The new Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006 came into force on the 13th November 2006. The new regulations combine and replace three previous sets of regulations, whilst at the same time increasing the level of protection to employees by reducing exposure limits. The Regulations have also introduced compulsory training for anyone from a builder, plumber or electrician to an architect or engineer who work with, or are in close proximity to any asbestos containing materials.

The revised regulations introduce the following key changes:

• a new single control limit for work with all types of asbestos;
• compulsory training requirements for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos;
• new methods for analysing the concentration of asbestos in the air;
• practical guidelines for the determination of “sporadic and low intensity exposure” as required by the EU Directive.

We are often asked. "What should I be looking for when selecting a health and safety consultant?" Unfortunately there are a wide range of 'consultants' providing health and safety consultancy services with little experience, knowledge or qualifications in what they are doing.

Therefore to assist our clients, we have prepared the following checklist. You can use this when renewing your existing contract, or when appointing a safety consultant, such as Safety Services Direct Ltd for the first time:

• What experience do they have in my type of work?
• Are they a member of a relevant professional body in my industry?
• Do they have a suitable level of Professional Indemnity; Public Liability; and Employers Liability Insurance?
• Are they Chartered Health and Safety Practitioners (CMIOSH)? (always check out the membership status of an individual with IOSH on 0116 257 3198)
• Do they have a permanent office, or do they work from a BT/Hotmail/Yahoo email address and a mobile phone number?
• Will they provide you with access to an individual named consultant, or will you deal with a call centre?
• Always ask if they will actually prepare a risk assessment on your behalf, many consultants will refuse to do this.
• How quickly will they respond to issues?

Safety Services Direct Ltd is pleased to announce a range of new health and safety products including:

• Contract Cleaners Health & Safety Policy & Procedures Manual
• Hotels & Residential Organisations Health & Safety Policy & Procedures Manual
• New First Aid products
• New Range of Health and Safety Posters

Safety Services Direct Ltd can provide you with a cost effective service for the writing and preparation of project specific Risk Assessments and Method Statements. So whenever you need a professionally prepared risk assesment or method statement, but don't have the time to do it yourself, call one of our consultants on 08453 669933.

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has recently met and approved the revised Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations and Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) for formal submission to the Minister. The new CDM Regulations revise and bring together the existing CDM Regulations 1994 and the Construction (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 into a single regulatory package.

The new, simplified Regulations (CDM 2007) will be supported by an Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and industry-approved guidance. To give construction and design professionals time to plan and prepare for the regulatory changes, the ACoP will be available in January 2007, three months before the Regulations come into force in April 2007.

So, what’s new in CDM 2007?

• The ‘Planning Supervisor’ will become a ‘CDM Coordinator’
• Specific competence criteria has been specified for key duty holders such as the CDM Coordinator, and Principal Contractors
• The clients’ role is to become more central
• The new Regulations aim to simplify and clarify what duty holders need to do, so that they can easily identify and understand their role

We are always looking for ideas and suggestions for new software products, devices and services that can help our clients to manage health and safety more effectively and efficiently. So if you have an idea, or a need for a particular product, let us know and we will pass it to our development team to evaluate. Please email your ideas to: NewIdeas@SafetyServicesDirect.com, or click on the link below to contact us:

A joint HSE/LA campaign to target and raise awareness among owners/managers and employees of hairdressing businesses has recently been launched. The campaign is focusing on the high incidence of dermatitis in the hairdressing trade and ways the condition can be prevented.

The campaign is a significant one, involving site visits, direct mailings, the national press and national broadcasters.

The HSE claim that up to 70% of hairdressers suffer some form of skin damage, and that hairdressers are 17 times more likely to develop dermatitis than any other group of workers.

Dermatitis is caused by contact with chemicals present in hairdressing products and prolonged contact with water.

Safety Services Direct Ltd are pleased to announce our Christmas and New Year Special offer, this is only available to our existing customers. This festive offer is for any order over £100.00 (exc. VAT & postage), which includes items from our Essential Products Range, will receive a 10% discount off of the Essential Products in their shopping cart. The essential safety products range includes Hi-Vis clothing, PPE, first aid kits, safety posters and accident books etc. As you can see from our website, our Hi-Vis, PPE and safety product prices are already among the most competitively priced around.

This offer is to be run for the months of December 2006 and January 2007 only. To qualify for the discount, those purchasing products will need to enter the code: ESP06 on the shopping cart page, and then press the GO button to activate the code. Alternatively they can call our offices on 08453 66 99 33 and quote the code over the phone with their order details.

Here are a just selection of some of the more significant recent court cases involving Health and Safety prosecutions:

Case 1 - two companies were fined a total of £300,000 and ordered to pay £63,000 costs following the death of a worker who fell 5 metres over an unprotected edge during maintenance work;

Case 2 - a piling specialist has been fined £100,000 plus prosecution costs of £32,607 following the death of a worker who was crushed when a piling rig collapsed after a pin failed, and the mast of the rig collapsed on the workman;

Case 3 – a contractor was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay £10,928 in costs after a worker fell 5 metres from the roof of a tank under construction. The HSE investigation revealed that the system of work employed was unsafe and fall arrest equipment was unsuitable, poorly maintained and not properly used;

Case 4 - a contractor has been fined £10,000 and costs of £607 following an accident, which resulted in an employee falling 7 metres through a fragile roof light whilst dismantling a warehouse; and

Case 5 - a local authority has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £11,286.37 costs after an employee received an electric shock while changing a streetlight.