Thursday 28 January 2010

Workplace Transport

7 January 2010 - A construction company from Gateshead has been ordered to pay £4,500 after one of its workers was seriously injured when a forklift truck telehandler he was operating overturned.

HSE prosecuted Meldrum Construction Services Ltd following the incident at its site, near Corbridge, in Northumberland, on 16 July 2008. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £4,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,342.20 and a victim surcharge of £15.

The court heard that Tom Lincoln, 39, of Dudley, Northumberland, was lifting roof trusses onto the roof of the development when the forklift truck telehandler that he was operating overturned. The machine fell onto its side throwing Mr Lincoln against the machine's window and controls. Mr Lincoln was not trained to use the machine and was not wearing a seat belt when the incident happened. He suffered multiple fractures to his right arm, leaving him with limited mobility in his shoulder. He still requires medical treatment and is unable to return to his job.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-ne-00110.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=14

15 January 2010 - A Wales construction company has been fined £80,000 after one of its employees had his head crushed at a site in Gloucestershire.

HSE prosecuted Macob Administration Limited, based in Bridgend, after 23-year-old. Lance Taylor from Thornbury, Bristol, was killed while working on a construction site in Abbeymead, Gloucester on 11 February 2005. Mr Taylor was driving a mini digger ? which he was not qualified to operate - and unintentionally hit a lever as he leaned out of the cab window. The digging arm of the vehicle was raised, crushing his head between the cab and the arm. He suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on site.

Macob Administration Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches under Regulation 9(1) and 28(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £40,000 for each charge and ordered to pay costs of £29,798.14
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-sw-655sww10.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=15

Asbestos

12 January 2010 - HSE has initiated criminal proceedings against Marks and Spencer plc and four other companies for asbestos-related breaches during refurbishment work at shops in Reading, Bournemouth and Plymouth, where it is alleged that the companies failed to ensure that staff and members of the public were not exposed to risks from asbestos-containing materials.

A committal hearing date has been set for 2.15pm on Tuesday 9 February 2010 at Bournemouth Magistrates' Court.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-se-0201.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=9

27 January 2010 - Bristol-based company, Frank Bruce and Company Ltd, has been fined £18,000 and ordered to pay £6,679 costs for putting its workers at risk of asbestos-related diseases while working on a property in the city.

HSE inspectors visited industrial units at Lawrence Hill Industrial Park during February and March 2009 where the defendant had organised refurbishment work involving the removal of a large quantity of asbestos insulation board without taking statutory safety precautions. This led to exposure of the workers to the asbestos and also the contamination of the units being renovated.

The court heard the company plead guilty to breaches under Regulation 14 of the Construction (Design and Management) [CDM] Regulations 2007 by failing to appoint a CDM-coordinator or principal contractor for notifiable construction work and Regulation 4 (10) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations by failing to review or implement a plan to manage materials containing asbestos.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-sw-ww681.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=26

Prosecutions

6 January 2010 - A company has been fined a total of £16,000 after a worker fell five metres at a construction site in Tunbridge Wells.

A self-employed timber frame erector subcontracted to the company, was working at height on a self-build project when he fell some five metres to the bottom of an inadequately covered stairwell. He suffered multiple fractures, including his skull.

HSE prosecuted ECH Ltd - trading as Maple Timber Frames. The company pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 towards the HSE investigation costs.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-se-0601.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=5

7 January 2010 - A builder whose negligence put his employees and sub-contractors at risk was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £2,244 costs for using unsafe scaffolding.

Angus William Naylor pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Mr Naylor, from Driffield, East Yorks is a partner in the firm trading as WM E Naylor & Son.

The court heard that during a routine inspection on 29 April 2009, HSE witnessed people working on scaffolding that was unsafe and posed a risk of serious, if not fatal, injuries.

An HSE investigation revealed that between 2 April and 29 April 2009 employees working at a new housing build were put at risk of falls of up to 5 metres. The internal and external scaffolding was poorly erected and there was no edge protection in place.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-yh-00310.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=6
The Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 (the ‘Regulations’) come into force on 6 April 2010. The Regulations require certain information about conventional tower cranes used on construction sites to be notified to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This leaflet sets out:

The types of tower crane that need to be notified to HSE;
Who needs to ensure notification is made;
When the notification needs to be made;
What information needs to be notified; and
How the information should be notified.

See the HSE website for more details:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/indg437

Friday 1 January 2010

Health and Safety Offers for 2010

If you are interested in Asbestos Awareness Training for your workforce please e-mail us at info@rhssltd.co.uk . From as little as £50 per person plus VAT (Central London Venue or if numbers in excess of 10 for your business we can deliver in house)

If your Fire Risk Assessment is a year old or you do not have one please call us for a free quote on 0208 274 2926. Our bespoke assessments are designed to satisfy all legal requirements and keep Fire Officers happy.
Based on the size of the property and activities taking place within it we can carry these out on the smallest of budgets.

If your Health and Safety Policy is a year old or in need of upgrading please e-mail us at
info@rhssltd.co.uk
Our policies are designed to enable clients to win accreditations such as Safe Contractor, CHAS, Exor, Constructionline and even ISO 18001.

If your PAT testing is coming up for renewal we would be pleased to carry this out for you for a surprisingly low rate (over half the price of national insurers and contractors)

For Fire Extinguishers and Servicing please call us and we will provide a no obligation quote.

E-mail us for a FREE Business Continuity Pack which includes risk analysis, plan template and guidance documents:
info@rhssltd.co.uk

We appreciate any feedback on the services we provide or if you have specific requirements not currently catered for. Please do not hesitate to contact us.