November 2007 Newsletter

Exciting new developments

HS Direct is pleased to announce we have just moved into new larger premises. This means we now have more staff on hand to deal with all your health and safety requirements, right from method statements and risk assessments, all the way through to our newly updated Journal health and safety system.

For details on all of our products and services you can find us online at www.hsdirect.co.uk or call us on 0114 244 4461.

In this months newsletter

The HSE is warning the construction industry of the dangers of not segregating the public from construction sites, following the death of a man who was killed by a collapsing wall after an excavator had struck it.

As a result a property developer was fined £17,500 and ordered to pay £9,500 costs due to failing to ensure the safety of people not employed by him from risks arising from construction work. This death could have easily been avoided if access to the flats had been made safe.

Smaller contractors should always set up basic site safety measures before they begin work. HSE publishes guidance on what should be done, including free leaflets. Construction activities that create risk outside of an existing site perimeter must be managed to insure that members of the public are safe during the work. For short term work a banksman may be sufficient to ensure works stops as people pass. For high-risk activities or where the work takes place over a longer period of time, the site perimeter should be temporarily extended a safe distance, with clear fencing and warning signs. Alternative pedestrian or traffic routes may need to be arranged and may need permission from the local authority. Fuller guidance on ensuring the safety of the public from construction work can be found in HSE’s publication ‘Protecting the Public – your next move’.

For further information please go to www.hse.gov.uk/construction/information.htm

An urgent inquiry has been called by a construction union following a dangerous incident involving a construction site crane. The jib of the crane collapsed, knocking over several concrete pillars, fortunately no workers or members of the public were injured in the accident. According to the union there have been 8 deaths and 24 serious injuries involving cranes since 2000.

A firm has been fined after an unsafe floor collapsed and trapped 21 employees – during a health and safety meeting. Two workers suffered broken bones after the floor, which had not been built to be load bearing, crashed 9 feet to the ground below. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of employees and were fined £13,000 and also £22,504 in costs. A builder who carried out work in 2000 made it clear to the company that further work was needed to make the floor load bearing.

Millions of workers are reporting exhaustion, work-related anxiety and a deteriorating family life, according to some recent research.

The researchers found that this was the result of the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to monitor and check work continuously. 52% of all British employees report a computerised system keeps a log or record of their work. 23% say that this information is used to check their performance. Overall there is a 7.5% increase in work strain for employees whose work is checked by ICT systems compared with those in similar jobs but controlled by more traditional methods.

A study has warned that workers in police control centers and the public are being put at risk as a result of staff shortages.

This independent study found that 69% of control room staff thought that inadequate staffing was leading to increasing pressure on the job. The number of calls going to police control rooms has rocketed since the number of mobiles increased and there are now too few staff to do the job. This increase in pressure has lead to staff sickness compounding the problem.

There has been a 50% increase in young worker deaths over the past year.

More than 17,000 young workers were injured over the past year. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) is calling for young people to speak out if they are concerned about a safety issue at work. They are also pushing employers to promote health and safety to the top of their agenda, and to make sure part time and temporary workers are trained and supervised in the same way as permanent staff.

HSE focusing on farm safety in North Yorkshire

The health and safety executive (HSE) has this week begun an intensive inspection campaign that will take inspectors on to more than 100 farms in Yorkshire over this month. They are checking how farmers are handling work on fragile roofs, with ladders and all-terrain vehicles as well as looking at their approach to safety around livestock and children. This initiative follows on from a special Safety and Health Awareness Day held in September at which 250 of the regions farmers and their families attended for practical help and advice by agricultural training specialists. Agriculture has one of the worst fatal accident and occupational ill health records of any major employment sector. Although it represents 1.7% of the workforce, the industry accounts for 16% of the fatal injuries to workers across the country.