Carlisle firm in court after trainee scaffolder injured in fall

A Carlisle scaffolding firm has been fined £15,000 after an employee was seriously injured when he fell more than six metres through a roof light.

Contract Scaffolding Services Limited was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at a factory in Dalston, Cumbria, on 22 February 2013.

Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard the company had been sub-contracted to fit edge protection around the roof of a building, to allow its removal ahead of the building’s demolition.

The 23-year-old trainee scaffolder, from Carlisle, who does not want to be named, was part of a four-strong team carrying out the work. He was wearing a harness, but this was not clipped onto anything at the time of the incident.

He was working on the roof and as he tried to walk past one of his colleagues, he stepped onto a roof light which gave way, causing him to fall through it.

As he fell, he struck parts of the internal steel structure of the building, causing severe cuts to his face and head, before hitting the concrete floor more than six and a half metres below and shattering his knee cap into 12 pieces. As a result of his injuries, he is no longer able to carry out manual work.

The court was told that although Contract Scaffolding Services Ltd had prepared a scaffolding plan, method statement and risk assessment prior to starting the work, it did not mention the presence of the fragile roof lights.

The scaffolding plan stated that workers would initially work from a cherry picker or scissor lift and that once a single handrail was installed they would gain access onto the roof.

This would prevent falls from the edge but offered no protection from a fall through the roof lights, which ran at four metre intervals and left less than half a metre of usable space where the scaffolders were working.

The plan made no mention of the need to wear a harness when working on the roof and the court heard that although the injured worker was issued with a harness, at five feet the lanyard was so long that even if it had been clipped onto the scaffolding it would not have stopped him falling through the roof lights due to their position.

Contract Scaffolding Services Limited, of Carleton Depot, London Road, Carlisle, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £920 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 9(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 on 18 June 2014.

NEBOSH Certificate in Construction Health & Safety (8^th September York book now)

Congratulations Stephen Thomas Bradley you are our Delegate of the Month for July

Stephen  has recently left  the armed forces  where he was a Search Adviser/Instructor and decided as part of his resettlement in readiness for civilian life that he would undertake some HSE courses, after looking at all the available information for MOD Service Leavers Stephen came across Corporate Risk Systems ‘Full House Package’ which comprises NEBOSH National General Certificate, NEBOSH Fire Safety Certificate and NEBOSH Certificate in Environmental Management after various conversations with our MOD Account manager Ros Stacey, Stephen decided to book the course package. He had the reassurance that if he failed any of the exams then he always had the ‘safety net’ of the Sure Pass Promise which CRS offers to all delegates attending any of their NEBOSH courses. Stephen decided that he would attend his courses in Colchester. When asked what he liked about the course he said “the interactive learning and the method of delivery in the lessons and also the food provided at the location”. Stephen passed with credits two of the three courses in the ‘Full House Package’ and  we are all keeping our fingers crossed that Stephen has passed all his final NEBOSH Fire Safety & Risk Management course exams .
Stephen’s hobbies are rugby and football. He is married and has a daughter.
Stephen now joins our other winners in the Prize Draw for a £50 M&S Voucher which will be drawn later in the year.

It has arguably saved more lives than any other legislation', writes Telegraph journalist

As all of us at CRS prepares to remember the 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act this summer, we noticed that the Daily Telegraph had published an incisive article acknowledging the importance of this Act. This is an extract from Philip Johnston’s opinion piece, which you can read in full on the Telegraph website .

‘Health and safety has become synonymous with nanny statism, interfering jobsworths, ludicrous litigation and risk aversion. And yet the Health and Safety at Work Act, which is 40 years old this summer, has arguably saved more lives than any other piece of legislation, including the ban on drink driving or the compulsory wearing of seat belts in cars. It may well have reduced deaths by 5,000 or more.

So how did an Act that was by any measure a milestone in social reform turn into one of the most disparaged statutes of recent times? Partly it has to do with the way the law is interpreted – and often wrongly blamed for absurd restrictions imposed on perfectly innocuous practices. But it also reflects an absolutist view that it is possible to avoid accidental injury or death, rather than simply to reduce the circumstances in which they might occur.

Forty years on, the Act has achieved what it set out to do, which is to insist upon high standards of health and safety in places of work. All we need do now is to apply the law with the common sense that inspired it in the first place.’

Regular readers of our blog will recognise the sentiment. A post by us in January this year read: ‘This year will mark 40 years since Health and Safety at Work Act received Royal Assent. Arguably it is one of the best pieces of legislation on the statute books – although we know it is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. It has protected millions of British workers, and driven sharp reductions in incidents of occupational death, serious injury and ill health.’

Construction firm fined after worker fell from staircase

A Wolverhampton firm has been fined after a worker was seriously injured when he fell from a staircase during the construction of a new cinema.

The 52-year-old man from Leigh, Greater Manchester, who has asked not to be named, suffered a broken collarbone in the incident at New Square in West Bromwich on 31 May 2013.

He was working for Ereconomic Construction Limited, which was  prosecuted on 9^th June 2014 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure sufficient measures were in place to prevent or mitigate the fall.

Sandwell Magistrates’ Court heard that Ereconomic Construction Limited had been contracted by Odeon Cinemas to fit out the new complex. The injured man was a sub-contractor employed by Ereconomic Construction Limited to install the balustrades on a staircase within the cinema’s lobby.

There was some delay in the installation of the balustrades, which meant that the temporary edge protection at the side of the staircase at level one was still in place when a floor system was being installed.

To allow the installation of the floor, the temporary edge protection was removed. However, there was nothing implemented in the interim to prevent falls over the side of the staircase.

While attempting to retrieve some tools from the first floor landing, the worker fell one metre over the side of the staircase. He was unable to work for three months as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Ereconomic Construction Limited of Salisbury Street, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,033 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Amy Kalay said:  “Ereconomic Construction Limited failed in its duty of care to the sub-contractor, who sustained a serious injury in a wholly preventable incident.

“Falls are the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, and it is imperative that all work at height activity is subject to a high degree of management and control.

NEBOSH Certificate in Construction Health and Safety

NVQ LEVEL DIPLOMA CONSIDERED THE BEST ROUTE TO CMIOSH

The NVQ level 5 Diploma is considered by the Health & Safety Industry to be the best route to CMIOSH (Chartered Membership of IOSH) CRS a current accredited Health & Safety Training organisation based in Burton on Trent recently delivered a seminar to delegates from various sectors including Higher Education, Construction, Government Departments, Military and the Food Industry on how the City & Guilds NVQ level 5 Diploma which is a great follow on course from the NEBOSH National Certificate in Occupation Health &  Safety can work with both employers and employees. The qualification is delivered by distance learning, it helps to support the employees within their current Health & Safety roles, and by gathering evidence which is used in their everyday work which is then submitted as part of the course. CRS currently use the web-based portal ‘Learning Assistant’ for students to ‘upload’ their work meaning they can work on the qualification without leaving their workplace making it a very convenient way of learning. The course is fully mentored and support by the CRS team of CMIOSH Tutors.
The seminar was held on Friday 13^th June at Sahara Force India F1, Silverstone a presentation of the CRS – NEBOSH Student of the Year 2014 Award also took place with Jonathan Lewis – a Chief Engineer with the Home Office, Border Force Maritime and Aviation Operations picking up the award.
If you missed the seminar and would like some more information on the NVQ level 5 Diploma please contact Ros Stacey – rs@crsrisk.com or visit the website www.crsrisk.com
Another NVQ level 5 Diploma seminar will be held on Wednesday 8^th October and we will be taking a look at the qualification and the units with particular attention to the first unit 501, so if you are considering taking this qualification get your name on our guest list for our next free seminar and come and find out for yourself if the NVQ level 5 Diploma is for you.

Statement on joint Police/HSE investigation into Brecon Beacon deaths

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said:

“In a Ministry of Defence selection test exercise in the Brecon Beacons in July 2013, a group of soldiers suffered heat illness and three died. MoD repeated the test exercise the following day in similar weather conditions. There were more casualties but no further deaths. HSE continues to investigate the circumstances leading to the deaths jointly with the Police, who lead the investigation.

“As a result of early findings from the investigation, HSE served a Crown Improvement Notice on the MoD on 25 October. This required them, in accordance with their own guidance, to manage risks adequately by producing and acting upon exercise-specific risk assessments. The MoD complied with the Notice and took action before the next selection test exercise in January 2014.

“HSE is well aware that the MoD training exercises are arduous and require endurance and that there are good operational reasons for this. HSE did not ask the MoD to make the tests softer, provide hot food or for soldiers to be helped over the finish line.”

News articles on the original occurrence:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/deaths-three-soldiers-brecon-beacons-5833386

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/13/brecon-beacons-mod-change-sas-test

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/03/brecon-beacons-army-pre-inquest

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2364160/Soldiers-death-yomp-Brecon-Beacons-begged-water.html

Health and safety myths - Fabric store could not employ work experience pupil due to scissors being used there

The HSE mythbuster challenge panel has recently been asked to consider a case where an enquirer was looking for work experience for her daughter and asked at a local fabric store. She was told they could not employ work experience students "due to health and safety as there are scissors around". She was told that their insurers would not cover them.

Reviewing this case, the panel decided that there is no reason at all why a young person could not take up a work experience placement in an environment simply because scissors are present. Insurers have confirmed that Employers’ liability insurance policies already cover work placements without the need for any additional cover.

HSE guidance explains how to ensure that work experience can take place and that any checks are proportionate to the environment:http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/workexperience/placeprovide.htm
It is unclear whether the local fabric warehouse are misinformed or were simply using health and safety as an easy excuse for not offering a placement.