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Dear
Welcome
to our April edition of 'Safety
Matters' - This month is a busy month for
Health & Safety and we will try and cover the keys
points of, not only Health & Safety, but also
Environemntal issues that may effect your
business.
We hope
that you find this newsletter useful and informative, if
however you have any questions about the contents of the
newsletter or require any clarification on any of
the points raised, please do not hesitate to contact us
on 08453 669933 or email us at: info@SafetyServicesDirect.com
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| New - Corporate
Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act
2007 |
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|
This
Act came into force on the 6th
April 2008.
The Act
creates a new criminal offence of corporate
manslaughter (or corporate homicide
in Scotland). The new offence will apply to companies and other organisations, including partnerships. It will
not apply to individuals, although
individuals may still be charged
with the common law offence of
manslaughter or with health and safety offences.
Whilst the Act will not create any new safety
obligations, a "relevant duty of
care" is defined by being owed by an
organisation:
- to its employees
- as an occupier of
premises
- in connection with the supply of
goods or services
- in connection with carrying on of
any construction or maintenance operations
- by any activity on a commercial
basis
We can expect the Police to take a greater
interest in work related deaths from April 2008, and an
increase in the number of criminal investigations. The
effects on the organisations and individuals involved
will be significant.
Further, more detailed
information will be sent to our SAS customers following
the implementation of this
Act |
| Noise, Nightclubs & Legislation
........ |
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On the 6th April 2008 the second
phase of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
came into force.
These changes will mean that the
regulations will apply to all
businesses including the music and
entertainment industry.
Nightclubs, entertainment and other music
venues will be treated in the same way as any
other organisation. These organisations, who now
fall under the same law as the rest of us, should
now expect a visit from a HSE inspector. Any such
inspections will be focusing on protecting the hearing
of the workforce and not the customers who choose to be
at such a venue!
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| Site Waste Management
Plans |
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Each year the construction
industry disposes of over 130 million tonnes of solid
waste to landfill, while at the same time the Government
is also concerned about the amount of waste that is
being illegally
fly-tipped....
Therefore
in an attempt to reduce the volume of construction
waste, the government is introducing a requirement for
Site Waste Management Plan's (SWMP) for larger
construction projects from April 2008. The
aim of the SWMP is to reduce the amount of waste
produced on construction sites and to prevent
fly-tipping by raising the profile of waste planning and
recycling.
Further
more detailed information will be sent to our SAS
customers following the implementation of this
new Regulation in
April |
| SafetyCheck ...... Reducing Your
Burden! |
|
 SafetyCheck is our recently
introduced Contractor Assessment
scheme which been designed to ensure that
contractors, engaged by your organisation, have, and can
demonstrate their compliance with health and safety
requirements as applicable to the scope of their
business. All information on your
sub-contractors will be held on our central database
under your organisation's name. For further
information on our SafetyCheck Scheme
visit:
Our scheme has
recently featured in the publication: "Tips & Advice Health &
Safety" along with and compared to CHAS,
SafeContractor and Exor! Click HERE to view the
comparison table.
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| Asbestos - The ignored Killer! |
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Yet it is
the greatest single cause of work-related deaths in the
UK!
The HSE have been working with key stakeholders
(trades unions, trade associations, suppliers) to raise
awareness amongst tradesmen that they are at risk from
exposure to asbestos. During February and March
2008 the campaign was rolled out to target
building maintenance and repair workers (eg:
electricians, plumbers and carpenters and builders),
using the theme 'You are more at risk than you
think!' that features both national and
regional advertisement activity.
Asbestos is a killer with more people dying from
Asbestos related deaths than on the roads. Yet the
importance of understanding and managing asbestos
containing materials is being ignored with attitudes
such as "I'll be OK" or "I've never seen any"
Asbestos is called the hidden killer for a reason - and
if you have not had suitable and sufficient training to
identify it - how could you know whether you or in fact
your workers are at risk? Further information
including posters for your trade and video clips can be
downloaded from the following link:
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| Shattered Lives - Slips,
Trips and Falls |
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|
HSE Campaign - Shattered
Lives sends the message home - Don't Chance It - Change
It
Over a third of all major injuries
reported each year are caused as a result of a slip or
trip (the single most common cause of injuries at
work).
This costs employers over £512 million a year in
lost production and other costs. Slips and trips also
account for over half of all reported injuries to
members of the public.
The HSE as part of their
'Shattered Lives' campaign has produced information
packs and informative video clips for you to run
in-house awareness sessions for your employees.
There is specific guidance for Retail; Manufacturing
Organisations; Construction; Catering Organisations and
Building Maintenance contractors.
You can also sign up for the
HSE campaign at:
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| Recent
Court Cases |
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College prosecuted for failing to warn about
Asbestos
Kings
College, Cambridge has recently been fined over
£30K for deliberately misleading a group of painters
into believing that they were not at risk from exposure
to asbestos.
The college had
previously had a Type 2 survey undertaken and were fully
aware of the presence of the asbestos, furthermore
shortly before the incident, the HSE had advised staff
at the college that Asbestos Awareness Training must be
provided to those carrying out the
works.
...................................................................................................................
Chocolate Maker Fined £30K
after Employee Breaks Arm
Magna Specialist Confectioners Ltd was
fined after it failed to identify dangerous parts of
machinery and to put into place simple guards and
protective barriers.
The incident was
also made more likely due to the lack of English
language skills held by the injured person and
the lack of any systems by the company to ensure the
operators fully understood the risks and hazards
associated with their works. The injured
persons arm became trapped in a conveyor system as she
did not understand or appreciate how to safely carry out
the required works. The absence of
any guards also meant that there was no protection to
prevent her accessing the dangerous areas of the
machine.
.......................................................................................
Scrap yard fined over
£250K following death of employee
Following the death
of an employee of a scrap yard company in Coventry, the
company has been fined £200,000 and ordered to pay
virtually full HSE costs of £55,000 after pleading
guilty to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974 by failing to
ensure its employees' safety.
The employee was
fatally injured after he was struck by a reversing skip
lorry at the site.
There were no controls in place to prevent
pedestrians being struck by moving vehicles and it was
confirmed that he had been working in the central area
of the scrap yard where vehicles and pedestrians were
not segregated.
This case highlights
the importance of ensuring that safe pedestrian routes
are provided and that pedestrian and vehicular
interfaces are properly
controlled. | | |
