Safety Matters - september 2005

Welcome to the September 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:

TUC concerned that too many still lose their lives at work

HSE inspections of licensed premises start September in Dorset

Nearly half a million workers suffer from repetitive strain injuries (RSI), according to study

Bakery fined £176,000 for failure to provide a safe system of work

A campaign to highlight the impact of workplace falls has been launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

HSE cautions companies to take proper precautions to prevent falls when working at height

Company director has received a 12- month custodial sentence following the death of an employee

Ramada Jarvis has been fined £ 400,000 for H&S failure

National retailer Poundland fined £13,000 after pleading guilty to 2 breaches of H&S legislation

Progress towards reducing work-related deaths over the last 5 years has been slow.

Although there was a reduction in work-related deaths and the rate of fatal injuries is the lowest on record, concern remains that we are a long way off revitalising health and safety in the U.K.

The construction and agriculture industries continue to see the most fatalities - combined, they account for over 50% of the total. Once again, falls from height was the cause of the most deaths, claiming 53 lives (almost 1 in 4). It is hoped that the new Work at Height Regulations should help to address this. HSC chair Bill Callaghan suggests that the regulations common sense approach "shouldn't be beyond anyone".

On a positive note, the fatal injury rate was lower in all sectors apart from manufacturing. The HSE acknowledges that the challenge will be to continue this downward trend.

Concerned with how to apply this common sense approach to working at height? Then contact MESH Consultants for a no-obligation discussion - we provide advice, training and assistance in assessing your risks and offering practical solutions.

HSE start follow inspections as part of the Better Backs campaign

The Campaign is aimed to reduce back injuries in the workplace, which currently account for 4.9 million annual sick days in the UK. The inspections follow on from Health & Safety awareness days held earlier in the year, where landlords were invited to the events to learn about common safety problems encountered in drinks delivery and how to prevent them.

It is recognised that handling activities are the single largest cause of injuries and ill health in the food and drinks industries. The HSE identify that the majority of these are preventable if you take precautions.

Need assistance with training staff in the correct manual handling techniques? Then contact MESH Consultants for a no-obligation discussion - we can either train all of your staff or train key staff as internal trainers in manual handling.

New figures indicate RSI is on the rise.

The figures indicate that the incidence of RSI is on the rise, with an increase of 52,000 cases since 2001/02. They show that health and social workers have the highest incidence of RSI, narrowly ahead of construction workers; incidence rates in communications, transport and education industries are rising, and the number of working days lost to RSI in 2003/04 was 4.7 million.

Companies are warned that they face huge bills if they do not act to prevent their staff developing work-related RSI, as compensation for such claims can be costly. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) identify that simple procedures can be put in place to protect workers and businesses and reduce sick leave.

The CPS believe the 3 simple steps needed are:

1. To carry out risk assessments and discuss the findings with staff
2. Encourage early reporting of any symptoms and provide access to appropriate help, such as consulting an occupational physiotherapist
3. Ensure that employees are able to organise their work and take regular breaks.
   

Bakery fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £26,000 costs after employee died from severe head injuries.

The deceased had been trying to un-jam a machine that consisted of a series of racks weighing about half a tonne. He was doing so whilst standing on a platform 22 inches high, when he was knocked backwards landing on his head on the concrete floor and sustained the fatal injuries.

The HSE inspector found that the company had not assessed the risks from un-jamming the racks, even though they jammed on a fairly frequent basis. He comments: "Maintenance activities cause a considerable number of serious and fatal incidents each year and companies should ensure that such activities are adequately planned and safe working practices established".

Experience shows that in the majority of companies risk assessments tend to deal with the use of the equipment, not maintenance or cleaning, but this is when many accidents occur.

Is this the case in your organisation? Do you need professional assistance to identify the main hazards in your workplace and ensure the correct controls are in place? Take a look at the companies that MESH has helped with risk assessment.

A campaign to highlight the impact of workplace falls has been launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

As workplace falls top 40,000 per annum, the HSE campaign Watch Your Step has been launched to highlight the impact on both the injured party and on business.

In 2004 the total number of falls stood at 42,260 and cost the economy approximately £800 million, £500 million of which is directly borne by business. It is estimated that each workplace fall costs £25,000 when absenteeism, insurance, wage and civil liability costs are taken into consideration.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the risks and about simple, cost-effective measures that can reduce both the impact on people and on finances.

Justin McCracken, acting chief executive of the HSE, said: "Slips and trips are often seen as a bit of a joke. Although much of the time, we're able to get up and brush ourselves down, all too often the injury is more serious. During a normal working day, a person falls and seriously hurts him or herself in a British workplace every three minutes. Given that these are only recorded incidents, the actual figure will be significantly higher."

The three main causes of falls are:

1. slips on wet and dry substances, which can be prevented by reporting and clearing up spillages immediately
2. trips over obstacles, which also should be cleared away immediately
3. human factors including failure to report and manage risks.
   

HSE cautions companies to take proper precautions to prevent falls when working at height.

The warning from the HSE follows the prosecution of an employee who breached health and safety legislation by using a forklift truck to lift a fellow worker.

His colleague sustained broken limbs after falling at least 10 feet from a metal stillage that was balanced on the forks of the truck.

Prosecuting HSE inspector Jenny Skeldon said: "Using a forklift truck as a way of elevating people is a highly dangerous practice and creates an imminent risk to safety. Both employers and employees have a duty to ensure that appropriate safety measures are taken when carrying out work that involves working at height in order to prevent injuries such as these."

Are you aware of how to comply with the new Work at Height Regulations? Do you and your employees need some advice or training? Then contact MESH for a no-obligation discussion - we can offer expert advice in this area.

Company director pleads guilty to charge of manslaughter following death of an employee.

The director pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and both he and his company pleaded guilty to offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The court heard that the employee sustained fatal injuries when attempting to clear a blockage from a paper shredding machine which started up whilst he was still inside it.

A HSE investigation found that the machine was not securely isolated whilst the unblocking work was carried out, there was no safe system for such work, and the electrical controls for the machine were contaminated with dust.

The HSE principle-investigating inspector, Paul Carter, said: "This was a horrific incident that was entirely foreseeable. Isolating the machinery, a safe system of work for clearing blockages, together with adequate instruction, training and supervision of Paul White's staff would have prevented this incident. Evidence showed that Paul White chose not to follow the advice of his health and safety consultant and instead adopted a complacent attitude".

Paul Carter encourages "all employers to take a fresh look at their business activities and to review their risk assessments to ensure that sensible control measures are in place and that employees understand what is expected of them."

Guest fall from faulty lift costs Ramada Jarvis £400,000 fine.

The hotel group pleaded guilty to breaching two health and safety regulations of failing to adequately train staff and of failing to provide a sufficient risk assessment.

The incident happened at a hotel belonging to the group in Edinburgh in September 2003. Previous to this date the hotel had been warned up to 30 times by different repair engineers that the lift was in need of upgrading or should be replaced.

The accident occurred when the lift broke down between two floors trapping the guest Richard Fareham. After being told by reception that it could take up to 30 minutes for an engineer to arrive, and after a manager had cut and restarted the lift's power in an attempt to get it working again, Mr Fareham decided to climb the 1.5 metres to the above floor. Mr Fareham managed to force open the lift doors but as he climbed out he slipped underneath the lift and fell into the shaft.

Health and safety experts ruled that had the lift been fitted with a modern steel apron Mr Fareham would have been caught in this and his life saved.

Poundland has been fined £13,000 with £900 costs for two Health & Safety breaches.

The retailer pleaded guilty to charges of failing to maintain racking equipment in a safe condition and also not keeping floors and traffic routes clear of obstructions.

An Health & Safety inspector discovered extremely serious damage to high level racking at the companies distribution depot. The damage indicated prolonged abuse by careless operation of forklift trucks in the warehouse.

It was also discovered that fire exits were blocked by poorly organised storage. A prohibition notice was subsequently served on the blocking of the fire exits. Despite this on subsequent visits by the fire safety unit they found fire exits continued to be blocked, and a formal caution was issued to Poundland.

Has your premises been assessed for its fire risk as required by the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended)? If not contact MESH for a no obligation discussion to see how we can help to protect your business and employees.