MESH Consultant - All the latest health & safety news from Mesh Consultants

London courts ordered fines of more than £1 million to be paid by businesses and individuals in 2009 relating to breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

The group trained in the NEBOSH General National Certificate in May/June 2010 by MESH all passed the exams. This is the second group in a row in 2010 where MESH candidates have achieved this exceptional pass level. 

The Certificate in the Management of Health and Well-being at Work.

The qualification is designed to give managers from all types of organisations the skills to promote a healthier workplace which will improve efficiency and morale.

The HSE has kicked off the safe maintenance campaign that is part of the  European Safety and Health at Work initiative.

More people die from falls at work than from any other cause. The use of mobile elevating work platforms/powered access equipment has been a major factor in the reduction in falls accidents.

For temporary work at height this kind of equipment is often the safest solution. However the HSE has issued a warning to users.

A survey conducted in 2009 comprised of 36,000 interviews of health and safety managers representing organisation in 31 European countries.

A recent survey of top in-house lawyers representing some of the UK`s biggest companies have said the duties on directors are necessary.

 IOSH has stated it wants to see the introduction of accreditation for the health & safety profession.

The institute is concerned that as it stands anyone can claim to be a health and safety advisor; without any qualifications or experience.

Early in 2010 the HSE launched its new CD Rom version of the Safety Climate Tool. This innovative electronic tool has been developed to help employers assess and address health and safety issues in the workplace.

The streamlined package includes a series of questions which challenge both employers and employees to question their attitude towards health and safety and allows the identification of particular areas of concern. 

IOSH has released the results of its 2010 `Your job - your life` survey which asks workers in Great Britain what they think about health & safety.

Its was found that those that responded were generally positive about health & safety but that it was not their top priority. For the majority pay followed by suitable working hours were most important.

Results just in for the March 2010 NEBOSH General Certificate local exam held by MESH Consultants have shown our tutors have excelled with a 100% pass rate achieved. 

 Morgan Est plc was prosecuted by the HSE for its failure to comply with the PUWER and MHSWR in relation to an incident where an engineer suffered severe injuries. The company was fined £6,000 with costs of £2,613.

We recently attended a presentation from the HSE covering what to expect when an Inspector visit your business.

The presentation identified how inspectors make their decision on whether to issue enforcement actions. 

John Lewis was fined £16,000 after one of its workers was struck by the cherry picker outside of its Milton Keynes store.

A York based recycling company found the attack cost them more than just the cost of the damages from the fire. 

The MESH student results for the March 2010 NEBOSH National General Certificate were once again of an exceptional standard.

 The worker was standing on a platform on his second day of working for a waste management firm when he leant on a guardrail which gave way. The man fell to the factory floor narrowly missing falling into the machine; he suffered a broken spine and deep cuts to his head that required skin grafts.

 The blitz carried out by the HSE in March across Britain highlighted almost a quarter of sites failed safety checks. The HSE visited over 2000 sites focussing on refurbishment and roofing work.

 Employers are being urged to sign up to a new charter for work that sets out a plan to help people suffering with musculoskeletal disorders and stay in their jobs.

 The HSE has identified that it estimates there are 10 construction site fires a day and as many as 4000 per year.

 The HSE are to focus resources on carrying out an inspection blitz in the south east on construction refurbishment sites.

 The report shows the key concerns raised by Manufacturing businesses following the 2009 survey by the EEF. Further details can be found on the EEF website.

The report identifies the improvements in senior management involvement and identified that this has most likely been driven by the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter offence.

 From the 6th April GPs will be required to issue those suffering with ill health a fit note rather than a sick note.

 A survey undertaken by the EEF of nearly 400 manufacturing organisations has shown a positive upwards trend in director involvement in H&S.

 This is the finding of a survey co-funded by the HSE, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Investors in People.

A bill has been introduced calling for an amendment to the HSWA to place a positive liability on company directors.

The bill aims to overcome the prosecution hurdle of having to prove that a director was aware, or should have been aware, that an offence had been committed. 

A pan European survey undertaken by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has shown that many fail to even carry out an informal check on health and safety.

The deadline on responses for consultation on the sentencing for Corporate Manslaughter offences was the 5 January 2010.

Despite the difficult business climate MESH is pleased to announce its successes in 2009. The year has seen MESH both expand its consultancy team and its client base across the U.K. 

A report has been issued by the Better Regulation Executive identifying more than 70% of people agree the benefits of health & safety regulation.

The study found widespread approval however it concluded that regulation benefits would be overlooked when the risks of a specific situation was not likely to occur.

MESH has started to take a number of bookings for the January NEBOSH courses being run in both East Malling, Canterbury and London. 

The Prefabricated Access Suppliers and Manufacturers Association (PASMA) is warning site owners and managers to be on the look out for fake PASMA training identity cards.

As part of the warning they have issued a poster to warn what to look out for which can be ordered at www.pasma.co.uk 

The guidance is aimed at anyone who employs lone workers and reinforces the employers duty to ensure that such working is properly assessed.

The assessment should consider all risks that are peculiar to workers being on their own. 

At MESH we are aware that many organisations are not fully aware of either the hazardous substances that they have in their workplace or understand the hazards posed by using chemicals.

The COSHH regulations 2002 identifies to organisations the importance of controlling chemical hazards and preventing exposure of employees and others that can lead to irrerversible harm. It is often the case that the failure to understand the hazardous substances in use can and often does lead to<

Deaths and injuries in the workplace have fallen over the past 12 months, according to figures released by the Health and Safety Executive.

The figures revealed a fall from 233 deaths at work in 2007/08, to 180 this year. The number of serious injury or illness sustained by people in the workplace fell by almost 7,000.

The last NEBOSH General Certificate course of the year to be delivered in November is full. Candidates wishing to book with MESH will be pleased to know that we have the next course is planned for early January in East Malling followed by another at the end of January in Canterbury.

The fine issued to the engineering company in Devon owned by a father and son came after they pleaded guilty to health and safety offences following an explosion that killed an employee.

Camden Council has fined two companies and their director a total of £32,400 for managing an unlicensed house of multiple occupation (HMO) which posed a fire risk to tenants. The prosecution, which took place on 29 September, is the first of its kind where defendants have been convicted of a ‘failure to take measures as are reasonably required to protect the occupiers of the HMO from injury’

 The HSE has announced that it will extend its highly successful ladder exchange campaign to help reduce the number of injuries and deaths from working at height. Since the campaign started some 5500 ladders have been exchanged.

 The HSE has made an estimated £1 million worth of publications free on-line. These publications cover a number of ACOPs and Guidance for a variety of industries. Around 50 publications have been made immediately available.

A recent survey undertaken by Aviva one of the leading insurance companies has shown that managers are not doing enough to minimise road based risks. The survey of 1400 fleet managers shows that that only 55% of fleet managers ask new drivers for detailed information concerning their accident history and only 13% make enquiries regarding

MESH has this week received notice from NEBOSH that our accreditation to run the National General Certificate programme has been successfully extended for another two years.

 MESH and Mesh-4-Safety have released the 2010 training programme for IOSH Managing Safely and NEBOSH National General Certificate.

MESH has added Hammersmith in West London to its training venues with a course to be delivered between the 3rd - 6th November. 

On Monday 21st September MESH Consultants launched its new web site. The upgrade aims to enable prospective clients to easily navigate through the services that MESH Consultants has to offer and to see some of the wide range of clients we have worked with, and what they have to say about our service.

MESH Consultants has recently welcomed Mary Banfield to its team of consultants. Mary is a highly experienced environmental, safety and health practitioner and brings new skills to MESH.