Risk, Health and Safety Information

Monitoring Health and Safety

Monitoring and reporting are vital parts of a health and safety culture.  Effective management systems provide both specific (eg incident-led) and routine reports on the performance of a Company’s Health and Safety Policy.

If your Company holds a formal review of performance in Health and Safety, much of the day-to-day health and safety information can be reported at this time.  However, a strong system of monitoring can ensure that a successful formal review of Policy can take place, and that incidents and events can be picked up in the period between formal reviews.

 A strong system of monitoring and reporting with have two main parts:-

Core Actions

To ensure that:-

·         Appropriate attention is given to reporting both preventative information, such as progress of training and maintenance programmes, and incident data such as accident and sickness absence rates;

·         Periodic audits of the effectiveness of management structures and risk controls for health and safety are carried out;

·         The impact of any changes, such as the introduction of new procedures, work processes or products, or any major health and safety failure, is reported as soon as possible;

·         There are procedures in place to implement new and changed legal requirements and to consider any other external developments and events.

Good Practice

·         Effective monitoring of sickness absence and workplace health can alert management to any underlying problems that could seriously damage performance or result in accidents and long-term illness;

·         The collection of workplace health and safety data can allow management to benchmark the Company’s performance against others in the same business sector;

·         Appraisals of senior managers can include an assessment of their contribution to health and safety performance;

·         Management can receive regular reports on the health and safety performance and actions of contractors;

·         Involving the workforce in monitoring can result in greater support for health and safety for the Company.

There can be other benefits to carry out regular monitoring and reviews, for example a Company may see a reduction in absence from work as a result of sickness or injury, which in turn, may lead to a reduction in insurance premiums.

Any monitoring, reporting, reviews or audits should be seen as a positive management tool which enables a Company to progress and improve their working practices.

HSE prosecution round up:

Company fined after the death of worker

A North East based contractor Pyeroy Ltd has been fined due to failings in their work at height rescue planning.

Plymouth Magistrates Court heard that on 21 October 2013 Mr Keith Stevens, aged 57, was helping to dismantle temporary roofing at Devonport Naval Base using a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP). His colleagues found him trapped between a roof beam and the controls of the MEWP. There was a delay in Mr Stevens being lowered to ground.  Mr Stevens died of a pre-existing heart condition.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Pyeroy had not properly planned the work on a MEWP in restricted overhead areas. It was also found that other Pyeroy employees had not received suitable training in the emergency lowering procedure of the elevated platforms and no practice drills had been carried out.

Pyeroy Ltd of St Omers Road, Western Riverside Route, Gateshead, has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company has been fined £130,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,388.36.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Helena Allum said:

“If Pyeroy had trained other employees to use the mobile elevated work platform in emergency situations, Mr Stevens would have been lowered to the ground more swiftly.

This case highlights the need for duty holders to properly plan all work at height beforehand, including emergency planning and rescue situations.”

Company fined after uncontrolled fire

Vertellus Specialties UK Limited has today been fined after an uncontrolled fire at the company’s Seal Sands premises in Middlesbrough.

Teesside Crown Court heard the large fire occurred at the premises in the early hours of 14 May 2014. The fire involved large quantities of dangerous substances including Vitride, which led to this fire being declared a major incident. The Vitride was in drums and each one burst open causing a large fireball.

No one was injured as a result of this fire, but police declared a major emergency and the road was closed for several hours.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Environment Agency (EA) and Cleveland Fire Brigade (CFB) found that Vertellus failed to adequately maintain its equipment; and failed to ensure the equipment was suitable to control temperature or prevent ignition to an uncontrolled release.

Vertellus Specialties UK Limited of St Anns Wharf, Newcastle upon Tyne, has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999.

The company has been fined £135,000 and ordered to pay costs of £37,653.12.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Stephen Britton said:

“Luckily no one was injured as a result of this uncontrolled fire.  Duty holders, particularly those who could be subject to a major incident, need to carry out robust planning to prevent and control major accidents. All engineering disciplines should be used, using outside assistance if needed. Here, there was a failure to recognise how a leak could develop into a larger problem.”

Source: www.hse.gov.uk