Safety Matters - July 2006

Welcome to the July 2006 edition of the Mesh Consultants Safety Matters email newsletter.

This newsletter is available on free subscription only and is our way of keeping you informed about developments in Health and Safety. To review or amend your subscription details, please see the notes at the end.

In this issue:

Employees are more likely to be injured during their first month in a new job than at any other time

Many employees are still being forced to work long hours without adequate rest breaks, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned

UK Firms 'Unprepared' for Emergencies

Small businesses failing to carry out regular safety inspections

Increasing numbers of men are turning to alcohol as a means of coping with workplace stress, a report claims

UK health and safety legislation has been criticised as overly burdensome by the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB)

HSE Launches Work at Height Campaign

Planning for emergencies when working at Height

Company fined £30,000 after an overworked employee died in a car crash

Work-related dermatitis is the focus of a new campaign developed by the Health and Safety Executive and the British Safety Industry Federation

Hotel charged with Health and Safety offences after contaminating its water supply with bleach

Worker injured using a machine on which he had not received training

IOSH launches website to help young people wiseup2work

Employees are more likely to be injured during their first month in a new job than at any other time

According to the advisory service Workplace Health Connect (WHC), new staff are on average about four times as likely to be injured in their first month of work than if they had been working for the same employer for a year or more.

WHC is warning that this injury risk poses significant financial concerns for employers seeking to take on seasonal staff. The group urges firms to protect themselves and their employees by conducting regular risk assessments in which they make employees aware of any potential health and safety hazards.

WHC, identify that for many firms, such as hotels and restaurants, the summer months mean increased business. Businesses need to meet heightened seasonal demand for services, plus they need to fill the gaps left by staff taking their summer holidays.

To cope with this, many businesses take on graduates, students or other temporary staff who are much more likely to be injured that those employed for over a year. This issue highlights the importance of business managers being fully aware of their health and safety responsibilities.

WHC urges employers to include health and safety in induction training and to set up a mentoring system amongst employees.

Do your Health & Safety systems incorporate thorough health and safety induction of new employees or those with changing job roles? If this is an area that you need expert assistance then contact us for a no obligation discussion.


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Many employees are still being forced to work long hours without adequate rest breaks, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned

There is much evidence available that shows that working long hours is bad for health and safety. In fact the Health and Safety Executive research has shown that working long hours can lead to stress and psychological problems.

IOSH has expressed its concerns that the current wranglings over the opt-out from the Working Time Directive mean that unscrupulous employers could "still apply unacceptable levels of pressure" on employees to work beyond the yearly average of 48 hours per week.

IOSH identify that although they appreciate the concerns the UK government has over losing the opt-out, employees should be free to choose whether they work long hours or not. The fact that this is an option seems to have been forgotten by some employers.

IOSH would like to see a stop to those employers who bully or manipulate their staff into working long hours.It's also not good for productivity - tired staff can't be expected to perform as well as fresh employees, they identify.

The message is that employers must also take seriously their responsibilities to employees who sign the opt-out. They must keep a close eye on these people, and in the first signs of stress or another work-related illness or injury, take measures to reduce their workload and refer them to an expert for help.

There needs to be a fair balance between the needs of businesses and the safety of employees.


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UK Firms 'Unprepared' for Emergencies

Nearly 60 per cent of managers are unsure whether their organisations would be able to survive a major disruption, such as the impact of the Buncefield oil blaze on local firms. The finding comes in a survey of managers by the business and engineering consultant Arup, which revealed 'deep concerns' over the ability of UK organisations to withstand emergencies.

The survey also found that 52 per cent of firms are not prepared for disruption following a terrorist attack, 44 per cent have not considered the implications of supplier failure and 39 per cent do not have robust emergency plans in place.


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Small businesses failing to carry out regular safety inspections

The findings of a survey carried out recently found that 82 per cent of small business owners are risking the health of their employees by failing to carry out health and safety inspections on a regular basis. This is despite 77 per cent admitting to having experienced a workplace accident in the last 12 months.

Is this an area where you either don`t have the time or the knowledge of what to look for? At MESH we regularly assist businesses by either undertaking inspections on their behalf, or by training staff to undertake inspections.


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Increasing numbers of men are turning to alcohol as a means of coping with workplace stress, a report claims

Of the 2,000 men surveyed, 37 per cent said they drank in order to forget the pressures of the workplace, while 20 per cent said that work stress had caused them to experience aggressive outbursts.

Almost a quarter had suffered depression as a result of workplace stress while over a third had experienced disrupted sleep.

Those working in the legal profession experienced the highest stress levels, with 38 per cent suffering severe or extreme stress, followed by 28 per cent in the banking and finance sector.

Least stressed were those working in the arts and entertainment industries and charity employees.

Stress expert, Gary Cooper, asked to comment on the findings, said he believes the problem of workplace stress was worsening.

"Work involves increasingly long hours - people in the UK have the longest working hours in Europe. Employees are more autocratically managed and as a result are intrinsically more insecure."

"These changing patterns of work seem to be having their negative effect on men's health, particularly those working in professions such as law and finance."

It seems clear that employers should be encouraged to end the long hours culture, to begin to manage people by reward and praise and not be constantly fault-finding. Failure to do so is only going to adversely effect the health and well-being of staff and affect the productivity of the company.




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UK health and safety legislation has been criticised as overly burdensome by the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB)

At a recent conference the FSB health and safety chairman Mary Broughton criticised the disproportionate amount of time small firms are forced to spend dealing with health and safety red tape.

She complained that the massive burden of health and safety legislation seems over-the-top to small businesses. The FSB feels that most small firms are good at looking after their employees and do not need the added hours that red tape from government means for them.

The FSB called for simpler procedures for reporting compliance and, in some cases, exemptions for the smallest businesses. Small firms employ thirteen million people in the UK. To maintain and grow this level of employment we need a lighter regulatory touch.

The problem at this time is that regulations don't readily account for the business size and for many small businesses the easiest option is to seek external assistance. At MESH we have worked with many small businesses and often find our assistance leads to a range of business improvements. See some of the case studies of the companies we have worked with.


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HSE Launches Work at Height Campaign

An HSE campaign aimed at increasing employers' awareness of work at height risks runs until mid-July. The Height Aware Campaign features a series of free events across the country aimed at anyone involved in building and plant maintenance - including decorators and window cleaners.

The HSE has also published an information pack containing new leaflets on topics such as the safe use of ladders, plus downloadable workplace posters on preventing low falls. Further details can be found at:

www.hse.gov.uk/falls/campaign/index.htm


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Planning for emergencies when working at Height

The Work at Height Regulations have created more than their fair share of headlines over the last year, but two areas that are easy to overlook are the requirements to plan for rescues and to prevent falls during work in confined spaces.

The Work at Height Regulations ask for a lot of things, most of which you may already do. They would like you to risk-assess work at height, to ensure your employees are competent, to use approved and maintained equipment, follow instruction manuals and work as safely as possible.

The Work at Height Regulations (WAHR) sneaks in an easy-to-miss clause (Regulation 4.2) that totally changes your responsibilities:-

Regulation 4.1 states: 'Every employer shall ensure that work at height is: (a) properly planned; (b) appropriately supervised; and (c) carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe…' Meanwhile, Regulation 4.2 adds: 'Reference in paragraph (1) to planning of work includes planning for emergencies and rescue.'

At first glance, this may sound trivial - you already risk-assess and plan your work, so you take a few more minutes to 'consider' emergencies and rescue. Maybe you think about giving your workers mobile phones. Send two instead of one.

However, when you slip into the Schedules at the back of the WAHR, the real meaning of Regulation 4.2 becomes clear. Here is what Schedule 5, which applies to everyone using personal fall protection (PPE), says: 'When using PPE, the users and a sufficient number of available persons must have received adequate training in the use of the PPE, including rescue procedures.'

This means that as soon as someone dons a harness, connects a safety belt to an eyebolt, abseils down the side of a building or is lowered into a shaft, people have to be trained to rescue them. Not just to phone for help, but to get them down, up, out and safe. No botching, no risk-taking - a fully-planned fully-trained rescue procedure.
This is where most companies have a problem and therefore fail to be compliant; rescue costs money, is statistically rare, and doesn't tend to make the job go quicker. It's a bit of red tape that you'd like to let slide.

The problem is that since the WAHR arrived, rescue from height is your job - very few people will help you anymore. The NHS does not allow staff to place themselves in danger, so they will not work at height or in a confined space. The Fire and Rescue Services have dedicated line rescue teams, but they are few and far between and as already mentioned it's your job to plan for emergencies and rescues during work at height.

Workers in confined spaces are taught to recover a colleague using the same winching system they used to send them in. For these sectors, rescue is already 'part of the job' and is based on training and using the right equipment.

Rescue doesn't have to be difficult - anyone competent to work at height can be taught to rescue a colleague given the right equipment. It may be on your to-do list, but try to think of rescue as you think of fire safety - you plan exit routes, try to prevent a fire starting, install extinguishers and sprinklers, then in 30 years you never even smell smoke. Rescue from height is your responsibility under the law.


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Company fined £30,000 after an overworked employee died in a car crash

The case is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK as the company, The Produce Connection, admitted responsibility even though the incident occurred outside working hours.

Mark Fiebig died after his vehicle drifted in to the path of an incoming lorry as he returned from work in October 2002. The court heard that Mr Fiebeg was thought to be suffering from "chronic fatigue" and had fallen asleep at the wheel after working 76 hours in four days. The prosecutor, Pascal Bates, said that Mr Feibeg had worked 11 consecutive days prior to the crash, averaging 17 hours work a day and just three or four hours' sleep per night.

"Workers were paid by the hour. For payroll purposes a daily note was kept of each worker's working hours. [The farm manager] had to be aware, and so did other management," Mr Bates said.

The company admitted failing to ensure the health of workers and the public and was fined £30,000 together with £24,000 costs.

Do your health & safety policies deal with driving and working hours? Is there a situation where you may find your employees are putting themselves at undue risk? If you have concerns and need an independent opinion and advice then contact us at MESH.

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Work-related dermatitis is the focus of a new campaign developed by the Health and Safety Executive and the British Safety Industry Federation

The campaign aims to promote improved skin care in high risk sectors such as hairdressing, catering, construction, cleaning and dentistry and is being supported by various organisations, including the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), which have jointly produced a leaflet.

The leaflet details:

• what dermatitis is;
• how it is caused;
• the legal obligations for employers;
• advice about protective clothing;
• advice about skin care; and
• looks at what practices should be used and what practices should be avoided.

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Hotel charged with Health and Safety offences after contaminating its water supply with bleach

A guest at the Scarborough's Grand Hotel was taken to hospital after brushing his teeth with tap water containing bleach that had been placed in the supply to kill bacteria.

Staff at the hotel had put at least four times the recommended dose of sodium hypochlorite in the water tanks and failed to warn guests because they assumed they were all out, Scarborough magistrates heard.

Michael Bell, prosecuting for Scarborough Council, said: "All guests should have been warned but that did not happen The system should have been flushed through before it was made available to guests."

The company was fined £10,000 after admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of non-employees. It was also ordered to pay £955 court costs and £500 compensation to the affected guest.

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Worker injured using a machine on which he had not received training

The employee severed the tip of his middle finger on his right hand whilst using a circular saw.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching two sections of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations in that they:

• Failed to provide adequate training on the use of the work equipment; and
• Failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.

The company were fined £1500 and ordered to pay costs of £892. The HSE principle inspector commented that "It was a crime of ignorance, the company did not look at what they were buying, who was going to use it, what it was to be used for, and what the risks involved were. The employee should have been fully trained before being allowed to use a piece of equipment, particularly as you can not fully enclose dangerous parts on woodworking machines. "

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IOSH launches website to help young people wiseup2work

IOSH has launched the site www.wiseup2work.co.uk to develop the safety awareness amongst young employees. Young workers are often strongly influenced by behaviour and attitudes of their peers or work colleagues and may find it difficult to raise safety concerns.

This website is full of tools to keep young workers interested in health and safety.

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