Safety Matters - DECEMBER 2007

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In this issue:

The HSE is urging employers to ensure the safety of non-employees who may be affected by risks arising from their work activity

The TUC has called on employers to do more to protect their staff from victimisation and harassment

Survey links health and safety spending to business success

The HSE has urged employers to adopt its 'Stress Management Standards'

One in eight employees now works a 48-hour week, a report from the TUC claims

The head of the Health and Safety Commission has reminded small business owners that size doesn't matter when it comes to the protection of their employees

Company fined £50,000 after glass incident results in horrific injuries

HSE sends out clear warning after tragic death of six year old at Tilbury Port

HSE warns employers of the need for proper risk assessments after maintenance worker dies at amusement park

A Scottish schoolgirl has been injured in metalwork class after having her scarf dragged into a lathe

Are your company's safety systems up to scratch or are you risking prosecution? At MESH we have extensive experience of helping companies to improve their health and safety and in many cases improve their competitiveness.

The HSE is urging employers to ensure the safety of non-employees who may be affected by risks arising from their work activity

The warning follows the HSE's prosecution of a Preston building contractor who exposed two workers from another company to asbestos.

Mustaq Bargit, trading as M and B Builders, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,137 for allowing work on a construction site to continue before an asbestos survey was completed, in breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act.

During a visit, HSE inspectors became concerned that asbestos may have been present in a building that Mr Bargit's company was working on. This was later confirmed.

The HSE inspector commented that contractors have a duty to ensure people's health and safety. Although Mr Bargit had been made aware of the possible presence of asbestos he failed to take the proper precautions necessary to deal with this danger.

Asbestos is the greatest single cause of work-related death in this country. Asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed so if possible it should be managed and contained.

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The TUC has called on employers to do more to protect their staff from victimisation and harassment

To coincide with National Ban Bullying at Work Day on November 7, the TUC produced a guide to help union safety reps work with employers to create a new workplace culture where bullying, intimidation and harassment are a thing of the past.

The guide cites recent research from the University of Manchester which suggests that one in ten workers has been bullied in the last six months, one in four have fallen victim in the last five years, and 47 per cent of employees have witnessed bullying at work.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "People on the receiving end of cutting remarks or verbal outbursts from the workplace bully are the ones paying a heavy price for employers' failure to deal with the problem. The stress and anxiety felt by the victims can make them physically ill, lose all their self-confidence and mean that they dread coming into work. "

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Survey links health and safety spending to business success

A telephone survey was undertaken of 3000 UK businesses by the Institute for Employment Studies and the Work Foundation; and was carried out on behalf of the HSE. The results identified that a positive approach to Health & Safety helps businesses to attract quality employees, boost sales and improve workforce commitment.

A link was found between higher expenditure and three key areas: a greater capacity to attract quality employees, higher employee commitment and faster sales growth. In no case was spending more on Health & Safety associated with a worsening performance. The full report can be accessed at www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr589.htm

Is your company suffering because of a lack of competence in health and safety? If you need professional support then why not look at some of the companies that MESH has assisted to improve their competitiveness.

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The HSE has urged employers to adopt its 'Stress Management Standards'

According to HSE figures work-related stress, depression and anxiety cost Great Britain in excess of £530 million in 2005/6 while the number of workers who had sought medical advice for what they believed to be work-related stress increased by 110,000 to an estimated 530,000.

The HSE's Management Standards cover key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and well-being, lower productivity and increased sickness absence. The areas are:

• demands - such as workload, work patterns and the work environment;
• control - such as how much say the person has in the way they do their work;
• support - such as encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues;
• role - such as whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles;
• change - such as how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation.

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One in eight employees now works a 48-hour week, a report from the TUC claims

The TUC report identifies that an analysis of official figures showed that 3.2 million people were now working more than 48 hours per week. This equates to over 13 per cent of the workforce, up from 12.8 per cent last year.

The biggest increase in the number of people putting in a 48-hour week came in London and the South East, with 16 per cent of staff in the capital working long hours.

TUC secretary general Brendan Barber said: "These are very disturbing numbers. They suggest that the slow, but at least steady, decline in those working more than 48 hours a week has come to an end. "

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The head of the Health and Safety Commission has reminded small business owners that size doesn't matter when it comes to the protection of their employees

Speaking at the United Kingdom Accreditation Service think tank event Judith Hackitt said: "It is a dangerous mistake to assume that small business equals low risk in all cases. Let's be in no doubt that in reducing bureaucracy it is the level of risk which counts and we must all be careful to ensure that levels of protection are maintained in all businesses - whatever their size."

The HSE identifies that good regulation not only should but does enable businesses and organisations to conduct their activities more efficiently and effectively - and health and safety regulation is absolutely no exception to this.

Are you a small company that struggles to either understand health and safety or lacks the resources to concentrate on manage it? If you need professional support then why not check out the types of support that the experts at MESH could provide.

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Company fined £50,000 after glass incident results in horrific injuries

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is today urging employers to stamp out dangerous working practices after a Port Talbot company was prosecuted for an incident in which one of its employees suffered horrific injuries when he fell into a skip full of broken glass and then had a pane of glass fall onto him.

Vizor Tempered Glass Ltd, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing 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. The company were fined a total of £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,171 at a hearing in Swansea Crown Court.

The injured party, was disposing of waste glass at the company’s premises when the incident happened on the morning of 25 October 2006.
He was riding on a stillage being used to carry the glass, which was itself being carried by a forklift truck into the company’s yard. The stillage, with the employee still on it, was then raised by the forklift truck over a skip in order for him to begin putting in the waste.

A gust of wind caught a pane of glass the employee was about to place in the skip, which resulted in him falling into the skip, and the glass falling in after him. He needed major reconstructive surgery on his face, suffered a fractured skull and lost the sight in one eye.

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HSE sends out clear warning after tragic death of six year old at Tilbury Port

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies to ensure they identify the risks in their workplace and manage them following the death of a six year-old boy at Tilbury Free Port, Essex.

Port of Tilbury London Ltd was fined £100,000 with £157,000 costs, at Croydon Crown Court, after pleading guilty to breaches of Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

On 29 August 2003, a port employee took his son to work. While at the site, the boy was taken for a ride on a forklift truck, which collided with a second truck.  He was thrown onto the floor and then crushed by a three-quarter tonne paper reel, which rolled off the second truck because it was not clamped in place.

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HSE warns employers of the need for proper risk assessments after maintenance worker dies at amusement park

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned amusement park operators of the need to carry out proper risk assessments for maintenance work. The warning follows HSE’s prosecution of a fairground in Southport after the death of a maintenance worker.

Pleasureland Ltd, were fined £95,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 costs at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety etc Act 1974 and  Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

On 25 August 2004, the employee was lubricating the Skyride, a chair lift style cable ride, at the amusement park and became entangled in the moving machinery. When he started to get into difficulty and needed the ride to be immediately stopped, he was unable to contact his colleague at the controls 200 metres away because his radio was out of reach.

HSE Inspector Charles Cottle said: “This was a terrible tragedy that could have been avoided had the correct procedures been in place. This case graphically illustrates that companies should ensure that safe working systems are in place for the safety of all their employees. “

Managers should ask themselves three questions – Do you know where maintenance staff go to do their work? What do they do when they get there? Are they safe while they are doing it?

With this information it should be possible for companies to be able to carry out a suitable assessment of the risk and put in place safe procedures for carrying out maintenance work.

After the accident a much improved access was provided for the maintenance of the ride, an automatic lubrication system was installed and a fixed telephone provided to improve communications. Had such measures already been in place, they would have vastly reduced the risk of accident.

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A Scottish schoolgirl has been injured in metalwork class after having her scarf dragged into a lathe

Nadine Craig was pulled into the machinery when the scarf she was wearing got caught in the machinery.

Nadine's dad commented: "I don't think it's quite hit her yet. It's an experience no one should have to go through - never mind a 14-year-old girl. She has 40 stitches and it burnt all the skin right off her neck."

He added: "She is going to be left with a scar but the surgeons did an excellent job. It was a fleecy scarf and we were told if it had been woollen it would have been worse because of the fibres.

"She also lost a chunk out of her left hand when she tried to pull herself out."

Nadine spent five days in Hospital.

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