Safety Matters - NOVember 2005

Welcome to the November 2005 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:

MESH Consultants receive accreditation to run NEBOSH Certificate training programme

New campaign to encourage employers to develop occupational health schemes

MESH 4 Safety launch event deemed a great success

HSE prosecuted fewer cases in 2004, but average fines rise by 31%

Proposed Corporate Manslaughter Bill, will make high-ranking managers directly responsible for deaths caused as a result of poor health and safety practices

Europe faces challenge of occupational ill health

The HSE publishes guidance for employers on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

Masseuse receives £100,000 compensation for RSI injury

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) releases consultation document on asbestos regulations and Approved Code of Practice

First fine for disregard of new Work at Height regulations

Supermarket Asda receives fines of £57,500 following two separate cases

Bricklayer fractures skull falling through an unguarded stairwell

MESH Consultants receives accreditation to run NEBOSH Certificate training programmes

MESH consultants are pleased to announce that they have been awarded accreditation by NEBOSH to run its internationally recognised Certificate programme.

The tutoring team at MESH is made up from highly experienced trainers and in Chris Ward they have a lead tutor who has consistently achieved the top pass results in the country.

Chris is an experienced lead tutor for NEBOSH Diploma, General Certificate and Construction Certificate programmes and is a NEBOSH examiner. He describes himself as an experienced health and safety professional who takes a personal interest in ensuring success of all candidates at whatever level they are seeking to achieve.

The NEBOSH certificate qualification is generally regarded as the basic health and safety knowledge required by a competent person working within an organisation.

MESH is able to deliver both part-time (1 day per week) and Full-time courses. These are offered as open courses that individuals can be booked onto and also courses that can be delivered in-house to companies.

The next open course is scheduled to run in January 2006 at the superb training facilities at East Malling Research, Kent.

Do you have the necessary competence in your organisation to comply with the Management Regulations? Do you need to develop health and safety knowledge within your organisation? Then contact MESH - we can offer expert trainers with a superb track record in gaining exceptional candidate results.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) launches new campaign to encourage employers to develop occupational health schemes to reduce the number of sick days taken by staff

According to Lord Hunt, health and safety minister at the DWP, sickness absence costs the economy some £12 billion each year.

The DWP, and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) have joined forces in the campaign, which also aims to promote a healthy working environment, reduce stress and provide reintegration schemes to ease the long-term sick back into work.

A new helpline for small firms will be available from February, providing information and support on managing sickness absence. A new occupational health standard will be added to the Investors in People award and pilot studies will be carried out to make an economic case for enhanced occupational health schemes.

Lord Hunt pointed to evidence from drugs giant Astra Zeneca, which saved £5 million following the introduction of an occupational health scheme, but admitted that further evidence was needed to demonstrate the potential gains in smaller firms.

Bill Callaghan, chairman of the HSC, commented: "We cannot expect small firms to do all the things that an Astra Zeneca can do. But the impact of one person off in a company with 50 employees can be harder to handle than more off in a bigger one, and there are plenty of straightforward things they can do."

MESH 4 Safety launch event sponsored by Business Link Kent (BLK) as part of European Health & Safety Week 2005

Forty delegates representing a wide range of companies throughout Kent attended a health and safety awareness day at East Malling. The event sponsored by Business Link Kent featured seven short introductory sessions, aimed at bringing the delegates up to date on a range of health and safety topics (issues such as noise, working at height, asbestos and occupational health).

Feedback from both the delegates and Business Link was excellent with most quoting the event as being both interesting and informative. Business Link deemed the event a big success and discussions are underway to organise three half-day spin off workshops early in 2006. The success of the event is likely to result in it being held in other counties in the South East and will be repeated by BLK IN 2006.

Do you have a range of health and safety issues that need to be addressed? Are you struggling to find help in one place? Then call MESH 4 Safety for help with all of your health and safety problems. One phone call and leave the rest to us.

HSE prosecuted fewer cases in 2004, but average fines rise by 31%

The fact that the HSE prosecuted in fewer cases and served fewer notices last year, has been put down to a steady decline in the number of accidents and ill health reported to the HSE. The HSE`s acting director-general commented, "we are investigating fewer incidents, but a greater proportion of these is leading to prosecution."

The average fine issued by the courts rose by 31% to £18,765, although the figure is far lower in magistrate's court (where most companies are fined).

Proposed Corporate Manslaughter Bill will make high-ranking managers directly responsible for deaths caused as a result of poor health and safety practices

The Bill will replace the existing system, under which companies rather than individuals face fines following the death of an employee at work.

Current legislation requires that a single "controlling mind" must be identified as having breached their duty of care towards employees before a firm can be convicted of corporate manslaughter, making it difficult to bring successful prosecutions.

But under the new Bill, responsibility will lie with "senior managers", so that several people rather than one individual can be held accountable; penalties will include unlimited fines and court orders to alter the management structure of a convicted company.

Do you need assistance in developing a policy that keeps your employees safe and ensures you as an employer meet your legal obligations? Then contact MESH we can offer expert advice in this area.

Lord Hunt tells European businesses about the challenge that Europe is facing in tackling occupational ill-health

Speaking at a conference as part of a two-day UK Presidency event looking at which issues should form the core of the next EU occupational safety and health strategy in 2007, Lord Hunt said: "Good health and safety should be one of the springboards to European economic competitiveness. A safe and healthy workforce means productive time is not lost dealing with the consequences of failure. "

He identified that the best way to secure good health and safety is through risk assessment, particularly focusing on the most vulnerable risks, educating employees and providing them with advice. He said that "this needs to be backed up by tough enforcement measures for those employers who fail to look after the health and safety of their workers."

The HSE publishes guidance for employers on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

The new regulations will come into force on April 6, 2006 and will require employers to protect the hearing of their staff. The HSE's guidance details these new rules and helps employers to understand what they need to do under the regulations. The guidance includes information on:

• How loud noise can damage hearing;
• How to assess and control noise at work;
• Choosing quieter equipment and machinery;
• Different types of hearing protection;
• When to inform and consult workers; and health surveillance.

The regulations require employers to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to noise at work. They also identify that companies should not rely upon hearing protection alone, as this often fails.

Are you aware of the implications of the 5dBA reduction in noise that your staff can be exposed to? Have your operations been risk assessed? The HSE identify that preventing worker exposure to workplace noise is easily achievable - are you doing enough or do you rely on hearing protection alone? Take a look at the companies that MESH has helped with workplace noise risk assessment.

A masseuse has been awarded more than £100,000 in compensation after sustaining a repetitive strain injury from carrying out massages in an unorthodox way

Elizabeth King had worked for Virgin Atlantic at the airline's Heathrow Clubhouse where, among other duties, she was responsible for providing shiatsu back and shoulder massages to airline passengers in the pre-flight lounge. Virgin Atlantic admitted it had failed to carry out a risk assessment into the dangers involved in carrying out a "forceful" massage, which is usually performed on undressed people whilst they are lying down, but in this case was performed on passengers who were fully clothed and seated.

Miss King was forced to give up her job after she developed tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, painful conditions that are caused by inflammation and micro-tearing to tendons in the elbow and forearm. Dr Richard Hull, who examined Miss King, explained how the manner in which the massages were performed meant that therapist's arms were being used in an awkward position.

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) releases consultation document on asbestos regulations and Approved Code of Practice.

The proposed changes include a single, tighter control limit for work with all types of asbestos; specific training requirements for those working with asbestos; and a clear hierarchy of controls that should be used to reduce exposure, based on the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations 2004.

It is also proposing to align the criteria for notifying the enforcing authority of work with asbestos with the requirement to have an HSE asbestos licence.

It is estimated that about half a million non-domestic premises contain some form of asbestos.

Does your company have an up to date asbestos register? Have you a management plan in place covering any asbestos you have on your site? If the answer to either of these is no, call the MESH 4 Safety alliance for expert help.

First fine for disregard of new Work at Height regulations

A builder has been prosecuted for disregarding the new regulations just 7 days after they came into force. The case is thought to be the first prosecution since the new rules. The builder was fined £3000 + costs of £3500.

The court heard that three employees used an unsecured ladder to access a pitched roof to salvage tiles prior to demolition. The company failed to undertake a risk assessment and no provision had been made for them to work safely at height (no scaffold or roof ladders). The HSE inspector identified that one of the reasons for proceeding with the case was because the company's approach was based around saving costs.

Supermarket Asda receives fines of £57,500 following two separate cases

In one case Asda pleaded guilty to four offences after a worker was buried under 72 frozen chickens and another received an electric shock whilst at work.

• In the first case the worker was pinned to the floor when a trolley of frozen chickens collapsed on top of her as she tried to demonstrate to her supervisor that it was unstable. The trolley was defective and had been taken out of use but was put back without being repaired. It was also seriously overloaded.
• In the second case the worker was cleaning a refrigerated cabinet with a damp cloth when she received an electric shock. She had not been trained in cleaning display cabinets and was not made aware to switch the cabinet off before using a damp cloth.

In the second prosecution Asda was fined for seven offences after customers were injured on a travelator, and an elderly customer broke her hip after tripping over a cable lying on the floor at a checkout. According to Wandsworth Council, the company had taken nearly a year to remedy problems with the travelator, even though a total of 51 accidents had occurred over a 2-year period.

Bricklayer fractures skull falling through an unguarded stairwell

A bricklayer fell through an open stairwell and fractured his skull in a house on a construction site, for a new housing estate. The company was fined £16,000 + costs of £1,372 for breaches in health and safety.

The company said in mitigation that it regretted the incident and it has since invested £300,000 in retraining site managers and it takes health and safety seriously. The HSE said that the company should have done better to prevent the accident and that simple low-cost measures should have been taken.

Are the managers in your company trained in health and safety as required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations? Are there low cost measures that could be taken to improve health and safety for your workers? Take a look at the companies that MESH has helped with staff training, workplace inspections and risk assessment.