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.
Find out how the Health and Safety Executive is working with others to make the London 2012 Games the safest on record.
Big build – more than 12,000 workers building the Olympic Park and Athletes’ Village
The legacy - as the major construction phase is coming to completion, HSE looks at how and why this project has proceeded so well to date.
Case studies - short case studies highlighting some of the new and practical solutions used to manage health, safety and welfare during construction of the London 2012 projects.
Following the recent refurbishment inspection initiative here are some top tips from HSE Inspectors on how the health and safety of the small sites could easily be improved:
Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
3 March 2011 – A construction company has been fined total of £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,000.after a man fell six metres down a lift shaft at a construction site in Brighton.
3 March 2011 - A York farmer has been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,530 for safety failings after a builder's labourer suffered multiple injuries when he plunged through a fragile roof light during poorly planned work on a farm building.
10 March 2011 - A Surrey roofing company has been fined a total of £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 after two workers were spotted working on a roof almost 30 feet high without using any safety equipment.
11 March 2011 - At Glasgow Sheriff Court following a three week trial, Robertson Construction Central Limited and Stirling Stone Limited were convicted of breaches of Health and Safety legislation which resulted in the death of a stone mason's labourer . Since the set up of the COPFS Health and Safety Division this is the first case to proceed in Court by way of trial rather than being resolved by way of plea.
2 March 2011 - A roofing company spread asbestos fibres around a Leicestershire town when using pressurised water washers to clean roof panels on industrial units. The company was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,375.
10 March 2011 - A construction site manager from Barry has been sentenced after directing a bricklayer to demolish a wall that contained asbestos, which put him at serious risk. The site manager was given a suspended sentence of two months and also ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service.
3 March 2011 - The owner of a Cornish roofing company has found himself in court after ignoring an order to undertake construction safety training. He was fined £1,200 with £800 costs.
3 March 2011 - A property maintenance firm has been fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,965 in costs after one of its employees suffered acid burns to his face, neck and arm. He was using a high concentration of sulphuric acid to unblock a sink at a domestic property when the corrosive liquid erupted into the air.
9 March 2011 - A Buckinghamshire based builder has been fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £4250 costs after Christmas decorations spanning the High Street in St. Neots collapsed, injuring two members of the public and narrowly missing a baby.
HandS-On is a new statistics tool that allows you to view, manipulate, create and export tables from HSE’s injury and ill health data. It gives you direct access to HSE’s data and should save you time, as you can now access the information you need, when you need it.
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.
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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