Safety Matters - MARCH 2007

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NEBOSH General Certificate course now open for bookings in May/June 2007

7 candidates participated in our recent NEBOSH General Certificate course and took their examination in January. As always, we have a very high expectation of pass rates. We are now taking the final few bookings for our May/June 2007 course. Click here for further information.

In this issue:

HSE investigates RIDDOR under-reporting

UK workers are among the least likely in Europe to take time off as a result of work-related illness

In a landmark judgment a group of textile companies has been cleared of liability for industrial deafness

New guide to smoke-free workplaces published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC)

Employers cannot rely on the provision of counselling services to combat workplace stress

Road worker wins compensation for vibration injuries

The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) prosecuted over manual handling injury

Worker instructed to use ladder to work on fragile roof

Chemical spill leads to fireball that kills employee

Teacher injured by circular saw

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.

HSE investigates RIDDOR under-reporting

Only around a third of accidents that occur in UK workplaces are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), new research indicates.

The Executive evaluated reporting levels by comparing the number of patients attending the Royal Liverpool University Hospital with work-related injuries with the number of accidents reported to the HSE. Only 30 per cent of the reportable accidents had been reported to the Executive, the researchers found.

The highest accident rate was found to be in the construction sector; however, the highest accident-reporting rate was recorded in the local and central government sectors, while the lowest reporting levels were found to be in the catering, distribution, hotels and manufacturing sectors.

Lost working time was identified as the principal reason why workers and employers failed to report accidents to the Executive.

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UK workers are among the least likely in Europe to take time off as a result of work-related illness

A recent survey, published by the Dublin Foundation, examined working conditions across 31 countries in Europe and found a mixed picture of the effect work has on British workers.

The report reveals that British workers are far less likely to take leave due to work-related conditions such as back pain and stress, coming 26th out of 31. However the survey also showed that UK employees are more likely to experience threats and violence at work than any other country apart from the Netherlands.

The report shows that the image that employers have of British workers, who they feel are happy to blame every twinge on their work and use illnesses such as stress and back pain as an excuse for taking time off work, is a misconception.

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In a landmark judgment a group of textile companies has been cleared of liability for industrial deafness

The ruling was made in seven test cases brought by former employees of garment factories in the Midlands, including Courtaulds, Coats Viyella and Pretty Polly. Although the ruling focused on these specific cases, the result will come as a relief to hundreds more manufacturing employers.

The judge noted that some 700 other claims involving exposure to workplace noise levels of less than 90 decibels were resting on the outcome of the ruling.

Some of the workers had been employed at the factories for many years without ear protection and had complained of a range of hearing problems including tinnitus and hearing loss as a result of prolonged exposure to 75 decibels of noise at work during the 1980s.

In all seven cases, albeit for slightly different reasons, the judge ruled that none of the employers were liable for damages. A key issue for one of the companies was that they had kept up to date with guidance and research and had introduced a hearing conservation programme as early as 1985, before HSE guidance was introduced.

Is noise at work an issue in your workplace and are you complying with the changes introduced by the Noise at Work Regulations 2006? If you need help or advice in this area then why not look at the companies that MESH has assisted.

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New guide to smoke-free workplaces published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC)

The new guidance covers how to prepare for the legal restrictions governing smoking due to be implemented this year.

On 1 July 2007 the restrictions on smoking in workplaces and public places will be introduced in England while similar legislation will be implemented three months earlier in Wales on 2 April 2007.

According to the TUC, around a quarter of workers smoke, although not necessarily in the workplace, where there has been a steady move towards smoking restrictions over the past twenty years.

However, around two million people in Great Britain still work in workplaces where smoking is allowed throughout, and another ten million in places where smoking is allowed somewhere on the premises.

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Employers cannot rely on the provision of counselling services to combat workplace stress

A recent judgement from the Court of Appeal should set alarm bells ringing for employers who think that by providing access to a counselling service that’s the job done. The Court of Appeal upheld a decision to award a payroll analyst £135,545 in damages following a breakdown she suffered, caused by pressure of work.

The employee had worked for the Intel Corporation for 13 years when she suffered a breakdown in 2001 and alleged that it was due to her employer’s negligence. She had been regularly working 60 hours a week and taking work home. The company continually failed to address her repeated representations about the amount of work she had.
Intel had argued that if she had made the most of the counselling services and medical assistance available to employees, the urgency of her situation would have become clear.

The judges ruling means that an employer’s provision of counselling and medical services will not be enough to protect them against workplace stress damages claims, particularly if unreasonable demands are placed upon the employee, or if protests made by an employee are not acted upon.

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Road worker wins compensation for vibration injuries

The worker received £42,000 compensation from Derbyshire County Council after having developed vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome. The injuries were caused by exposure to vibrating tools; he had worked for the council since 1973.

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The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) prosecuted over manual handling injury

The NEC was prosecuted after an employee was injured after trying to lift a 53kg motor on his own. The NEC had pleaded guilty to charges relating to its failure to ensure the health and safety of its employee and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £13,500.

The incident involved a 53kg motor that had to be sent for maintenance and servicing. This required the employee to take the motor out of its box and repackage it for sending to the manufacturer. Whilst trying to lift the motor out of the box by its chain his hand slipped on the chain grease and jarred his back, which required hospital treatment.

According to the investigating inspector a persistent and complete absence of any safe systems of work in the rigging stores was found. There were no risk assessments of the handling activities in the stores despite the foreseeable risk of injury. There was also an absence of health and safety training.

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Worker instructed to use ladder to work on fragile roof

The worker and two of his colleagues were working on a roof constructed from corrugated asbestos sheets and transparent roof lights, when he fell seven metres sustaining multiple injuries. He broke both of his wrists, his ankle and his left elbow, and sustained a fractured skull with bleeding on the brain.

The system of working had been decided upon after the contracts manager had sent away a tower scaffold hired in for the job. The work required the men to work from a ladder and pass the replacement roof sheets to the worker. When he stepped onto one of the asbestos panels it gave way and he fell through.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching S2(1) of the HSWA 1974 and was fined £15,000. The HSE inspector said that the method statement drawn up for the job had identified risks with moving, lifting and handling materials. The problem was that it failed to provide a safe system for raising the replacement roof sheets and failed to identify control measures to prevent the risk of falls through the roof.

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Chemical spill leads to fireball that kills employee

A factory worker died after sustaining 85% burns to his body after a flammable chemical spilled over him and ignited. The incident happened on the production line at a car-parts manufacturer.

Part of his job involved priming surfaces for adhesion with a xylene based solution, which was stored in a tank on a shelf above a heat box. The process was automated which required a larger storage tank for the xylene. However the shelf was too small for the larger tank, leaving it in an unstable position.

The unstable vessel tipped over and the xylene poured onto the worker and the bulb in the heat box below, causing it to shatter and thus exposing the filament. This ignited the xylene and the flames engulfed the worker.

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Teacher injured by circular saw

The teacher suffered lacerations to his hand from the unguarded saw blade. He had been cutting plywood with the saw and leant over to turn the saw off with his right hand, when his left hand came into contact with the unguarded spinning blade.

Investigations into the incident identified that the saw had previously been used by another teacher. He had adjusted the blade height and to do so had removed the guard. When he had finished he had failed to replace the guard as it was the end of the school day. The teacher who sustained the injuries had failed to notice the guard was missing when he went to use it.

The teacher injured had not received any training in the use and maintenance of woodworking machinery since joining the school 15 months before the accident. The local authority were fined £12,000 over the accident.

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