Risk, Health and Safety Information

British workplaces among safest in the world

Figures at a record low on the 40^th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act

The number of people who lose their lives at work has dropped sharply by 85 per cent over the past forty years, from over 650 every year in 1974 to a record low of 133 today, new figures reveal.

The number of injuries at work has also reduced considerably by 77 per cent over the same time period, from 336,701 to 78,222. The statistics illustrate the enormous impact of an act that created a flexible, proportionate and world class regulatory system.

The 1974 Act paved the way for the creation of the Health and Safety Commission and the establishment of the Health and Safety Executive as we know it today – which regulates health and safety law working with industry to help them manage their health and safety risks effectively and also bringing irresponsible employers to justice.

Minister of State for Health and Safety Mark Harper said: “Britain has come an incredibly long way over the past forty years in protecting its workforce. Our workplace safety record is now the envy of the world, with businesses and governments queuing up to tap into our expertise.

“Any death at work is a death too many. But few can dispute that the reduction in fatalities and injuries over the past 40 years is a significant step forward. Britain is now officially one of the safest places in Europe – and the world – to work.

“So, while we all rightly curse false health and safety excuses, it’s worth thinking how fortunate we are today that we can go out to do a hard day’s work safe in the knowledge that our safety is being taken seriously.”

Judith Hackitt, Chair of the HSE, said: ”Our health and safety law places responsibility on those who create risk to manage that risk in a proportionate practical way. It sets standards in terms of outcomes to be achieved, not by straitjacketing dutyholders and business into doing things in a particular way according to prescriptive rules.

“This means that it is universally applicable – regardless of whether you’re farming, fracking for shale gas or working with nano-materials in an ultra high-tech laboratory. The Heath and Safety at Work Act may be 40 years old but it – and our regulatory system - are world class.”

 

Unregistered fitter sentenced for string of gas offences

A gas fitter has been given a suspended prison sentence for carrying out repeated illegal and dangerous gas work at homes and businesses in Norfolk.

Terry Arnold, 49, from Thetford, continued to work on gas appliances in clear breach of an enforcement notice and despite being suspended from the Gas Safe Register.

His failings came to light after food safety inspectors visited a Chinese take-away in Swaffham in April 2012. They noted concerns about the standard of cooking appliances he had worked on at the premises, which were subsequently classed as ‘immediately dangerous’ by a Gas Safe inspector.

Gas Safe informed the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which served a Prohibition Notice preventing him from undertaking any further gas work while it investigated his activities.

Norwich Crown Court heard that Mr Arnold had issued a safety certificate for his work at the restaurant. However, his Gas Safe accreditation was invalid because he was suspended in May 2010 for failing to have his work inspected in accordance with the terms of his registration.

Despite this, and in clear contravention of the Prohibition Notice, HSE’s investigation found he continued to carry out illegal gas work at addresses in Kings Lynn and Swaffham during 2012 and 2013, despite providing a written undertaking he would not do any such work.

Terry Arnold, of Priory Drove, Great Cressingham, Thetford, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for one year, after pleading guilty to seven breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and one breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  Further alleged breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 were left to lie on file. The judge commented on sentencing that it was only Mr Arnold’s medical condition – he is receiving treatment for renal cancer – that prevented an immediate prison sentence.

After the case, HSE Inspector Anthony Brookes said:

“Terry Arnold is a prolific offender who has continued to carry out gas work without being registered over a number of years.  He was well aware of the registration requirements; and by continuing to carry out gas work and providing Gas Safety certificates pretending to be registered over this time; had deliberately chosen to continue working in flagrant disregard for the law.

“He has compounded this offending and displayed utter contempt by continuing his illegal activities despite the service of Prohibition Notices on him by HSE and acted contrary to a written undertaken he had given not to carry out further gas work.

“People can die as a result of gas leaks. It is vital that only registered gas engineers, who are trained and competent, work on gas appliances and fittings. Registered engineers are on the Gas Safe Register.”

 

HSE - Myth Buster

Issue

A newspaper article reports that the new owners of a local shopping centre have claimed that the children's playground is a health and safety risk and that they want to remove it for this reason.

Panel decision

A local paper incorrectly reported that play equipment was being removed as it posed a health and safety risk to children. The facts are that the new owners of the shopping centre have advised that they plan to refurbish the play area to provide a new play experience. This should have been reported as a good news story but instead the newspaper is misrepresenting it as a health and safety issue

 

Construction firms fined after workers hurt in scaffold collapse

A house builder and a scaffolding company have been fined after two bricklayers were hurt falling from an unsafe scaffold.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard the two men, who have asked not to be named, were working for Persimmon Homes Ltd on a development site in Ploughman’s Lane, Bunkers Hill, Lincoln, when the incident happened on 4 April 2012.

They were about to start work on a scaffold platform six metres from the ground, which had been loaded with materials. Just as they started work, the scaffold collapsed and they fell around two metres on to a platform below.

One, a 62-year-old from Rossington, South Yorkshire, broke his left foot. He was unable to work for nine weeks. The second, 29, also of Rossington, bruised his neck and twisted his knee. He missed one day of work.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found The Cathedral Scaffold Company Ltd had constructed the scaffold to bridge a narrow gap between the gable ends of two neighbouring properties. However, the company did not build it to a recognised design, which would have incorporated standards to transfer loads to the ground. They wrongly believed they could not fit them and a four board-wide working platform, as required by Persimmon, into the gap.

Instead they used a non-standard configuration of scaffolding but failed to carry out strength and stability calculations to ensure it was fit for purpose. The company issued a Handing Over certificate to Persimmon, setting out restrictions on the use of the scaffold. This identified it as a general purpose scaffold capable of supporting a specified distributed weight load, but because no strength or stability calculations were undertaken by either defendant, this distributed load could not be guaranteed.

Persimmon subsequently overloaded the platform, causing it to collapse.

HSE found the weight of just one pack of dry blocks distributed evenly over the platform would have taken it over the load limit – even without the men, tools or mortar on the platform. It was likely that the actual loading could have increased the danger as the blocks were all stacked towards one side of the platform.

Persimmon Homes Ltd, of Fulford, York, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(b)(i) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £10,426 costs.

The Cathedral Scaffold Company Ltd, of Dixon Way, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(b)(ii) of the same Regulations and was fined £4,000 with costs of £5,500.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Linda-Jane Rigby said:

“Unless a scaffold is a basic configuration described in recognised guidance it should be designed by calculation, by a competent person, to ensure it will have adequate strength and suitability. The design information should describe the sequence and methods to be adopted when erecting, dismantling and altering the scaffold. That did not happen in this case.

“Persimmon accepted handover of the scaffold and subsequently overloaded it, causing it to collapse.”

 

Firm fined after worker seriously hurt in roof fall

A roofing firm has today been fined after a worker was seriously injured in a five metre fall through the roof of a Gateshead warehouse.

The 61-year-old, from Wrekenton, a roofer employed by C Grant (Roofing and Guttering) Ltd, fractured two vertebrae in his spine and also fractured his pelvis in the incident on 12 June 2012.

He was in hospital for a week and although he is walking again, it is unlikely he will return to work in the roofing industry.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted his employers after an investigation identified serious safety failings.

Gateshead Magistrates’ Court heard that the injured man was part of a two-man team that was working on the roof, sealing roof lights to make them watertight. He fell through one of the rooflights, then through a suspended ceiling below and landed on the floor of a corridor inside the building.

HSE inspectors found that C Grant (Roofing and Guttering) Ltd had failed to ensure that the repair work was carried out in a safe manner.

C Grant (Roofing and Guttering) Ltd, of Coldwell Park Drive, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,600 costs.

Speaking after the case HSE Principal Inspector Robert Hirst said:

“This was a wholly avoidable incident that resulted in serious injury to this man.

“Work at height is a high risk activity and falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry.

“It is therefore essential that all such work is properly planned, managed and monitored, and carried out in a safe manner by ensuring that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent falls and protect workers.

“C Grant (Roofing and Guttering) Ltd failed to meet these simple requirements.”

 

Cambridgeshire company and director in court after scaffold falls into street

A Cambridgeshire company and its director have been prosecuted after an unsecured scaffold collapsed into a street.

It fell onto the pavement and road in High Street, Stretham, on 18 April 2013 three days after it was erected in front of a house by Buckden firm Crusaders Scaffolding Ltd and director Gary Driver.

Both parties were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the two-storey structure, which was around 11 metres long and 4.5 metres high, had not been secured to the property in any way.

Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard that a large covering of plastic sheeting had been attached to the outside of the scaffold to protect passers-by as the work being carried out on the house involved shot blasting and steam jetting. However, this ultimately acted as a sail that caused it to blow over in the wind.

Crusaders Scaffolding Ltd, registered to High Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, but operating from Great North Road, Buckden, was fined a total of £15,000 and ordered to pay £526 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and one of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Gary John Driver, 51, of Hunts End, Buckden, St Neots, was fined £5,000 with £500 costs after also pleading guilty to the same Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 offence.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector John Berezansky said:

“It was extremely fortunate that no-one was working on the scaffold at the time and that no-one or nothing was hit when it fell. This is a busy High Street used by children to get to and from the local school. Had the scaffold fell during the morning or afternoon school run it could have been a different story.

“The scaffold fell well below the required standard. In essence, Crusaders Scaffolding created an unsecured sail that fell over in the wind. Gary Driver was directly involved in the commissioning and construction of the scaffold. The risks associated with scaffolding are well known in the industry and to have not secured the structure was a basic error.”

 

Timber firm in court over worker’s injuries

A timber company has been fined after an employee was run over by a forklift truck.

Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard that James Abrahams was walking alongside the forklift to steady a pallet of fencing being transported at Jon Walker Timber Product Ltd’s yard at Mansfield Lane, Calverton, when the incident happened on 30 July 2012.

He suffered leg fractures, broken and dislocated toes and deep grazing.

Mr Abrahams, 21, of Calverton was hospitalised for 12 days and unable to work for a number of months. He has not returned to the company.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found a number of failings at the company.

There was no safe system of work for transporting pallets through the yard. A risk assessment was not carried out and employees had not been provided with adequate training, information or instruction. Pedestrians and vehicles should not have been working in such close proximity.

The forklift driver’s licence had expired four months prior to the incident and forklifts were operated by other unlicensed drivers.

The court heard that the firm had been issued with an Improvement Notice in 2001 for a lack of risk assessments, and written advice had previously been given by HSE on workplace transport issues, including forklift driver training.

Jon Walker Timber Products Ltd, of Bonington Road, Mapperley, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £9,850 costs.

After the hearing HSE inspector Samantha Farrar said:

“This incident could so easily have resulted in a fatality and was entirely preventable.

“It had become the usual procedure, when pallets were leaning or unstable, for employees to walk alongside forklift trucks to hold the loads steady. It was this unsafe practice that led to serious injury.

“Vehicles at work are a major cause of fatal and severe injuries with more than 5,000 incidents involving workplace transport every year. Providing a safe system of work based upon the findings of a suitable risk assessment and adequately training, informing and instructing of staff makes incidents such as this significantly less likely.”

 

Building sub-contractor’s safety neglect led to his own injuries

A Newton Abbot building sub-contractor who suffered a fractured spine while demolishing a temporary school classroom near Exmouth in Devon, has been fines for safety failings that could have also put the safety of others in danger.

William Batten (66), trading as Bill Batten Concrete Cutting and Demolition Service, was injured when he removed key timber supports at the corners of the roof,  destabilising it and causing it to collapse on top of him. The collapse was witnessed by schoolchildren in a nearby playground on their lunch break.

Mr Batten suffered a fractured vertebrae and neck injury. He was hospitalised for a week but has since returned to work undertaking light duties.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Mr Batten had started work he was not supposed to. It identified that the roof of the temporary classroom had been supported by timber in each corner. Steel fixtures had been inserted to add additional structural support for the windows, but not the roof.

North and East Devon Magistrates’ heard that Mr Batten’s firm had been contracted to demolish two buildings at Lympstone Church of England Primary School.

A ‘soft strip’ of the temporary classroom took place on 11 June 2013 and demolition of the main structure by mechanical means was to be carried out on the following days when Mr Batten’s son, business partner and planner of the work, returned from leave. A further risk assessment and method statement was to also be submitted prior to the structural demolition going ahead.

However, after Mr Batten had finished the ‘soft strip’ with two labourers, he decided to undertake further stripping work, including the removal of the timber supports to the corners and cladding.

Mr Batten wrongly assumed that steel stanchions supporting the windows were holding up the roof when in fact they were not.  When the wooden struts to the corners of the building were removed, the roof became unstable and collapsed. The two employees narrowly escaped harm but Mr Batten, was trapped underneath the roof for several hours.

William Melvin Batten, trading as Bill Batten Concrete Cutting and Demolition Service, of Exeter Road, Kingsteignton, Devon, was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £868.90 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 29(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Speaking after sentencing HSE inspector James Powell, said:

“William Batten failed to ensure the demolition of the temporary classroom was carried out without presenting a danger to anyone, including himself and two employees. The work had been properly planned, by his son and partner, in advance and had the work been carried out in that manner, this incident would not have happened.

“He had not demolished a classroom like this one before but he was aware that he was only to undertake a soft-strip and that he knew the main structure was going to be brought down with a machine at a later date – once the inside had been cleared.

“But after stripping the internal fixtures, Mr Batten continued to strip the building, wrongly assuming that the steel fixtures supporting the windows were holding up the roof. The two other employees on site at the time were extremely lucky to have escaped with no injuries.

“Demolition, dismantling and structural alteration are high risk activities which require careful planning and execution by trained demolition operatives under the supervision of a competent person.”