Consultants Out and About
Jack saw some "proper lifting" being carried out in London last week!
Health and Safety in the news this
week
A
British fire chief says it's "highly unlikely" that three people
still missing after part of a mothballed British power plant collapsed are
alive.
Dave
Etheridge, chief fire officer at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said last
Wednesday that rescue workers "have not picked up any signs of life"
in the 30-foot (9-meter) high mound of rubble.
One
person was confirmed dead and five others were hospitalized after the
industrial accident on Tuesday 23rd February at Didcot power
station, 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of London. The facility is an old coal-
and oil-fueled plant that has been closed since 2013 and is slated for
demolition. The complex also houses a separate operating gas-powered plant.
Owner
Npower said part of the old power station collapsed while a demolition
contractor was working on it, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.
Some
50 people were treated for dust inhalation at the scene. The fire service said
no hazardous materials were found in the building.
Source:
Daily Mail online
New CDM overhaul on the cards
The overhauled Construction
(Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) could face further change as part of
a government initiative to cut red tape in the housebuilding sector.
The Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Cabinet Office announced on 2 December that
they will be reviewing all aspects of regulation in the industry. However, they singled out the new version of
CDM, saying the government is keen to look at how the sector is adapting to the
changes. They also wanted to hear if
“any legislation derived from EU obligations is being implemented more strictly
than required” and would consider wider health and safety regulation.
The consultation, which closed
on 13th January, invited all involved in building homes to submit
evidence of legislation or enforcement that could be made “simpler, more cost
effective, efficient, proportionate or consistent”.
CDM 2015 came into force in
April and was the third iteration of the regulations originally enacted in
1994. The amendments removed the CDM
co-ordinator and created the principal designer role to oversee the
pre-construction phase of projects involving two or more contractors.
A decision has not been made
about whether the regulations will be supported by an approved code of
practice. The Construction Industry
Advisory Committee, made up of HSE, union and business representatives, failed
to reach an agreement when it met in November.
The Conservative government
entered office in May promising to substantially cut red tape. The review forms part of the Cutting Red Tape
review programme, which runs rolling reviews of regulation in different
sectors. “This review will give
housebuilders and smaller construction businesses a powerful voice as part of
our £10 billion deregulation drive”, said business secretary Sajid Javid. “Where rules are too complicated, ineffective
or poorly enforced, I want to hear about it and the government will take
action.”
When CDM 2015 came into force,
some commentators predicted it would not be the final set of regulations since
a planned EU review of the law that underpins it, the Temporary or Mobile
Construction Sites Direction, might require more revisions.
HSE consults on new strategy
·
Helping Great Britain Work Well will focus on six key themes· Better risk management “can help economy”
The HSE has launched a
consultation on its new five-year strategy saying that Britain’s economy could
grow if risks are better managed and health and safety performance improved.
The strategy, called Helping Great Britain Work Well, will be based around six themes. The regulator is urging everyone involved in
health and safety to have their say on what the strategy should achieve.
The themes are:
·
Promoting broader ownership of workplace health and safety· Highlighting and tackling the burden of work-related ill health
· Supporting small firms
· Simplifying risk management and helping business to grow
· Anticipating and tackling the challenges of new technology and ways of working
· Promoting the benefits of Britain’s world-class health and safety system.
HSE chair Judith Hackitt said:
“We can be proud of the country’s record on work-related safety and health –
it’s one of the best in the world.
Making it even better is the challenge, so that we can all continue to
help Great Britain work well. Getting
risk management right is an enabler for productivity, innovation and growth,
and is integral to business success as well as the wellbeing of workers.
More information is available
on: www.hse.gov.uk/strategyHSE prosecution round up:
Scaffolding firm in court after worker’s roof fall
Hemel Hempstead Scaffolding
Limited has been fined after a worker suffered life changing injuries when he
fell from the roof of a barn.
Stewart Thomas from Hemel
Hempstead, 31 at the time of the incident, was carrying out scaffolding work in
preparation for the installation of solar panels on a barn roof at Gaddesden
Home Farm, Bridens Camp on Red Lion Lane on 25 July 2013.
St Albans Crown Court heard
that father of one Mr Thomas was placing scaffold boards along the roof ridge
when he fell through the fragile roof to the concrete floor eight metres below.
He suffered multiple injuries to his head and neck including a brain stem
injury, a punctured lung, broken ribs and a lacerated liver. Mr Thomas is now
unable to talk, move or feed himself and requires residential care.
A Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) investigation found Hemel Hempstead Scaffolding Limited had never
provided a written method statement or risk assessment for this work.
Critically there were no fall protection measures in place, and there was also
no appropriate supervision of inexperienced and trainee scaffolders on the
site.
Hemel Hempstead Scaffolding
Limited of Seymour Crescent, Hemel Hempstead pleaded guilty to breaching
section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act, 1974 and were fined
£110,000 and ordered to pay £22,596 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing HSE
Inspector Stephen Manley said: “The Company’s approach to health and safety was
poor. They failed to properly and safely plan the work they were contracted to
carry out and failed to supervise inexperienced young workers. The particular
works would have been unfamiliar to the team and so the lack of thorough
supervision was lamentable.
As a result of their failings a
young father has been left being unable to communicate or look after himself
and he will never be able to play with his young daughter”.
When working at height, there
is a high likelihood of serious injury or death if safe procedures are not put
in place and adequate steps taken to ensure they are followed”.
Company fined for failure to comply with improvement notices
A London based company who
fabricate structural steel products has been fined for failure to maintain
compliance with the law following prior HSE enforcement action.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court
heard how William Fry Fabrications Limited failed to thoroughly examine two
cranes used by the company, despite receiving both Improvement and Prohibition
Notices on this issue for its cranes in 2011.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) found that between 2012 and 2015 the cranes had not
been thoroughly examined at least every 12 months despite an absolute legal
duty to do so.
William Fry Fabrications
Limited, of Neasden Lane, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation
9(3)(a) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, and
was fined £13,333 and ordered to pay full costs of £2,527.
Source: www.hse.gov.uk
HSE Health and Safety Myths Buster
Issue
A member of staff has been told
that all visitors to the building where she works have to be shown the
comprehensive asbestos register, even if they are only coming for a meeting and
not doing any physical work. For example a visitor attending a verbal meeting
with the store manager has to sign to say they have seen it. The building is a
retail outlet with back offices and does have managed asbestos in some areas
but not all. The enquirer would understand if the visitor was a contractor
doing works to the building fabric, but felt this was over-the-top and wonder
if the myth busters could confirm.
Panel decision
The serious health risks from
exposure to asbestos are well known. The Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR)
2012 contain a duty to pass on information about asbestos to people liable to
disturb it in the course of their work or visit. However, there is no reason
why people visiting simply to attend a meeting would need to see this
information.
New guidance published by the Retail Asbestos Working Group (RAWG), and
supported by HSE, provides sensible, practical, advice on managing asbestos and
working with asbestos containing materials in trading stores and shops. The
guidance confirms that the measures described by the enquirer go beyond what is
needed to manage the risk of exposure for visitors.
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