26 November New Year’s Health and Safety Resolutions – are you making any? I’m sure that you are more than aware that this year is now running towards its end and that 2015 beckons. Traditionally, this is a time for people to think about the future: What will next year bring? Are you ready for it? How will you respond to it? How will you make the very … Read More
24 November Work at height – two separate incidents at one site Work at height – two separate incidents at one site Two workers injured following two separate work at height injuries at a national drinks company. One of the injuries occurred when a worker fell nearly four metres off a ladder whilst clearing a blockage in a chute for a grain silo. He was found unconscious on … Read More
24 November Pressure vessel safety – kills one and seriously injures three others Pressure vessel safety – pressure vessel kills one and seriously injures three others. The incident happened at a horticulture company who were attempting to upgrade a pressurised tank used to heat their greenhouses. Three people were seriously injured and one died of his head injuries six days later. The court was told that two workers had … Read More
24 November Work at height – College fined Work at height – a college was fined after contributing to life-long injuries to one of its employees. A college specialising in Health and Safety teaching was found to have failed to ensure work at height had been carried out safely – with no risk assessments having been completed on this since moving to a new facility … Read More
24 November Warehouse Safety Pallets Warehouse Safety Pallets can cause serious injury. In this case, a falling pallet injures a worker. A long standing employee of a paper warehouse sustained multiple breaks to her leg when poorly stacked pallets of paper collapsed and struck her leg. She still suffers from pain and complications more than five years after the incident. The courts … Read More
7 November Occupational Cancer Occupational cancer (or work related cancer) claims 666,000 lives a year on a global basis, according to the “No Time to Lose” website. Cancer caused by what people do at work is nothing new. One of the first official cases of an occupational cancer was identified in the eighteenth century. Dr Percival Potts (Doctor in UK) … Read More
5 September Fee for Intervention – The first eighteen month’s experience In June 2014, the HSE published the report of the Independent FFI (Fee for Intervention) Review Panel. The Conclusions of the Independent Fee for Intervention (FFI) Review Panel Fee for Intervention (FFI) has satisfied the requirement that the cost burden of enforcement is shifted away from taxpayers and towards non-compliant duty-holders. The approximately £10m net figure … Read More
3 September Corporate Manslaughter acquittal A flower company, based in Norfolk, is one of the first to successfully defend itself against prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. A tractor driver was towing a trailer to fill an uneven path with soil when the he tipped the hydraulic lift trailer; it hit a 11kv overhead cable. An … Read More
6 August Respirable Crystalline Silica Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is a serious problem in some industries, particularly the construction industry. The cancer burden study of the number of deaths from lung cancer associated with exposure to RCS shows there are about 600 deaths per year, with about 500 of these deaths occurring from exposure to silica dust in the construction sector. … Read More
16 May Workplace Transport Prosecution There are about 50 people killed each year in accidents involving workplace transport. These types of accidents also cause more than 1500 major injuries (accidents which, for example, result in broken bones or amputations) and about 3500 injuries that cause people to be off work for more than three days. This article pulls together links to information … Read More