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| Dear Sirs,
Our April edition of our 'Safety
Matters' newsletter is packed full of articles and news
relating to the latest developments in Health &
Safety. Along with our exciting launch of
our new CDM 2007 software packages, this edition
should have something to interest everyone!
We hope that you find this newsletter useful
and informative, if however you have any questions about
the contents of this Newsletter; our products or
consultancy services, please do not hesitate to contact
us on 08453 669933 or email us at
info@SafetyServicesDirect.com.
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| New
CDM Regulations |
|
 Are you ready?
After many months of delay the new
'Construction (Design
& Management) Regulations 2007' should finally become law, in
the UK, on the 6th April 2007 although the Conservative
party leader, David Cameron has put a motion forward to
annul the regulations, the outcome of this motion will
not be known for some time.
The key aim of CDM 2007 is to integrate health and
safety into the management of the project, and to
encourage everyone involved to work together to:
- improve the planning and management of projects
from the very start;
- identify hazards and risks early on;
- target effort where it can do the most good in
terms of health and safety; and
- discourage unnecessary bureaucracy.
The Regulations are intended to focus attention on
planning and management throughout construction
projects, from design concept onwards. The aim is for
health and safety considerations to be treated as an
essential, but normal part of a project's development -
not an afterthought or a bolt-on extra.
One of the major changes in
CDM 2007 is that the regulations now apply to
ALL Construction Work!
Furthermore, CDM 2007 also encompasses the
requirements of the Construction (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1996, meaning that a large
proportion of construction safety legislation is now
enforceable under a single regulatory package.
Another key change is that organisations are now
required to have access to not only competent health and
safety advice, but also specifically, access to
competent construction safety advice from competent
construction/safety professionals.
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| No
Accident Prosecutions |
|
| No accident? Doesn't mean No
Problem!
 A self-employed builder
has recently been prosecuted for breaches of the Working
at Height Regulations even though there hadn't been an
accident. The HSE decided to take this action
against David Clark from Chippenham because he wasn't
just bending the rules, he was completely ignoring them,
and concluded that Mr Clark and his colleagues' working
practices could have led to a serious accident at any
moment.
Previously, the worse that Mr Clark could have
expected was a Prohibition Notice, which would have
prevented him from working at height until he identified
a safe way of doing so. However, the fact that the
HSE Inspector did not consider this to be a sufficient
penalty, has set a precedent for a change of approach by
the HSE, who are only too willing to use the courts to
reduce accidents; and as there was no accident in this
example, this approach makes it easier for the HSE to
get its case to court quickly.
Mr Clark was fined £2000.00 with costs of
£1500.00. If you are concerned about your working
at height systems and procedures, please give us a call
and we will be happy to discuss any issues that you
have. |
| NO
Smoking HERE |
|
 New Legislation
effective July 2007
A TOTAL ban on smoking in enclosed public places
will come into force in England on 1
July 2007. The Regulations state that all
public premises including pubs, clubs (private
clubs and nightclubs), restaurants and cafes will
be affected, along with workplaces and company cars. (A
private club run by smokers for smokers will also be
illegal) Exceptions include private homes, residential
care homes, some hospitals, prisons and hotel bedrooms.
Film and theatre stages will also be exempt.
Wales is introducing a total ban
on smoking in public places on 2 April 2007 followed by
Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007. A
total smoking ban was introduced in
Scotland in March 2006. In Scotland
smoking is also banned on the stage.
It is anticipated that people who smoke in a
non-smoking area will be fined £50, which could increase
to £200 if they repeatedly ignore the ban. Businesses
that ignore illegal smoking will be fined at least £200
rising up to £2,500, if managers fail to stop smokers
lighting up. Employers who fail to put
up No Smoking signs,
which the Regulations state,should measure A5 size
(148mm by 210mm), and display specific
wording, will be fined £200, rising to £1,000
for repeat offences. The Government has also announced
that a 'shop-a-smoker' hotline will be set up so the
public can inform on citizens breaching the ban.
You must display your
specific sized and worded non-smoking signage at the
entrance to your premises. We have again brought
you these products at unbelievable prices. Have a look at our Essential Products
Range & No Smoking
signs. |
| NHS
Injury Costs Recovery Scheme |
|
NHS to claim back £150m for
treating injured
workers
 On the 29th January the
new regulations came in to force that will allow the NHS
to claim back money for treating people that have been
injured at work.
Health
minister Andy Burnham said the 'Injury Costs Recovery'
(ICR) scheme' would mean that the NHS could claw back
more than £150 million a year from negligent employers
(defendants) and their insurance companies, for treating
patients in all cases where personal injury compensation
is paid.
An employer has the ability to reduce the sum
payable where there is a degree of contributory
negligence- (partly down to the employee not adhereing
to safe working practices), this can be supported
by ensuring that all of your health & safety
systems and procedures are in place and up-to-date,
and that the information has been communicated to
all employees. Additionally the costs can be
further reduced by offering private medical services
-which surprisingly, can be cheaper then the NHS under
this scheme!
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| NEW
Products/Releases |
|
 CDM Software
2007 / Posters
Click the following links for
more info!
CDM
|
| Save 60% on
your new CDM Package |
If you are a current licensee of our existing CDM
packages, which includes licenses that have been
purchased through our Complete Safety Package
range, we are offering you a 60% discount on the upgrade
cost for your package. That is the Designers,
Clients, CDM Co-ordinators and the Contractors CDM
packages. To apply for your discount
please enter the code CDM07 on the
shopping cart page and press the GO button before you
proceed to the check-out. Please note that this
offer is only available to those with an existing CDM
software licence and all orders will be
verified. |
| Offer Expires: 1st May 2007
(conditions apply, sales &
discounts offered are at the discretion of Safety
Services Direct
Ltd) |
| Health & Safety Policy Update
Service |
|
For
only £49.00 plus VAT Safety
Services Direct Ltd will review and update your Health
& Safety Policy
We value the importance of ensuring that all of your
documentation is up-to-date with current practices and
legislation. Over the past two years there have been
numerous changes in legislation, which may need
addressing in your Health & Safety Policy. All of
our policies are up to date at the point of sale but
need to be reviewed at least every 12
months.
This offer will run throughout 2007 for
all existing customers who have
purchased a Health & Safety Policy from us
directly, or through any of our Complete Safety Package
range. With the implementation of the new CDM
regulations you need to make sure that your policy is
up-to-date!
To take advantage of this offer, please send your
existing Health and Safety policy document to
update@safetyservicesdirect.com and one
of our consultants will review it and call you
back. Best of all, if
your policy does not require updating then there will be
no cost to you at
all! |
| Recent Court Cases |
|
 Tower Scaffold
Collapses in Cossington- A
Leicestershire builder was fined £50,000.00 and
ordered to pay £43,881.00 costs, after a bricklayer
died when a tower scaffolding he was using
overturned.
- Visitor fall lands NHS Trust in
the dock - An elderly man dies after
fracturing his hip in a fall on an unmaintained path
at a London Hospital. The NHS Trust pleased
guilty before the City of London Magistrates and were
fined £7,500.00 plus costs of
£3.694.00.
- A Contractor
and a Passer-by were seriously injured when the
contractor fell from a ladder
above the Carphone Warehouse premises in
Oxford Street London. The Client the University
of the Arts London were fined £20,000.00, the
contractor was fined £15,000.00 and full costs of
£9,654.00.
- Worker fatality crushed
by 5 tonne stack of steel - The UK's largest
specialist stock-holder of hollow steel sections
(interpipe) was fined £100,000.00 plus £30,618.00
costs after an employee was killed at its Dudley
premises. The employee was trapped after a 5
tonne stack of steel fell on to him.
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