Construction Infonet is a free eBulletin from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to provide a regular update on health and safety issues for all in the construction industry.
A summary of the HSE Construction Division’s Plan of Work for 2011/12 has been published. It sets out what the construction industry can expect when HSE Inspectors visit sites.
Over the next 12 months, HSE Construction Division will be devoting more of it’s time and effort to regulating smaller sites and businesses.
HSE’s main operational activities will target the following sectors:
Five issues will be considered at all site visits. These are:
This consultation sets out the HSE proposal to extend the range of activities for which HSE recovers costs where dutyholders are found to be in material breach of health and safety law.
The consultation began on 22 July 2011 and will end on 14 October 2011.
According to a new Gas Safe Register campaign 1 in 3 people say they would fit a gas appliance themselves to save money. When it comes to gas you don't want to get it wrong.
In the right hands, gas is safe, but badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.
It’s important that you don’t try to fit, fix or move gas appliances such as your boiler or cooker yourself. Only Gas Safe registered engineers have the right skills to do this safely.
Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
4 July 2011 – A Poole construction company has been fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,000, after a carpenter was seriously injured when he fell three metres from scaffolding while working on a house extension.
6 July 2011 - Two firms and a company director have been prosecuted after a father-of-two died following falling through a roof light. TRN Electrical Ltd was fined £30,000, plus costs of £14,850, while Cladcoat UK Ltd was fined £10,000, with no costs. A company director was given a conditional discharge.
27 July 2011 - A labourer broke two ribs after falling off the edge of a temporary staircase after a colleague removed the guardrail.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the work had not been planned properly as an adequate risk assessment had not taken place; that the site manager was aware the guardrail had been removed and should have known there was a risk to his team, and that the work was not carried out in a safe manner.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Walker Group (Scotland) Limited pleaded guilty to breaking Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were fined £8,000.
Further information
7 July 2011 – A South Yorkshire firm has been fined £5,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,250, after being prosecuted for continually exposing workers to dangerous asbestos-containing materials.
18 July 2011 - Marks and Spencer plc and two of its contractors, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd and PA Realisations Ltd (formerly Pectel Ltd), have been convicted for putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of two stores.
The court heard that the client, Marks and Spencer plc, did not allocate sufficient time and space for the removal of the asbestos-containing materials at the Reading store. The contractors had to work overnight in enclosures on the shop floor, with the aim of completing small areas of asbestos removal before the shop opened to the public each day.
The guilty companies will be sentenced on 26 September 2011.
Further information
6 July 2011 – A Halifax demolition firm has been fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs, after an incident left a worker with devastating injuries when he was struck by a metal girder.
6 July 2011 – A family-run demolition firm has been fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000, after they sent a worker into a partly-demolished building in Grimsby, moments before the ceiling collapsed.
Further information
HSE has released provisional data for the year April 2010 to March 2011, which shows that 50 workers in the construction industry were killed.
Philip White, HSE's Chief Construction Inspector, said
"The construction industry continues to see more deaths than any other industrial sector. We must not lose sight of the fact that 50 construction workers failed to come home last year, and that will have devastated those they leave behind.
HSE will continue to work to reduce the number of fatal accidents, however, it is ultimately the responsibility of those who create health and safety risks to control them and prevent people being killed and injured… it's about mindset - planning jobs properly, thinking before you act and taking basic steps to protect yourself and your friends."
Listen to the latest HSE Podcast to find out about changes to how you can report incidents to HSE, the closure of Infoline and improvements being made to the HSE website.
HSE internal guidance - this Sector Information Minute (SIM) outlines the main requirements of the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010
New look e-version of HSE’s quarterly newsletter
Improve the health and safety of your business by attending a health and safety event near you.
Places are available at the following Working Well Together (WWT) events.
Plus many more events over the forthcoming year.
Have you checked out the Leadership and Worker Involvement Toolkit yet?
Find out how the business benefits from good leadership combined with action to involve your workforce can improve health and safety on site.
We issue eBulletins on a regular basis and would welcome your feedback and views as well as any suggestions/contributions for future articles.
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