Over 600 attendees and 91 exhibitors

Corporate Risk Systems (CRS) took to the road again last week, Ros Stacey UK Sales Director took the sales team to Tidworth Wiltshire to attend the  BFRS (British Forces Resettlement Services) Employment & Training Fair for forces and ex-forces personnel. The event is an annual event and is run to help the forces service leavers (those who are being made redundant and those coming to the end of their service) decided on what is training and employment opportunities are available for them in Civvy Street. Many of the service leavers have many forces qualifications but unfortunately these are not recognised in civilian employment and many require further training. Service Leavers have up to 10 years to claim Enhanced learning credits which help to pay for some of the training required. For more information visit www.enhancedlearningcredits.com CRS have put some fantastic packages together specially for MOD Service Leavers for more information visit www.mod.crsrisk.com  CRS are an approved Training provider of CTP – Career Transition Partnership and Corporate Partner with BFRS. Next event is in London 17^th October for more information rs@crsrisk.com see you there.

Site waste plans scrapped from 1 December

Legislation requiring large construction projects to formally set out how they will deal with waste is to be repealed despite half of the responses to a Defra consultation being against the proposals

The environment department has confirmed that from 1 December the Site Waste Management Plans Regulations (2008) will be scrapped in line with the government’s drive to cut “red tape”.  Under the Regulations, construction or demolition projects worth £300,000 or more must complete a site waste management plan (SWMP) detailing how waste will be managed at all stages of the project. The aim was to encourage firms to minimise waste and boost levels of reuse, reclamation and recycling.

CRS’s Head of Environment commented ‘ It’s not that waste management is not cost effective, just the opposite, construction companies will minimise and recycle waste based on cost. In the current market the valve of ‘waste’ such as metals means that value rather than legal requirement is the main driver for environmental projects’

The announcement of the repeal came in the government’s formal response to a consultation. The 169 consultation responses were equally split for and against the repeal of the Regulations – 49% each, with 2% of responses “neutral”. 

Of the 70 contractors that responded, 41 were in favour of the scrapping of the legislation, while 29 were against. Meanwhile, more private businesses from the construction sector, developers and local authorities were against scrapping the rules than were in favour of them being repealed.

According to Defra’s calculations, repealing the legislation will save the construction sector a total of £3.9 million a year. However, the impact assessment calculation was based on the administrative savings from not completing a plan, and more than two-thirds of respondents to the consultation confirmed that they would continue to use SWMPs even if they were no longer mandatory. 

In light of such feedback, Defra’s concludes that scrapping the Regulations will have a minimal impact on the construction sector’s efforts to cut waste. “Repealing the Regulations will provide a cost saving to business, while giving the option of retaining SWMP as a tool that can be applied to any project to help identify savings,” states its consultation response. 

Defra stated that the legislation was “ineffective”, but critics of the move, including the UK Environmental Law Association, argued that Defra should consider how enforcement could be improved rather than repealing the Regulations.

Source: Environmentalist

Two lucky winners enjoyed a fantastic day out at Oulton Park

On Sunday 31^st August two lucky winners made their way to Oulton Park, Cheshire for the Mighty Mini Championship rounds 9 & 10 together with Team CRSRisk. Competition winner David Moss and his son Peter joined the team for the day. David Moss was our prize winner in our competition and successfully answered the question: How many years have CRS been trading? And the answer correctly given by David was 15 years. Corporate Risk Systems are now in their 15 year and continue to go from strength to strength.
Following on from 2 good results at the previous meeting Caroline our Team driver qualified in 9th place out of 24 drivers. She had been in 7th for much of the session but was just piped in the last few seconds of the session. With a qualifier and 2 races in one day it was very busy and race time soon came around.

As the lights went out Brayden Fletcher, brother of Emmerdale star Kelvin, from 5th on the grid didn’t move, he hadn’t got the car in gear. Caroline had to quickly take evasive action and squeezed between the stranded mini and the pit wall.
On the opening lap Caroline dived up the inside Mike Devine as they entered Knickerbrook gaining another place and set about hunting down her nearest title rival Penny Jones. She was quickly on the back of her mini but couldn’t find a way past. On lap 2 the yellow flags were out as Damien Harrington has run wide on the exit of Lodge Corner. He pulled back onto the track forcing Caroline and Mike to move out of his way as he did so.
Caroline had a few failed attempts to get past Penny but soon found herself demoted as Damien overtook her, then a small mistake at Cascades allowed Mike to pass her.  She saw her opportunity and quickly got on the boot of Mike and both pushed past Penny.  Damien, Mike and Caroline spent the remaining laps fighting over 6th place. With a couple of laps remaining Damien was shown to have a 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits so Mike and Caroline stopped defending the position, effectively letting him go as he would be behind them in the results due to the penalty. It became a 2 way fight for 6th which Mike won leaving Caroline with a 7th place finish.
When the cars went to the holding area to be lined up for the second race Caroline discovered Damien had managed to talk himself out of the penalty and was starting from 5th place, demoting Caroline to 8th. She was not very happy!!
All the cars made the start without incident until they started breaking for the entry to Cascades, Ralph Budd and Steve Rideout made contact and headed off the circuit towards the barrier. Caroline avoided the incident and found herself in 5th place at the end of the first lap.
3rd (Damien) and 4th (Martyn Hathaway) were a short way up the track so she set about hunting them down. On lap 5 she had caught up to the back of them and like in race 1 she out braked Martyn at Knickerbrook to take the place. A couple of laps later she lined Damien up for and overtake into Old Hall when she saw the yellow flags and backed out of the move. Brayden and Penny had made contact and Brayden’s car was sat at the side of the track.
Caroline kept on touch with the back of Damien’s car but he didn’t make a mistake for her to capitalise on. She was going to attempt to overtake him coming out of the final corner but instead she was forced wide off the track by Martyn who was fighting back after being overtaken earlier .
Caroline finished in a career best 4th place, so close but so far from the podium….maybe next time.

Environmental Legal Update

The Environment Agency has recently release updates on a range of environmental legislation that is being updated, amended or consulted upon, as part of the Smarter Environmental Regulation Review.

Overview

Paul Leinster, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency says his organisation is committed to working towards smarter guidance and data:

“The Environment Agency welcomes the important contribution the Smarter Environmental Regulation Review is playing in taking forward our better regulation approach.  Working alongside our partners in the Defra network and business we look forward to making guidance far more accessible and clear, and to reducing the volume of data that business has to submit.  We will work to ensure that the way in which data is submitted is as simple and intuitive as possible”.

Richard Ball Head of Environment at Corporate Risk Systems commented ‘ The new Smarter guidance is a step towards streamlining environmental legislation to a framework similar to health and safety regulation, were the majority of legal requirements follow a clear framework that ensures reasonable protection and without unreasonable profiteering.

Packaging Regs

This include amendments to the  Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 which implement Article 6 (1) of the European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste. They provide for the calculation of glass packaging waste that a producer must recycle by re-melt and ensures that the glass re-melt target is applied to a producer’s glass recycling obligation.

Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

On 7 January 2014 the IED will apply to all installation permits and will extend which activities require permits over the next two years. The Environment Agency will be contacting current permit holders by October 2013 to help you identify activities that may be affected by these changes.

Operators will then have to submit amended applications in accordance with the relevant deadline:

·         30th September 2014  - Gasification, Waste Recovery

·         1st Jan 2015 Hazardous Waste and Waste Treatment

·         31st March 2015, Hazardous Waste storage Waste Water Treatment and Food

The IED will allow some flexibility in how permit conditions and emission limits are set according to local environmental conditions, technical feasibility and geographic location. However, industry and regulators will have to justify any proposed deviation from BAT Conclusions and publish the outcome. Initially at least, any such justifications are likely to be closely scrutinised (by the public as well as authorities) and must be a transparent analysis of the economic costs and technical feasibility weighed against the environmental impacts and any benefits derived from meeting less stringent emission limits. The directive seeks to avoid imposing disproportionate costs on European businesses but such justifications will inevitably take time and cost money.

National clampdown targets poor construction site safety

Poor standards and unsafe work on Britain's building sites will be targeted as part of a nationwide drive aimed at reducing death, injury and ill health in the industry.

During the month long initiative, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will carry out unannounced checks at sites where refurbishment projects or repair works are underway.

From 2 September, inspectors will visit construction sites to ensure high-risk activities, such as working at height, and work which could result in exposure to harmful dusts, are being properly managed. They will also that check that basic welfare facilities, such as toilets and handwashing facilities, have been provided if they are needed.

Despite a welcome reduction in the number of people killed in 2012/13, construction workers remain nearly four times more likely to be killed at work than the average worker. An estimated 70,000 builders are currently suffering ill health as a result of their work. NEBOSH Construction Certificate in Health & Safety

The campaign aims to drive home the message to those working in the industry that poor risk management and a lack of awareness of responsibilities are not only unacceptable, but can cost lives.

Heather Bryant, HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, said:

"Too many people die or are seriously injured every year on Britain's construction sites as a result of entirely avoidable incidents.

"Just as importantly, workers are unnecessarily being exposed to serious health risks, such as asbestos or silica dust, which can have fatal or debilitating consequences.

Ros Stacey – UK Sales Director – CRS comments “ Far too many accidents  are happening on construction sites which  could be avoided and lives saved if only the employer had ensured that their employees and construction workers have received training before being exposed to these risks”. Contact Ros on 01283 509175 to find out how CRS can help your company save money and lives with the accredited health and safety training. www.crsrisk.com

Freight company fined £50,000 after worker hit by falling pallets

A Suffolk-based freight company has been sentenced for a series of safety breaches after a forklift truck toppled and spilled its load onto a worker, breaking his back.

Neil Jennings, 56, of Ipswich, was waiting for his trailer to be loaded in the yard of Eagle Freight Terminal Ltd at its Great Blakenham premises when one of the forklifts doing the loading hit a pothole. The vehicle lurched sideways, shedding its pallets and boxes, one of which hit Mr Jennings.

He suffered multiple fractures to the vertebrae of his upper and middle back and was unable to work for several weeks. Mr Jennings can now only undertake light duties and can no longer carry out everyday tasks without pain and discomfort. IOSH Managing Safely

The incident, on 9 January 2012, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which today prosecuted Eagle Freight Terminal Ltd at Ipswich Magistrates' Court.

HSE found that the freight yard road surface was pitted with potholes and had been the subject of complaints by the company's employees over a significant period. There was little management of traffic movements and no instructions provided regarding segregation of workplace transport and pedestrians.

The court was told that two Improvement Notices were served by HSE on Eagle Freight after the incident requiring them to remedy the condition of the yard's surface and to introduce systems of control which would allow vehicles and pedestrians to circulate safely at the site. Despite two extensions of time to allow the remedial work to be completed, an inspection carried out in September 2012 revealed no work had been completed and neither of the Notices had been complied with.

Ipswich Magistrates' Court heard that the company had been subject to similar enforcement action by HSE as far back as 2002/3 about the lack of control of workplace transport