COMPANY NEWS
EMERGENCY CONTACT
WHS customers can no longer leave a message on an answerphone during out-of-office periods – blame BT, this change took place without our knowledge and can’t be rectified (and they say this is progress!).
However, we are fully aware that accidents can happen when companies are working beyond our office hours (which 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday). Any customer who needs to make that emergency call to WHS out of hours, is asked to contact one of our staff on 07811-417888. But, this number should only be used out of hours for emergency contact ONLY; please DO NOT call out of hours unless it is a real emergency that can’t wait.
TRAINING
When booking courses, all necessary criteria and restrictions will be personally communicated both directly at the time of booking and again through joining instructions ahead of all planned courses. It is vital that these are understood and relevant information clearly passed to candidates.
And do please be sure to inform us ahead of the course date of any candidate who may require assistance in any way, especially with reading or writing; we need advance notice to be able to provide this help.
Please contact Vicki at Wenlock Health & Safety Ltd (WHS) on 01952 885885 or enquiries@wenlockhs.co.uk
or vicki@wenlockhs.co.uk to book places. In addition to those below, please enquire about our other courses available; the full range is also detailed on our website: https://wenlockhealthandsafety.co.uk/
FIRST AID
1-day Emergency First-Aid at Work course dates are listed below; Covid-specific controls will still apply for this particular course for the moment and they will be advised within the joining instructions. Demand is always high, so book places as soon as possible to avoid disappointment:
Dates:
- 23 August 2023 (Wednesday)
- 27 September 2023 (Wednesday)
- 30 October 2023 (Monday)
- 29 November 2023 (Wednesday)
- 18 December 2023 (Monday)Cost: £85 + VAT per person
IOSH MANAGING SAFELY
3-day IOSH Managing Safely course
Duration: 3 consecutive days
Dates:
- 19, 20 & 21 September 2023 (Tuesday – Thursday)
Cost: £395 + VAT per person
HSE NEWS
FATALITY STATISTICS 2022/23
The HSE has published the workplace fatality statistics for the UK covering April 2022 to the end of March 2023, and they make very grim reading:
- There were 135 industry-wide fatalities, an increase of increase of almost 10% over the previous year.
- The most common causes of workplace deaths was (again, as usual) falls from height; 40, 30% of the total, and an increase of 38% over the previous year.
- The next most common causes of workplace deaths were from moving objects or being struck by a moving vehicle
- In addition, 68 members of the public were killed from work-related causes, 20 fewer than the previous year but still an appallingly high number.
Obviously, we cannot let our guard down, even when money is increasingly tight. It is idiotic to attempt to save money when it comes to health & safety; the cost of saving money may well be the death of a person and/or the death of your company.
DUSTS – A WARNING
Following on from previous newsletters, a warning! WHS has seen a lot of evidence of HSE enforcement in relation to dusts. We have highlighted again and again that, by law, ALL dusts MUST be suppressed at source or captured and that the use or respiratory protection (RPE) is a last resort only. Yet, time and time again, WHS consultants are still seeing uncontrolled dust emissions.
If we can spot it, so can the HSE – and they have in many cases. There will be no defence if anyone is caught; so be warned!
SAFETY ALERT – LPG FORKLIFTS
The HSE has issued a Safety Alert in June following a number of fires on LPG-powered forklift trucks and other similar vehicles. The problem arises during the starting up of these vehicles and relates to the build-up of deposits in fuel systems.
The HSE recommends, amongst other possible courses of action (to quote):
- review your safe system of work in relation to the use of all LPG powered lift trucks and similar vehicles
- provide information, instruction and training for all operators about the hazards raised in the alert
- park LPG vehicles in well ventilated areas free from flammable material, particularly when parking overnight or for longer periods
The full Safety Alert can be viewed on: https://rb.gy/8cdc6 and is essential reading for all operators of any such plant / vehicles
SAFETY WITH WATER SYSTEMS
As we have highlighted on many previous occasions, the risk of contracting Legionella (or ‘Legionnaires’ Disease’) is very real with poorly maintained water systems and can prove fatal. The bacteria can be inhaled when small droplets of contaminated water become airborne; there are numerous documented cases of resultant fatalities, the worst (still) being that of Barrow-in-Furness in 2002 where 7 members of the public died and 180 suffered ill-health (https://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/barrow.htm)
There is ample guidance on the HSE’s website: https://rb.gy/a4q05 and https://rb.gy/stlis .
However, to ensure that all those involved in design, procurement, management and control of any aspect of water systems (e.g. head offices, in workshops, etc), know exactly what the issues are and how to deal with them, WHS strongly advises specific training in the subject. Contact the WHS office on 01952-885855 for details– to be forewarned is to be forearmed as they say!
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTER PAYS – HEAVILY!
For decades, the principle of ‘polluter pays’ has been the cornerstone of environmental control and enforcement. However, new legislation announced by the Government in July 2023 abolishes limits on fines that the Environment Agency and Natural England can impose.
Agencies will have new powers to impose unlimited fines on polluters through quicker civil processes, although the most serious cases will still be subject to criminal court proceedings. Full details can be found on the Government’s gov.uk website: https://rb.gy/ajf1u As stated before, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
AND FINALLY
In this newsletter, we’ve included a diverse range of prosecutions, many of which did not relate to your industry.
But we have included these as all the health & safety issues are the same right across UK industry (work at height, guarding of machinery, overhead cables, vibration, COSHH, etc) and to give you an idea of the very high levels of fines now being levied.
Work at height
- B Taylor & Sons Transport Ltd was fined £255,000 plus £3,687 costs after a worker fell from a wagon and sustained serious head injuries. As no forklift had been available to off-load panes of glass from the wagon, the victim had been passing the panes from stillage on the wagon to another worker on the ground; in doing so, he fell from the wagon, fracturing his skull and receiving other life-changing injuries.
The HSE stressed that all work at height must be properly risk assessed and managed properly – and this includes transport industries and all other industries where there is need to work off the ground.
Overhead cables
- Haulage company, Andrew Black Ltd, was fined £150,000 after the death of a young but experienced driver at its yard. The victim had finished cleaning his wagon ready for the next shift; he then raised the body of the tipper which made contact with overhead power cables and resulted in the victim being electrocuted.
It is astonishing that, in this day and age, no control measures at all had been taken to prevent contact with overhead cables which were present in a commonly used area of the yard. The establishment of simple safety zones could have prevented the accident or, better still, relocating the cables!
Plant & machinery
- Tata Steel UK was fined £120,000 plus costs of £14,138 after a worker was struck in the face by a scaffold pole and suffered permanent brain damage. The victim had been trying to release the jammed door of a paddle mixer with the scaffold pole; when it was freed, the working paddle mixer made contact with the pole, causing it to spin and resulting in it hitting his face violently. The HSE found that the mixer door regularly jammed through build-up of material but no risk assessment or ‘safe system of work’ had been established to cope with it.
- HS Butyl Ltd was fined £80,000 plus costs of £4,946 after a worker was drawn into a machine and broke his arm in two places. The worker had noticed a build-up of material on a conveyor belt and reached in to clear it; his left arm then became trapped and entangled, resulting in the fractures. He was unable to work for a year after the accident.
A totally avoidable accident; as the photo show, there was no guarding to the moving parts of the machine.
- Vape liquid manufacturer, VN Labs Ltd, was fined £180,000 plus £7,490 costs after an agency worker had two fingers and a thumb sliced off in a packaging machine; he had been attempting to clear a blockage. He has been unable to work since. The machine had recently been imported without guarding; the company has installed a clear plastic guard but access to hazardous parts of the machine was still possible.
The company was obviously aware of the issue (unlike the previous case) but had failed to ensure the new guard properly protected moving and/or hazardous parts. Risk assessment was lacking, as was training and supervision i.e. no safe system of work was in place.
- Johnsons Textile Services Ltd was fined £400,000 plus £5,920 costs after a horrific accident where a worker had the skin ripped off the palm of her left hand. She had been trying to clean a sensor that initiated movement of a conveyor but, in doing so, her hand was drawn into the gap where two conveyors meet.
Yet again, unguarded moving parts was the cause, plus a lack of risk assessment and, thus, no safe system of work.
- Interior Products Group Ltd was fined £100,000 plus costs of £7,688 after a worker partially severed two fingers whilst trying to find a fault on a machine; he had failed to immobilise the machine before looking inside. Although risk assessment was in place, the company had failed to identify all potential hazards and, thus, not provided adequate information, training and instruction on maintenance activities such as cleaning and minor repairs.
- Tissue manufacturer, Sofidel UK Ltd was fined £1 million plus costs of £13,447 after a worker was seriously injured when he was struck in the face by a crane hook; he suffered multiple fractures to the face and lost an eye and nine teeth. A horrific accident! The worker had been trying to free a paper reel that had become stuck on exit rails by using an overhead crane; in doing so the crane hook made contact with the spinning reel, causing it to swing violently and he was struck in the face.
Yet again, no risk assessment and no safe system of work for potential and foreseeable hazards
Vibration
- Plymouth City Council was fined £200,000 plus £25,877 costs after failing to protect workers from hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and carpel tunnel. Six workers had developed symptoms after prolonged exposure to vibration through grass cutting and arboriculture activities.
An appalling lack of care considering specific legislation has been in place since 2005 and the Health & Safety at Work has placed a general duty of care on all employers since 1974!
COSHH
- Private health care provider, Circle Health Group, was fined £160,000 plus £12,520 costs after three workers received emergency treatment from exposure to chlorine gas. One of the workers had been asked to reduce the PH level in the clinic’s hydrotherapy pool; however, he was untrained and mixed chemicals that resulted in the release of chlorine gas. He was rushed to hospital and two others were treated at the site. The HSE found no systems in place to ensure properly trained personnel only would be permitted to carry out any such duties – an appalling oversight as chlorine gas can kill in minutes.
WHS is working for you; help us to help you.
Our aim is to keep people safe and to keep your company working.
To contact WHS, ring: 01952-885885