Welcome to the latest edition of Construction Infonet.
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 2010/11 has been published. It sets out what the construction industry can expect from HSE Inspectors over the coming year.
HSE’s main operational activities will target the following sectors:
Five issues will be considered at all site visits. These are:
A manufacturing defect has been identified in spigots on K600 and K800 mast sections used in Manitowoc Cranes, Potain MD, MDT and MR Tower Cranes.
Action is needed to identify any other potentially affected mast sections and ensure they are taken out of service immediately then quarantined for further investigation.
Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010 41 construction workers were killed at work.
HSE's Chief Inspector of Construction, Philip White said:
"While it's heartening to see a continued reduction in the number of deaths in construction, it's tempered by the fact that 41 workers failed to come home to their families last year because of avoidable safety failings.
Do you want to realise the benefits of involving the workforce but need help to get started?
HSE know that workplaces where employees play an active part in health and safety have lower accident rates. In many cases, this also leads to increased productivity, efficiency and quality.
HSE in association with Premier Partnership, are offering IOSH accredited, health and safety training courses to help organisations achieve these potential benefits associated with a collaborative approach to health and safety at work.
"Introduction to worker involvement for health and safety representatives" training course is for your employees to help you get started with worker involvement.
HSE is paying 75% toward the cost of the training. To find out more about this unique offer visit
Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
Work at height
1 June 2010 – Premier League football club Aston Villa has been fined after a worker was badly injured by a fall through a roof during the redevelopment of its training ground.
7 June 2010 - Two self-employed roofers have been fined for failing to take appropriate safety precautions when working at height. Roofing work on a steel-framed building was carried out without any safety nets or edge protection or any other kind of safety precaution.
Both defendants admitted breaching Regulation 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Antony Sweet was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs of £250 and Christopher Cole was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs of £250.
21 June 2010 - Two Gloucestershire companies have been fined after a roofing contractor fell five metres through a fragile skylight.
Robert Stephens was working for his father, Stanley, alongside fellow employees to raise the roof line of the Woodgate Sawmill building, when he fell five metres and landed on the concrete floor below, sustaining serious head injuries.
Woodgate Sawmills Ltd pleaded guilty to four breaches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 and 2007 and was fined a total of £13,320 and ordered to pay costs of £14,443.
Stanley Stephens pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined a total of £26,660 and ordered to pay costs of £14,443.
25 June 2010 - An Oldham developer has been ordered to pay £3,725 in fines and prosecution costs after ignoring two Improvement Notices issued by an HSE inspector and failing to make safe a 1.8m deep excavation in a residential area - putting the lives of local residents at risk.
23 June 2010 - A construction worker needed his foot to be amputated after it became trapped by a metal sheet being driven into the ground at an excavation site in Barry.
Clive Morgan, 46, was installing interlocking metal sheets, known as piles, into the ground to prevent the collapse of an excavation for an underground pumping station He was standing on a horizontal beam in place to guide the pile into position, when his foot became trapped between the sheet and the beam.
Morgan Est plc pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The construction firm have been fined £12,000 with costs of £11,213.
HSE conducted a series of unannounced visits to over two thousand construction sites in March - one in four of those sites failed safety checks.
Mike Cross, HSE head of construction for the North West, speaks about the campaign.
HSE information and leaflets now available in multiple languages
Construction workers - Your safety at workBS5973 to be formally withdrawn by end of 2010
As from 1st January 2011 HSE will no longer acknowledge BS5973:1993 as a recognised standard for the design of tube and fitting scaffolding structures"
The UK scaffolding industry should be fully conforming to the European Standard BS EN12811-1:2003 by the end of 2010
http://www.nasc.org.uk/TG20_launchImprove the health and safety of your business by attending a health and safety event near you. Places currently available at the following events
HSE, in partnership with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the EEF and the TUC,have launched the UK's involvement in the Healthy Workplaces European Campaign on Safe Maintenance.
Call 0845 300 9923 or visit RIDDOR - Report an incident
We issue eBulletins on a regular basis and would welcome your feedback and views as well as any suggestions/contributions for future articles.
Thank you to those who have provided feedback on the previous editions - we have tried to incorporate as many of the suggestions as possible.
Contact us - construction-manager@bulletins.hse.gov.uk
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