Health & Safety News July 2010
| Holmes Place shares £3/4m penalty. |
| Holmes Place fined £233,000 and costs of £170,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and 3. Thyssenkrupp fined £233,000 and costs of £205,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A lift at Holmes Place dropped suddenly as banker Katarzyna Woja walked out of it, trapping her between the shaft wall and the lift, leaving her with fatal injuries. The lift in question had dropped the day before but had not been taken out of service, although the defendants claimed it had been repaired. In the year before the accident in March 2003, engineers had been called to repair the lift 41 times. The investigation could not identify a definitive cause for the lift's failure, though an hydraulic fault or a problem with its mechanisms locking was believed to be behind the accident. Thyssenkrupp failed to maintain the lift properly and had neglected to investigate fully its sudden drops between floors. Holmes Place had allowed customers to use the lift even though it was aware that it was unsafe and had failed to take adequate remedial action in response to inspection reports. It also emerged that the health club had not given employees proper training to release trapped passengers from the lift. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:4 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| TUC calls for drug test clarity. |
| The TUC is calling for clear government guidance on drug testing at work to clear up what it says is confusion about the legality of random or routine testing in non safety-critical jobs. Launching a new guide for union safety reps on drug testing at work, the TUC said drugs and alcohol have no place in the workplace but casts doubt on the value and legality of existing drug testing techniques. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:4 Internet: www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-18001-f0.pdf Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Raleigh forks out £122,000 for fork truck collision. |
| Raleigh UK fined £72,000 and costs of £40,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Vincent Whittingdon suffered fatal injuries when the mast of his truck hit the top of a door frame. He had been driving the truck at some speed and the impact dislodged the heavy steel lintel, which fell on him as he was thrown from his truck. It is still unclear why he didn't lower his mast down to pass through the doorway safely. Raleigh had fully instructed and tested its drivers and Whittingdon knew he should lower the forks on collecting goods. Four years earlier, there had been a forklift collision at another doorway which required the firm to prop up the wall and replace two lintels. Following this and other incidents, Raleigh had acted to reduce the risks but it had not raised the doorway Whittingdon hit because there were electrical circuits above it. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:5 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Fire penalty. |
| Park Hotel, Leicester, fined £29,715 and costs of £8,000 under Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Ashwin Ratan, general manager, fined £2,985 and costs of £380 under the same Order. Following a blaze at the hotel last year, safety failings were revealed including no fire alarm sounder in the staff quarters in the basement, no evidence the alarm or emergency lighting were tested regularly and an inadequate fire risk assessment. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:5 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| HSE's building site. |
| The HSE has redesigned and updated its construction website, adding new material and improving navigation. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:5 www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Sellafield worker wins payout for carpal tunnel syndrome. |
| A nuclear waste plant has paid out £35,000 to a worker it exposed to hand-arm vibration every day for 18 years. The process worker had used hand-held vibrating equipment in the decommissioning unit at the Sellafield nuclear plant since 1992. He first noticed systems in 2003 and was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome by his doctor. He has had four medical operations but still suffers from pain and will never be able to return to his former work. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:6 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| CIPD wants government to scrap Working Time Regs. |
| The Working Time Regulations are a hindrance to businesses and should be removed, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:9 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Defective goods lift went unserviced for 15 years. |
| Medina Foodstore fined a total of £32,000 and costs of £6,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and RIDDOR 1995. A separate penalty under MHSWR 1999 was not imposed for a risk assessment failure. Mohammed Saleem was using the lift when his leg was crushed between the lift shaft and the car as it moved between floors. Investigations found that the lift, which staff used regularly, was "seriously defective" and no-one had serviced it in the previous 15 years. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| TUC on bad behaviour. |
| The TUC has published new guidance on behavioural safety for H&S reps, with advice on how to respond to workplace initiatives. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:10 Internet: www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-17940-f0.cfm Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Leftover wiring caused child's shock. |
| Mitchells & Butlers fined £10,000 and costs of £4,248 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A three year old boy was with his mother when he put his hand under the recess of the bar and touched a live electrical cable from obsolete lighting fitted under the counter. The installation had been there for some time and at some stage someone had removed the fittings but left the wiring without properly terminating or disconnecting it. The boy burned his hand and has now fully recovered. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:12 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Legislative calendar. |
| Calendar or new and upcoming legislation. |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:12 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| 3M's PAWS for thought. |
| The PPE technology manufacturer's decade-long behavioural safety programme. (Lucie Ponting) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:20-22 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Signs of the times. |
| Rules that underpin the design of all our safety warning signs. (Dave Merchant) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:24-26 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Site specifics: DSEAR. |
| Helpful information you can find on the web on protection in dangerous atmospheres. (Bridget Leathley) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:28-30 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Trainer's toolkit: the golden rules. |
| In the final article in the series on effective training, a summary of the key aspects of a successful session. (Paul Smith) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:31-32 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Breathing space. |
| Best practice in portable gas detection and atmospheric sampling in confined spaces. (Paul Walton) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:34 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| A problem shared. |
| If you share a site with other businesses, even contractors, fire compliance can get complicated. (Trevor Hodgson) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:36-37 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Body of evidence. |
| The role of through accident investigation in defending your organisation against frivolous personal injury claims. (Ivor Long) |
Health and Safety at Work July 2010:38-39 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Final set of 2009 pesticide figures released. |
| The Pesticide Residues Committee has published its final quarterly report for samples collected in 2009. The report found that the majority of foods had no detectable residues and those that did contain pesticides were not likely to be harmful to health. Tests found that 781 out of 1,415 samples of 28 different foods tested had no detectable residues. Also 626 samples contained levels below the maximum residue level (MRL), the legally permitted amount. |
HSE (National) Press Release 24/6/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| School fruit and vegetables tested for pesticide residues. |
| The Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) has published findings from the Department of Health's School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme for Autumn 2009. The third report for the school year 2009/10 found that the fruit and vegetables supplied to schools met legal standards with regard to pesticide residue levels and that the presence of residues would be unlikely to have any effect on those who ate the food. The report contained the results for apple, banana, carrot, mango, melon, pear, pineapple, raisin, soft citrus fruits and tomatoes. |
HSE (National) Press Release 24/6/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Worker deaths in Britain fall to record low. |
| The HSE has released provisional data which shows that 151 workers were killed between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010, compared to 178 deaths in the previous year and an average over the last five years of 200 deaths per year. Despite the overall improvement, the agriculture industry recorded a sizeable increase from 25 to 38. The construction industry had 41 fatal injuries, service workers had 42 and manufacturing workers 24. |
HSE (National) Press Release 30/6/10 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/statistics Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Tragic rise in agriculture deaths. |
| New figures released by the HSE show that 38 agriculture workers were killed at work during the period 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010. This compares with the record low in 2008/09 when 25 workers died. The previous year had seen 46 workers dying. The rate of fatal injuries in the sector was 8.2 per 100,000 workers, making it the most dangerous industry in which to work. |
HSE (National) Press Release 30/6/10 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture and www.hse.gov.uk/statistics Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| HSE supports decision on Ram Brewery development. |
| The HSE has welcomed the decision by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government not to grant planning permission for a development at the Ram Brewery site in Wandsworth. HSE had advised Wandsworth Council against granting permission for the development of commercial and residential buildings, including two very tall towers, due to their proximity to the Wandsworth Gasholder station. It was felt that, in the event of an accident occurring at the Gasholder station, it would have been very difficult to evacuate people rapidly from the upper levels of the proposed very tall towers. The Secretary of State said that the development would "harm public safety" and that he was not satisfied that "future occupants would be adequately protected from the safety risk". |
HSE (National) Press Release 1/7/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Two Cornish companies fined after fall through fragile roof light. |
| Adam Phillips Plant Hire and Contractors Ltd fined £4,000 and costs of £1,694 under HASAWA 1974 s2. New Generation Daffodils fined £1,500 and costs of £1,634 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Adam Phillips Plant Hire was contracted by New Generation Daffodils to repair storm damaged roofs at their premises. The work did not include the use of edge protection, appropriate crawling boards or measures to prevent falls. The work was almost complete, but an airline had been left on another roof. Adam Phillip's employee, Daniel Ekers, walked along the metal sheeted roof to get it back. A fragile rooflight was weathered and appeared similar in colour to the metal sheeting. He stepped on it and fell 5 metres to the ground landing on some harvesting machinery. He narrowly missed the blades of the equipment and sustained a fractured vertebra. |
HSE (National) Press Release 813 1/7/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Global logistics and tobacco firms fined after worker is crushed to death. |
| Exel Europe Ltd fined £80,000 and costs of £35,800 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Imperial Tobacco Ltd fined £80,000 and costs of £31,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Gary Brooks, a heavy goods driver for Exel, was trying to collect a trailer from an Imperial Tobacco site. He intended to attach the trailer to his cab, but as was doing this, the lorry gradually rolled forward, trapping him between the vehicle and a building. He suffered fatal head injuries. The HSE investigation found that drivers working for both Exel and Imperial did not routinely apply the trailer brakes to make sure the vehicles were safely parked. Some drivers had not been properly trained or assessed and no check had been carried out to monitor the use of trailer brakes in the yard. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/EM/37/10 1/7/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Construction company and directors fined after death. |
| PIB (UK) Ltd fined £30,000 and costs of £6,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. John Blankson, director and client for the project concerned, fined £15,000 and costs of £3,465 under CDMR 2007. Steven Moore, director, fined £30,000 and costs of £6,500 under HASAWA 1974 s37. He was also disqualified as a director for five years. PIB had been refurbishing a large semi-detached house, turning it into flats. Edward Dean, 24, had been out socialising and in the early hours of the morning wondered onto the construction site. The site was not properly secured and Mr Dean was able to enter the work area. He tripped over an unprotected edge and fell 2.4 metres into a basement courtyard. He was found dead later that morning. |
HSE (South East) Press Release 30/6/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Worker shatters leg in telehandler plunge. |
| R J Baker & Co Ltd fined £3,000 and costs of £3,000 under WHR 2005. A longstanding employee was clearing guttering on a farm building. He switched from using a ladder to a telehandler to access a hard to reach section. A colleague operated the machinery and attached a grain bucket for him to stand in. However, as the operator lifted the bucket, the operator inadvertently tilted the bucket downwards and tipped the worker out. He fell three metres onto concrete landing on his right leg and breaking and dislocating an ankle, fracturing his shin and partially fracturing his heel. He was in hospital for more than a month and required extensive treatment to realign the bones. |
HSE (Yorkshire and Humber) Press Release 2/7/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Ivan Pope |
| Fined a total of £6,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Unsafe work on roof to reclaim tiles. Unsafe system of work being followed in that workers were not wearing harnesses and there was no scaffolding or edge protection. Workers were working from and climbing into and out of the bucket of an excavator while at height. Nothing had been done to protect the safety of the workers below while this work was taking place. |
HSE Prosecution 4133586 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Biffa Waste Services Limited |
| Fined a total of £280,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and MHSWR 1999. A member of the public died as a result of being struck by the bucket of a loading shovel being used to clear green waste from the public tipping point at an amenity site. The segregation arrangements were inadequate. The system of work for clearing green waste from the public tipping point had not been risk assessed. |
HSE Prosecution 4174061 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Transtore (UK) Limited |
| Fined a total of £70,000 under HASAWA 1974 s33, WHSWR 1992, MHSWR 1999, CLWR 2002, WHR 2005 and LOLER 1998. Following a complaint from an employee, multiple breaches of H&S legislation were found, including exposure to lead chromate, working on top of tanks without fall protection, working in the danger zone beneath suspended tanks, unfenced robotic machinery, toilet and washing facilities grossly contaminated with lead chromate, no H&S training. Subsequent contravention by the company of PNs served. |
HSE Prosecution 4179574 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Brian Nixon |
| Fined a total of £17,000 under HASAWA 1974 s33 and WHR 2005. MD of Transtore (UK) Ltd. Following a complaint from an employee, multiple breaches of H&S legislation were found. Post visits by Inspectors, Brian Nixon consented to workers continuing to breach work at height regs and connived in the breach of a PN served in respect of such risks. |
HSE Prosecution 4179577 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Adam Stephen Walker |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s37. Employer failed in his duty of care sfarp with regard to the health, safety and welfare of his employees under HASAWA s2, which led to an employee falling through the roof. |
HSE Prosecution 4186123 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| T M N Fabrications Limited |
| Fined a total of £22,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2, WHR 2005 and RIDDOR 1995. Failure to ensure safety whilst working on the roof of an agricultural building and failure to report associated fall from roof (approx 4 metres) within the appropriate time period. |
HSE Prosecution 4191417 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| European Metal Recycling Limited |
| Fined £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. IP was clearing a minor blockage on an Extec Riddling machine when he sustained significant hand damage including breakages. |
HSE Prosecution 4193451 19/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| RDM Engineering |
| Fined £15,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee fell 3m from roof during construction of a new farm building. No measures in place to prevent falls. |
HSE Prosecution 4174222 21/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Geoff Hewitt |
| Fined a total of £750 under GSIUR 1998. Trading as ACME Plumbing and Heating Services, illegally carried out work at homes between March and May 2007. He put lives in danger when he supplied forged Landlords' Gas Safety Certificates and he was not qualified to know whether the gas fittings in the houses he visited were dangerous or not. |
HSE Prosecution 4139954 22/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Ultimate Industries Limited |
| Fined £1,015 under WHR 2005. A self-employed worker was affixing roof sheets when he knelt on an unfixed sheet causing it to slip down the roof. The worker fell to the ground and was injured. No edge protection was provided, and an unsafe system of work was adopted, the method statement and risk assessment were inadequate. |
HSE Prosecution 4170204 22/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Ken Parry |
| Guilty - prison under HASAWA 1974 s33 and GSIUR 1998. Unregistered gas work during November 2008. |
HSE Prosecution 4182671 22/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Nationwide Building Contractors Ltd |
| Fined a total of £4,500 under CAR 2006. Refurbishment work being undertaken with inadequate identification for the presence of asbestos. Potential for employees to have been exposed to asbestos fibres during work. |
HSE Prosecution 4194399 22/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Hickman Engineering Ltd |
| Fined a total of £3,000 under EWR 1989. |
HSE Prosecution 4197887 22/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| The Longhope Welding Co |
| Fined a total of £26,640 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. IP was dismantling a roof when he fell through a rooflight sustaining serious injuries. |
HSE Prosecution 4192475 23/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Woodgate Sawmills Limited |
| Fined a total of £13,320 under CDMR 2007 and CDMR 1994. IP was working on a roof when he fell through a skylight sustaining serious injuries. |
HSE Prosecution 4192489 23/4/10 Week ending: 02/07/10 |
| Rochdale cleaner's crush death prompts £140,000 fine. |
| TS (UK) Ltd fined a total of £140,000 and costs of £10,588 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and HSFAR 1981. The company failed to ensure the safety of its employees and not having a worker trained in First Aid on duty. Mr Abel Lages, 38, a Portuguese cleaner, was cleaning up a spillage in the yard when a wooden pallet, containing 55 bags of polypropylene, fell on him. The material which is used to manufacture washing up bowls, buckets and other plastic products, is dangerous to stack as it can pour out if there is a tear in the bag, making the stack unstable. Mr Lages was found trapped under one of the collapsed pallets and died from his injuries at the scene. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/14TS 7/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Judge reduces landlord's prison sentence in return for cash payment to his tenant. |
| Michael Billings has had his prison sentence reduced by nine months after he paid £20,000 to a tenant who suffered 80 per cent deep-tissue burns in a fire at one of his properties. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):2 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Fire fine. |
| P and S Ashley Timberworks fined £80,000 and costs of £50,300 under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Following an anonymous call, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service discovered problems at the company. Paul Ashley repeatedly refused to carry out essential fire-safety work, despite several further visits from the Service's fire safety officers. There was no suitable fire alarm at the site, the means of escape were unsuitable, and there was no proper fire risk assessment. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):2 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| HSE campaign helps hauliers move goods more safely. |
| Employers targeted in phase three of the HSE's "Moving Goods Safely" initiative generally found the intervention practical and beneficial according to an evaluation of the project by the Institute for Employment Studies. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):4 "Moving goods safely 3: Evaluation report" RR796 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr796.pdf Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| BCC barometer is failing to give proper safety reading. |
| Fourteen pieces of legislation on H&S have cost British businesses almost £24 billion since 1998, according to the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC). The BCC revealed the figures in its latest burdens barometer, an annual measurement of all employment related legislation that incurs a net cost or a net benefit to business that exceeds £15 million. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):8 Internet: "The burdens barometer 2010" www.britishchambers.org.uk Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Biological agents - GMMs. |
| A two-month consultation ended on 31 May 2010 on HSE proposals to amend the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2000. The minor changes, which will come into force on 1 October and implement a European Directive, will require risk assessments to take specific account of the disposal of waste and effluents and, where appropriate, implement necessary safety measures. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):9 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Cancer - extent. |
| HSE-commissioned research into the burden of occup cancer in Britain attributes just over one in 20 cancer deaths in 2005 to past occup exposures to known carcinogens. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):9 "The burden of occup cancer in GB" RR800 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr800.pdf Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Construction - enforcement. |
| HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger has responded to four criticisms made of the HSE by the Dundee Sheriff's Court following a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of a Polish construction worker in Dundee in May 2008. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):9 "Chief executive's report to the board" HSE/10/40 Internet: www.lexisurl.com/hsb49 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Ill health - statistics. |
| The HSE has published a detailed report on the results from the Labour Force Survey 2009 that is used to pronounce on progress against each of the three "Revitalising" targets in 2008/09. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):10 "Self reported work-related ?" Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/lfs0809.pdf Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Local authorities - fines. |
| Less than one in four local authorities notified the HSE that they had taken a prosecution in 2008/09, with a further one in three submitting a "nil return". |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):10 "Health and safety enforcement ? " Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/lau/pdfs/lauprosecutions0809.pdf Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Major hazards - safety alert. |
| The HSE has issued a safety alert for pipeline operators following the failure of a spring return pipeline emergency shut-down valve. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):10 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/pipelinevalve.htm Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Noise - hearing loss. |
| The HSE has issued a video demonstration of noise-induced hearing loss that allows viewers to visualise the working of the ear and the damage excessive noise can cause. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):11 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/noise/video/hearingvideo.htm Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| PPE - RPE. |
| Just under half of the companies using respiratory protective equipment looked at as part of HSE-commissioned research were "proficient" in their approach - the highest of four categories. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):11 HSE RR798 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr798.pdf Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Transport - slips and trips. |
| Research carried out for the HSE has revealed a "statistically significant association between organisation size and risk-taking behaviour (eg jumping down to the ground from a vehicle without using ladders/steps), and the likelihood that vehicles are checked/inspected for problems that may cause slip-, trip- and fall-related accidents". |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):12 HSE RR793 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr793.pdf Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Waste - inspection. |
| HSE inspectors will be targeting skip-hire operations and associated recycling activities in an inspection campaign in 2010/11. Inspectors will be looking in particular at hand sorting of recyclables (totting) and the management of workplace transport risks. |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):12 Internet: www.lexisurl.com/hsb673 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Occupational cancer: paralysis by analysis? |
| Estimates of the number of cancers caused by work have increased but still fall short of the likely toll. (Lucinda Ponting) |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):13-16 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| RIP REP as retailers and local regulators go for resurrection. |
| An attempt to improve retail enforcement has raised as many questions as it has answered. (Lucinda Ponting) |
Health and Safety Bulletin July 2010 (290):17-20 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Comet group prosecuted following death of worker in Wrexham. |
| Comet Group plc fined £75,000 and costs of £24,446 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Paul Alker, 33, was working for a roofing contractor and was on the roof of a Comet store when he stepped on a roof light and fell around 25 feet onto the store floor. He was not wearing any equipment which could have prevented his fall. He suffered multiple injuries including rib fractures, a broken collar bone and soft tissue injuries when led to a fatal pulmonary embolism. Mr Alker's employer Steven Christopher Smith, director of Wrexham Roof Services Ltd, was jailed for two and a half years in November 2007 in relation to this incident. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSENW065Comet 5/7/10 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/press/2007/gnnwal66507.htm Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Machine supplier and university fined after worker traps arm in harvester. |
| Standen Engineering Limited fined £800 and costs of £1,726.71 under SMSR 1992. The University of Warwick fined £3,000 and costs of £2,091.20 under PUWER 1998. Gareth Keal, 28, an agency employee, was working on a tractor-mounted bulb harvesting machine at the University's horticultural research site when the incident happened. He was sorting bulbs when his hand got trapped in between rollers and he was pulled into the machine up to his shoulder. Mr Keal suffered severe soft tissue damage to his right arm including damage to the muscles, tendons and ligaments. As a result of his injuries he needed physiotherapy for 18 months. The machine, which had been imported, was originally a potato harvester but had been modified before being supplied by Standen Engineering Ltd. HSE investigation found Standen Engineering failed to ensure the harvester satisfied essential H&S requirements by preventing exposure to moving parts of the machinery. In addition, the University failed to take measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/EM/10 5/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Farm worker's arm cut with chainsaw. |
| Peter Haste, owner of Hill Farm, fined £1,600 and costs of £1,400 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Keith Dennis, 49, then a part time worker at the farm, was asked to cut back an overgrown hedge despite being given no supervision and no protective clothing to do so. Mr Dennis had used a chainsaw for many years but had no formal training in how to handle the machinery safely. He nonetheless proceeded to complete his task, which took him two days. The incident happened on the second day, when he was cutting an overhead branch. The branch fell, bringing the chainsaw down onto his left elbow, severing artery and tendon. As he was working alone, Mr Dennis had to make his way to a nearby road and stop a passing motorist for the emergency services to be called. HSE found that, in addition to the lack of training, supervision and appropriate equipment, there had been no assessment on how to carry out the work safely. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-EM-17 5/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Roofing firm in court after apprentice plunge. |
| Randell and Janes Roofing Specialists Ltd fined £2,000 and costs of £1,500 under WHR 2005. Apprentice Shaun Jacob, 18, was removing the ridge from a metal sheet roof when a sheet he was standing on buckled, causing him to fall 3 metres through a fragile roof to the ground below, breaking his arm. The company was hired to replace a roof at a single-storey cottage where the incident occurred. HSE's investigation revealed that there had been no specific risk assessment carried out for the job, and there was nothing to break a fall placed beneath the roof as it was being removed. Mr Jacob also had no training in using roof ladders, and his supervisor also had no health and safety training. |
HSE (National) Press Release 804/W/10 6/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Company fined after worker hit by fork-lift truck. |
| Elliott Ltd - previously known as Elliott Loohire Ltd - fined a total of £7,000 and costs of £3,198 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and WHSWR 1992. Depot Manager, Raymond Morris, was standing in the yard area with his back turned towards the toilet wash bay when he was struck by a reversing FLT at the firm's depot. He suffered multiple fractures to his right foot. HSE found that the depot's yard had been poorly designed, and the view of drivers was obstructed. The yard also did not have adequately segregated routes separating pedestrians and vehicles. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-18 6/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Company ordered to pay £73,000 after farm worker is crushed to death. |
| Timothy John Wyatt and Jonathan Pearn Wyatt, t/a Pearn Wyatt & Son, fined £21,000 and costs of £52,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Mr Sam Foley, 24, had been using a tractor to tow manure to a field. He was dumping manure out of a tipper trailer when the drawbar broke and crashed forwards through the back of the tractor, fatally crushing him in the cab. Mr Foley died at the scene. HSE investigation found the tipper trailer had not been adequately maintained and was not suitable for handling solid manure. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-19 6/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Free safety support for Southampton businesses. |
| Businesses on industrial estates in and around Southampton are being invited to a special event to learn how they can benefit from free health and safety training and support. Launching on 13 July, Estates Excellence is a new project to improve the health and safety of Hampshire workers. The project is spearheaded by organisations committed to H&S, including the HSE, Southampton City Council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services and the Federation of Small Business. The event will take place at 10.00am on Tuesday 13 July at Southampton Guildhall. |
HSE (National) Press Release COISE/0707 7/7/10 Internet: Email to estateexcellence@hse.gsi.gov.uk or call 0800 849 8012 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Newmarket event to help reduce death and injury in farming. |
| Around 300 farmers across Cambridge and Suffolk attended a free event on 8 July 2010 aimed at helping reduce the number of deaths and injuries in agriculture. The Safety and Health Awareness Day (SHAD) was run by the HSE. Farmers took information packs and had the opportunity to ask HSE inspectors and the instructors, many of whom are farmers themselves, as many questions as they liked. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-16 8/7/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| C K Hanson & Son Ltd |
| Fined £2,000 under PUWER 1998. Poultry worker trapped by both feet in manure auger when cleaning down after mucking out battery laying shed. There was no guard/cover over the auger. IP unable to reach emergency stop button. |
HSE Prosecution 4155416 26/4/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Fluorocarbon Company Ltd |
| Fined £5,000 under CDMR 2007. Injured person fell approx 7 metres through a fragile roof light whilst undertaking repairs to roof. Company failed to perform checks on competency of contractors engaged to perform roof work. |
HSE Prosecution 4190081 26/4/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Integrated Environmental Technology Group plc |
| Fined £1,500 under HASAWA 1972 s2. Whilst taking readings from a rain gauge situated on the roof, the IP fell through a skylight. This resulted in a fractured vertebra. |
HSE Prosecution 4186592 27/4/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Anglian Water Services Ltd |
| Fined a total of £16,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Observed lack of guarding on a number of machines at Ely Sewage Treatment works on 14 February 2008. |
HSE Prosecution 4186783 27/4/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| John Doyle Construction Ltd |
| Fined £2,000 under LOLER 1998. |
HSE Prosecution 4152166 30/4/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| Bread Factory Limited |
| Fined £3,500 under PUWER 1998. IP was mixing some flour and placed his hand in the mixer and received the injury. |
HSE Prosecution 4195169 30/4/10 Week ending: 09/07/10 |
| £9.5M bill for firms behind Britain's most costly industrial disaster. |
| Five companies have been ordered to pay £9.5 million for their part in the 2005 fire and explosion at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot, in Hertfordshire. The £1.3 million in fines for the pollution caused are a record in the UK. The £3 million fines for Total are the second highest to be handed down for safety offences. Concluding a four-month trial at St Albans Crown Court, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith said the companies had shown "a slackness, inefficiency and a more or less complacent attitude to safety". The prosecution of Total UK Ltd, British Pipeline Agency Ltd (BPA), Hertford Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL), TAV Engineering Ltd (TAV), and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 Ltd, followed the most complex investigation ever conducted by the HSE and Environment Agency. The painstaking investigation uncovered a series of serious failings that led to thousands of gallons of petrol being released in a large vapour cloud. The resulting explosion registered at 2.4 on the Richter scale, injured 43 people and destroyed nearby businesses. The environmental impacts of the disaster are still evident today. The cost of dealing with the disaster had been estimated at more than £1 billion, making it the most costly industrial incident in the UK. |
HSE (National) Press Release 16/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| PM fulfils vow to address health and safety rules. |
| Lord Young of Graffham has been officially appointed as advisor to the Prime Minister on H&S law and practice. He will carry out a Whitehall-wide review of the operation of H&S laws and the growth of the "compensation culture". The new safety minister Chris Grayling welcomed the appointment saying, "It is important that we review health and safety regulation so that while people are protected at work there isn't a burden on business, and the people can use their common sense without fearing they are breaking the law." |
SHP Jul 2010:6 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| One on seven sick days is spurious, claims business group. |
| Around 27 million bogus sick days are taken every year, costing the UK economy £2.5 billion. This is the suggestion from the latest employee absence survey from the CBI and Pfizer. |
SHP Jul 2010:7 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Government department in fire safety-breach embarrassment. |
| The Government department in charge of fire safety policy in England and Wales has been served with an enforcement notice in relation to multiple fire-safety failings. The London HQ of the Communities and Local Government received the notice in February. It alleges breaches of 13 of the 15 articles in the Regulatory Reform Order that impose duties on the CLG as the responsible person. A spokesperson has said that the recommendations were in the process of being fully implemented. |
SHP Jul 2010:7 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Bring on directors' duties, urge top lawyers. |
| About 80 in-house lawyers for a range of firms in such sectors as construction, chemicals and utilities, were asked by Manchester based Pannone LLP whether further duties need to be placed on directors in order for them to really focus on H&S. Two thirds of the lawyers said directors' duties in law are necessary to ensure they take H&S seriously, and 65 per cent believe they are needed to protect workers. |
SHP Jul 2010:8 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Safety manager failed to identify electricity risk. |
| Alan Agar, safety manager for Power Testing Ltd, has lost his appeal against his conviction in 2009 for breaching HASAWA 1974 s2, when he was fined £2,500 and costs of £5,500. Two technicians were installing a capacitor to help reduce the energy consumption on the site. One of the workers was fitting cables in the back of the capacitor, and next to a number of live conductors. The cables came into contact with one of the conductors and caused a flashover. The worker suffered burns to his face and upper body, and has been unable to return to work. Mr Agar had overall responsibility for ensuring the risk assessments were conducted, and for advising the company directors on safety matters and for drawing up safety procedures. However, he failed to carry out a suitable RA and did not ensure that power to the equipment had been isolated. |
SHP July 2010:11 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Dangerous boiler passed as fit by competent person. |
| Anthony Sidney Reen, trading as Steaming for Pleasure, fined £750 and costs of £1,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Mr Reen examined a railway locomotive boiler between November 2006 and April 2007 as it needed to pass several safety checks before it could enter service. He gave it a clean bill of health and declared it fit for service. Months later, after being used by several heritage railways, it failed an examination because of defects with the boiler. Investigation found that the boiler was in a dangerous condition at the time Mr Reen examined it and should have undergone suitable repairs, followed by certification. |
SHP Jul 2010:12 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Construction firms fine increased eightfold by Scottish appeal court. |
| Scottish judges have substantially increased the fine payable by Discovery Homes (Scotland) Ltd after an appeal hearing deemed the original penalty "unduly lenient". The company had been fined £5,000 in relation to the death of Andrezej Freitag in 2008. This will increase to £40,000. The fine levied on one of its directors, Richard Pratt, remains at £4,000 as the court was "not persuaded" that his fine was unduly lenient. |
SHP Jul 2010:12 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Things can only get stricter. |
| A recent case before the Court of Appeal is a clear warning that individuals convicted of criminal offences leading to a workplace death can expect to be dealt with more severely in the future. (Michael Appleby) |
SHP Jul 2010:19 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Jungle law. |
| The regulatory system can seem like a jungle to businesses that covet a clear understanding of how they can work effectively with different inspectorates. What organisations should bear in mind if they want to get the best out of their relationships with regulators. (Alison Gray and Anna Hart) |
SHP Jul 2010:37-40 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Grand scheme of things. |
| In January this year, the HSE published new guidance on asbestos surveying, which explicitly advocates the need to be able to demonstrate and ensure competency. How both surveyors and duty-holders can do so. (Martin Gibson, Martin Stear and Jon Murthy) |
SHP Jul 2010:42-44 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Two sides of the same coin. |
| Exploring the hazards nurses face and the challenges on the horizon, a focus on the health and well-being of health-care staff will reap benefits for patients. (Kim Sunley) |
SHP Jul 2010:46-48 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Take care on the hoof. |
| Cautioning against an over-reliance on dynamic risk assessment to protect lone workers, and how organisations can effectively integrate dynamic risk assessment methodology into their risk management processes. (Edmund Jacobs) |
SHP Jul 2010:50-52 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Temporary measures. |
| With thousands of students getting ready to embark on temporary jobs during their summer holidays, a reminder to businesses of the importance of identifying and managing the additional risks associated with employing young seasonal workers. (Phil Grace) |
SHP Jul 2010:55-56 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Health Protection Agency exposed staff to E.coli. |
| The Health Protection Agency (HPA) fined £25,000 and costs of £20,166.10 under HASAWA 1974 s2. They exposed several employees to the risk of infection of E.coli O157. The staff concerned were working at the Centre for Infections when an amount of the bacteria spilled onto the floor of the site waste discard facility, as it was being disposed of. HSE investigations found that there was an overall failure to ensure safe handling of the bacteria which is classified as Hazard Group 3 waste. Biological agents are classified into one of the four hazard groups 1-4 according to their level of risk of infection, 4 being the highest. Specifically HPA had failed to assess the risk involved in the waste transfer and disposal of E.coli O157 and had not properly trained employees involved in this work to ensure it was carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures. Some of the equipment used in this process had also been identified as being defective 18 months prior to the incident, but no action was taken to rectify this. |
HSE (National) Press Release 9/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| HSE formalises safety partnership with British Sugar. |
| HSE has formalised a longstanding partnership with British Sugar aimed at reducing accident and ill-health risk in the work place. David Ashton, HSE's Director of Field Operations signed a memorandum of understanding with Gino De Jaegher, Managing Director of British Sugar UK and Ireland, at one of the company's processing plants in Norfolk. The agreement marks a significant milestone in the partnership between HSE and British Sugar UK and recognises improvements to the company's safety performance over the last five years. In it, HSE agrees to support British Sugar UK in its pledge to continue to develop proportionate and sensible risk control systems and to improve its H&S performance. British Sugar UK commits to championing the drive to improve workplace protections by striving to be an exemplar in occupational health and safety. The signing was supported by both the GMB and Unite Unions on behalf of employees. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-20 9/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Two leading health and safety figures awarded engineering fellowship. |
| Two leading figures from the HSE have been awarded a prestigious fellowship for their work within the engineering industry. HSE Chair, Judith Hackitt, and Head of HSE's Nuclear Directorate, Mike Weightman, were elected as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the UK's national academy of engineering following its AGM this week. Academy President Lord Browne of Madingley described the expertise of the elected Fellows as a "unique national resource". Fellows are nominated and elected by industry peers. Judith is a chemical engineer with more than three decades of industry experience. Her work included roles at Exxon Chemicals and Elementis Plc where she was Group Risk Manager with worldwide responsibility for H&S insurance and litigation. |
HSE (National) Press Release 12/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Caerphilly engineering company fined after workers' fingers severed. |
| Encon Engineering (Wales) Ltd fined £8,000 and costs of £2,000 under PUWER 1998. Mr Rhys Davies, 25, suffered serious injuries after his fingers were severed in an unguarded machine. He lost four fingers and the top of his thumb. Mr Davies was working on a machine used to mill titanium plates when the incident happened. Surgeons reattached three fingers, but his injuries remain severe and he is continuing to receive treatment. |
HSE (National) Press Release 817/W/10 13/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Worker suffers multiple injuries at barn. |
| Adrian Evens fined £2,000 and costs of £2,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Andrew Oliver fined £2,000 and costs of £2,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. John Long fined £1,000 and costs of £1,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. David Pass, 28, was standing on the roof of a former riding stable, removing corrugated panels, when he fell eight metres to the ground below. He suffered serious injuries to his head and back, was in a coma for several days and was made partially blind in one eye. HSE investigations found that no scaffolding or protection had been provided for the worker, who was expected to balance on the steel frame of the building while removing roof panels. John Long, 62, was the owner of the barn and had acted as a project manager. He had hired Andrew Oliver, 43, to carry out the work, who subcontracted it to Adrian Evens, 35. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/06EvensOliverLong 14/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Car wash firm failed to protect workers. |
| Prowash Systems Limited fined £6,750 and costs of £1,000 under ELCIA 1969. The company failed to produce a current Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) certificate when an H&S Awareness Officer from the HSE visited the premises. All employers need to have the certificate and must show a copy to a HSE official immediately on request. When Prowash Systems failed to do this it was issued with an ELCI "notice to produce". The company did not comply with this notice and when representatives from the company were then called to an interview with HSE inspectors they failed to attend. The company also failed to attend court, so Magistrates heard the case in the company's absence. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-21 14/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Firm fined after man has top of finger amputated. |
| Building Adhesives Ltd fined £10,000 and costs of £4,000 under PUWER 1998. The 49 year old employee was injured while loading large fabric bags containing rubber into a hopper for distribution around the factory. The employee had been using a machine that had been modified when the incident occurred. The company had previously replaced a fixed guard with an incorrectly fitted interlocked guard, meaning the worker was able to access the screw conveyor where his right hand was subsequently caught, causing serious injury. The man was taken to hospital where surgeons had to amputate his middle finger past the first knuckle. His ring finger was also damaged. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM173/10 15/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Courtroom drama for construction industry. |
| Local construction firm managers are being invited to attend a mock trial (22 July) to help them understand how important good health and safety is, by seeing first hand what can happen when things go wrong and a worker is injured. In the pretend criminal trial at Northampton's 17th century Sessions House Court, both the company and the director of the fictional company are to be prosecuted by the HSE, with the verdict decided on the day. Anyone wishing to attend the event should email Nicola.smy@hse.gsi.gov.uk or call 01604 738333. Tickets are £25 per person which includes tea/coffee and a buffet lunch. |
HSE (East Midlands) Press Release 14/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Steeplejack seriously injured after fall from bell chamber. |
| The Cedars Steeplejack (Midlands) Ltd fined £6,600 and costs of £4,774 under WHR 2005. An employee was removing bird debris and cleaning the bell chamber of a church when the incident happened. HSE investigation showed that two workers had gained access to the spire of the church via the staircase and set out scaffolding planks to stand on to carry out the work. The planks had been laid on rotten floor boards which gave way when one of the workers stepped onto the board, causing him to fall 6.3 metres to the floor below. His injuries were five cracked vertebra, a broken pelvis and serious internal injuries. He has been unable to work since the incident. The company did not adequately assess the risks from the work in the bell chamber and did not select the right equipment to ensure it could be done safely. |
HSE (East Midlands) Press Release 15/7/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| SHB Hire Ltd |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Prosecution for non management of workplace transport lead to near miss incident. Although minor injuries, risk of serious injury was high. |
HSE Prosecution 4200974 4/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| RWE npower Plc |
| Fined £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Contractor injured whilst removing a valve system on the stations general compressed air system when the air supply was not safely and securely isolated. |
HSE Prosecution 4159076 5/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| C M A Tools (Burnley) Ltd |
| Fined £1,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee was using a piece of emery cloth to reduce the size of a metal component on a metal working lathe. The cloth became trapped by the rotating mechanism, pulling in his right hand. He was wearing a glove at the time which pulled his hand further into the machinery and he lost his finger. The company did not provide adequate training in the safe operation of the tool or on the dangers of using emery cloths on metal working lathes. |
HSE Prosecution 4192179 6/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Dranson Limited |
| Fined £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. The IP was assisting two other people to push a dolly (trolley) loaded with lengths of steel into the warehouse. The trolley and steel fell onto IP's right leg pinning him to the floor. IP sustained serious injuries to his leg (broken fibula and tibia). |
HSE Prosecution 4199912 6/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| SDI Group UK Limited |
| Fined £80,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Prosecution arising from accident investigation. |
HSE Prosecution 4166553 7/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Richard Mark Berwick |
| Fined £40,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Prosecution arising from accident investigation. |
HSE Prosecution 4166558 7/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Steel Construction Ltd (aka SCL) |
| Fined £50,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Prosecution. Accident to sub-contractor. |
HSE Prosecution 4166562 7/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Calor Gas Limited |
| Fined a total of £50,000 under COMAH 1999 and RIDDOR 1995. Operation of bursting disc on propane import line leading to a release of LPG. HSE awarded full costs of £27,185.53 |
HSE Prosecution 4187151 7/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Michael Billings |
| Prison under HASAWA 1974 s3. Longstanding landlord, previously prosecuted for Gas Safety offences. Serious fire at 4 adjoining properties, tenant suffered severe burns due to lack of fire precautions. Multi-agency investigations and joint prosecution by Norwich City Council, Norfolk Fire and rescue and HSE. Breaches found of Gas Safety legislation in all 4 properties, including matters previously prosecuted. Mr Billings sentenced to 7.5 months on each of the 14 count indictment. Offences per property to be concurrent but each property offence to be consecutive. Thus resulting in 30 months custodial. Costs of £40,000 awarded. Agreement between parties that we would surrender £20,000 costs if a voluntary non prejudicial payment of £20,000 paid to injured party. Judge stated he would review sentence if payment made. Payment of £20,000 made to injured person solicitors. Sentence reduced to 6 months for all offences except the HSE offences that was reduced to 3 months. 21 months custodial now operative. |
HSE Prosecution 4188957 7/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Corvale Ltd |
| Fined £2,667 under HASAWA 1974 s2. IP was injured when a stack of MDF and other boards fell on him. He suffered extensive injuries to his knees requiring several operations over a period of time. It was custom and practice for 20-40 boards to be leant against 2 metal post as no proprietary racking system had been provided. In order to retrieve boards from the stack an employee would have to support the unwanted boards as another employee pivoted the unwanted boards across to him. Once the boards had been selected the unwanted boards would be leant back against the post. It was during this process that the boards became too heavy for the IP to hold and they collapsed on him trapping his legs against a machine. This system of work was inherently unsafe and had been for a number of years and was contrary to the advice contained in the HSE Woodworking Information Sheet No 2 (revised) 'Safe stacking of sawn timber and boards'. |
HSE Prosecution 4189806 7/5/10 Week ending: 16/07/10 |
| Castle Bromwich firm fined after worker injured by robot. |
| Dura Automotive Body and Glass Systems UK fined £30,000 and costs of £20,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and MHSWR 1999. Michael Brewer was struck while trying to repair a fully-automated industrial robot. As part of the repair Mr Brewer wanted to see the operating cycle of the machine. However, a solid guard fully enclosed the robot so he couldn't see through it. Mr Brewer decided to view the robot from inside the guarded area while it was operating. While in this dangerous zone, the robot struck him in the throat, causing damage to his voice box and nerves on one side of his body. HSE found the company had a system of work for accessing the machine that required the machine to be put in manual before entering, rather than on the full automatic cycle. However, this was not adequately supervised and failed to account for a need to view the operating cycle for the machine from outside. Viewing the operation cycle from inside the guarded area had become common practice. The risk assessment the company had produced was not sufficient as it had failed to address the risks from maintenance operators or the risk posed by the industrial robots operating within the guarded area. Since the incident the company has installed large viewing panels in the guarding of the machine so it can be viewed from the outside, as well as improving the access arrangements and the supervision of its systems. Mr Brewer, meanwhile, will not return to work because of his injuries. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM108/09 19/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Bin advice. |
| HSE has published new guidance for the waste industry on preventing serious injuries to people taking shelter in commercial waste bins or communal domestic bins. |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:3 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/waste25.pdf Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| A matter of time. |
| An argument that the amount of time employers have to spend on the bureaucracy surrounding health and safety legislation in the workplace is undermining the importance of the very things it seeks to convey. (Andrew Townsend) |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:5 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| On the ropes. |
| The Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) has published a new International Code of Practice on using industrial rope access techniques safely. |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:8 Internet: www.irata.org/publications.htm Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Vehicle repair advice. |
| HSE has published two new leaflets for those who work in the motor vehicle repair trade. The leaflets deal with two routine tasks: working under vehicles and the inflation of tyres. |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:9 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg434.pdf and www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg433.pdf Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Battling the bugs. |
| The look at the current progress in reducing the levels of "superbug" infections. (Nick Cook) |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:10-11 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| TV chef's restaurant fined for pollution. |
| The Yew Tree (Highclere) Ltd fined £30,000 and costs of £7,785 under WRA 1991, also compensation to two residents of £200 each and a victim surcharge of £15. Director Andrew Parton fined £3,100 and costs of £865 under WRA 1991, also a victim surcharge of £15. The Berkshire restaurant, co-owned by TV chef Marco Pierre White, was prosecuted for polluting a nearby stream with sewage. |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:20 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| New union H&S guides. |
| Public sector trade union Unison has updated a selection of its H&S guides. The revised advice covers the topics of bullying at work, first aid, RSI, sickness absence agreements and temperature at work. |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:20 Internet: www.unison.org.uk/safety Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| One in four work without a break. |
| According to a survey conducted by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, 25 per cent of people in the UK regularly work all day without taking a break. The poll of nearly 3000 people found that more than one third of staff regularly work through their lunch break and 23 per cent take no lunch break at all. |
RoSPA Safety Express July/August 2010:20 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Working in the public interest to make a difference. |
| As the national regulator for H&S in the workplace, HSE acts in the public interest to protect workers from unnecessary dangers. |
HSE Health and Safety Newsletter (25) June-July 2010:6-7 Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/inthepublicinterest Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Getting maximum protection from RPE. |
| Why it is essential that workers who wear respiratory protective equipment ensure that they always use it properly. (Bob Rajan) |
HSE Health and Safety Newsletter (25) June-July 2010:8-9 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| North Sea rig inspections to be increased. |
| The Government is to double the number of inspections of off-shore drilling rigs and increase monitoring of offshore compliance following the fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in which 11 people were killed. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:3 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Ticked off. |
| The majority of local authorities in Wales are failing to protect their staff from what the CIEH calls "the growing threat" of Lyme disease. Of the 22 LAs questioned, only 2 had given their staff advice or conducted a risk assessment for the outdoor workers most at risk of contracting the disease, which is spread by infected ticks. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:4 www.hpa.org.uk/topics/infectiousdiseases/infectionsaz/lymedisease Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| New minister. |
| Chris Grayling MP is the new minister responsible for health and safety. The former shadow Home Secretary is now Minister for Employment at the Dept of Works and Pensions. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:4 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Whistleblowing views. |
| Less than a quarter of employees questioned about their views on H&S in the workplace said they would report their employer to the HSE if they thought they were breaking H&S law. However, 70 per cent of the workers questioned said they would inform their line manager or supervisor if there was a problem. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:4 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Out of site. |
| Over the last ten years or so, working from home for the odd day or two each week or month has become a more widely available option for many employees, particularly those in office based jobs. However, in addition to these workers, around one million people are employed in "traditional" homeworking jobs. (Nick Cook) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:11-14 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Safety performance. |
| Health and safety may seem an unlikely subject for an artist to focus on but earlier this year, Glasgow-based artist and performer, David Sherry, did just that as the subject of his arts residency with a north-east Scotland community arts organisation. (Neil Jones) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:21-24 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Silent witness. |
| Crime scene investigators face the unexpected daily. A visit to the forensic science training centre to find out how they prepare. (Paul Heslop) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:27-30 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Learning from accidents. |
| Learning from accidents has been a key policy theme for RoSPA for well over a decade. However, in practice most workplace accidents are not fully investigated by employers. Why so many opportunities for learning are being missed. (Roger Bibbings) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal July 2010:35-36 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Pirelli fined after Carlisle worker injured by forklift truck. |
| Pirelli Tyres Ltd fined £9,000 and costs of £4,282 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Alan Miller, a 62 year old contractor, was walking through an area within the curing department when he was struck from behind by a pallet being carried on an FLT. He suffered a broken leg and has been unable to return to his normal duties. Pirelli failed to properly manage the risks to pedestrians in the area, including failing to inform contractors of the precautions required to ensure their safety. The FLT driver's vision was frequently obscured because their loads had to be lowered to avoid overhead obstructions. A previous risk assessment by Pirelli had identified that the area should be a pedestrian-free zone. There had been several previous incidents in the same area of the factory involving pedestrians and FLTs. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/33Pirelli 16/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Peterlee firm fined after worker's hand severed. |
| Conder Solutions Limited fined £15,000 and costs of £2,759 under PUWER 1998. A 55 year old employee was polishing a rotating metal shaft on a metal working lathe with a strip of emery cloth. Although he was wearing gloves and holding the cloth with both hands, his right hand came into contact with the lathe's rotating shaft and cutting tool, resulting in his hand being ripped off. Surgeons were able to re-attach the hand but despite undergoing 5 operations, the worker still has no feeling in the hand and is unable to use it and has been unable to return to work. |
HSE (National) Press Release NE/197/10 19/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Agriculture champion's stark message to Welsh farmers. |
| HSE used the Royal Welsh show as an opportunity to rally Welsh farmers into looking out for themselves and each other. New figures from the HSE show agriculture to be the most dangerous industry in Britain, with proportionately more work-related deaths than any other sector. 38 workers were killed while carrying out farm work in 2009/10, making a return to average levels of previous years and in contrast to 25 fatalities the previous year, a record low. |
HSE (National) Press Release 820W09AP 19/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Telford firm fined after worker loses finger. |
| 12R Packaging Solutions fined £10,000 and costs of £5,677 under HASAWA 1974 s2. A female employee had her hand trapped in an incident while making foil food cartons. She was helping another worker remove aluminium foil from a 130-tonne power press, which had become jammed. Her colleague had opened the protective guards which stops the machine automatically, but not switched off the pneumatic energy. As the pneumatic system stores some energy within it, even when the power is turned off, it meant part of the machine snapped upwards and injured the female worker's hand. When part of the machine snapped upwards it amputated the worker's index finger, middle finger and tip of her ring finger on her right hand. A separate manual process would have been needed to ensure the pneumatic energy had been dissipated before trying to get the blockage out of the machine. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM122/10 19/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Frozen food specialist fined after worker loses finger. |
| Pinguin Food UK Ltd fined £10,000 and costs of £3,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. A man's finger was amputated when his hand was crushed while trying to straighten some boxes on an automatic palletising machine. Although the box loading machine which the man was working on had a perspex guard attached, the employee routinely entered the enclosure while the machinery was running. While behind the guard, his fingers were caught between a pallet and the conveyor, resulting in his middle finger being amputated from the tip to the first knuckle. He was subsequently off work for six months. HSE found a number of employees had been given interlock parts which effectively overrode the safety systems in place and allowed access to the enclosure. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/EM46/10 19/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Firm fined after scaffold collapse. |
| William Bedford t/a B & J Scaffolding fined £4,000 and costs of £2,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3. One evening 85 metres of scaffold overturned in the wind and collapsed into a public street. The scaffold was not adequately secured to the houses and was missing elements used to stabilise the structure. |
HSE (National) Press Release NE/200/10 21/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Construction company put workers at risk of falls. |
| Gee Construction Ltd fined £10,000 and costs of £4,514.25 under WHR 2005. The major construction company failed to properly protect its workers from falls at height on a site. The inspector found a number of shortcomings including unguarded lift shafts on the first and second floor, and inadequate edge protection to prevent workers from falls - one of the main causes of deaths in the construction industry. The company had also previously received two PNs for work at height issues. |
HSE (National) Press Release 821W10 22/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Work stopped at a fifth of West Midland construction sites. |
| Work was stopped on almost one in five of West Midlands construction sites visited as part of a recent intensive safety initiative. HSE inspectors were aimed at stopping dangerous practices and raising awareness of construction site risks to help prevent death and injury. During the month-long campaign, 93 sites were visited involving 95 contractors, 17 prohibition notices were issued on 17 sites. They were issued for such activities as no edge protection installed for major roof works, incomplete scaffolds in use, missing guard rails and large gaps in scaffold platforms. Construction is one of Britain's most dangerous industries. During 2008/09, although no people died, 509 people were injured while working in construction in the West Midlands. Newly released figures for 2009/10 show 41 construction workers were killed at work across Britain. |
HSE (West Midlands) Press Release 19/7/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Magna Specialist Confectioners Ltd |
| Fined £75,000 under HASAWA 1974 s11. Access through interlocked Perspex doors possible by Process Technicians. IP could elect a speed to leave production line running at whilst door opened to Frozen Cone section of Aasted 2 production line despite written procedure to the contrary. Incorrect machinery guarding standard, defeatable interlock device. IP opened interlocked doors to clean up spill of refrigerant liquid with line running at full speed, head went into machine when machine indexed and was closing up to about 5cm trap with one tonne force. Thrown out of machine. Injuries: 2 weeks in coma, blind in right eye, 50% sight in left eye, deaf in right ear, cannot walk much further than 100m, walks with white stick, no sense of taste or smell. Unlikely to work again. Latterly, computer control amended to allow access through interlocked doors only when conveyor system stopped. |
HSE Prosecution 4127191 10/5/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Our Julia Limited |
| Fined £7,000 under WHR 2005. IP was boarding fishing vessel and access ladder to main deck was placed in unsuitable position. IP and ladder slipped because no stop in place. |
HSE Prosecution 4201659 10/5/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Lincoln College |
| Fined £1,500 under MHSWR 1999. The college failed to make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate for the organisation, control and monitoring of the work of contract window cleaners on the site. |
HSE Prosecution 4158603 11/5/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| J F Feltham |
| Conditional Discharge under GSIUR 1998. Unsafe gas fitting work at two addresses whilst not a member of a class of persons approved by the HSE. |
HSE Prosecution 4174489 12/5/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| Jack Smith Builders Ltd |
| Fined £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A worker was seriously injured when part of an office block collapsed and the rubble fell on him. A concrete block pillar, used to support the first and second floors, had been resting on the ground floor instead of going down into the foundations. The company failed to ensure the safety of workers during the construction. Jack Smith Builders Ltd were the principal contractors. |
HSE Prosecution 4192187 12/5/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
| The Wallace Partnership |
| Fined £4,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. A worker was seriously injured when part of an office block collapsed and the rubble fell on him. A concrete block pillar, used to support the first and second floors, had been resting on the ground floor instead of going down into the foundations. The company failed to ensure the safety of workers during the construction. |
HSE Prosecution 4192193 12/5/10 Week ending: 23/07/10 |
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