24 December Fire Safety Bill for 2020 The Fire Safety Bill was announced in the Queen’s speech, to … “ensure an appalling tragedy like Grenfell can never happen again” The Bill suggests that it will support the findings of the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry Phase One Report, released earlier this year. Outlined as the “main benefits of the Bill”, there is mention of … Read More
27 September HSE – Health Inspection Initiative – October 2019 Between 7 October – 1 November, the HSE will be carrying out its latest construction inspection initiative. This will continue the focus on health, in particular, the measures in place to protect workers from occupational lung disease caused by asbestos, silica, wood and other dusts when carrying out common construction tasks. Why the focus of Health? … Read More
27 September Fall from a ladder leads to £120,000 fine Vertellus Specialties UK Limited have been fined after an employee fell two metres from a ladder and suffered a serious elbow injury. Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard that in June 2018, at the company’s site in Northside, Workington, an employee was using a ladder to inspect a steam leak at height when the ladder failed and … Read More
27 September Large fine resulting from lack of planning of lifting operation Many organisations do not seem to grasp the need to plan lifting operations properly. In this case, the lifting operation is made more complicated because two forklift trucks were used. A Liverpool port operating company has been sentenced after a worker was struck by a load falling from two forklift trucks (FLTs) at the Port … Read More
6 September Failure to assess the risks – £1 Million Fine results Two employees at Delphi Diesel Systems (a car and commercial vehicle component manufacturer) were cleaning a component washer’s distillation tank with a flammable chemical in July 2017 when the vapour ignited, triggering an explosion. Both workers sustained severe injuries; one employee’s burns were so serious that he could not return to work for more than … Read More
3 September Missing fire barriers in new-build homes raises concerns over training House builders are being urged to heed lessons from a BBC investigation that found fire barriers were missing or incorrectly installed on several new-build homes. Unsurprisingly, experts estimate that fire and smoke can spread five to 10 times faster without fire barriers, which form a complete seal between different areas of a home. The BBC … Read More
28 June Fire Door Safety Week The humble Fire Door is often neglected and mistreated 23 September – 29 September 2019 is Fire Door Safety Week. Fire doors save life and property. This campaign aims to engage and educate building owners and building users on how to use them properly. An excellent resource is available here! Read More
27 June Fire Risk – “too awful to contemplate” People still put profit before safety. The man who created a fire safety risk that was described as “too awful to contemplate” by massive overcrowding during at an event at York’s Kuda nightclub has been given a suspended prison sentence. The club was rated to a safe capacity of 645, but during a Basshunter event … Read More
19 June Major Supermarkets are recalling various products Four of the big-name supermarkets are pulling products from the shelves amid health and safety concerns. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons stores across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire are all withdrawing items. Most of the products are being recalled due to undeclared ingredients, which could pose allergy risks, or mix-ups (such as pieces of plastic in the product). … Read More
18 June HSE Campaign – Workplace Dust HSE Inspection Campaign HSE inspectors will, over the next few weeks, be focusing some of their time and effort on construction, woodworking and food manufacturing where occupational lung diseases, including in some cases occupational cancers, are more common. They will be asking what measures have been put in place to protect workers’ lungs from the … Read More