This is where we keep you informed about all the latest developments from the HSE and prosecutions.

Secret CITB Shopper

We recently had a CITB Secret shopper attend the one day health and Safety awarenes course.  Great report back on the quality of training, the ease of the trainer and interaction with candidates.

It's always fun starting a new course, especially the SMSTS.  As a tutor it gives me five days to get to know the delegates and really expand on their participation, knowledge and competency.  We are not ones for handouts, as these are more of a distraction during the day.  Key ones are available at the end of the sessions.

The SMSTS is also run over five weeks, one day a week, as opposed to a solid week.

We also offer the refresher course should you already have the qualification and just require the two day course.  Ring to arrange. 07971191496

Peri Consultancy in conjunction with Gamble Training have delivered another 100% success rate with the latest SSSTS course.

With updates to CDM 2015 and Courporate Manslaghter laws, make sure your team is doing the right thing.  

A vehicle manufacturer has been told to pay nearly £180,000 in fines for safety failings after a crane operator suffered severe crush injuries in a lifting operation at the company’s press shop in Luton.

The worker suffered multiple injuries including fractures to the upper left arm, breastbone, right collarbone and ribs; as well as collapsed lungs.

HSE found a protective frame around the control levers of the crane designed to prevent inadvertent operation was missing. There were also serious shortcomings with the company’s maintenance of lifting equipment and management of lifting operations, including the provision of training and information for crane operators.

The court was told that a number of the ten cranes in the press shop at the factory had previously missed annual examinations by as much as 12 months, and that some failed to have identified maintenance issues acted upon. In addition, the provision of training and information for employees was inadequate to ensure that lifting operations were carried out safely.

They were fined a total of £177,795.

4th June 2014

A  roofer has appeared in court after footing a double extension ladder on top of a transit van in order to access a third floor façade.  He and his colleague were fined by the HSE.  Go to news to read more. His reckless exploits were captured on camera by a council environmental health officer following a tip-off from a concerned member of the public.  Ladders were specified as the chosen method of work, but after the finding the façade was higher than the ladder he had with him, the roofer opted to improvise.  HSE established that the van in question was also parked over a bus stop on a busy road with double yellow lines – indicating a further lack of regard or awareness.

They admitted a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and a further breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £10,784.  The colleague was fined £4,666.

29^th April 2014

A national sweet manufacturer has appeared in court after the fork on a forklift truck pierced a worker’s foot, entering the instep and exiting the bridge, breaking every bone in its path.  The worker suffered life-changing injuries in the incident and is now only able to walk short distances with the use of a stick.

The company was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found the incident was one of three collisions in the same location at the factory within a three-month period.

The worker was injured when another worker drove through the plastic strip curtains that hung down over the entrance, and the two vehicles collided.  His injury will affect him for the rest of his life and he is unable to return to work or to drive.

They were fined £129,538 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

29 April 2014

A construction site worker has been prosecuted after he struck another worker on the head with the bucket on a digger. The investigation found he had been using a mobile phone while operating the excavator vehicle on a building site in Milton Keynes, and had not noticed his colleague.

The worker had been using his mobile phone and, not realising his colleague had returned, rotated the upper body of the excavator causing the metal bucket to strike the driver on the side of his head. The co-worker sustained multiple fractures to his jaw as well as a punctured and collapsed lung. He was hospitalised for ten days and did not return to work until 14 months later, and will require further surgery on his jaw.

He was ordered to pay £4054 after pleading guilty. 

April 15th 2014

A Hampshire waste company has been fined for serious safety failings after a worker was run over by a reversing digger. The worker sustained life-changing injuries, including a double fracture to his right shin bone and broken bones in both feet.

The company was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found more could and should have done to segregate the movement of pedestrians and vehicles. 

HSE found there was nothing in place at the yard to ensure vehicles and workers were kept apart, such as designated walkways or zones.

The company was fined £31,752 after pleading guilty to breaching Sec 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

21 March 14

A vehicle salvage firm has been fined over multiple safety failings after a car weighing more than half a tonne fell from a forklift truck, crushing a young mechanic underneath. The employee suffered severe injuries including broken bones in his back and ribs, a fractured pelvis and a partially collapsed lung.

The company was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found the forklift truck was not safe to use, and the employee had been allowed to climb under the car while it was being lifted to drain the fuel tank.

The HSE investigation found the company had failed to carry out an annual service on the forklift truck and it had numerous faults. These included the lifting chains being in a dangerous condition due to rust, stiff links and missing parts.

They pleaded guilty to single breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and were fined a total £11,000.

March 20th 2014

A caravan firm has been fined after a maintenance engineer was injured in a fall from height while renovating a caravan at its premises. The 30 year-old fell approximately one and a half metres when a makeshift platform collapsed during work to attach metalwork cladding to the side of a caravan. The HSE investigated and found that there was no safe system of work in place. They were subsequently fined £8527 for breaches of the working at height regulations.

The company failed to have a safety system in place for the delivery of raw materials, despite several tipper trucks coming onto the site every day. The 56-year-old was tipping the load onto the site when another driver arrived at the plant with a second load. The second driver was told to empty his truck in the same place but, as he lifted the trailer, it overturned and fell on top of the other driver’s cab, causing his death. The HSE investigation found the firm had failed to carry out a risk assessment for the work. The person who directed the drivers onto the site had also not received suitable training. They were fined £128,634 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

30th Jan 14

A scaffolder died when he fell eight metres through a fragile roof light while working on top of it. The 44 year old was erecting scaffolding when the incident happened. There were no signs in place to highlight the fragile roof and no one checked for the workers risk assessment. Fines totalling £135,000 were imposed for failure to have risk assessments in place.

20^th January 2014

The company hired the telehandler , but did not have it fitted with a reversing camera. This failure to ensure that the driver’s direct field of vision was adequate seriously compromised safety. The worker was hit by the reversing telehandler. He suffered serious and life threatening leg injuries, requiring immediate emergency surgery and ongoing surgical treatment.

The company pleaded guilty to beaching Regulation 28(e) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They were fined £33,000 and ordered to pay £13,389 in costs.

14 Jan 14

A Surrey construction firm, working in a girls school, commissioned a specialist asbestos survey. 

When the results came back as being positive, they chose to ignore it and still had contractors working in the zone for a number of weeks.

It only came to light once another worker accidently broke through the insulation and spotted asbestos.

The HSE prosecuted the company for safety breaches under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and they were fined a total of £76,217.

06 Jan 14

The manager was walking from his car across the yard when he was struck on 31 October 2010.His employer, The company, was prosecuted by the (HSE) after an investigation found the company did not have effective measures in place to allow vehicles and pedestrians to move around the site safely. Safety consultants had carried out a risk assessment in 2003 which highlighted the need for pedestrians and vehicles to be segregated, but the firm did not fully implement these findings.

The company was fined a total of £165,000 and ordered to pay £39,500 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

17 Dec 2013

A firm has been fined just under £150k for neglecting staff safety for a number of years.

The employees use various hand tools on a daily basis and after health surveillance started, 24 workers were found to have symptoms of hand arm vibration syndrome.  As no action had been taken to reduce the risk or carry out further risk assessments, the court found them guilty of a breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work act 1974.

Dec 13th 2013

A construction firm was fined after five of its workers fell 13mts when a roof structure they were working at a school collapsed. 

The court found that there was little supervison in the execution, inspection and training.  This lead to key failings in the welding of the suppports, meaning that this was an accident waiting to happen. 

Thankfully it happened during the construction and not once the school re-opened.

They were fined by the court for breaches of the Health and Safety at work act 1974 Section 3 (1) a total of £206, 098

 Dec 5th 2013

An adhesives company has been fined after a worker died when he was pinned against a forklift truck by a reversing lorry in Halesowen.

The court heard that a lorry driver was asked to move his vehicle by another driver so they could access the loading area. Around the same time, the worker had left the cab of his forklift truck and moved to the front of the forklift truck. The truck reversed and unknowingly pinned the worker, impaling his head on the forks, killing him instantly.

The HSE investigation revealed significant safety failings by the company, namely failing to segregate pedestrians and vehicles adequately. The yard did not have defined traffic routes or walkways, there were no ground markings and the yard was open with no physical restrictions on movement.

They pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and was fined a total of £173,332.

A timber company has been fined after an employee severed three fingers in an unguarded roller conveyor.

He was attempting to clear some blocked wood from the conveyor, but as he did so his right hand came into contact with the sprockets and chains that drove the rollers and he severed parts of his middle, ring and little finger.

The HSE found that the conveyor had been supplied, but that it was inadequately guarded.

The company failed to carry out a risk assessment for the machine so failed to identify the potential for harm. The company was fined a total of £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.

The worker was struck by a splinter that pierced his body as he operated a rip saw machine. One splinter passed completely through his thigh narrowly missing major vessels and nerves. He had emergency surgery and then underwent more surgery after a further three pieces of wood were found to have lodged in front of his pelvic bone.

The company was prosecuted by the HSE, after they found that more could and should have been done to prevent wood splinters from exiting the machine.

There was a problem with the main guard which had been amended. In addition, inspectors found that the side guards of the blade had been designed so that they could be lifted, potentially giving unguarded access to the moving saw blade.

The company was fined £24,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Nov 21st 2013

The HSE has successfully prosecuted a construction company and its managing director after a worker fell approx 4mt through a fragile roof.

The worker suffered a broken back and wrist.  The comapny was found guilty of a breach of section4(1) of the Working at Height regulations and fined £16,357. 

The managing director, was found guilty of breaching section 37 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work act 1974 and was personally fined £10,357.

Nov 19th 2013

Today the HSE have issued new ACOP's for Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare regulations 1992.  These affetc the vast majority of workplaces excluding construction sites. 

The following link will take you to the revised regs.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l24.pdf 

I would strongly suggest printing a copy off.  Feel free to contact us if you require any advise on the implementation of these regs.

Nov 15th 2013

The employee was badly injured when he was struck by a steel beam weighing more than 100kg. He was standing next to a forklift truck in the yard when the six-metre-long beam slid from the forks and fell onto his left leg. He sustained a fractured ankle, a deep cut to his shin, and bruising and swelling to his shin, ankle and foot. He was off work for more than three months and now walks with a limp.

The company was prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation found it had failed to make sure the work to lift beams was planned, supervised or carried out safely. The HSE investigation found the company had used this method of lifting steel beams on previous occasions, but had failed to plan the work properly. They were fined £3,500 after pleading guilty

Nov 13 2013

A Surrey based firm was fined £45,043 after a worker had both his legs broken.

The HSE brought this prosecution as the company was found not to have adequately maintained the hoist that was used or provide a safe system of work in the event of its failure. 

The HSE said it was not enough to rely upon reactive maintenance and only fix things when they go wrong.  They also stated that they will not hesitate to prosecute when companies neglect their equipment and put workers at risk.

 Nov 12 2013

A wood recycling company has been sentenced for serious safety failings after a worker was killed after being struck by a loading vehicle and run over.

The worker was walking between a wood pile and a skip when he was hit by a load shovel.

HSE found that no segregation measures had been put in place by the company to separate vehicles and pedestrians working on the site. Workers were unprotected from the dangers of constantly moving vehicles.

They were fined £200,000 and ordered to pay a further £34,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 17(1) by virtue of Regulation 4(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

The HSE Inspector said: “There was simply an acceptance by the company of the established working pattern.  Solely relying on drivers or workers noticing each other is not adequate control."

“This was an entirely preventable death caused by the company failing to have a system to allow vehicles and pedestrians to move safely around each other. Ideally, this segregation is achieved by the vehicles and pedestrians having separate traffic routes.  If they share a route or area then physical barriers should be used to keep them apart, or other means of preventing moving vehicles and people being in the same place at the same time."

“The waste industry has a very high injury rate, and most of the fatal and major injuries relate to transport issues. The risks of serious injury and, all too frequently, death, resulting from the failure to control the safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians are widely recognised.”