Builder convicted for assaulting HSE Inspector

Eric Dawson, a local builder, was given a four month custodial sentence at Hartlepool Magistrates Court following his attack on a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector. Mr Dawson was found guilty of assault and criminal damage at the same court on 27 January but sentencing was deferred for a probation service report. Mr Dawson assaulted HSE Inspector Martin Smith on 16 September 2003 in Russell Walk, Hartlepool after Mr Smith called Mr Dawson down from a dangerous working position. Mr Dawson was working approximately five metres above the pavement, on industrial staging, without any means to prevent himself, his tools or his materials falling onto passers-by below. HSE expressed satisfaction at the verdict. Timothy Walker, HSE's Director General, said: "I am really pleased to see the courts acting to protect HSE inspectors from assault during the course of their work. Martin Smith intervened at this worksite to protect Mr Dawson, as he was at serious risk of falling, and to prevent members of the public walking beneath him. Martin acted entirely properly in the circumstances, and did nothing to provoke such a response.

£650,000 fines follow sugar factory death

Fines totalling £650,000 have been imposed on two companies following the death of a woman at a British Sugar plc factory. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted British Sugar plc and contractor VM Plant Ltd at Bury St Edmunds Crown Court after dispatch clerk Lorraine Waspe was killed on 5 February 2003. The 40-year-old British Sugar employee was run-over by a shovelling vehicle at the firm's factory in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. British Sugar admitted failing to ensure that Lorraine Waspe and other workers were not exposed to risks to their safety and thereby breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) 1974 and was fined £300,000. The company was also fined £100,000 for failing to ensure that workplace transport was operated safely at the site. In particular, it failed to segregate pedestrians from areas where vehicles were in operation adequately and ordered to pay £31,457 costs. Cambridge-based contractor VM Plant Ltd, which owned and operated the shovelling vehicle involved in the accident was found guilty and fined £250,000 for failing to ensure the health and safety of employees and people not in its employment. In particular, the court heard that VM Plant failed to carry out a sufficient risk assessment covering the operation of shovel vehicles at the site. This would have identified the need to put in place a safe system of work, such as marked pedestrian routes and fitting fixed mirrors to improve drivers' vision, to prevent the risk of pedestrians coming into contact with the moving vehicles. In addition, VM Plant failed to provide drivers of shovel vehicles with adequate training to ensure they operated the vehicles safely. The firm was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £13,739.

Construction site blitz

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will be carrying out a blitz of construction sites across Great Britain in March as part of a nationwide initiative to tackle serious work-related ill health. Healthy Handling 2005 is aimed at clients, designers, planning supervisors and contractors in the construction industry, and is targeting poor work practices that can cause long-term disability and could end careers. During the initiative HSE Inspectors will focus on handling and using tools, materials and substances which can result in fractures, strains, musculoskeletal disorders, dermatitis, cement burns, hearing loss, hand arm vibration syndrome and consequent long term disability. Commenting on the initiative, Chief Inspector for Construction Kevin Myers said: "Work related ill health affects a significant number of construction workers and the sector has one of the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorder in industry. Back problems, cement dermatitis, vibration white finger and deafness can ruin people's lives and force them out of their chosen profession.

"We have produced guidance outlining simple and sensible precautions to help clients, designers, planning supervisors and contractors take account of these hazards well before work starts on site. Experience shows that effective management of exposure to these risks can reduce or prevent injury and ill-health to workers."

The four core issues Inspectors will be looking at during the blitz are site order and organisation, lifting and carrying, wet cement and hand held vibrating equipment and tools. If not properly managed each of these topics has the potential to cause ill health and injury to construction workers. For each of the four core issues inspectors will expect to find: Order and Organisation

  • clean, tidy and well organised sites that are kept in good order;
  • pedestrian access routes and places of work kept free from obstacles;
  • materials stored and left in a safe and accessible condition. Lifting and Carrying
  • manual handling tasks eliminated by design or mechanisation where practicable;
  • safe handling based on assessment of risk from manual handling operations;
  • all workers trained in basic, safe, manual handling techniques. Wet Cement
  • assessment of risks from cement and management arrangements to control exposure;
  • hot and cold running water, adequate size basins, and means of washing and drying hands;
  • regular skin inspection by trained competent person where residual risk exists. Hand Held Vibrating Equipment and Tools
  • information on vibration/noise levels from manufacturers and hire companies;
  • risk assessments carried out to determine safe periods of exposure;
  • equipment and tools kept in good condition by effective maintenance systems.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY RENEWS ITS DETERMINATION TO HEALTH AND SAFETY

Senior executives and union representatives from across the construction industry met this afternoon at a Construction Health and Safety Summit held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London to review progress on the health and safety commitments given at the Construction Summit in 2001, celebrate successes, and to commit to further action to further improve the industry's health and safety performance. The Strategic Forum launched a new 'Respect for People' code of practice for construction at the event. The code provides a unifying framework for action by all parts of the industry and highlights leading issues on which the industry intends to focus:

  • Behavioural change;
  • Occupational health and rehabilitation;
  • Design;
  • Corporate, and individual competence;
  • Integrated working and worker engagement; and
  • Benchmarking, and sharing best practice,

In her keynote speech, Jane Kennedy, Minister for Work at the Department for Work and Pensions said: "I welcome the progress the industry made so far, but it is falling short of the challenging targets it set itself in 2001. The Construction Summit in 2001 was a watershed for many in accepting ownership for the industry's health and safety performance. The commitment to challenging five- and ten-year targets for improvement was courageous and demonstrated the determination within the industry to drive through cultural change.

Nigel Griffiths, Under Secretary of State for Construction at the Department of Trade and Industry also addressed the delegates: "Construction is one of the UK's most successful industry sectors with year on year growth regularly reported. It deserves credit that it is committing itself, through these Summits, to continuing improvement in its health and safety performance to match its business performance. A safe and healthy workforce will deliver projects on time and to budget goals that meet all the aspirations of those attending today."

In 2003/4 there were 70 fatal injuries to construction workers; 51 employees and 19 self-employed persons. Falls account for around half of all construction fatalities. Other main causes, in almost equal numbers, were transport, electricity and collapses. It is estimated that 2.8 million working days are lost from ill health per annum in construction.

Factors motivating employers to comply with Health and Safety Law

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today publishes the results of a survey of over 1700 employers asking what factors motivated them to comply with health and safety law. The results of the research will be used as part of an on-going process of prioritising where and how interventions by HSE and Local Authorities are most effectively employed as part of delivering the Health and Safety Commission's strategy to 2010. The current strategy used by HSE and Local Authorities for improving health and safety relies upon a mix of 'levers' ? for example encouragement, persuasion, assistance and enforcement. The research reported here sought to split organisations into discrete groups, and then map the degree of influence each lever might have. In providing evidence that the influence of these levers for compliance varies between organisations, the research confirmed the value of regulators using a range of interventions. There was also evidence of a link between current attitudes to workplace health and safety and the likely impact of new incentives for improvements, as well as support for the targeting of interventions and communications. Commenting on the research, HSE Director General Timothy Walker said: "This research shows that many employers understand the benefits of good standards of health and safety management and are well motivated to manage the risks they face. We need to understand these motivators and how they vary, for example according to industry sector, the size of an organization and the attitudes of the current management towards health and safety. The research shows that combining interventions ? including advice and guidance, enforcement and persuasion - helps to reinforce the motivation for improving health and safety. That confirms the approach set out in our strategy. A major motivator for employers is securing the business benefits of good standards of workplace health and safety; for example 90 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that good health and safety is important for staff productivity and morale. Many also felt that their reputation is very important ? 86 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that damage to their reputation could cause them to lose business, with 82 per cent feeling that they must comply with health and safety regulations to protect their reputation. No doubt this is why 80 per cent of respondents say they check their own health and safety standards if they hear about a notice or prosecution against a similar organisation. "

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