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 July 2009
| HSE warns of dangers in failing to maintain plant equipment after driver's death. |
| MB Plastics Ltd fined £150,000 and costs of £24,323 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Birse Water Ltd, which is now trading as Birse Integrated Solutions Ltd, fined £50,000 and costs of £41,073 under HASAWA 1974 s3. An incident at a waste water treatment works. The vehicle's off-side cab window normally acted as a guard, but had been damaged during a lifting operation five weeks before the fatality and at the time of the incident, was entirely missing. Although there were no witnesses to the incident, the most likely explanation is that the deceased man leant out of the cab window and came into contact with the joystick, bringing the arm of the FLT down onto him. The deceased man's employer was MB Plastics Ltd. Birse Water Ltd, the principal contractor, failed to ensure the safety of people not in its employment and they also failed to ensure that MB Plastics Ltd prepared suitable and sufficient risk assessments in relation to its telescopic FLT operations. Birse also failed to adequately monitor MB Plastics Ltd and as a result had failed to identify the broken window and ensure it was replaced. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/09MBPlasticsBirse/2009 30/6/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| NHS failing employers and long-term sick, says EEF. |
| More than a third of manufacturers have reported a rise in long-term sickness absence from 2007 to 2008, despite a fall in overall absence in the sector. This is one of the key findings of the 2009 sickness absence survey released in May by EEF and risk insurance firm Unum. According to EEF, the results not only confirm that employers - particularly small firms - require their employees to be given faster access to NHS treatments and secondary care, but also that occup-health training of doctors, nurses and other health practitioners needs vast improvements. |
SHP June 2009:6 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Rehabilitation standards to help assessment of providers. |
| The UK Rehabilitation Council (UKRC) has introduced new standards designed to protect the quality of care provided for people who require clinical and vocational rehabilitation. |
Internet: www.rehabcouncil.org.uk/standards.php SHP June 2009:6 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Time to act on risk and the regulatory burden. |
| Risk regulation is back in the spotlight with the publication of three reports on the perception and handling of risk in society. The Risk and Regulation Advisory Council released "Response with responsibility: policy-making for public risk in the 21st Century" in May. The Conservative Party released the Arculus Report "Enabling enterprise, encouraging responsibility". The third report from University of Stirling's professor and safety campaigner Rory O'Neill is "Who Pays?". |
Internet: http://rrac.intelligus.net www.conservatives.com www.hazards.org/deadlybusiness/whopays.htm SHP June 2009:7 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Prequalification process in construction set to become easier. |
| A body whose aim is to reduce the burden on construction firms created by H&S questionnaires was officially lunched in May, with the unveiling of its website containing comprehensive information for clients, consultants and contractors. The Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) Competence Forum encourages prequalification assessment providers to maximise mutual recognition between their schemes, avoiding duplication of effort and cutting down on costs and paperwork. |
Internet: www.ssip.org.uk SHP June 2009:7 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Girl nearly asphyxiated in go-karting incident. |
| Terence Colliver fined a total of £10,000 and costs of £3,365 under HASAWA s2 and s3. A 13 year old girl nearly died of asphyxiation while driving a go-kart when her scarf caught in the vehicle's rear axle. Mr Colliver had been served with four INs requiring him to undertake a sufficient risk assessment, ensure karts were tested and examined by a competent person, install preventative measures to dangerous parts, and to put in place planning controls and monitoring of these measures. |
SHP June 2009:12 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Do the damage, pay the price. |
| The recent environmental damage regulations have introduced a raft of new obligations for dutyholders, with those who cause damage from now on likely to incur significant costs. (Kevin Bridges) |
SHP June 2009:17 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Bend it, shape it. |
| When tasked with undertaking a safety culture audit using the oft-mentioned but rather vague Bradley Curve, discovering that while the approach has much to offer, it is probably best used in tandem with other, more academic, models. (Tim Marsh and Paul Bizzell) |
SHP June 2009:34-36 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Air necessities. |
| Following publication of the plans for expanding London's Heathrow Airport, which will see the amount of air traffic significantly increase - the implications for those working in and living near what is already the world's busiest international airport. Also a reminder for all duty-holders of how they can monitor air quality and protect people's health. (Neal Hill) |
SHP June 2009:38-40 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| A plan for all seasons. |
| An investigation into how the potential for human failure is present throughout the entire life-cycle of a plant - from design right through to decommissioning - and determining the workability of instructions and emergency plans within this context. (Dr Andrew Fowler) |
SHP June 2009:42-44 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Acceptable in the eighties. |
| The Health and Safety (First Aid) at Work Regulations 1981 have, for the most part, served industry well by setting a basic standard for first-aid provision in the workplace. But, prompted by changes in the world of work, revised guidelines are due to be implemented in October this year. A consideration of how the new requirements will impact on employers. (Maria Grundy) |
SHP June 2009:47-48 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Slender advantage. |
| Government statistics predict that by 2050, 90 per cent of the UK population will be overweight, or obese. A look at why employers should help tackle obesity, and what simple measures they can put in place to help improve their workers' health and diet. (Keith Gorman) |
SHP June 2009:51-52 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Timetable agreed for LPG pipe work replacement programme. |
| A high level plan for the replacement of underground metallic services pipe work carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in England, Scotland and Wales has been agreed. Industry representative body, UKLPG, met the HSE to agree the plan. Although replacement work has already started, once a survey to prioritise premises is finished, this will be ramped up from October 2009. Businesses with buried metallic service pipe work, which can corrode over time, will be required to replace it with more durable materials, such as polyethylene. |
HSE (National) Press Release E49:09 30/6/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| More than 250 farmers and agricultural workers attend farm safety day near Watford. |
| The aim of the event was to help reduce the number of injuries happening on farms in Hertfordshire. Agriculture is one of Britain's most dangerous industries and the safety day addressed a wide range of topics designed to help the workforce go home safe at the end of each day. |
HSE (East) Press Release 30/6/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| HSE helps to prevent accidents at Shetland fish farms. |
| Scottish fish and shellfish farmers will come together in Shetland next week, to attend a special aquaculture and maritime safely awareness event. It aims to remind farmers of good practice through practical demonstrations and will provide an opportunity for the industry to get together and share their experiences. The free event will be held on Tuesday 7 July at Blackness Pier, Scalloway, and is being organised by the HSE and other organisations. It begins with registration at 10:30. It follows the success of a similar event held in Oban earlier this year. |
Info: Anne-lise www.shetlandaquaculture.com Tel 01595 695579 HSE (Scotland) Press Release 30/6/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| New summer safety warning to children in Scotland about construction sites dangers. |
| HSE has issued a new warning urging parents in Scotland to keep their children away from construction sites so they stay safe. Dozens of children are seriously injured on construction sites every year and HSE is concerned that there may be an increased danger this year with more sites being mothballed during the economic downturn. Companies are being reminded that, even if no work is taking place, regular checks should be carried out to make sure people are not able to get onto sites and they are in a safe condition. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release 1/7/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Owners of Ayrshire meat processing plant fined £30,000 after worker lose three fingers in machinery. |
| Belcher Food Products Ltd fined £30,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s33. Employee Steven Glass was working on an Endoline tape packaging machine which had been under repair. When it would not work, he attempted to fix it. As the machine could not be properly isolated to prevent accidental operation, it started, trapping 3 of his fingers, which were amputated. One finger was successfully reattached at hospital. Mr Glass no longer works for the company. Since the accident, the company has been taken over and there have been significance improvements in health and safety. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release 2/7/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| James Patrick Jonston |
| Prison under Manslaughter Act. Fatal work place transport incident, involving fellow employee of Alex Smiles Limited at their depot. Employee sustained fatal head injuries when run over by a 20 tonne Komatsu WA 380 loading shovel. |
HSE Prosecution 4132818 20/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Addington (Formwork) Ltd |
| Fined £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. |
HSE Prosecution 4159299 20/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Globestart Ltd |
| Fined £3,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. |
HSE Prosecution 4159311 20/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Link Project Management Limited |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. |
HSE Prosecution 4159313 20/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Drax Power Limited |
| Fined a total of £2,000 under WHR 2005. IP was completing routine operational tour of plant and equipment in an area of a building below the ground level rail track. IP encountered a fixed scaffolding barrier erected to control access into an area of the building where a floor plate had been removed to facilitate cleaning work. IP lifted the barrier entry gate and walked into the area falling through the hole to the basement below, approx 10 feet (3 metres). |
HSE Prosecution 4150962 21/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Trucast Ltd |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under PUWER 1998 and MHSWR 1999. IP's left thumb caught between vice jaws and metal being clamped in an abrasive disc metal bar cutting machine, resulting in partial loss of thumb tip and prolonged absence from work (over 6 months). Machine clamping operation actuated by single unshrouded push button with easy full hand access to crushing point between vice jaws. Cut part of the metal bar had to be removed from the vice jaws each time by hand. |
HSE Prosecution 4152721 21/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Plymouth City Council |
| Fined £5,000 under GSIUR 1998. RIDDOR reports of defective gas appliance at a number of Plymouth schools. Investigation revealed that there was no effective system in place for gas safety checks in Plymouth schools. |
HSE Prosecution 4122622 23/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Pinnacle Scaffolding Limited |
| Fined £27,000 under WHR 2005. IP fell from roof whilst erecting cladding. Fell 8m beneath midrail on industrial roof, fracturing left arm. |
HSE Prosecution 4097338 24/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| L J McLaren Engineering Ltd |
| Fined £10,000 under WHR 2005. IP fell from roof whilst erecting cladding. Fell 8m beneath midrail on industrial roof, fracturing left arm. |
HSE Prosecution 4149864 24/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Blue Parrot Production & Events Ltd |
| Fined £2,000 under WHR 2005. Two young children injured whilst at musical show in Town Hall. Whilst preparing to leave show at end a lighting boom fell approx 3.74m from first floor balcony striking pushchair. |
HSE Prosecution 4119684 24/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| A1 Rewinds Ltd |
| Fined £1,500 under PUWER 1998. Employee injured whilst using unmaintained oxy-acetylene equipment in a small motor vehicle depot. |
HSE Prosecution 4147942 24/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Imerys Minerals Ltd |
| Fined £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Dangerous occurrence where overhead power line was pulled down by Traxcavator. |
HSE Prosecution 4148877 24/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| John Ruck Construction Limited |
| Fined £4,750 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee sustained 3 broken toes after the uncontrolled, unplanned and unexpected release of a steel joist from a permanent lifting magnet. The employee was not trained in the magnet use, nor was the instruction manual available, nor was the SWL or other safety information marked on the magnet. |
HSE Prosecution 4149722 24/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Trevor Mark Smith |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to conduct undertaking so as to ensure persons not in his employment were not exposed to risks to their health and safety. Failure to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, any persons from falling a distance, in that company failed to ensure the scaffolding erected at the site was fitted with sufficient guard-rails, toe board, barrier or other similar collective means of protection to allow workers, including 2 self employed joiners, to carry out work safely. Whilst carrying out work to fit roof trusses, one fell from the edge of the scaffold and was severely injured. |
HSE Prosecution 4134643 27/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Mr Bukan Singh Hothi |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Prosecution of Developer following collapse of building undergoing refurbishment. |
HSE Prosecution 4143083 27/4/09 Week ending: 03/07/09 |
| Shell fined a record £300k for fire failures. |
| Shell International has been fined £300,000 for fire safety breaches at its flagship London headquarters. The fine is the highest yet imposed under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and also one of the highest fines for a workplace safety offence that has not involved an injury. Failure to review the fire risk assessment regularly to keep it up-to-date and failure to maintain premises, facilities, equipment and devices in efficient working order so as to ensure people's safety (two counts). The fine was imposed on the first offence, along with costs of £45,000. No penalties were imposed on the two other offences. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):2 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE offers guidance "free for all". |
| The HSE has announced that, from the 1st September, it will make all 250 of its priced guidance and Approved Codes of Practice publications available free on its revamped website. Around 100 items will be in a web format, with the other 150 online but scheduled for conversion by March 2010. HSE Books will continue to sell paper versions. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):1 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Nightclub exit strategy ends in death and £85,000 fine. |
| Nightclub owner Luminar Oceana has been fined £85,000 after a man fell to his death while trying to leave an enclosed car park at its Birmingham nightclub. Christopher Clarke was asked to leave the premises by a member of the club's staff after he twice took a glass bottle onto the dance floor in contravention of club policy. Rather than escorting him out through the front entrance, the bouncer took him out via a fire exit, a common practice in many venues. In this instance, the exit opened into a secure car park, enclosed on all sides by commercial buildings with a single exit via automatic gates which remain closed at nights unless automatically opened for a couple of minutes for cars to enter or exit. It appears that Mr Clarke attempted to escape by climbing a mesh fence bordering the area into a surrounding office block and somehow lost his footing, falling about four metres. The use of the fire exit into the secure car park had not been specifically risk assessed and no safe procedure for the ejection of customers had been agreed. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):3 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| BSC warns huge safety costs are a "massive millstone" around globe. |
| According to the British Safety Council's chief executive, Brian Nimick, "The multi million pound cost of poor health and safety is a massive millstone around the neck of the globe". He made his comments as the Council issued a report that is aimed at improving understanding of the causes of occup accidents and ill health worldwide. |
Internet: "The causes and incidence of occup... " www.britsafe.org/download/Researchreport211108v6.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):4 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Government moves to outlaw blacklisting as construction database boss awaits fine. |
| The Government will consult this summer on new regulations to prevent union members being denied employment because their names appear on unlawful blacklists. The move follows the revelation by the Information Commissioner's Office that 44 construction companies had subscribed to an unlawful database used to vet workers on the basis of their H&S and trade union activities. Ian Kerr, the owner of the Consulting Association recently pleaded guilty to breaches of the Data Protection Act and is awaiting sentencing. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):5 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE to "revisit" farms for two more years. |
| The HSE Board has backed an ambitious extension of the "Agriculture Revisited" initiative that will require a budget of £2.1 million over each of the next two years. |
Internet: "Agriculture revisited: Progress to date and next steps" HSE Board paper HSE/09/46 www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/hseboard/2009/270509/p-may-b09-46.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):6 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE should avoid targeting farmers with "The Archers". |
| Radio and television programmes, and adverts, along with safety exhibits, are the worst way of influencing farmers' H&S attitudes and behaviours, according to HSE commissioned research. Farmers believe that such media are "not realistic and not applicable to farming". The research suggests that instead, HSE uses adverts and articles in "Farmers Weekly" - one in two farmers say the magazine is useful because it is written from a farming perspective and provides good information and articles on farming. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):6 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Involving workers can assist control of physical agents. |
| Worker participation can help to control noise and vibration risks, according to HSE-commissioned evaluation of its worker involvement pilots. The research found that involving workers was reasonably successful in identifying and controlling noise and hand-arm vibration problems, raising risk awareness and facilitating risk assessments. |
Internet: "Feedback on the noise and ? " RR705 www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr705.pdf Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):7 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Hot and bothered. |
| The TUC has repeated its annual call for a maximum working temperature. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):7 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Agriculture - machinery. |
| The deaths of two Staffordshire farmers have led to the HSE reminding workers of the dangers of working with bailers. In one incident, the farmer was pulled into baling machinery, and in the other the farmer was struck by a part of a baling machinery. The HSE said that the accidents were unlikely to have happened had the farmers followed the "safe stop" procedure. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):10 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| The HSE's health and safety strategy - it's over to you. |
| The HSE's new strategy may prove a triumph of intent over detail. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):13-16 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Safety, university style. |
| A look at changing times for university H&S departments. (Lucinda Ponting) |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):17-20 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| "Start spreading the word" - participation is good for you. |
| HSE and Government attempts to increase worker participation. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):21-22 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| No liability for a fatal "frolic". |
| Two construction companies were not liable for the unforeseeable action of a welder. (Howard Fidderman) |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2009 (380):23-24 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Small business is ... big business. |
| Ever heard the old adage that size isn't everything? Approx 90% of business in the UK is made up of small firms that employ less than ten people. Together, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 98% of British industry and employ over 50% of its workforce. A look at the Small Business Trade Association Forum. |
Info: Membership is free. Contact Claire Lonsdale on 0151 951 3377 or Claire.Lonsdale@hse.gsi.gov.uk Health and Safety Newsletter (19) June/July 2009:6-7 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| The invisible killer. |
| They couldn't see it. They couldn't taste it. But carbon monoxide killed them. They died without warning in just a matter of hours. |
Internet: www.gassaferegister.co.uk Health and Safety Newsletter (19) June/July 2009:8-10 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Keeping chemicals under lock and key. |
| HSE has updated its advice on chemical warehousing. The guidance is aimed at anyone who has responsibility for storing dangerous substances, whatever the size of the storage facility. |
"Chemical warehousing: The storage of packaged dangerous substances" Fourth edition HSG71 Health and Safety Newsletter (19) June/July 2009:15 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Updated advice on COSHH. |
| The revised leaflet describes how to control hazardous substances at work so that they do not cause ill health. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg136.pdf "Working with substance hazardous to health: What you need to know about COSHH" INDG 136 (rev4) Health and Safety Newsletter (19) June/July 2009:15 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE warns businesses not to be misled over new law poster. |
| HSE is warning businesses across Britain not to be duped into buying unnecessary and overpriced copies of its health and safety poster. The poster is a fixture of every workplace in Britain and employers have a legal duty to display the poster in a prominent position or provide each worker with a copy of a Law pocket card. Both outline employer and workers responsibilities and where workers can seek advice. There is some evidence of misleading promotions wrongly claiming that the old poster must be replaced immediately and that the new law poster should be displayed on every notice board within the business' premises. In fact businesses have until 5 April 2014 to switch to the new poster and pocket cards. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/lawposter.htm HSE (National) Press Release E52:09 6/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Northumberland malting firm fined following serious incident. |
| Simpsons Malt Limited fined £10,000, costs of £5,883.75 and £15 victim surcharge under HASAWA 1974 s2. John Weatherburn was injured after falling from the forks of an FLT while attempting to repair a roller shutter door. |
HSE (National) Press Release E49:09 7/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Fife Council and contractor fined £13,700 for exposing staff and public to asbestos. |
| Fife Council fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. ECG Building Maintenance Ltd (ECG) fined £3,700 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Fife Council contracted ECG to replace water storage tanks within the communal loft areas of properties. Some of the tanks were insulated with asbestos. ECG were not licensed by HSE to remove asbestos, nor were they competent to do the work. Their workers had not been adequately trained so did not recognise the presence of asbestos, or the risks posed by it. They also failed to implement established control measures to minimise the exposure to themselves as well as to other people in the vicinity. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/SCO/134/2009 9/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Construction company fined £150,000 after worker dies and another is seriously injured at Wembley Stadium. |
| PC Harrington Contractors Ltd fined £150,000 and costs of £25,203 under HASAWA 1974 s2. A platform became dislodged during a lifting operation, causing it to fall and hit 2 workers. This resulted in the death of one worker, Patrick O'Sullivan, and seriously injured another. Both men were working on the building of the concrete superstructure of the stadium at the time. |
HSE (London) Press Release 9/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE warns of the dangers of working at height after man suffers serious injuries from 10 metre fall. |
| Veolia Environmental Services Birmingham Ltd (VESB) fined a total of £100,000 and costs of £22,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Hansen Transmissions Ltd (HTL) fined a total of £70,000 and costs of £22,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee of HTL was working to replace a gearbox within a condenser unit at VESB's premises when he fell more than 10 metres. Fortunately he landed on a pallet of bundled narrow bore copper pipes which broke his fall by absorbing much of the impact. However, he suffered serious injuries including broken ribs, a punctured lung and a hernia. VESB failed to properly monitor or manage the work being carried out by HTL. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/WM/264/2009 3/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE takes safety message to Great Yorkshire Show. |
| HSE is underlining its commitment to improving H&S in agriculture, one of the UK's most dangerous industries, by exhibiting at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate on Tuesday . |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release 7/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| HSE warns Lancashire homeowners not to risk lives with illegal gas fitters following successful prosecution. |
| Peter Welke, who is also known as Peter McKay, was fined £700 and costs of £2,800 under GSIUR 1998. He carried out gas-fitting work without being registered and by subcontracting work to a gas fitter who was not registered. Homeowners in Lancashire are being warned they risk putting their lives in danger if they employ gas fitters who are not qualified. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/010/09 9/7/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Shaun McDowall |
| Fined £3,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to operate JCB in a safe manner by not inserting the safety pin into quick hitch fitted to the JCB. As a consequence, the deceased person, who was then inspecting groundwork, was fatally injured when the quick hitch latch opened and the digging bucket fell and struck them. |
HSE Prosecution 4107627 28/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Garnett Dickinson (Print) Ltd |
| Fined £1,330 under COSHH 2002. Contact dermatitis has affected both the forearms and the hands through exposure to UV varnish. Exposure continued for several months. |
HSE Prosecution 4124569 29/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Pulse Printing Products Limited |
| Fined £340 under CHIP. Contact dermatitis has affected both the forearms and the hands through exposure to UV varnish. Exposure continued for several months. Safety Data Sheet inadequate. |
HSE Prosecution 4124579 29/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Keltbray Limited |
| Fined £18,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Failure to check that gas pipes in building were disconnected before authorising their removal. Consequently, a live gas pipe was severed using an oxy-propane cutter, resulting in a fire. |
HSE Prosecution 4128444 29/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Icelandic Group UK Limited |
| Fined £3,500 under PUWER 1998. IP received fractures/lacerations to right hand when caught in rotating auger whilst clearing product from discharge chute of food processing m/c. Failure to maintain in an efficient state a guard preventing access to a dangerous part - namely the rotating auger of a pre-breader/duster m/c. |
HSE Prosecution 4148168 29/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Ribble Packaging Ltd |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee lost the top of his index and middle fingers on left hand while he was working at a cutting wheel. He had been trying to remove waste cardboard when the incident happened. It was found that an automatic safety switch, which should have stopped the machine when the access gate was opened, had not been working. This meant the wheel continued to rotate when staff were close to it. The company failed to ensure the safety of its employees and should have made sure that the machine was turned off and that the wheel had stopped turning, before any attempt was made to remove waste materials. |
HSE Prosecution 4154843 29/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Laing O'Rourke Construction South Limited |
| Fined £135,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Fatal accident when subcontractor steel worker fell 10.5m through an access hole that had been inadequately covered by plywood. Failure to ensure cover was fit for purpose, appropriately secured, marked and subject to regular inspection. |
HSE Prosecution 4127564 30/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Sunrise Medical Ltd |
| Fined £500 under PUWER 1998. Employee was injured whilst working at a pedestal drill when their cotton glove got caught in the rotating tool. The drill was not guarded at the time of the accident which resulted in an amputated finger. |
HSE Prosecution 4148448 30/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Keen Construction Ltd |
| Fined £6,600 under WHR 2005. IP fell 18 feet (5.5m) through a corrugated asbestos cement shed roof and was injured when he fell to the ground. No boards or coverings were used on the roof and no net or crash deck below to mitigate the fall. |
HSE Prosecution 4136621 30/4/09 Week ending: 10/07/09 |
| Firm fined £150,000 after worker's arm crushed in roller. |
| The Wrigley Company Limited has been fined a total of £150,000 and costs of £21,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and PUWER 1998. Philip Poyntz was seriously injured while attempting to clean the trim return conveyor belt on one of the gum sheeting machines. The moving belt was unguarded and this meant that Mr Poyntz's arm could be drawn into the machinery and caught in the conveyor's tail drum. He has been unable to return to work since the incident in January 2007. Two previous safety consultant reports in 2002 and 2003 had highlighted such guarding deficiencies. But the action to address the issues was incomplete. Investigations found poor guarding on other conveyors and machinery, even several months after this particular incident. |
HSE (National) Press Release 248/SWW/09 10/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| HSE strategy demands contribution from all. |
| Health and safety cannot be contracted out, it is not about ticking boxes, it is at the core of all our businesses, and it is the responsibility of us all to improve and promote it. This was the reminder issued to all stakeholders by James Purnell as he launched the HSE's new strategy for H&S in June. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/strategy/index.htm SHP July 2009:6 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Executive "dormant" on shift-work risks. |
| A leading academic has warned that the H&S of the UK's estimated 3.5 shift-workers is being put at risk because the HSE undertakes no routine inspections during atypical working hours. Andrew Watterson, a professor at the University of Stirling, says, "It undertakes no routine inspections and has taken no prosecutions in the last five years related to health risks arising from gruelling and body-wrecking work patterns." |
SHP July 2009:7 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Rail-crash victim who killed loses claim. |
| The House of Lords has overturned the Court of Appeal's decision last year, to award damages for loss of earnings to Kerrie Gray, a survivor of the Ladbroke Grove train crash. Mr Gray was psychologically harmed and, as a result, later killed a man. |
SHP July 2009:8 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Survey suggests commercial value of OSH is recognised. |
| According to a recent survey that questioned 200 senior company managers or owners, and 1000 employees in online interviews, three in four business leaders agree that good H&S standards are beneficial to their organisation. The research was published by the HSE. |
SHP July 2009:8 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Dermatitis sufferers not protected from resin. |
| Vestas Blades UK Ltd fined a total of £10,000 and costs of £25,000 under COSHH 2007. Thirteen workers at the company's factory had been diagnosed with occup dermatitis. Each of the workers had been routinely exposed to epoxy resins that were used during the manufacturing process. |
SHP July 2009:11 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| It ain't necessarily so. |
| A recent case that demonstrates the danger of the HSE relying purely on the fact that there has been a fatality to prove that an employer has failed in its duty of care. (Michael Appleby) |
SHP July 2009:17 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| War - what is it good for? |
| While some feel the answer to this question is "absolutely nothing", the Chinese warrior-philosopher Sun Tzu had other ideas - many of which have direct relevance to the safety and health practitioner. (Nigel Heaton) |
SHP July 2009:33-34 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Technical hitch. |
| Is the increasing mechanisation of the hardware used in the construction industry taking the focus away from the safety and protection of the "soft tissue" of the workforce? (David Jones) |
SHP July 2009:36-37 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Tell it to them straight. |
| Persuading people to take H&S seriously and adhere to rules and procedures is no easy task, but consistency is an absolute necessity if you are to succeed. (Dr David Merchant) |
SHP July 2009:38-39 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Creative abandon. |
| Following the conclusion in March of the Dreamscape trial, the failures that led to the incident, the competence issue that this case highlighted, and the lessons for those involved in organising public events. (Pam Waldron) |
SHP July 2009:41-42 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| The flesh is weak. |
| Focusing on the emerging risks to the skin identified by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in its recent expert report on dangerous substances in the workplace. (Emmanuelle Brun) |
Internet: http://osha.europa.eu/en/campaigns/hw2008 SHP July 2009:44-45 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Ready to react? |
| A look at the current strategic standpoint taken by the HSE, and asking whether it will adequately address emerging chemical risks in the workplace and lead to significant improvements in worker health. (Michelle Twigg) |
SHP July 2009:46-47 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Classified information. |
| The European Union's new regulations covering the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals will bring major changes for the industry. An outline of what they involve. (Douglas Leech) |
SHP July 2009:49-50 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Wheat bag risk. |
| West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is raising awareness of the fire risks posed by overheated wheat bags after a woman died in a house fire when a wheat bag set fire to her bedding. If a bag is kept insulated after heating, for example under bedding, it can ignite. |
Fire Risk Management July 2009:3 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Hotel prosecution. |
| An hotel owner has received a nine months prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, with 180 hours of unpaid work to the community after pleading guilty to seven breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Peter Malane continued to use the upper floors for B&B sleeping accommodation, despite being served a fire service PN which ordered him not to because of lack of fire safety precautions. There were also blocked emergency exit routes, and a lack of self-closing fire doors on bedrooms. |
Fire Risk Management July 2009:5 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Sharing the load. |
| We should move beyond outdated regulation and old prejudices, and accept the vital need for sprinklers to protect modern single-storey warehouses. (Stewart Kidd) |
Fire Risk Management July 2009:50-53 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Campaign trail. |
| Kent Fire and Rescue's work in promoting sprinkler systems and influencing local authority policy is widely recognised, but there is more to achieve. (Steve Griffiths) |
Fire Risk Management July 2009:54-56 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Safety savings. |
| The involvement of the fire and rescue service led to significant cost savings on the sprinkler system installed at a school in Hertfordshire. (Paul Hardy) |
Fire Risk Management July 2009:57 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Cold climate. |
| The need for appropriate fire protection in cold stores, in the form of ceiling-mounted, dry-pipe sprinkler systems. (John Allen) |
Fire Risk Management July 2009:58,60 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Driving agencies ignored H&S duties. |
| Eighteen employment agencies which supply drivers to businesses in the West Midlands have been issued with warnings after repeatedly ignoring their legal duties in relation to employment rights, and health and safety. The agencies were visited in May and investigators found them to have failed to comply with the law a total of 80 times, including not checking H&S risks with hirers. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:2 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Consultation on "real-life" trailer testing. |
| The Driving Standards Agency has unveiled plans to improve the test for drivers of lorries and other large vehicles which tow trailers. Under the new proposals, the weight of lorries and trailers used in tests will have to be similar to the weight of the vehicles the candidate will use on the road after they have passed their test. Containers of water or sacks of material such as sand will be used to simulate the kind of load that drivers have to deal with in their work. |
Internet: www.dsa.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=278 RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:2 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Cadet death: Inquiry reveals catalogue of errors. |
| A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the death of a 14 year old army cadet, who died whilst taking part in a training exercise on a Scottish loch, has revealed that the cadets were issued with the wrong lifejackets, and that no detailed risk assessment had been carried out before the trip began. Kaylee McIntosh was drowned when the boat she and 11 other cadets were in capsized in choppy waters. Kaylee became trapped underneath the upturned boat. Other failures were identified, including the failure by supervisors to take a headcount after the incident which meant that Kaylee was trapped under the boat for one and a half hours before it was noticed that she was missing. |
Internet: www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/mcintosh.html RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:3 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Life in the hot seat. |
| Armed uprisings, sea snakes, machete wielding chieftains and temperatures that top 50oC ? it's all in a day's work for a specialist team of remote site H&S professionals. (Jo Foster) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:15-18 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Radon. |
| Odourless, colourless, tasteless, naturally occurring radon gas seeps through the ground, becoming trapped in buildings. Continuous exposure to high levels of radon carries significant health risks. (Rebecca Kench) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:23-26 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Caring for cleaners. |
| Cleaners, often an unseen workforce, working away in the background or starting work when most people are finishing for the day, face a wide range of occup risks. (Nick Cook) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:31-34 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Counting the costs. |
| Increased control of avoidable losses due to accidents and work-related ill health has a significant part to play in improving the bottom line. (Roger Bibbings) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2009:42-43 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Summer's here: HSE won't rain on your parade ... or your fete! |
| HSE has chosen village fetes as July's "elf and safety" myth, to illustrate the confusion that exists around organising public events. If you believe everything you read, "health and safety" is to blame for a lot of fun events being cancelled. Plastic duck races, ice cream toppings and even Morris Dancing have all allegedly fallen victim to excessive health and safety regulations. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/myth/index.htm HSE (National) Press Release E053:09 10/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| The HSE yesterday issued a Crown censure of the Scottish Prison Service over two incidents involving prisoners at HM Prison Barlinnie, Glasgow. |
| The Scottish Prison Service has been issued with a Crown Censure following two incidents involving prisoners. The Service was charged with breaches under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999. In both incidents prisoners' fingers became trapped in a vibrating mould table in the prison's concrete workshop. They suffered entrapment injuries to their fingers (one had only bruises and the other separation of the bones at the joints) and have both since recovered. |
HSE (Scotland) Press Release) 10/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Follow correct safety procedures when operating machinery and drills, warns HSE. |
| Stoke Forgings Dudley Ltd fined £5,000 and costs of £4,103 under MHSWR 1999. An employee broke his wrist and thumb, dislocated a shoulder, required an extensive skin graft on his forearm and also damaged nerves and tendons in his forearm after becoming entangled in machinery. He was working on a 6-Spindle Drill when he became entangled in a neighbouring drill, after his clothing got caught up in the moving parts. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/WM/273/2009 14/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Offshore industry making good progress on safety, but sustained effort required. |
| 18 months on from the landmark KP3 report, a 'snapshot' review concludes that though the safety of the UK's offshore installations is improving, the work is by no means complete and will require sustained effort and investment. The review, carried out by the HSE, warns that the momentum for improvement must continue through the current challenging economic climate. The original Key Programme 3 Report, published in November 2007, followed a major 3 year investigation into safety on more than 100 offshore installations. |
HSE (National) Press Release E56:09 14/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| New summer safety warning to children about construction site dangers. |
| The HSE has issued a new warning urging parents to keep their children away from construction sites. The HSE is concerned that there may be an increased danger this year with more sites being mothballed during the economic downturn. Companies are being reminded that even if no work is taking place, regular checks should be carried out to make sure people are not able to get into sites and that the sites remain in a safe condition. |
HSE (National) Press Release 13/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| HSE warns unregistered gas engineers after Warwickshire prosecution. |
| Gordon Connolly fined £5,000 and costs of £20,632 under GSIUR 1998. Mr Connolly was served by HSE with an IN requiring him to either become registered or stop undertaking gas work. However, he carried on working and was eventually caught when council officials spotted problems with gas safety certificates issued by the defendant after he had completed some gas work. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/WM/274/2009 16/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Two men have been convicted of manslaughter and breaching H&S laws after a 15 year old labourer was crushed to death by a wall in Hadley Wood. |
| Builder Colin Holtom aged 64 and contractor Darren Fowler aged 47, pleaded guilty to manslaughter following the death of Adam Gosling. Darren Fowler had previously pleaded guilty to working while disqualified from being a company manager and failure to discharge a duty imposed under HASAWA 1974 s33. They will be sentenced on Monday 20 July 2009. |
HSE (National) Press Release 14/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| HSE responds to Lord Gill's Inquiry Report into the Explosion at ICL Plastics, Glasgow. |
| The HSE has received copies of Lord Gill's report into the explosion, caused by a leak of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), when 9 people died and many more were injured. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/press/2009/e09048.htm HSE (Scotland) Press Release 16/7/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| MES Environmental Ltd |
| Fined a total of £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and WHR 2005. IP was part of a team cleaning overhead travelling cranes during planned shutdown. They fell 6m onto concrete, suffering multiple major injuries. |
HSE Prosecution 4149428 5/5/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| LL Windows Cleaning Contractors |
| Fined £1,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Two window cleaners seen working at height dangerously without safety equipment. |
HSE Prosecution 4153849 5/5/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Avery Dennison UK Ltd |
| Fined £75,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. 1.3 ton paper reel rolled off a pallet being handled with a manual pallet pump truck. Rolled forward a short distance and crushed DP against other paper reel on slitter machine. DP sustained crush injuries, later died in hospital. |
HSE Prosecution 4098148 6/5/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Community Vision Limited |
| Fined a total of £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and RIDDOR 1995. IP was working on the roof, slipped and fell towards the edge of the building. He managed to grab onto railings and pull himself back onto the roof. |
HSE Prosecution 4153852 6/5/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| Hammond & Sons (Wales) Ltd |
| Fined £2,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Individual fell through a hole in the scaffold boards while working on an incomplete scaffolding. IP had no training as a scaffolder. |
HSE Prosecution 4139833 8/5/09 Week ending: 17/07/09 |
| HSE warns employers about the dangers of confined spaces after deaths of two workers. |
| Bodycote HIP Ltd fined £533,000 with costs of £200,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. The company's Works Manager and Maintenance Engineer were found collapsed on the stairs leading to a concrete-lined pit into which argon gas had leaked from a large pressure vessel. The pit's oxygen alarm system was switched off and the ventilation system was not running. |
HSE (West Midlands and North West) Press Releases 24/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Asbestos risk in homes highlighted. |
| A new report on asbestos reveals that maintenance workers and residents are being put at risk by the current regulatory approach to the management of the deadly substance, estimated to be in 90 per cent of the UK's publicly owned housing. "As safe as houses? Dealing with asbestos in Social Housing" was commissioned by construction union UCATT. |
Internet: www.ucatt.info/images/stories/090528_asbestos_report1.pdf Safety Express July/August 2009:2 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| The right fit. |
| A new scheme is aiming to improve the level of protection given by respiratory protective equipment (RPE), by ensuring the people fitting it are trained correctly. |
Internet: www.fit2fit.org Safety Express July/August 2009:2 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Stress advice for managers. |
| New guidance to help organisations reduce stress in the workplace has been launched by the HSE, the CIPD and Investors in People. "Line Management Behaviour and Stress at Work" forms part of a project examining how the behaviour of management can affect stress levels at work. |
Internet: www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/health/stress/_lnstrswrk.htm Safety Express July/August 2009:3 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Defeating the arsonist. |
| Some advice on protecting your premises. (Jacky Steemson) |
Safety Express July/August 2009:5 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Staff remained inside restaurant. |
| Linda Sade was fined £750 and her company, Solly's Restaurant Ltd, was fined £3,300 for nine breaches of H&S legislation. The London Fire Brigade was awarded almost £13,000 in costs to be paid by the owner and the business. After a fire broke out, staff ignored requests to leave the premises by firefighters, and were running around in confusions with some collecting personal possessions before leaving the premises. Escape routes were obstructed, an emergency exit was locked, and there were no smoke or fire detectors in the building. |
Source: Barnet & Whetstone Press Safety Express July/August 2009:7 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Candle set customer alight. |
| Jesmond Court Ltd was fined £3,500 for two breaches of fire safety regulations, plus costs of £2,700 and a victim surcharge of £15. Jesmond were the owners of a Newcastle nightclub where a man suffered serious burns to his back when a tea light candle set his shirt on fire. |
Safety Express July/August 2009:7 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Manslaughter penalty guidance delayed. |
| Definitive guidance for the courts on sentencing levels for firms found guilty of corporate manslaughter has been further delayed after the body that decides them asked for more deliberation time. |
Safety Management June 2009:4 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Landmark legal ruling limits employees' powers to sue. |
| The Law Lords have ruled that companies and organisations cannot be sued by staff injured when using equipment not provided or maintained by their employer. The decision means that employers need to have control over the equipment that has caused the injury in order to be liable for damages. |
Safety Management June 2009:8 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| The global picture - not a pretty sight. |
| Here in the UK we tend to focus on our domestic H&S problems, but a new BSC report shows the situation is much more serious globally, requiring urgent action. (Neal Stone) |
Safety Management June 2009:11-12 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Towers - raising the bar for access. |
| Ladders and mobile access towers are two of the most common types of equipment used for work at height. Some tips on their safe use. (Peter Bennett) |
Safety Management June 2009:37-38,40 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Show some restraint. |
| Work restraint can be a safe method of working at height, but many people make the mistake of using fall arrest systems instead. An explanation of the difference, and why employers keep getting it wrong. (Dr Dave Merchant) |
Safety Management June 2009:43-44,47 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Come to my aid. |
| Despite your best efforts, there is always the chance that someone could fall ill or be injured at work - and first-aiders can be invaluable in such circumstances. What the law requires. (Anna Brown) |
Safety Management June 2009:49-52 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Construction firms warned not to put lives in danger after builder is left paralysed. |
| Property People (NW) Ltd fined £92,000 with full costs of £11,404 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and RIDDOR 1995. Joists were being removed from the ceiling of an archway and no safe platform was provided for the company's employees to use. Mr Harold Roach fell ten feet through the joists and suffered serious injuries to his back. As a result of this, he will need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/017PropertyPeople/09 20/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Small companies warned to take health and safety responsibilities seriously after roofers fall. |
| CRN Contracts Ltd fined £25,000 with costs of £14,086 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and WHR 2005. David Battisson was working on a roof when he fell ten metres through a fragile rooflight. The company did not provide adequate supervision of the work, boards were not used to cover the fragile rooflights and no protection was provided around the perimeter of the roof. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/003CRN/09 23/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Greater Manchester roofing companies urged to put safety first after worker falls through roof. |
| Tower Roofing Ltd fined £3,500 with costs of £5,976 under WHR 2005. Lee Bridge was cleaning guttering when the fragile roof gave way. He fell two metres onto a stack of pallets and then fell a further two metres onto the concrete floor. The company had not thought enough about safety in advance of the work commencing. The roof was clearly fragile and should have been boarded out before any attempt was made to clean the guttering. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/020Tower/09 24/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| New summer safety warning to West Midlands and Yorkshire children about construction sites dangers. |
| HSE has issued a new warning urging parents in the West Midlands and Yorkshire to keep their children away from construction sites so they stay safe. Dozens of children are seriously injured on construction sites every year and HSE is concerned that there may be an increased danger this year with more sites being mothballed during the economic downturn. Companies are being reminded that, even if no work is taking place, regular checks should be carried out to make sure people are not able to get onto sites and they are in a safe condition. |
HSE (West Midlands and Humber/Yorkshire) Press Releases 20 and 22/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Manslaughter builder and contractor jailed. |
| Colin Holtom was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Darren Fowler was jailed for one year for working while disqualified from being a company manager and failure to discharge a duty under HASAWA 1974 s2. The cases followed the death of 15 year old Adam Gosling. |
HSE (London) Press Release COILDN/0209 20/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Farming families warned of summer risks to children. |
| Farming families are being encouraged to ensure their workplaces don't become playgrounds for their children during the school holidays. Most summers, at least one farming child dies, and over the last 10 years, 43 children and young people under 18 have received fatal injuries from work-related incidents in agriculture. |
HSE (Regional) Press Releases 22/7/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Fine Construction UK Ltd |
| Fined £15,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Worker suffered severe spinal injuries after falling 3.3m through a rooflight void covered with plastic sheeting. No safeguards in place to prevent/limit impact of fall. No edge protection around perimeter of roof. |
HSE Prosecution 4163052 11/5/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Thornett Mechanical Services Ltd |
| Fined total of £2,500 under WHR 2005. Whilst welding on a generator where scaffolding and protective workgear had been provided, IP appeared to have lost his footing and fell off the structure. |
HSE Prosecution 4155049 13/5/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Pete Mellor Ltd |
| Fined total of £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999. Failure to provide a safe system of work, and adequate information and instruction to its employees, and failure to make a suitable and sufficient RA in relation to work involving the removal of a forklift counterbalance weight. This resulted in injuries to a self-employed person. |
HSE Prosecution 4142050 14/5/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Peter J Morrell Associates |
| Guilty - Conditional Discharge under HASAWA 1974 s3. Passed inflatables as safe for use when other inspectors (before and after) failed them. Pass certificate issued despite there being safety-related faults. |
HSE Prosecution 4129477 15/5/09 Week ending: 24/07/09 |
| Company fined after worker suffers fatal injuries after being run over at work. |
| John Stacey and Sons Ltd fined £60,000, costs of £29,061 and a £15 victim surcharge under HASAWA 1974 s3. Frederick Aubrey, working at a waste transfer station along with 2 other employees, was hand-sorting waste, a process known as 'totting'. A fourth worker was helping the 3 men when the driver of a skip loader came on site. He asked the fourth worker to get into a shovel loader and tip over one of the skips. The worker did so and in the process reversed over Mr Aubrey, who died 5 days later in hospital. |
HSE (National) Press Release COI/SE/0407 29/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| £42,000 fine. |
| Import and export firm AK International has been fined £42,000 after admitting seven safety violations. Environmental health officers found the company had ignored a PN banning them using badly damaged pallet racking until it was repaired. The company also failed to comply with two INs on safe storage, manual handling and transport of products. During the investigation, officers also discovered that the firm was not operating a safe system of work and had failed to carry out a risk assessment for the racking. |
HSW August 2009:5 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Building inspectors could add safety role. |
| LA building inspectors could be charged with monitoring construction site safety, according to HSE Chair Judith Hackitt. Ms Hackitt responded positively to a question from the W&P Select Committee chair, Terry Rooney, about whether safety on refurbishment sites could be improved with help from council inspectors. Hackitt said there was a "sound logic" to making it a requirement in the building regulations that a construction did not just ensure the safety of future users, but also those who built it. |
HSW August 2009:6 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| FACK slams new HSE strategy. |
| Campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers has dismissed the HSE's strategy for workplace H&S as "nothing new". FACK said it had to fight hard to be included in the consultation on the strategy, the outcome of which is a "severe disappointment". They said, "There is nothing strong enough to show us that ? employers like those who felt free to ignore existing health and safety law and kill the people we loved will be compelled to comply in the future." |
HSW August 2009:8 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Tesco back in dock over systemic failures. |
| In its second prosecution in a month, Tesco has been ordered to pay £62,615 in fines and costs after admitting three breaches of H&S laws. In a series of incidents over an 18-month period at their Monkspath store, one employee suffered an electric shock from a faulty light switch, a second was trapped in a produce chiller for up to 10 minutes because there was no emergency release handle or instructions to help him escape, and another broke her ankle when she was walking on uneven ground in a dimly lit area leading to a temporary staff entrance. |
HSW August 2009:8 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Lift firm ignored missing guards. |
| Amalgamated Lifts fined £8,015 and costs of £8,443 under HASAWA 1974 s2. James Blount was carrying out routine maintenance in a motor lift room when the rag he was holding was pulled into the lift's exposed mechanism. His arm became trapped between the ropes and pulleys and he suffered severe injuries to his right arm and right knee. Amalgamated knew there were no guards around the moving parts of the machinery and had alerted the property's managing agent, but still allowed Mr Blount to work in the motor room. |
HSW August 2009:10 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| ThyssenKrupp pays for snapped fingers. |
| ThyssenKrupp Talent fined a total of £14,000 with costs of £3,776 under PUWER 1998 and MHSWR 1999. A 26 year old worker was working on a vertical milling machine when his glove became trapped in the rotating cutter, forcing his fingers to bend until they snapped. Fortunately a colleague was able to hit the emergency stop button, and the injured worker managed to free his hand from the glove. The machine had been unguarded for seven years. In addition, there was another milling machine at the site that had been unguarded for at least two years, and a radial arm drill whose telescopic trip probe had not worked for months. |
HSW August 2009:11 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| MP targets building gangmasters. |
| MP Jim Sheridan, who originally presented the Gangmasters Licensing Act to the Commons, has introduced a Bill into Parliament that would extend the 2004 Act to cover the construction industry. He said there is evidence that unscrupulous gangmasters are now exploiting workers in the construction industry and are supplying big construction companies with unskilled labour for skilled and dangerous work. |
HSW August 2009:11 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| A good man in a storm. |
| An interview with the man who has co-ordinated a county authority's response to three of the decade's major incidents about what he has learnt about emergency management. (Louis Wustemann) |
HSW August 2009:14-17 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Access all areas. |
| Why accessibility beyond the realms of the DDA should be one of the first things you think about when introducing new gadgets or software. (Dave Merchant) |
HSW August 2009:18-20 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| SMEs: data sharing. |
| How small firms can meet their obligations to consult employees on health and safety matters. (Paul Reeve) |
HSW August 2009:23-24 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Talking points. |
| What NEBOSH Diploma students need to know about effective employee consultation. (Lawrence Bamber) |
HSW August 2009:26-28 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Ring the changes. |
| An explanation of the forthcoming changes to the official requirements for first aid at work training. (Peter Savage) |
HSW August 2009:33-34 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Table talk: first aid. |
| Interviews with experts from one of the first-aid charities and a leading supplier for the background to October's training regime changes. (Louis Wustemann) |
HSW August 2009:37-39 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Called to serve. |
| A shortage of volunteers is no excuse for inadequate first-aid coverage. How to persuade reticent employees to step forward. (Jocelyn Dorrell) |
HSW August 2009:40-42 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Life through a lens. |
| Focusing on the difference between goggles and safety glasses and how to avoid specifying one when you need the other. (Nigel Day) |
HSW August 2009:44 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Health warning after Lancashire workers catch legionnaires' disease. |
| Kapak UK Ltd fined £25,000 and costs of £20,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. The butchery processing company failed to protect its employees from the risk of contracting Legionnaires' disease. Two employees were diagnosed - one was a boner the other a packer. Water samples were taken throughout the building and significant levels of legionella were found to be present at 3 locations. The tank was fed by hot and cold water and supplied water to 3 pressure washer hose points in and around the process area which employees used to clean away meat and fat debris in the various processing areas as and when required. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/011/09 27/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Landlord prosecuted for poorly maintained gas appliance. |
| Shazad Ishaq fined £2,500 and costs of £1,500 under GSIUR 1998. Tenants at a house were taken to hospital suffering from suspected exposure to carbon monoxide after complaining about the smell of fumes coming from the gas boiler. Before the family were evacuated, a National Grid engineer identified a flue gas spillage and the gas supply to the boiler and cooker hob was disconnected. HSE identified inadequate air supply to the boiler, housed in a kitchen cupboard, inadequate cleaning and maintenance of the boiler, particularly the filters, visual signs of soot and flue gas spillage on the inside of the cupboard and boiler casing and that the flue was 'not to current standards'. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/WM/296/2009 27/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Engineering firm fined £5,000 after worker's finger severed. |
| TC Industries of Europe Limited fined £5,000, costs of £1,357 and £15 victim surcharge under HASAWA 1974 s2. A member of staff, Colin Hicks, had a finger cut off and another badly crushed while working with a pick and place transfer unit to stack parts. He reached up to activate the limit switch with his right hand while resting his left hand on the unguarded carriageway for balance. As a result the drive wheels of the pick and place unit ran over his left hand that was still resting on the carriageway, severing one of his fingers and severely crushing a second. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NE/287/09 28/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Views sought on European regulation on biocides. |
| Views are being sought on European proposals for a revised regime for regulating the placing on the market and use of biocides. HSE has launched a 10-week consultation on the European Commission proposal, which will apply directly in the UK and will eventually revise and replace the current Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) 98/8/EC. |
HSE (National) Press Release E60:09 29/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Companies urged to improve safety after Bury worker loses three fingers. |
| Tetrosyl Ltd fined £50,000 and costs of £6,141 under HASAWA 1974 s2. 21 year old Robert Karpowicz was using a powder-mixing machine. He had not received training to use the machine, which also had an unguarded open hatch. His right hand was badly injured when he used the hatch to obtain a sample from the machine while the internal blades were still running. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/018Tetrosyl/09 29/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Biggest workplace killers tackled on Lancashire industrial estate. |
| A large Lancashire industrial estate will be targeted next week as part of a new initiative to tackle the county's three biggest workplace killers. Representatives from the HSE and Wyre Borough Council will visit nearly 120 businesses on the Red Marsh industrial estate. They will provide information about the biggest risks to workers, including asbestos, falls from height and workplace transport. |
HSE (National) Press Release 29/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Employers urged to take action after Chester worker cracks ribs. |
| Calder Industrial Materials Ltd fined £4,500 and costs of £1,050 under PUWER 1998. Stephen Shore was trying to clear debris from a conveyor belt when he became trapped. He sustained crush injuries, including cracked ribs and severe bruising. |
HSE (National) Press Release 31/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Farming families warned of summer risks to children. |
| Farming families are being encouraged to ensure their workplaces don't become playgrounds for their children during the school holidays. HSE is also keen to ensure that risks are carefully considered and managed should children be helping out on farms. |
HSE (South East, North East, Wales, East, Yorkshire and Humber) Press Releases 27/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Illegal gas work costs lives warns HSE. |
| Peter Tongue jailed for three years for each of two manslaughter charges, to run concurrently. Margaret Powell and Thomas Morgan died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a warm air central heating system that Tongue had worked on at Mrs Powell's home. His accreditation to work on that particular system had lapsed three years previously. As a result his knowledge of the system was not up to date. |
HSE (National) Press Release COI/W/373/09 30/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Make sure gas appliances are safe, Warwickshire firms are warned. |
| Restaurants, pubs, takeaways and other businesses across Warwickshire can expect a visit from inspectors over the forthcoming months to make sure their gas appliances are safe. HSE is working jointly with local authority environmental health practitioners to visit catering businesses. Inspectors will be advising owners and managers that they must only use Gas Safe registered engineers as well as checking how gas appliances are maintained and who carried out the work. Faulty appliances can be taken out of use by an inspector if deemed necessary. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release 29/7/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Apetito Limited |
| Fined £1,600 under HASAWA 1974 s7. Prosecution following legionella outbreak in the Dudley area. Company was visited as part of investigation. Poor record keeping, lack of tangible results, some testing missed out. No training of responsible persons. |
HSE Prosecution 4131717 19/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Teakdecking Systems Europe Ltd |
| Fined a total of £4,000 under COSHH 2002. Lack of control of employees' teak dust exposure. |
HSE Prosecution 4133969 19/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Mr Thomas Dalton |
| Prison under HASAWA 1974 s33. No Sep Penalty under HASAWA 1974 s3. Complaint from CORGI, re Thomas Dalton (T/A Dalton Six Ltd) - in breach of PN and unqualified electrical installation (ie consumer units and sockets/lighting), which had not been checked by Building Control. |
HSE Prosecution 4134977 19/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Havering London Borough Council |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Council worker struck a buried high voltage cable with a hydraulic breaker whilst installing a park bench. An appropriate safe system of work was not provided and information, instruction, training and supervision was inadequate. The injured worker suffered flash burns and electric shock. |
HSE Prosecution 4136544 19/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| J B M International Limited |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under PUWER 1998 and MHSWR 1999. Employee fractured fingers while changing bag on filter plant. |
HSE Prosecution 4149946 19/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Richard Griffin Construction Limited |
| Fined £1,000 under WHR 2005. Employees working on roof without adequate measures to prevent or mitigate falls. Absence of a construction phase health and safety plan. Absence of adequate welfare facilities. |
HSE Prosecution 4127673 20/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Mr Alan Baker |
| Conditional Discharge under GSIUR 1998. In 2006, Mr Baker signed one of the gas 'pilot' letters, agreeing that he would no longer carry out gas work until he became CORGI registered. HSE have evidence of him carrying out further gas work on at least 2 occasions. |
HSE Prosecution 4136280 21/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Redstar Waste Management Limited |
| Fined £5,000 under PUWER 1998. Employed young person injured arm when he tripped/slipped on waste accumulated on floor and fell onto baling machine which did not have adequate guarding. |
HSE Prosecution 4137549 22/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Pentre Motors Ltd |
| Fined £6,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Child injured when car in which the child was a passenger was raised on vehicle lifting ramp at a vehicle repair garage. Ramp raised to full height and child possibly removed child seat restraint before opening car door and falling to the ground. Prosecution proposed on the grounds that the garage did not have a system for the management of customers and allowed a passenger to remain within a vehicle whilst raised on the vehicle lifting table. |
HSE Prosecution 4142035 22/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Shorts Group Ltd |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. 21 year old demolition labourer sustained serious injuries to his foot when the skip-loading dumper he was operating overturned and he became trapped underneath it. Prosecution on the grounds that he was not adequately trained. |
HSE Prosecution 4157869 22/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
| Thomas Thomson (Blairgowrie) Limited |
| Fined £9,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employees engaged in work activity near a live conductor not suitably covered with an insulating material so as to prevent danger, namely an 11kv overhead power line, resulted in employee being electrocuted. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality. |
HSE Prosecution 4066785 26/5/09 Week ending: 31/07/09 |
Disclaimer
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
For copyright reasons we cannot make the articles themselves available.
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.
If you wish to comment on H&S News, please use the Feedback form..
