Inspections improve safety on Hartlepool industrial estates

Date:

24 May 2010

Release No:

NE/155/10

Inspectors from Hartlepool Council and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) joined forces to inspect more than 85 businesses during March, taking enforcement action where necessary, but also offering advice and guidance on how to improve health and safety standards.

12 companies were served with enforcement notices in total. 22 Improvement Notices were issued, requiring 11 companies to provide additional safeguards such as effective management of asbestos in premises, the fitting of edge protection on unguarded mezzanine floor storage areas, and the testing of both lifting equipment and air receivers to assess their safety. Work was also prohibited at two companies in relation to unguarded dangerous machinery.

HSE Inspector Jonathan Wills, said:

"Preventing an accident occurring is much better than having to deal with the consequences, and as well as issuing notices, we were able to offer constructive, practical advice to many of the companies we visited.

"We're very pleased to see that the health and safety message is getting through in Hartlepool and a majority of businesses are taking the necessary steps to ensure a safe and healthy environment for their employees."

Jane Kett, Principal Environmental Health Officer at Hartlepool Council, added:

"We were delighted with the success of the campaign, which reinforced the strong working relationships already developed with our counterparts in HSE.

"It is very encouraging to see that health and safety risks were in most cases being properly addressed. Clearly any potential accident is one accident too many and this was an opportunity to provide the companies with lots of useful guidance."

HSE and local authority inspectors both enforce health and safety law in workplaces. Broadly, local authority inspectors have responsibility for those providing leisure services or retail while HSE inspectors enforce appropriate health and safety legislation in other areas such as manufacturing, agriculture, waste and recycling and major hazard industries.

Notes to editors

1. A prohibition notice is served where there is immediate danger and the work must stop immediately, while the issue is resolved.
2. An improvement notice sets a timeframe for a particular situation to be resolved, but work can continue.
3. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk

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