Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Construction
Welcome to the latest edition of Construction Infonet.
Construction Infonet is a free e-Bulletin from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to provide a regular update on health and safety issues for all in the construction industry.
HSE has released results from its latest construction inspection initiative. The figures, described as “still worrying” are based on 1759 inspections of refurbishment sites across Great Britain, during March 2009.
Key figures reveal that:
Phillip White, HSE’s Chief Inspector of Construction, said: “This inspection initiative was well publicised and for HSE inspectors to still find this level of disregard for basic health and safety standards on refurbishment sites is disappointing.”
Whilst improvements had been witnessed by HSE inspectors in certain parts of the country compared to a similar initiative last year inspectors still found standards on one in five sites visited to be operating so far below the acceptable standard that they felt it necessary to take enforcement action.
The WWT campaign has just celebrated its 10th year. It all began back in 1998 with CONIAC (the Construction Industry Advisory Committee, made up of HSE and industry representatives). There was recognition from the construction industry that it could not rely on HSE alone to improve health and safety, and that it needed to do more to help itself.
WWT puts on many free and low cost Safety and Health Awareness events across the country each year – most aimed at small construction businesses.
HSE has prepared guidance on key construction issues for Local Authority enforcement officers – however, the advice and case studies should be of interest to anyone working in the construction industry.
Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
Work at Height remains the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury.
1 May 2009 - HSE is urging employers to make sure full safety measures are in place for staff and contractors who are working at height.
The call follows the sentencing of a construction company after a self-employed worker fell five and a half metres through a fragile single skin asbestos cement roof. There were no crawling boards in use and no safety net or crash desk below the working area of the roof. The victim suffered broken ribs and injuries to his pelvis, vertebrae and lung. He was unable to return to work for over a year.
Keen Construction Ltd, based in Downton near Salisbury, pleaded guilty to contravening regulation 9(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were were fined £6,600 and ordered to pay costs of £3,625.
5 May 2009 - Company fined £135,000 following death at Isle of Dogs construction site.
HSE is warning construction firms to ensure they put effective safety systems in place to protect workers from falls. This follows the prosecution of a company over an incident in which a steel worker fell more than 10 metres to his death on a construction site on the Isle of Dogs.
Laing O’Rourke Construction South Limited, based in Dartford, was fined £135,000 with costs of £18,313.10 last week, after pleading guilty to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
12 May 2009 – Company fined after employee is paralysed in workplace fall.
The HSE investigation followed an incident on 22 February 2008, at a site in Popes Lane, London W5, in which a builder fell 3.3 metres. The worker was involved in building an extension to a domestic property when he fell through a roof light void. There was no boarding to cover the roof lights and no crash deck underneath to limit the impact of a fall. The employee suffered serious back injuries as a result of the fall and no longer has use of his legs.
Fine Construction UK Ltd, based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court fined the company £15,000 and ordered them to pay costs of £8,091.99
The call follows the sentencing of Shorts Group Ltd, based in Ascot, Berkshire, after a male employee suffered serious injuries to his foot.
Shorts Group Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court fined the company £5,000, and ordered them to pay costs of £1,772.80.
The HSE investigation followed an incident on 21 May 2008 where a demolition labourer was operating a skip-loading dumper on which he had received no formal training or instruction. During the course of his work, the dumper overturned and the employee became trapped underneath it, sustaining serious injuries to his foot as a result.
8 May 2009 - HSE is highlighting the need to ensure that licensed asbestos contractors are used on relevant school construction projects, following sentencing of a Somerset building contractor at Taunton Crown Court.
The prosecution relates to a period of refurbishment work which took place between 16 July and 13 August 2007 at Westonzoyland Primary School in Somerset, in which asbestos contamination occurred when firebreaks were removed incorrectly by unlicensed building contractors.
Dave Lee Limited of Westonzoyland, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5 and Regulation 11 (1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and was fined a total of £1,100 and ordered to pay costs of £500.
29 April 2009 – Company fined after gas leak and fire close Slough shopping centre - HSE is urging companies to ensure that services, such as gas mains, are fully isolated before pipework is removed.
The call follows the prosecution of construction company Keltbray Ltd. The company pleaded guilty at and were fined £18,000 for breaching section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were also ordered to pay full costs of £20,469 and a victim surcharge of £15.
The prosecution followed an incident on the 15 August 2006 when Keltbray Ltd were the principal contractors for the refurbishment of a retail unit within the Queensmere Shopping Centre in Slough. The company failed to ensure that all services were switched off before the sub-contractor cut through a live gas pipe causing a fire.
7 May 2009 - Schools have been warned to take extra care over building and maintenance work after a man was burned by flaming sawdust while removing an oil tank at an independent school.
St Bede's Catholic Science College, Boston, admitted failing to plan the work properly and failing to give the builders proper instructions for the work. It was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £ 900.
The injured man's employers, R Harvey Builders, of Redstone Industrial Estate, Boston, admitted failing to carry out a risk assessment, and were fined £1,000 with £ 800 costs.
HSE brought the prosecution after an investigation into a fire at the school on 7 September 2007 when the man was injured. Sawdust had been used to soak up waste oil from a tank being removed but when the builders cut up the tank with an angle grinder, sparks set it alight. The fire service had to be called to put out the fire and students were evacuated.
Over the years, the proliferation of health and safety pre-qualification questionnaires has placed increasing burdens on small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to pre-qualify for both public and private sector work. The SSIP Forum will work to advise and influence clients (buyers) on acceptable interpretation and appropriateness of health and safety competence standards in the UK.
HSE supports the work of SSIP Forum. HSE has been increasingly aware of the bureaucracy faced by organisations in assessing competence and being required to use pre-qualification schemes. While use of these schemes is not a legal health and safety requirement, (ensuring competency is) HSE welcomes this initiative in simplifying the process.
For health and safety information and advice call 0845 345 0055 or visit our contact us website.
Call 0845 300 9923 or report online.
We issue e-Bulletins 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.
You can contact us at: construction-manager@bulletins.hse.gov.uk