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Dear
Welcome to our first 'Safety
Matters' newsletter of 2008 - This month we are
focusing on what you can specifically do, within your
organisation, to make life just a little bit safer for
you and your employees.
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. |
| Shattered Lives - Slips,
Trips and Falls from Height
Campaign |
|
|
HSE will be running a new
campaign in February and March 2008 on slips, trips and
falls in the workplace. 
According to the HSE more than
1,000 workers a month suffer a serious injury following
a slip, trip or fall. The campaign is aimed primarily at
those most at risk of a slip, trip or fall at work and
those best placed to take action - construction workers,
electricians, gas fitters, other trades people, site
managers, kitchen managers and chefs, food retail staff,
area and store managers, food operatives and their shift
managers.
To find out how you can prevent
slips, trips and falls in the workplace:
Download the
guide on Preventing Slips & Trips
You can also sign up for the
HSE campaign at:
|
| Why Tackle Work Related
Stress? |
|
THE  FACTS:
- Work-related stress accounts for over a
third of all new incidences of ill health.
- Each case
of work-related stress, depression or anxiety related
ill health leads to an average of 30.2 working days
lost.
- A total of 13.8 million
working days were lost to work-related stress,
depression and anxiety in 2006/07.
Work-related stress is a
major cause of occupational ill health. That means
sickness absence, high staff turnover and poor
performance in your organisation. The
HSE's guidance will help you and your
employees identify and manage the issue of
stress sensibly and minimise the impact of work-related
stress on your business. In fact, it might help you
improve organisational performance.
|
| Ladder Exchange Scheme & Ladder
Safety |
|
 Falls from height
continue to be the main cause of workplace fatalities
and one of the main causes of major
injury.....
A fall from a ladder or stepladder can have dire
consequences not just for the worker concerned, but for
their employer and their family. A survey
undertaken from the HSE found that a third of falls from
height in 2006/07 were as a result of falls from a
ladder. These results, along with the HSE
determination to improve the safety of those working
from ladders through their campaign to get 'dodgy'
ladders out of the workplace, have reported that by the
end of 2007, 4,194 dodgy
ladders had been taken out of Britain's
workplaces.
The HSE have a simple message to ladder users.
If it is right to use a ladder, use the right
ladder and use it safely. If it's not the
right ladder, exchange it. The HSE plan to run a
new Ladder Exchange initiative in Autumn 2008.
|
| Musculoskeletal Disorders
and YOU! |
|
 Following on from the European
Campaign on Musculoskeletal Disorders - Have you
considered the importance of Manual Handling within the
workplace.....
Napo's
films about musculoskeletal disorders looks at 'managing
the load', not only the load being carried, but all the
'strains' put on the body by the materials being
moved, the environmental factors, hazards in the
workplace, and the pace at which the task is being
carried out. To download the short films and excellent
in-house training material click on the following
link:
Free
information packs including leaflets, posters,
presentations and fact sheets presented in English as
well as other European languages can be found by
clicking on the following link:
Raising awareness
amongst your staff and managers of the importance
of Musculoskeletal Disorders is
imperative, and this is an excellent opportunity
for you to arrange short in-house 'Awareness Training
Sessions' using the FREE resources
available! |
| 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 featured
in the publication: "Tips &
Advice Health & Safety" along with and
compared to CHAS, SafeContractor and Exor! Click
HERE to view the
comparison table
|
| Working with VDUs |
|
Over five million people in Britain use
VDUs for a significant part of their work. If good
working  practices are not
followed, VDU workers can end up with a variety of
musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or other health
problems. However all these problems can be prevented by
good workplace and job design and by using the equipment
and workstation in the right
way.
By following HSE's guidance on VDU work, preventive
action in most workplaces can be taken quite easily and
need not be costly. Indeed it is likely to be far more
expensive for employers and their insurers to ignore
MSDs, which may lead not only to compensation claims,
but also to costs arising from sickness absences and
reduced productivity.
|
| Recent
Court Cases |
|
Failure to take simple precautions
cost firm £350K plus £600K costs. A worker was
left with 45% burns and
sustained serious injury to his face, chest, abdomen and
hands as well as loosing his sight in one of his eyes
after an explosion and
subsequent fire at a factory in Essex. The
incident occurred due to the company's failure to assess the risks following changes
to the manufacturing process.
The judge told the court that the data
sheet for the substances used clearly stated the
risks involved and that the company put profit before
safety.
...................................................................................................................
Teenager dies on first day at
demolition site .... 2 construction firms were blamed
for the death of a teenager on his first day of work have been hit
with a £100K fine. The 17 year old, from Northern
Ireland, was killed when a wall collapsed on him.
The work involved the clearing of the site prior to the
construction of new townhouses and apartments. The
contractors were prosecuted for failing to provide the
teenager with any proper safety
training and stated that his method of demolition
rendered the wall unstable and increased the risk of
collapse. The HSE also stated that the contractors
failed to construct an effective exclusion zone around
the
works.
.......................................................................................
Company Director ignored Prohibition
Notice. A Company Director has been fined
after he failed to comply with a prohibition notice
issued by the HSE requiring him to implement a Safe
System of Work at height.
Just 2 hours after being served
the notice that banned all work on
an unsafe flat-roof, the company director of a
car sales business was spotted by HSE Inspectors
flouting the ban by continuing to work on the
roof. The HSE inspector stated that there was
no edge protection and no means of preventing objects
from falling from the roof and striking members of the
public or employees of the company. The HSE prosecuted the director rather than his
company because no-one else in the company had
been aware of what was going on. The director
pleaded guilty to breaching section 33 of the Health
& Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulations 6 and 10
of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, he was also
ordered to pay half of the HSE's
costs. | | |
