COMPANY NEWS
TRAINING – ONLINE COURSES
WHS is now provides an extensive suite of fully certificated online courses, priced at a very reasonable £25 + VAT per course, to help with staff training when time is short. All that candidates need is access to a computer or laptop. Courses currently on offer:
- Accident Investigation
- An Introduction to LOLER
- Asbestos Awareness
- COSHH Interactive
- Display Screen Equipment
- Driver Safety
- Environmental Awareness
- Equality & Diversity
- Fire Safety
- Hand Arm Vibration (HAVs)
- Home Working Health & Safety
- Ladder Safety
- Legionella Awareness
- Lone Working
- Manual Handling
- Menopause Awareness
- Office Safety
- Permit to Work
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Stress in the Workplace
- Working at Height
We would always recommend face-to-face training to help your workforce get the most out of the course content, but these online courses offer a temporary solution when time is short or turnover is high; all courses take only 30-40 minutes to complete and can, of course, be completed at home as well as at work.
Full details and booking facilities for all courses on this e-learning platform can be found on our website:
www.wenlockhealthandsafety.co.uk
TRAINING – SHORT COURSES
In addition to the programmed courses we have on offer over the next few months, as listed in the next section, don’t forget that Wenlock Health & Safety Ltd (WHS) can also provide a multitude of other short courses to suit your needs, such as (but not limited to):
- H&S Management
- H&S Awareness
- Risk Assessment
- Manual Handling
- Asbestos Awareness
- COSHH Awareness
- Work at Height Awareness
- Abrasive Wheels
- Lone Working
- Fire Warden / Extinguisher
This is not an exhaustive list so do feel free to contact Vicki Brown at the WHS office on 01952 885885, or via email on enquiries@wenlockhs.co.uk or vicki@wenlockhs.co.uk , to discuss your particular needs.
TRAINING – OTHER COURSES
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
1-day FAA Award in First Aid for Mental Health (Level 2 RQF)
Dates: 3 July 2024 (Wednesday)
Cost: £85 + VAT per person
FIRST AID
1-day Emergency First-Aid at Work course dates are listed below; specific requirements and controls will be advised within the joining instructions.
Dates:
24 June 2024 (Monday)
22 July 2024 (Monday)
21 August 2024 (Wednesday)
25 September 2024 (Wednesday)
28 October 2024 (Monday)
27 November 2024 (Wednesday)
18 December 2024 (Wednesday)
Cost: £85 + VAT per person
HSE NEWS
THE HSE IS NEAR YOU!
In line with one of the HSE’s current target issues, WHS has evidence that inspectors are spot-checking business and workshops, including a real presence locally here, in relation to occupational health.
We have highlighted this issue many times over the years – it is a legal requirement under both the HSWA and various specific regulations to safeguard employees from occupational diseases, including (but by no means limited to):
- Musculoskeletal harm (manual handling)
- Respiratory diseases and harm from inhalation of dusts and fume
- Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVs), carpal tunnel and other vibration-related harm
- Deafness and tinnitus
- Sensitisation, cancers and other skin and bodily harm
As we all know (or should know!), both asbestos and lead are so harmful that they both warrant their own very specific regulations and control mechanisms. However, it has become apparent that, because the risks of other occupational diseases and symptoms are seemingly all around us in our normal working lives, they are not considered to be so important but more a fact of life. This attitude is wrong, as is reflected in the explicit legal requirements for health surveillance when such issues are present within the working environment.
If you need more information about what is required from all businesses, go to the HSE website and explore the pages related to each harm issue: https://www.hse.gov.uk/health-surveillance/
Or contact WHS for guidance.
Don’t get caught out! The HSE is out there and they will enforce (or prosecute) non-compliance.
LEGIONELLA
Have you checked your water system recently?
Legionella (or Legionnaires’ disease) is a potentially fatal form of lung infection which is normally contracted by inhaling small droplets of water suspended in the air containing the bacteria. We have discussed legionella a lot over the years because it is such a high-risk issue warranting its own HSE Approved Code of Practice, L8: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l8.htm
Refer also to the wealth of other HSE guidance on www.hse.gov.uk , such as:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg458.htm
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg274.htm
But employers, building managers, landlords, etc still seem largely oblivious to both the risks and required controls measures to prevent legionella. If you are an employer, or someone in control of premises, such as a landlord or building manager, you must understand the health risks associated with legionella and take the right precautions to reduce the risks of exposure to legionella:
- Hot water storage cylinders (calorifiers) should store water at 60°C or higher
- Hot water should be distributed at 50°C or higher (thermostatic mixer valves need to be fitted as close as possible to outlets, where a scald risk is identified)
- Cold water should be stored and distributed below 20°C
(The bacteria begin to die in temperatures above 50°C and cannot survive above 60°C.)
Contact WHS for assistance and/or guidance.
INDUSTRY NEWS
FALLS FROM HEIGHT
No Falls Week took place 13-17 May with events taking place across the country to highlight the perennial issue of falls from height which commonly account for half of all work-related fatalities.
The usual causes are well known – the laws governing work at height being ignored or corners cut to reduce costs and expedite the work – as are the legal requirements being ignored. But there are other issues which the HSE, the Ladder Association, PASMA and the No Falls Foundation are seeking to address, for instance:
- The increased risk of accidents when telescopic ladders are purchased from Amazon or eBay (etc) rather than from dedicated retailers such as Screwfix or Toolstation; 68% of respondents to a recent survey admitted that cost was a high priority (shockingly 29% said it was their only priority!!). Refer to:
https://ladderassociation.org.uk/ - The extreme dangers of buying or using so-called ‘DIY-towers’ which are readily available online but often do not comply with legislation. Again, cost is no doubt a factor here – with potentially lethal consequences (not to mention the possibility of prosecution if the HSE find out!). Refer to:
https://pasma.co.uk/scaffold-towers/the-dangers-of-diy-towers/
You can find valuable in-depth guidance of these and many more issues related to safe work at height from:
- https://nofallsfoundation.org/
- https://ladderassociation.org.uk/
- https://pasma.co.uk/
- https://www.ipaf.org/en
- and, of course, https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm
FALLS FROM HEIGHT – THE FACTS
And here’s are the shocking facts about what it means in reality to fall from a height:
- Falling 4 metres is the equivalent of being hit by a car travelling at 20 mph
- Falling 10 metres is the equivalent of being hit by a car travelling at 30 mph
- Falling 16 metres is the equivalent of being hit by a car travelling at 40 mph
Who would knowingly risk stepping out in front of a car travelling at 20, 30 or 40 mph? So why do so many employers and employees (across all industries) still risk falling from such considerable heights? The section at the end of all our newsletters inevitably includes work at height prosecutions – the vast majority of these sadly having resulted from fatalities.
50 years of the HSWA but still so many workers are killed falling from height.
MASK WEARERS MUST BE CLEAN SHAVEN!!
Why? Because any stubble or significant beard growth will compromise the seal that is necessary around all respiratory protection to prevent ingress of dusts and fumes.
So why do WHS advisors so often find that males taking the face-fit test – which is legally required specifically to ensure the tight seal necessary – either turn up unshaven or admit to letting their beards grow after having taken the test??!!
Come on guys – why do you think these things are made law? Precisely to keep YOU safe, so stop trying to get around it! The HSE comes down hard on people not wearing masks when they’re needed AND on anyone wearing a mask but is unshaven – BE WARNED!!!
DRIVING FOR WORK – FREE ASSISTANCE
Driving for Better Business is a free to access government-backed National Highways programme, delivered in partnership with RoadSafe. Its purpose is to help organisations reduce work related road risk, thus protecting staff who drive or ride for work and others with whom they share the road.
Its mission is to improve safety and reduce risk for all those who drive or ride for work, by promoting good management practice and demonstrating the significant business benefits that follow. For full information visit:
https://www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com/
By registering, you’ll be able to (free of charge):
- Access a driving for work policy template and checklist to ensure you’ve got everything covered
- Create a driving for work policy document that meets legal and compliance standards
- Get email alerts for any changes in guidance or legislation that could affect your policy
- Receive an annual reminder to review your policy, with any changes that may be required
And:
- Access driver awareness resources and tool-box talks
- Benchmark your fleet performance
- Carry out a gap analysis on your fleet
- Access podcasts and other valuable resources.
WHS does provide a template for a company driving policy within all health & safety packs – but why not access this government-backed, material to ensure all aspects of driver safety are covered? It’s FREE!!
AND FINALLY
Work at height
- Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd was fines £50,000 plus £1,986 costs and its contractor, Optilight Electrical Services Ltd fined £7,000 plus £1.986 costs, after an electrician fell from a scissor lift, fracturing his skull, breaking several bones, puncturing his lung and leaving him in an induced coma.
Whilst the Optilight employee was repairing a light fitting from a scissor lift at a height of almost 12 metres, an Expert Tooling and Automation employee began to operate a nearby overhead crane which then hit the scissor lift; the MEWP toppled and the electrician was thrown from the cage during the fall, hitting his head on the factory floor.
There had been no communication between management of the two companies and neither had risk assessed nor established safe systems of work (which would have necessitated a permit to work system in this case)
Overhead services
- New Earth Solutions (West) Ltd was fined £200,000 plus costs of £12,467 after an employee came into contact with a live electrical cable and suffered burns to his face and body; he also sustained fractures and a dislocated kneecap as he fell from the scissor lift he had been working from. The victim had been moving live heavy-duty electrical cables using a crowbar!!!
The task had not been part of the victim’s normal job so he had not received any training, nor had any risk assessment been undertaken to ensure a safe system of work – which would obviously include isolating the power supply to that area plus ensuring the right tools and working method for such a hazardous task.
This is a warning to all businesses – do NOT ask your own staff to carry out work which, because of the risks involved, require a properly qualified contractor. It is NOT clever to save costs by asking your own employees to carry out ANY work which you are not familiar with or require specialist knowledge and controls; it will end up costing the company a significant amount of money (as here) in fines and possibly cost an employee his or her life.
- Plants Galore Horticulture Ltd was fined £3,000 plus £4,000 costs after a lorry driver sustained third degree burns whilst making a delivery to the site. After tipping his load of hardcore, the grab arm on the lorry struck an 11 kv cable; he was unaware that the cable was high-voltage electricity so he exited the cab, resulting in the burns as soon as his feet touched the ground.
The company had failed to provide any information or instructions about the locations of overhead powerlines or necessary precautions. Neither had they erected any type of barriers to keep people, machinery and vehicles well away from the powerlines; there should have been a minimum 3 metre exclusion zone.
Thankfully, this is a rare occurrence these days, but it serves as a strong reminder that the rules about overhead (and underground) services apply to all businesses; services must be diverted where possible to remove the risk altogether or, where this is not possible, strict controls must be established.
Underground services
- MHS Homes was fined £528,000 plus £4,122 costs after an employee, who was repairing a fence post, struck an underground cable and sustained burns to his face. In repairing the post, the victim had been using a jackhammer to break concrete without any information about underground services, nor any detection equipment to locate services on site. It was subsequently found that, not only were electric cables present, but also a gas pipe; the worker was luckily not to have been killed.
Plant & vehicle safety
- Metal recycling company, CF Booth Ltd was fined a massive £1.2 million plus costs of £5,695 after a pedestrian worker was struck by a 32-tonne skip wagon, resulting in fractures to his skull and collar bone. The legally required segregation of pedestrians from plant and vehicles had not been established, nor had the movements of plant and vehicles been properly controlled at crossing points. In addition, the victim had not been wearing his high-viz so the wagon driver didn’t see him. Risk management and control was evidently very poor indeed, if not non-existent, hence the size of the fine.
- Erith Plant Services Ltd was fined £175,000 plus £37,804 costs after an employee was crushed to death by a demolition grab excavator attachment being loaded onto a lorry. The company had failed to ensure a safe method of working was established, including engaging the quick hitch when moving attachments and segregating pedestrians from vehicles and plant.
All lifting operations must, by law, be properly planned and foreseeable risks addressed. Specific HSE guidance for the lifting of machinery can be found on: https://rb.gy/86jvkd
- Booth Mixer Ltd was fined £50,000 plus £16,717 costs after an employee was killed when a mixer wagon fell on him. The victim has been replacing the two front wheels of the wagon when it fell on top of him.
Clearly, the company had failed to risk assess the operation, nor had they provided suitable equipment and safe systems of work.
- Chorlton Express Transport Ltd was fined £86,710 plus costs of £5,903 after a fork-lift truck driver was killed while loading pallets onto an HGV. As he was doing so, the HGV moved forward, causing the fork-lift to overturn. The driver was thrown out and killed; he had not been wearing his seat-belt.
The HSE reminded everyone that the wearing of seat-belts on plant is mandatory for this very reason; the prosecting inspector said that the driver would probably not have been killed had the wearing of seat-belts been enforced at the depot.
Materials handling
- Double-glazing contractor, My Best Group Ltd, was prosecuted in May following the death of an employee. The company has since gone into liquidation but, had this not been the case, would have been fined £120,000. However, director Ayman Noor was given two suspended jail terms of 20 weeks and 14 weeks, and ordered to pay costs of £9,294.
The employee suffered a cardiac arrest when a number of toughened glass panels fell on him whilst he was trying to remove one from a stack leaning against a wall. No racking or restrain system was in place as the risks involved with this type of materials handling had not even been considered.
The risks included public access to the area where the panels were stored. It has happened in the past that members of the public have been killed in similar circumstances; ALL work-related areas (including storage areas, skips, etc) MUST be protected against public access.
- Three companies were prosecuted after a lift-truck operator sustained serious fractures to his back and legs in an incident resulting from unbelievable irresponsible method of working. All three companies carried out differing functions at Pirelli tyre recycling site and it had become routine practice to place heavy metal skips on top of old tyres to reduce their size for transportation off site; a fork-lift truck was then positioned to stabilise the skips (!!!). The victim had been servicing the fork-lift and, in order to do so, moved it a short way from the stack; the stack subsequently toppled, trapping the victim under the skips.
An incredibly irresponsible way to work and, because there was a total lack of clarity as to which of the three companies was responsible for risk assessment and control, all three companies were prosecuted. Pirelli was fined £280,000 plus costs of £4,703; International Rubber and Tyre Recycling Ltd fined £9,000 plus costs of £4,566; and DCS Multiserve Ltd fined £2,600 plus £15,000 costs.
Equipment safety
- Loadhog Ltd was fined £100,000 plus £3,140 costs after an agency worker suffered severe hand injuries whilst using an unguarded table saw. The victim’s fingers came into contact with the rotating saw blade, partially severing three fingers. The company had failed to provide suitable guarding to the moving parts of the very hazardous machinery.
- Rix Shipping (Scotland) Ltd was fined £16,000 plus a victim surcharge of £1,200 after an employee severed part of a finger whilst operating a table saw. The victim had been using a push-stick to guide materials but his gloved left hand came into contact with the blade, drawing it in and almost completely severing a finger (which had to be amputated later)
- Motorsport engineering firm, Hispec Motorsport Ltd, was fined £6,500 plus costs of £2,000 after an HSE inspection found multiple health & safety breaches, regarding particularly the maintenance and guarding of hazardous machinery.
- Honeyrose Products Ltd was fined £32,000 plus £12,583 costs after an inspector found that the company was failing to prevent whole-body access (!!!) to the rotating blades of a ribbon mixer.
- Howden Enterprises Ltd was fined £73,333 plus costs of £7,523 after an employee lost a leg when it became entangled in the moving parts of unguarded machinery. The victim had been cleaning the machine with two colleagues and, as he climbed onto it, the machine had been turned on, trapping his leg which later had to be amputated. The company had failed to risk assess the cleaning operation and no robust isolation or safe operating procedures had been established.
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