7 June Advice and tips to avoid risky school trips! We offer some advice and tips to avoid risky school trips, and we start by asking a couple of simple questions: Who needs to be involved with the risk assessment? Should parents see the risk assessment? It’s important where possible to bring classroom subjects alive. This may involve trips. To do this the school needs … Read More
6 June Failure to plan and to do the basics – lifting operation Lifting operations must be planned. Not a difficult concept. Think about what is being lifted and what can go wrong, and make suitable arrangements. One of the common methods to be used is the creation of an “Exclusion Zone”, so that if things fall they do not hit people (including members of the public)! Child … Read More
31 May Fork Lift Truck Tragedy Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres Ltd was fined £300,000 following the death of a Grantham based fork-lift truck driver. A short opening line, but an avoidable tragedy lies behind it. In September 2017, Vau-Lug was fined £300,000 at Lincoln Crown Court for breach of health and safety regulations following the death of a fork-lift truck [SW] driver in … Read More
30 May Fire Safety – Emergency Lighting Why have Emergency Lighting? There are three main purposes of emergency lighting: Escape Route lighting: illuminates exit routes & helps occupants find fire fighting equipment in a fire Open Area Lighting: also called ‘Panic Lighting’. Keeps communal areas lit in a fire to reduce panic High-Risk Task Area lighting: provides light to shut down potentially … Read More
28 May Nearly two years on from the Grenfell disaster and not enough has been done It is nearly two years since the Grenfell tragedy in which 72 people lost their lives. Concerns have been raised that the government has not done enough to adequately prepare fire and rescue services for a similar incident. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) calls on the government to end the postcode lottery of public safety by implementing: … Read More
23 May CDM – Those in control of work I think that we would all accept that “those in control of work” have a responsibility to ensure that the work is carried out safely. Part of that responsibility is ensuring that there is a safe way of doing it (usually referred to as a safe system of work). The responsibility does not end there; … Read More
22 May The message must go out – Fire Kills We all know that Fire Kills. A different question is “Do we act as if we know that Fire Kills? Many organisations that I visit do take it seriously, but some still “cut corners” or “take chances” or just don’t do enough. Sometimes, nothing bad happens, but sometimes it does. I recently chaired a workshop … Read More
22 May Fined over £1 Million for a gas blast Out of sight should not mean “out of mind” Aberdeen Sherriff Court heard that in December 2015, an eight-inch diameter high-pressure pipework in Module 14 of the platform suffered a catastrophic rupture as a result of ‘Corrosion Under Insulation’ (CUI), allowing over two tonnes of high-pressure methane gas to be released almost instantaneously. The force of … Read More
22 May Selection and Control of Contractors The Selection and Control of Contractors is an area that some businesses do not devote enough time to, and do not understand their responsibilities fully. Reliance on the use of contractors has increased dramatically over recent years in most employment sectors. Organisations are increasingly concentrating on core activities and operations and are taking on contract staff for … Read More
22 May Non-safety risks involved in employing sub-contractors: IR35 Using sub-contractors can be good for your business Should a Business require additional support while undertaking a large project, subcontractors can often be considered a more cost-effective option than hiring other full time / fixed term employees. This is because they have no traditional employment rights such as having no entitlement to holiday pay, and … Read More