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Welcome to the November 2009 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 …
HSE release latest health and safety statistics >
HSE launches a major campaign warning tradesmen on the dangers of asbestos >
Pressure on to tackle stress as costs to businesses mount >
Union calls for new rules for drivers >
Food manufacturer fined £65K >
Pet-food manufacturer has been fined £100,000 >
Work placement leads to 14 year old suffering burns >
Road haulage firm fined for safety breaches leading to fatalities >
Fatal fall from tower scaffold was due to lack of edge protection >
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 release latest health and safety statistics for 2008/09 |
| The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released its latest statistics, showing “a significant reduction” in the numbers of people killed, injured or suffering work-related ill health from April 2008 to March 2009. The figures show that workplace fatal injuries fell from 233 in 2007/08 to a record low of 180 in 2008/09, and there was a reduction of more than 7,000 in the number of workplace injuries classified as serious or incurring more than three days absence from work.
The figures indicate that across England, Scotland and Wales, 29.3 million working days (equivalent to 1.24 days per worker) were lost to injury and ill health last year, compared with 33.9 million in 2007/08.
Other key figures were as follows.
· Major injuries at work have fallen since 2000, and this trend continued last year with 28,692 workers reported as being injured in 2008/09, compared with 29,389 in 2007/08.
· The improvements saw business lose 1.6 million fewer working days through all types of injury which equates to an estimated total of £4.7 million.
· The number of people estimated to be suffering from work-related ill health fell by 79,000 in 2008/09 to 1.2 million.
· Three million fewer working days were lost to ill health in 2008/09 bringing the number of lost days down to 24.6 million.
The HSE said that comparison with international data shows Britain to be one of the safest places to work in the EU.
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| HSE launches a major campaign warning tradesmen on the dangers of asbestos |
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The campaign aimed at the building trades identified that every week across Britain, around 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related diseases and the numbers are increasing. Workers most at risk are those who disturb or damage it in the course of their jobs, such as plumbers, joiners and electricians. It is these groups that the HSE is working to protect through its “Asbestos: The hidden killer” campaign which launched on 2 November 2009.
A HSE source said that asbestos is Britain’s biggest industrial killer and that, contrary to what many people believe, the risks are not a thing of the past. The most simple, but important advice from the HSE to tradesmen is not to start work if they are not 100% certain that there is no asbestos where they are working.
Asbestos is calculated to claim about 4,000 lives a year and the HSE identify that it should be of no concern to the general public if it remains undisturbed and in good condition, but the same cannot be said for trades people who may come across it in their work.
It is clear that despite previous campaigns there are still a lot of tradesmen who don’t really know about asbestos and where they can find it or how to identify it.
The campaign is being supported by unions, employers’ representatives, health charities, sufferers and victims groups.
Further information on the campaign can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/hiddenkiller.
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| Pressure on to tackle stress as costs to businesses mount |
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The HSE supported National Stress Awareness Day this year as statistics reveal more than 11 million working days were lost to work related stress last year. This startling figure translates as a £4 billion cost to society and HSE wants companies to be made aware of the real cost, not only to people but also to business.
The theme of this year’s International Stress Management Association (ISMA) campaign is ‘stressing the positives’ and HSE is urging employers to take positive steps against work related stress by using its Management Standards. The Management Standards highlight the components of good job design that keep stress levels in check and enhance productivity.
The HSE also wants managers and supervisors across Britain to test their management skills with a self-assessment questionnaire.
In order to help managers develop further, more tools are being produced that provide a third party view of their performance from staff, managers and peers. They are calling for volunteers to test the prototypes of the new tools mentioned.
For more information visit www.hse.gov.uk/stress/volunteer.htm or to read the latest guidance on work-related stress see www.hse.gov.uk/stress.
Is your business failing to manage the mental wellbeing of staff and is this costing you too much? At MESH we have experience of helping companies to manage these problems, please take a look at some of the companies we have helped.
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| Union calls for new rules for drivers |
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The Trades Union Congress (TUC) claims that the rules governing the working hours of bus, coach and van drivers are “so out of date that many drivers have fewer breaks than office workers”.
In its October 2009 submission to a Department for Transport review on the rules on domestic drivers’ hours, the TUC said long hours are a direct cause of driver fatigue, contributing to one in five road accidents last year. They also argue that excessive working time can also cause stress, back pain and increase the risk of heart disease and mental illness.
The union claims that despite road safety and health risks associated with drivers working long hours, one in four bus drivers work more than 49.5 hours a week, while one in four van drivers work more than 48 hours a week. The working time rules for the drivers of buses, coaches, vans and some larger vehicles such as dustcarts and milk tankers were set by the Transport Act 1968.
The union has urged the Department for Transport to update the rules to give all drivers the right to proper breaks and prevent them from working excessive hours.
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| Food manufacturer fined £65K |
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The company was prosecuted by the HSE after one of its employees had three fingers crushed in a packing machine. The employee had been attempting to clear a blockage in a Multivac packing machine at the site in Norfolk, when the incident happened.
The investigation found the machine did not have the required guarding and the company, Tulip Ltd, had not provided sufficient training. The company pleaded guilty to breaching s.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 in failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of the employees.
The company admitted failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery and failing to make a sufficient risk assessment of the machine.
Tulip Ltd was fined £65,000 at Norwich Crown Court and ordered to pay costs of £29,523.
The HSE identified that the accident could have been easily avoided had the company checked how safe the machinery was and taken precautions to protect staff. No company should take machinery risks lightly.
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| Pet food manufacturer has been fined £100,000 |
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The company Butchers Pet Care Ltd received the fine and was ordered to pay £28,380.91 costs following an accident where one of its workers was crushed to death at its Northamptonshire factory.
The HSE prosecution came after the worker was killed when a palletising machine crushed him at the company’s factory on Crick Industrial Estate. The machine is used to take cans of pet food from conveyor belts and stack them in layers on pallets. It is fully automatic and operated by sensors. The machine should have been fully enclosed with an interlock system to prevent anyone gaining access until the power is shut off.
The HSE’s investigation found that he had entered the caged area via a gap in the fencing created by the stair rails, to reposition a jammed pallet. When the pallet was freed, it set the machine in motion, trapping and killing him. The investigation highlighted that it was not an isolated incident and the unfenced gap between the stair rails had been there for nearly two years and it had become common practice for employees to nip through it to fix problems on the machine in an effort to keep the production line running.
The HSE are hoping that this tragedy and the conviction of Butchers Pet Care Ltd will serve to remind employers to check that measures to protect workers are not just in place, but are effective.
Do your risk assessments highlight areas that could lead to staff or others being badly harmed and have you considered the cost of a serious accident to your business? At MESH we have experience of helping companies to develop effective risk assessments that not only help to keep staff and others safe but also protect their businesses. Why not take a look at how we may help you?
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| Work-placement leads to 14 year old suffering burns |
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The boy was on a work experience placement at R&B Motor Services in Wolverhampton when the accident happened. He and his supervisor were retrieving petrol from a fuel tank of a vehicle using a fuel pump. The supervisor had forgotten to ensure they had a container to collect the petrol in and to try to prevent the fuel coming out had put his finger over the end of the hose. As he did this it caused the petrol to spray over the boys overalls and a spark from the pump ignited his clothing.
Fortunately he was able to put the flames out by rolling on the floor and only suffered minor burns on his right wrist. The garage did not report the incident and the boy continued working until the end of the day.
The placement had been arranged by Making Learning Work Ltd who immediately they became aware reported the incident to the HSE. The company was responsible for finding work placements for 32 pupils.
The investigation found that no risk assessment had been made for the boy’s placement and that he had been left under the supervision of a migrant worker who spoke no English.
Making Learning Work Ltd appeared in court and was given a one year conditional discharge and ordered to pay full costs of £22,000. In a previous hearing the garage was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
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| Road haulage firm fined for safety breaches leading to fatalities |
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The Dorset Company was fined more than £50,000 after an accident where a couple was killed by one of the company’s articulated lorries. At the trial the company directors were cleared of manslaughter charges.
The manslaughter charges were dropped owing to the impossibility of proving that the accident was caused by driver fatigue as a result of excessive working hours.
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| Fatal fall from tower scaffold was due to lack of edge protection |
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EDF Energy Contracting Ltd, an electrical installations company, has been fined £160,000 after a worker fell to his death whilst dismantling a mobile tower scaffold.
The court heard that the worker had erected the scaffold tower but only put edge protection on the top platform and not around the intermediate levels. After completing his maintenance task he began to dismantle the scaffold tower starting from top to bottom. One of his colleagues at ground level was transporting the parts back to their van.
As the worker attempted to remove one of the intermediate platforms he stumbled and fell from the scaffolding landing on the floor 5 metres below. His colleague called the emergency services but he was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of serious head injuries.
The company was prosecuted for breaching the Work at Height Regulations and was fined the £160,000 and ordered to pay £24,595 in costs.
The HSE inspector commented that it is important that all mobile tower scaffolds are erected and dismantled correctly and that guardrails are fitted to prevent falls.
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