Consultants out and about…
This
worker was setting up a street market in Croydon last week when he was seen by
our consultant Michael Broder. He was
standing on top of a diesel generator and smoking too!
Health and Safety in the news this
week
Annual workplace fatality statistics published
Provisional annual data for
work-related fatal accidents in Great Britain’s workplaces was released on 6th
July.
The long term trend has seen
the rate of fatalities more than halve over the last 20 years. However, provisional figures indicate that 144
people were killed while at work in 2015/2016 – up from 142 in 2014/5.
The Health and Safety Executive
has called on all sectors to learn lessons to ensure workers return home safe
from work.
Martin Temple, HSE Chair said:
“One death at work, or life
needlessly shortened, is one too many and behind every statistic lies a real
story of loss and heartbreak and families left to grieve.
Britain has one of the best
health and safety systems in the world, but we should always be looking to
improve and to prevent incidents that cost lives.
This year HSE travelled the
country asking industry representatives, employers, unions, workers and others
what they could do to help GB work well. The response was hugely encouraging and I
would like to ask people to deliver on the commitments made, that will help
keep Britain’s workers alive.”
The new figures show the rate
of fatal injuries in key industrial sectors:
- Forty-three
workers died in construction, the same as the average for the previous
five years.
- In
agriculture there were 27 deaths (compared to the five-year average of
32).
- In
manufacturing there were 27 deaths (compared to five-year average 22), but
this figure includes three incidents that resulted in a total of eight
deaths.
- There
were six fatal injuries to workers in waste and recycling, compared to the
five-year average of seven, but subject to considerable yearly
fluctuation.
Comparisons of fatal injuries
by country or region are based on where the accident occurred. After taking industrial composition into
account, those regions and countries with seemingly higher rates are not
(statistically) different to the rest of GB. In 2015/16 the highest fatal injury rates
across all countries and regions were Wales (0.93 per 100,000 workers);
Scotland (0.60); and Yorkshire and the Humber (0.58). Due to the relatively small numbers and to
reduce some of the yearly fluctuation, when averaged across a five-year time
period to 2014/15 those regions with the highest fatal injury rates were also
Wales (0.81), Scotland (0.73) and Yorkshire and the Humber (0.70).
The statistics again confirm
the UK to be one of the safest places to work in Europe, having one of the
lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers in leading industrial nations.
HSE has also released the
latest available figures on deaths from asbestos-related cancer. Mesothelioma, one of the few work related
diseases where deaths can be counted directly, contracted through past exposure
to asbestos killed 2,515 in Great Britain in 2014 compared to 2,556 in 2013.
A more detailed assessment of
the data will be provided as part of the annual Health and Safety Statistics
release in early November. As this draws
on HSE’s full range of sources, including changes in non-fatal injuries and
health trends, it will provide a richer picture on trends.
Further information on these
statistics can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm
HSE prosecution round up:
Timber Company fined for safety failings
A Timber company based in
Somerset has been sentenced for safety failings relating to a construction
project.
Oxford Magistrates’ Court heard
how The Timber Frame Company (TFC) was contracted to work at Tracey Farm, a
country retreat.
The Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) served a Prohibition Notice on the company prohibiting work at height
approximately three metres above the ground without adequate precautions.
An investigation by the HSE
found that work at height had not been properly planned or carried out safely. The company did not have suitable and
sufficient measures to prevent workers from falling and sustaining injury. A Prohibition Notice (PN) was served and found
to be breached when further unsafe work at height took place at the same
location the following day.
The Timber Frame Company, of
Red Cross Hall, High Street, Bruton, Somerset, pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined
£8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,133.
HSE inspector Peter Snelgrove
said after the hearing: “If HSE visits a construction site and has to issue a
prohibition notice preventing further work that shows there is a very real and
immediate risk to workers.
“This case should act as a
warning to other construction firms. The
notices that HSE serve are legally enforceable and companies will find
themselves in court if they fail to take action.”
Worker injured when entangled in machinery
An engineering company based in
Sheffield has been fined after a worker became entangled in machinery.
Sheffield Magistrates’ Court
heard how an employee of Special Machined Products Limited (SMPL) became
entangled with a rotating metal bar being used to prevent materials being
ejected from the lathe he was operating. The employee’s jumper became entangled with
the rotating ‘stop’ bar as he lent over the lathe to reach spare cutting tips.
He suffered severe trauma to
the lower left arm.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 1 October 2015
found that the company had not identified the use of the stop bar in their risk
assessment or the hazards it created.
Special Machined Products
Limited, of Bessemer Road, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1)
of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £55,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £2,107.
Worker injured in unguarded machinery
A Monmouthshire based company
has been fined after a worker suffered injury in machinery.
Newport Magistrates’ Court
heard how an employee of Reid Lifting Limited was using an unguarded milling
machine to manufacture an aluminium component.
As he tried to brush some
debris away, the index finger of his gloved left hand snagged in the rotating
tool and it pulled his hand into the tool. He suffered a deep cut to his index finger and
severing of his flexor tendon.An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which happened on 26 November 2014 found there were no guards fitted to either of two of the company’s milling machines.
After the hearing, HSE
inspector Katherine Lawrence said:
“Vertical milling machines have
the potential to be very versatile and there can be occasions where work pieces
that could be completed on the machine might pose challenges to normal
safeguarding arrangements. However, the
solution is not to remove the machine’s guards and rely on the operator’s
skill.”
Reid Lifting Limited, of
Newhouse Farm Industrial Estate, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, pleaded guilty to
breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment
Regulations 1998, and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,566.
London borough council fined for safety failings
A London borough council has
been fined after a road worker suffered serious injury whilst cutting trees.
Southwark Crown Court heard how
an employee of London Borough of Havering sustained a serious cut injury just
above his left knee after a Sthil cut-off saw he was using was fitted with an
inappropriate blade and used to cut tree roots and branches with.
The blade became stuck and on
pulling it free the blade ran across the top of his left knee.
He suffered a deep cut above
the left knee damaging ligaments and cartilage requiring sixty stitches.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 2 March 2015
found that the wrong equipment was being used for the task. No risk assessment
was conducted for the use of the saw and blade.
A safe system of work should
have been in place that identified suitable and compatible machinery for
certain tasks.London Borough of Havering, Town Hall, Main Road, Romford, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 4(2) and 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, and was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,240.
Worker dies at Portsmouth ship scrapping yard
Hove Crown Court heard that
50-year-old Paul Hudghton died after being hit by a rope being used to pull the
jib of a small Tori crane back into position at Tipner Wharf, Portsmouth.
He suffered significant head
injuries as a result of the rope breaking under tension and striking him. He was not part of the work activity, but was
standing in the danger area of the operation.An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 21 November 2012 found that there was no management of safety during the activity, or any suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
HSE inspector Joanne Williams said
after the hearing:
“This case, which resulted in
fatal injuries, highlights the very need to ensure work is adequately assessed
and planned, and carried out in a manner which is safe, taking into
consideration not only the safety of employees but the safety of others who may
be affected by your work.”
Diverse Ventures Limited of
Waterlooville, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £45,000, with costs of
£9,000.
Construction worker crushed by excavator on school demolition
site.A construction company was sentenced today after a worker suffered crush injuries when he was hit and then run over by an excavator.
Complete Demolition Ltd had been contracted to demolish a school on the site at Stanney Lane, Ellesmere Port to make way for a new leisure centre when the incident occurred.
The firm was prosecuted by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found arrangements ensuring pedestrians and vehicles were separated were inadequate. There was insufficient control of workers on the site.
The incident occurred on the 27 November 2013 while the site was being cleared. The driver of a Complete Demolition Ltd skip wagon was attempting to reverse the skip into an area that was already occupied by a 40 tonne excavator but was manoeuvring out of the way. A worker was standing in the same area as the skip wagon and excavator and as the excavator moved it hit the worker knocking him to the ground where its tracks ran over his left foot.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the 45-year-old father of four has been severely affected by his injuries. He has undergone several operations to rebuild his foot. He is still in constant pain and is unable to work.
Complete Demolition Ltd of
Stafford House, Westbury Industrial Estate, Hyde pleaded guilty to breaches of
Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation
13(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and was
fined £40,000 with £7,246.95 costs.
Speaking after the hearing HSE
Inspector Deborah Walker said:
“This was an entirely
foreseeable incident which could have been avoided. The company failed to
properly plan for the duration of the works putting pedestrians at risk.”
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