000 under MHSWR 1999 and PUWER 1998. IP was viewing work he had been given to carry out the following day. Whilst viewing the rack and pinion gearing on the line, he slipped and placed his hand out to prevent himself from falling. This resulted in his hand resting on the rack just as the pinion rolled across it and his index finger was crushed and later amputated. There were no effective measures to prevent access to a dangerous part of machinery and no suitable and sufficient risk assessment. |
HSE Prosecution 4119559 18/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
| M. P. Bio Science International Ltd |
| Fined £2,000 under PUWER 1998. Employee's fingers came into contact with ribbon blade in the Copeland Ribbon Blender. |
HSE Prosecution 4138560 18/12/08 Week ending: 27/02/09 |
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Whilst every effort is taken to ensure that H&S News entries are an accurate summary of the source data, at the time of publication on the HASTAM website, HASTAM cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in transcription. Further, HASTAM cannot accept any responsibility for the content of the information to be found in the source materials.
HASTAM cannot accept any liability for any events arising from the use of this information. We strongly recommend that, if any information from any H&S News entry is to be used for any specific purpose, the original source is checked to confirm accuracy and to enable the user to take account of the full information. This is particularly important in the case of HSE Prosecutions where the HSE may have withdrawn a specific entry subsequent to its publication in H&S News. Entries can be checked using the search facility on www.hse-databases.co.uk/prosecutions
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HSE Prosecutions Database
The HSE did not post prosecutions for about a year from January until November 2006. There is therefore be a gap in our database from a hearing date of 24 January 2006 until 1 November 2006. Anyone not finding a case which may have been heard between January and November 2006, should therefore try searching the HSE Prosecutions database.
When the HSE relaunched the Prosecution database in January 2007, after a break of around a year, they appear to have changed the format of the case numbers. Therefore, for all entries with a hearing date before the 24 January 2006 you should search the HSE database using the defendants name instead of the case number we have quoted if you wish to check details for yourself.
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