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| Title | Comments | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| Rotherham Council and contractor fined after employee killed by reversing truck. | Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council fined £75,000 and costs of £18,350 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Brocklebank & Company (Demolition) Ltd fined £30,000 and costs of £12,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Gordon Duffield, a Council employee, was killed when he was knocked down by an eight-wheeled tipper lorry operated by Brocklebank as it delivered asphalt to a site. (More...) | HSE (National) Press Release YH/073/10 26/2/10 |
| Bupa to fit sprinklers. | Bupa, the private health insurance company and care provider, is to install residential sprinkler systems and automatic fire door control systems in all of the new residential care homes it builds. This policy will not only ensure the safety of the residents, but will also allow design freedoms to be included in the layout and use of the buildings. | Fire Risk Management February 2010:3 |
| Landlord and vehicle servicer prosecuted. | In two separate prosecutions under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, a landlord and a vehicle servicing company have received substantial fines. Mohammed Khan was fined a total of £10,000 for seven breaches of the Order. In an inspection fire officers found no risk assessment had been carried out, there were no fire safety procedures in place, storage was blocking the escape route, smoke alarms had been removed and tenants had not been informed about the fire safety arrangements. An EN was served highlighting the work that needed to be done, but it hadn't been at a further visit six months later. Since July 2009, Mr Khan only fully complied once with his obligations under the Order. In the second case, ATS Euromaster in Southampton was fined £7,500 for failures including an obstructed fire exit, inadequate lighting on the escape route, and insufficient fire safety training for the manager. | Fire Risk Management February 2010:4 |
| Local focus. | From pandemics to fire safety, the emergency planning challenges facing local authorities across England and Wales were explored at a recent conference. (Rupert Gilbey) | Fire Risk Management February 2010:16-19 |
| Similar situations. | In the wake of a tragic blaze in a Russian nightclub, a look at four other disasters which offer similar fire safety lessons. (Andrew Brown) | Fire Risk Management February 2010:22-26 |
| Fit for the future. | When it comes to fire detection and alarm systems in residential flats, it is important to get installation right first time and reduce false alarms. (Graham Ellicott) | Fire Risk Management February 2010:38-40 |
| Natural resources. | The fire strategy for protecting the innovative "cocoon" at the Natural History Museum's Darwin Centre. (Andy Nicholson) | Fire Risk Management February 2010:42-45 |
| Mixed results for road vehicle inspectors. | More dangerous commercial vehicles and drivers are being removed from the road than ever before, but the body responsible still needs to make more of an impact, according to the National Audit Office. During 2008/09, 36,500 HGVs and public service vehicles were taken off the roads, compared with 28,900 in 2007/08. NAO say that VOSA needs to do more to educate commercial drivers on road safety, and to identify the most dangerous vehicles. | Safety Management February 2010:5 |
| High sickness rates in waste industry. | According to a new report from the Health and Safety Laboratory, the UK waste and recycling industries have much higher sickness rates than other branches of local government. They found employees took an average of 12.8 days per annum, compared with 9.6 days for local authority workers in general. | Safety Management February 2010:5 |
| Shot police worker wins payout. | The civilian emergency control room worker who was mistakenly shot during a firearms exercise has received a six figure compensation payout from Thames Valley Police. | Safety Management February 2010:5 |
| Outcry at Government retreat on corporate manslaughter fines. | There has been widespread condemnation of the Government's retreat on "percentage" levels of fines for companies convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007. A range of groups have expressed dismay at the plans which would see a minimum fine of just £500,000. | Safety Management February 2010:6 |
| Agency workers win better rights. | Britain's estimated 1.3m agency workers are set to win stronger employment rights under new regulations currently before Parliament. The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 will ensure that agency workers who have been in a job for 12 weeks will earn the rights to the same pay, holiday, working time, overtime and breaks as direct employees. | Safety Management February 2010:7 |
| M&S facing asbestos charges. | Marks & Spencers and three contractors have been charged with asbestos-related offences in relation to refurbishment work carried out at three of the chain's stores. It is alleged that staff and members of the public were exposed to asbestos-containing materials. M&S has pleaded not guilty to six counts under HASAWA 1974. | Safety Management February 2010:7 |
| Case for new directors' duties - still unproven. | A new series which will give an opinion on some of the topical issues affecting today's health and safety world. This month - legal duties for directors. (Neal Stone) | Safety Management February 2010:11 |
| Top to bottom - safety leadership at E.ON. | Effective health and safety performance can only be achieved when a firm's directors and managers lead from the top, laying the groundwork for a positive safety culture throughout the organisation. How one well known firm - leading energy provider E.ON - achieves this. (Joanna Gurman) | Safety Management February 2010:23-25 |
| Hearing protection - keeping it real. | Hearing protection is a vital tool for preventing work-related hearing loss, but in many cases it fails to work effectively. Some of the reasons for this and some potential solutions. (David Leonard) | Safety Management February 2010:35-38,40 |
| Giving you bad vibrations? | Around one million workers are exposed to potentially harmful levels of hand-arm vibration, but effective management of tool appendages, such as drill bits, could help prevent this. (David Wilson) | Safety Management February 2010:43-44,46 |
| Fear for Merseyside roofers after formal warnings double. | Roofing companies in Merseyside are being urged not to put their employees in danger after the number of formal warnings issued last year more than doubled. The HSE handed out 69 enforcement notices in Merseyside in the first ten months of 2009 covering unsafe work at height, compared to 30 during the same period in 2008. HSE is concerned that some companies may be trying to save money by allowing employees to work on roofs without scaffolding or other safety equipment. It is launching a joint venture with Trading Standards to raise awareness about the dangers and standards of work expected in the industry. More than 400 roofers across Merseyside are being contacted and asked to attend a safety awareness event (held this week), or risk an unannounced visit from an inspector. | HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/023Roofers 19/2/10 |
| Warning to construction sites after high voltage incident. | JF Finnegan fined £17,500 and costs of £2,126 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Saxby Surfacing Contractors Ltd fined £5,000 and costs of £708 under CDMR 2007. Both companies were involved in building a private road. During the work, a tipper wagon, which was in its raised position, touched a high voltage overhead cable. The 66,000 volt shock passed through the wagon, resulting in severe damage to the pneumatics and the hydraulics. It also endangered the lives of workers. This was the third similar incident at the site, yet HSE inspectors found a lack of suitable signage warning of overhead danger or height restricting posts in operation. | HSE (National) Press Release YH/061/09 19/2/10 |
| Salford construction students warned following deaths. | HSE has arranged for leading specialists to meet more than 300 undergraduates at Salford University this week to make them aware of the risks they face in their new careers. On average, construction workers suffer more than 600 serious injuries in Greater Manchester every year. And across Great Britain, there were 53 deaths and over 11,000 serious injures in the industry in 2008/9. Experts from HSE, Shepherd Construction, Mott MacDonald and Bovis Lend Lease will now visit the university to give students tips for staying safe when they enter the industry. | HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/023ConstructionSalford 22/2/10 |
| Penrith farm safety event follows deaths and injuries. | Hundreds of farmers were expected to attend a safety event in Penrith this week, after new figures revealed an agricultural worker is killed or seriously injured in Cumbria every eighteen days. The free training day organised by the HSE offered tips for farmers on staying safe. | HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW.029SHAD Penrith 22/2/10 |
| Repeat prosecution for illegal gas fitter. | Royston Edward Godsell, fined £450 and costs of £1,346.90 under GSIUR 1998. Mr Godsell, 70, supplied and fitted a gas fire at a private property without being registered with the Gas Safe Register. The fire failed to work and was subsequently isolated and reported to HSE by a registered engineer. Mr Godsell had already been warned on several occasions by the HSE not to undertake gas work until he was competent and registered to do so. This is the second time HSE has prosecuted Mr Godsell. In July 2008 he was fined £1,000 for a series of gas-related offences. | HSE (National) Press Release 707/SWW/10 22/2/10 |
| North East forestry workers urged to sign up for safety event. | In an effort to reduce the high number of injuries in one of Britain's most dangerous industries, forestry workers from across the North East of Scotland are being encouraged to attend a free event next month. HSE has again teamed up with the Forestry Commission Learning and Development (previously Forest Training Services) to host the free event on Wednesday 24 March at Bin Forest, Aberdeenshire. The day will be dedicated to raising awareness of important H&S issues specific to the forestry industry. For further info or to book a place(s) at this event, (indicating whether you wish to attend the morning or afternoon session) please e-mail glenda.benger@hse.gsi.gov.uk by Wednesday 17 March 2010. Applications will be confirmed upon receipt. | HSE (National) Press Release SCO/117/10 23/2/10 |
| Bradford property dealer fined for failings at Hull site. | HQ Leisure Limited fined £10,000 and costs of £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3, CDMR 2007 and WHR 2005. HSE found a number of safety problems that could have caused a serious injury or fatality at a site where a refurbishment project of a row of four-storey terrace buildings were being converted into 28 apartments. Problems included: dangerously unstable scaffolding missing structural supports, roofing materials being thrown into an area where other contractors were working below, unsuitable ladders, insufficient and unsecured boards used in the roof space left workers at risk of falling through the ceiling joints, voids created by demolition of rear extension had not been guarded to prevent falls out of the building and no toilet had been provided for the workers and washing facilities were inadequate. An HSE Inspector commented that HQ Leisure blatantly disregarded the importance of a safe working site and leaving their workers at risk of serious injury or even death. | HSE (National) Press Release YH/067/10 23/2/10 |
| Warburton's staff use their loaf when it comes to workplace safety. | Staff at Warburton's bakery in Newcastle this week backed a campaign to reduce slips, trips and falls in the workplace as they showed off some of the new safety measures at their bakery. In response, the HSE is running a new phase of its 'Shattered Lives' campaign to raise awareness of the impact of slips, trips and falls in the workplace. The bakery at Newburn, which produces bread and morning goods for shops and supermarkets across the North East is currently being upgraded with new non-slip flooring and a new high-level walkway. The company has also invested in a range of mobile step platforms to make it easier for staff to work safely at height and hopes that these and other measures being introduced will help to continue to prevent slips, trips and falls in the bakery. | Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives HSE (National) Press Release NE/072/10 24/2/10 |
| Leicester man fined for unsafe work at height. | Dean Paul Shaw, t/a Streamline Guttering and Cladding, fined £4,950 and costs of £1,314.40 under WHR 2005. Mr Shaw, 44, allowed work to take place on a roof without adequate safety equipment to stop him or his workers falling. Mr Shaw and two employees were working on the roof of a seven-metre high building. They accessed the roof by a mobile tower at the front of the building, however they were also working in the back of the building, which had no tower or scaffolding in place. By not providing adequate safety equipment, Mr Shaw failed to ensure that the installation of new guttering was properly planned, did not provide supervision and failed to prevent, as far as reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. | HSE (National) Press Release HSE/EM/10 24/2/10 |
| Firm fined £80,000 over death of nine-year-old boy. | Faulkner Gates Limited fined £80,000 and costs of £40,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Jason Keet, 9, died when his head was crushed by the gates at the entrance to a private block of flats. The young boy was visiting his grandparents with his mother when he tried to open the electric gates. He put his upper body around the gate pillar and pressed the button on the inside, meant for use of people leaving the block of flats on foot. The gates were built in such a way that there was a gap large enough for him to get between the edge of one of the gates and a brick pillar. Because Jason had reached through to press the button, his head and upper body was in this gap when the gates started to move, the opening narrowed and his head was crushed between the gate and the brick pillar. The company played its part in designing and building these gates but failed to properly control the risks that were being created. Had the company undertaken a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and communicated its findings with the other companies involved, it is unlikely this tragedy would have happened. | HSE (National) Press Release 627RV/SWW/10 25/2/10 |
| Blackpool's highest window cleaner backs national safety campaign. | Dave Hulme, who hangs under the glass floor at the top of Blackpool Tower to clean it, is backing a national safety campaign. He carries out maintenance work to the outside of the 158 metre high tourist attraction and is giving his support to the HSE's Shattered Lives campaign. Dave, who works for Cumbrian engineering company MP Marine, started work at Blackpool Tower in 1983 and now oversees its maintenance. | HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/01ShatteredLives 25/2/10 |
| Shropshire firm fined for near-miss hand injury. | Richard Burbidge Ltd fined £5,000 and costs of £5,842 under PUWER 1998. An employee came into contact with the rotating rear cutters of the machine used to plane wood. As well as cutting his middle finger, the machine also fractured the employee's thumb from the top of the first joint and severed both tendons. HSE investigation revealed that the cutters were partially exposed because a guard had not been fitted and that the machine also took almost half a minute to stop. | HSE (National) Press Release 24/2/10 |
| East London men fined after worker is found dead at a construction site. | Ali Aslan fined £10,000 and costs of £8,038, also a £15 victim surcharge under HASAWA 1974 s2. Kemal Has fined £15,000 and costs of £8,038, also a £15 victim surcharge under HASAWA 1974 s3. Otari Davidovich Hudoyan was employed as a construction worker at a site in Rainham. His body was found on site and an investigation found he had suffered fatal injuries that were consistent with a fall from height. There were no witnesses to the incident. Mr Aslan, the contractor, who was Mr Hudoyan's direct employer, had failed to ensure work was carried out in a safe manner, or that his workers had adequate training. Mr Aslan had also failed to properly plan the work being carried out at the site, nor had he ensured the equipment was safe for workers to use. Mr Has, as the property developer, failed to produce H&S information for his contractor about the nature of the building. He had also failed to appoint a competent Principal Contractor. | HSE (London) Press Release 19/2/10 |
| The Cube contractor is recognised for its good practice in Slips, Trips and Falls campaign. | With the work almost complete on Birmingham's landmark development, The Cube, the developer has been recognised for the way it has worked closely and positively with the HSE to reduce, slips, trips and falls. The on-site management team for Buildability, Birmingham Development Company's own construction arm, has been in regular, ongoing talks with HSE's construction team, working closely to ensure on-site safety is a priority. In Birmingham there were 180 major injuries caused by slips and trips in 2008/09, with a further 69 caused by falling from height. In the West Midlands this rises to 1,001 major slip and trip injuries, 395 caused by falls. | HSE (West Midlands) Press Release 24/2/10 |
| Scaffolding collapse at Tameside gym prompts £24,000 fine. | Craven Scaffolding Ltd fined a total of £24,000 and costs of £7,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and WHR 2005. They failed to tie the scaffolding to the building, despite it being in a windy location. The structure, more than 40 metres wide and nearly 6 metres high, was forced over by high winds early one Saturday evening. It collapsed onto a neighbouring residential street, damaging several parked cars, luckily no one in them at the time. There is a primary school nearby and by sheer luck this incident happened in the evening. The scaffolding collapsed because basic H&S procedures were not followed when it was put up. If it had been tied to the building, it could not have been forced over by high winds. | HSE (North West) Press Release 25/2/10 |
| Suffolk company fined after worker fell through roof. | Eastern Hardware Company Ltd fined £3,000 and costs of £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee Paul Garrod, 54, was installing some air conditioning ducting when he fell a metre through a fragile roof. Mr Garrod landed on internal steel duct work and suffered significant bruising as a result. HSE found the company had failed to provide adequate information, instruction and training for working at height. They had also failed to undertake suitable and sufficient risk assessments or implement safe systems of work for the job. There was no recognition that there was a fragile roof and suitable work at height equipment was not provided. | HSE (East) Press Release 25/2/10 |
| HSE launches crackdown on dangerous construction sites. | HSE inspectors are to launch an intensive inspection initiative aimed at stopping dangerous practices on building sites in the Norfolk coastal area from Kings' Lynn to Great Yarmouth. The HSE wants to raise awareness of construction site risks and prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths. Construction is one of Britain's most dangerous industries. During 2008/9 136 people were injured in Norfolk while working in construction. The inspection initiative will start on 1 March. Inspectors will be making unannounced visits to sites. | HSE (East) Press Release 25/2/10 |
| Mr Chris Byrne | Fined £750 under CHSWR 1996. Prosecution of Mr Chris Byrne following investigation into accident. | HSE Prosecution 4152159 14/12/09 |
| Ravendale Foods Ltd | Fined £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee was removing meat from a blocked discharge chute on an Orbmix Auto mixer conveyor belt. His left hand came into contact with the rotating paddles, two fingers were amputated. | HSE Prosecution 4178453 14/12/09 |
| KTC (Edibles) Ltd | Fined a total of £12,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and RIDDOR 1995. Unguarded mezzanine floor and late reporting of injury. Evidence of employees working near to open edge of mezzanine floor, a person carried in home-made cage by an FLT, lorry collided with building, narrowly missing a person. | HSE Prosecution 4178789 14/12/09 |
| Cumbrian Industrials Ltd | Fined £65,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A member of the public suffered fatal injuries when his car collided with the rear of a parked traffic management vehicle on the hard-shoulder within road works on the M6. Failure to secure adequate site safety. | HSE Prosecution 4130363 15/12/09 |
| T F Jackson Portable Accommodation | Fined a total of £11,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and MHSWR 1999. Employee has fallen approx 3m through a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) roof light. Unsafe system of work for work at height and no suitable and sufficient risk assessment carried out. | HSE Prosecution 4178921 17/12/09 |
| Centrewest London Buses Ltd | Fined £400,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee fatally injured when crushed between two buses. Failure to properly segregate employees and vehicles during morning run out from bus garage. | HSE Prosecution 4129851 18/12/09 |
| Tuffnells Parcels Express Ltd | Fined £35,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. IP was loading parcels from a dock into the rear of a 7.5 tonne vehicle. On stepping onto the vehicle the driver pulled away from the dock causing IP to fall from the back of the vehicle approx four feet to the floor. | HSE Prosecution 4170882 18/12/09 |
| Ian Brian Griffiths | Fined a total of £3,500 under WHR 2005. Fall through asbestos cement roof. | HSE Prosecution 4182895 18/12/09 |
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H&S
News - Week ending 26th February 2010