Responding to the new HSE figures which reveal that 152 people were killed at work between April 2009 and March 2010, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) said it was concerned that the 35% budget cuts the HSE faced following the Government spending review could reverse the decline in work-related deaths and injuries.

Similarly, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has commented that the HSE budget cuts are likely to make the situation worse with less guidance, less inspections and less enforcement across the board. The likely outcome will be higher illness rates, more days lost through sickness absence and — most importantly — more workers killed, injured or made ill as a result of their work.

Coincidently, analysis by construction union UCATT has discovered that six construction workers were killed in the week that the Government announced it was slashing funding to the HSE by 35%.

On the issue of occupational health, Mr Barber said: “It is of grave concern that the rate of work-related ill health has increased in the last year. While part of that may be due to the increased pressures associated with the recession, unions will be concerned that too little is being done to enforce health and safety regulations in this area. The further fall in prosecutions over the past year reinforces this.”

The HSE will set up a website so that employers can find advisors with experience relevant to their sector. The HSE has commented that the register will make it easier to find consultants who meet the highest standards and are able to provide sensible advice to the employers.

Membership is voluntary and to be eligible to join consultants must typically be chartered members and have committed to continuous professional development.

The survey found that only 45 would approach their boss about a health concern and a further 5% said they might confide in a colleague. Nearly a quarter said they would rather suffer in silence to maintain their privacy and 21% were concerned about how raising concerns may impact on their work prospects.

He was hospitalised for six weeks after the incident, and as a result of his injuries cannot expose himself to direct sunlight, due to skin grafts. His house has been adapted so he can sleep downstairs and he is unlikely to work again.

An investigation by the HSE found his employer, Dwyer Engineering Services Ltd, was in breach of a number of safety regulations. Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard the firm did not have a capable supervisor on site, which contributed to poor practices being commonplace. There was also no suitable system in place for the identification of underground cables. Additionally, the man had not been trained to dig within 500mm of the live cables, a factor which led to the electrocution.

The HSE prosecuted Elmatic (Cardiff) Ltd following the incident at its factory in Rumney. Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard that a 21-year-old employee had been asked to drill holes in metal boxes despite not usually working with the drill and having no formal training on how to use it.

The pillar drill he was using did not have an appropriate guard fitted and when positioning one of the components for drilling his glove became tangled. He fractured his wrist in two places and needed to have plates inserted.

The HSE had previously taken formal action against the company, in 2002 and 2009, to ensure that drills were adequately guarded.

The company pleaded guilty to a charge under Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They were fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £6,691.45 costs.

The company failed to comply with an Improvement Notice requiring a reduction in their daily noise exposure levels despite being given two extensions to the formal warning.

Staff at its factory on Phoenix Way worked for several hours a day near a granulator machine, which uses metal blades to shred material into tiny pieces. The machine can reach volumes of up to 98 decibels – as loud as a chainsaw.

Burnley Magistrates’ Court heard that the company, which makes flooring surfaces for horse riding centres, failed to implement any practical measures to reduce workers’ exposure to noise and protect their hearing, even after receiving the Improvement Notice and being given advice from a specialist HSE inspector.

A later HSE visit with an independent scientist showed that, although some changes had been made, the employees’ daily noise exposure remained high and the changes fell short of what could and should have been achieved.

Equestrian Surfaces Ltd pleaded guilty for failing to comply with an Improvement Notice. The manufacturer was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £11,000 towards the cost of the prosecution.

One of the 18-year-old students, who has asked not to be named, fractured his skull, broke his ribs, perforated an eardrum and suffered permanent damage to his right eye when he fell 2.5 metres through a roof light.

Mr Summerfield, now retired, was found guilty of breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to protect the safety of his students when he decided to allow them onto the roof. He was ordered to pay £22,708 towards the cost of the prosecution, in addition to the fine.

The lead HSE inspector on the case commented that John Summerfield had wanted to show his students a part of the school they had never seen but it left one of them suffering a permanent injury to his eye. The roof was kept out of bounds for a reason. As the headteacher, Mr Summerfield should have thought about the possible consequences before deciding to take them through two locked doors onto the roof. Sadly, a pupil suffered serious injuries because of the poor judgement of his headteacher, and is unlikely to ever fully recover.

In the first incident a worker fractured his thumb when he tried to clear a paper jam in the stacker unit of a press at the company’s site. Later the same year, another worker was working on another press when a problem was experienced with the drive belts of a conveyer. The moving parts were unguarded and it had become common practice for employees to use objects, or their hands, to deal with conveyer belt problems. While attempting to remedy the problem, the man’s hand became caught in the belts and was forced against a roller crushing his fingers.

The investigation and prosecution by the HSE found a lack of training, supervision and appropriate equipment, and that there had been no assessment on how to carry out the work safely in either case.

Wyndeham Heron, of, Maldon appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and admitted two charges of breaching Section 2(1) Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £15,000 with £2,490 costs for the charge relating to the second injury and a further £10,000 with £3,171 costs in relation to the first injury.

The HSE inspector on the case commented that these types of incidents are entirely preventable. Printing presses are a potentially very dangerous piece of equipment, which require adequate guards and safe working procedures for dealing with every kind of operational occurrence. It is not good enough to rely on ad hoc practices to clear paper jams and to deal with other mechanical failures.

Employers must ensure that appropriate training, supervision and equipment are provided. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment must also be carried out.  Advice and guidance is available and easily accessible – to help duty holders comply with the law and keep people safe.

The HSE has made it clear that where appropriate they will not hesitate to take action against employers failing to comply with the law.

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