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| HSE identify that construction safety ‘must be top priority’ |
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Construction site safety must be put at the top of the industry’s agenda, according to the HSE. The safety regulator said a new investigation into the major hazards posed to workers on construction sites across the UK will aim to remind the industry that site safety is the number one priority for contractors and developers.
The investigation will examine the underlying causes of major incidents such as building, tunnel and tower crane collapses, and major fires, as well as assessing whether current risk assessment measures are in need of improvement.
The HSE said it aims to put the findings of the investigation to the top of the political agenda following the general election.
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| London office block destroyed in major blaze |
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A fire which destroyed an office block, restaurant and members’ bar on the edge of the City of London require around 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines to put the fire out.
It took hold around 4am Thursday morning of the 13th March, and destroyed 75 per cent of the third floor and roof in the block, and 50 per cent on the second and ground floors, according to the London Fire Brigade. However, nobody had to be evacuated and there have been no reports of injuries.
The fire also spread to neighbouring buildings but the extent of the damage is still unknown. There were reports that thick smoke reached as far as the Bank of England and the Gherkin.
London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson said: “This was a complicated fire spreading rapidly through different premises and onto bitumen covered roof, creating huge plumes of smoke across the city and presenting very difficult firefighting conditions for the crews attending. This incident yet again highlights the need for our fire safety work to prevent the fire risk and disruption these incidents have on our capital.”
Are your operations at risk from a major event such as a fire? If you need assistance to undertake the necessary fire risk assessment or put emergency plans in place then take a look at how MESH has assisted other organisations.
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| HSE launch new campaign aimed at employee involvement in health & safety |
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Bosses are being encouraged to get their employees more involved in health and safety in a bid to reduce injury and ill health. The HSE`s new campaign ‘do your bit’ is in response to workplace research which provides evidence to suggest that involving workers has a positive effect on health and safety performance.
The ‘do your bit’ campaign is a year long initiative offering free or subsidised training courses to help businesses get their employees more involved in improving their health and safety.
To support the campaign, HSE has launched a new website which provides practical advice and materials for businesses and details of the upcoming series of training opportunities. In addition, it features first hand accounts from businesses who are already reaping the rewards from actively involving workers in health and safety.
The HSE is initially aiming the campaign and subsidised training for new potential health and safety representatives at the construction, manufacturing, transport and motor vehicle repair sectors.
Any organisations seeking to improve on their existing consultation and worker involvement arrangements can express their interest in a fully funded training package.
Organisations can register for either of the above offers of training at www.hse.gov.uk/doyourbit.
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| Three companies fined a total of £280,000 |
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The fines come following a fall where a contractor was left paralysed during the refurbishment of a Shell oil refinery. The accident occurred when rope from a hoist came loose and fell some 30 metres striking the worker below as he entered the work area.
He suffered severe injuries including a broken back, two broken legs, a broken pelvis and he is now confined to a wheelchair.
Shell UK Oil Products Ltd and Dalprop Ltd appeared in court in January and both pleaded guilty to charges under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 for falling to ensure that lifting is carried out in a safe manner.
Shell was fined £116,666 and ordered to pay costs of £16,204 and Dalprop was fined £83,333 plus costs of £11,115.
The company that installed the scaffolding also appeared in court and pleaded guilty to charges under the HSWA; the company was fined £83,333 with costs of £16,204.
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| Union calls for travel baggage limit reduction |
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A union has called on passengers at airports across the UK and Europe to pack less in their bags to prevent the high levels of injuries to baggage handlers. A baggage handler is five times more likely than any other worker to suffer serious injuries, which unfortunately can lead to permanent disability because of handling very heavy bags, often in cramped conditions.
Unite’s “pack less” campaign is calling on airlines to introduce a maximum individual bag weight of 23kg, a call backed by the HSE Aviation Industry Committee and the International Air Transport Association. The current limit is 32kg per bag. Unite is also calling on the Government and the HSE to do more to protect baggage handlers.
The European Commission is currently looking into introducing regulations to reduce the amount of musculoskeletal injuries suffered by workers across Europe.
Unite has had some success in getting the airline industry to introduce the new lighter weight. Thompsons, the UK’s largest holiday charter company, has recently introduced a 23kg maximum bag weight for all their customers. Other airlines have also made moves to address the issue, often by charging passengers additional fees when checking in heavy bags, but the union believes more needs to be done with a consistently applied and enforceable industry standard adopted.
Steve Turner, Unite’s National Officer, said: “Passengers across the UK and Europe are being asked to pack less in their bags. Most people think that baggage handling is fully automated, while the reality is that a bag can be manually lifted up to a dozen times on its journey. Baggage handlers lift the equivalent of the weight of an elephant every day.”
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| Royal Mail fined over employee death |
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The Royal Mail have been fined £90,000 after admitting to health and safety breaches following the death of an employee who was crushed by a reversing heavy goods vehicle (HGV).
The employee a 57-year-old yard shunter was fatally injured at Royal Mail’s Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre. The incident happened when a Royal Mail HGV driver was reversing his tractor to line up with a trailer unit parked at a loading bay at the Centre.
After lining up his vehicle, the driver left his cab and walked to the back of the unit to complete the manoeuvre but found the worker had been trapped between the tractor and the trailer. He had been removing a lock from the trailer at the time and suffered fatal injuries.
Royal Mail Group Ltd, was ordered to pay £90,000 and court costs of £42,549 for breaching s.2 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 which covers the duty of the employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all the employees.
The investigating HSE Inspector has identified that this tragic accident could have been easily prevented if Royal Mail had exercised proper control of vehicle activities at the Heathrow Distribution Centre.
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| Worker loses fingers on unguarded guillotine |
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The worker lost four fingers whilst clearing a blockage on the unguarded machine at a recycling factory in Liverpool. It occurred whilst he and a colleague were operating a plastic extruder used to cut plastic sheet material into strips. They had altered the machine to cut larger sheets which should have deactivated the automatic cutting process.
As the plastic ran through the machine it became jammed and the worker who assumed his colleague had isolated the guillotine reached in to clear the blockage; as he did the blade dropped and severed his four fingers. Two were later reattached but he suffered nerve damage and only has limited use of his hand.
The HSE identified the company should have had a guard in place to prevent workers reaching the blade and the guard should have been interlocked to cut the power if the guard was removed.
The company was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,438.
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| Out of court settlement of £110,000 for ‘stressed’ worker |
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A Staffordshire University employee has been awarded £110,000 in compensation after claiming an alleged 65-hour working week exposed him to high levels of stress and damaged his health.
The man a programme manager reached an out-of-court agreement for the sum even though the university denied any liability.
He had previous history of anxiety and depression, his job role included responsiblity for organising courses for foreign students. He claimed that he was forced to deal with an excessive workload after a member of staff committed suicide and another went on long-term sick leave.
Thompons Solicitors, his representation, urged him to pursue the claim, arguing the university should have taken adequate measures to ensure staff were not overworked.
Warinder Juss, from Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Despite Staffordshire University being aware of Mr Bannister’s previous medical history and despite his complaints about the workload nothing was done to ensure he was coping.”
However, a spokesperson for Staffordshire University told Workplace Law: “The University does not accept any liability in this matter and our insurers reached an out-of-court settlement with Mr Bannister due to the cost of defending such allegations.”
Does your organisation have effective stress management procedures in place and have your managers been trained to spot and deal with stress when it arises? At MESH we have extensive experience of helping companies to plan how to deal with this difficult issue.
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