Congratulations Kerri Ashcroft you are our delegate of the month

Kerri attended our NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety at our Colchester Training venue. Kerri is currently employed as a Health & Safety Manager by The Casswell group based in Stevenage. The Caswell Group are a leading provider of asbestos removal, decontamination, remediation and construction services. We asked Kerri what she liked about the course she said “I liked the group interaction, fun, very educational and eye-opening.” Kerri is now keeping her fingers crossed for her results which are due out next week (Feb 2015), she is hoping that by obtaining this qualification it will enable her to further her health & safety career. She said “I have worked in the asbestos industry for 12 years and moved over to Health & Safety”. And we at CRS agree the NEBOSH General Certificate is one of the most recognised qualifications that employers look for when recruiting Health & Safety staff. Kerri is single and her hobbies include Horses, shooting and motorbikes. Kerri lives in Bishop’s Stortford. We asked Kerri how she found CRS as her training provider – “Google search as a start, and then I looked for a venue close to my home town”.
CRS have their fingers crossed for Kerri and all the other delegates who attended the course back in November at Colchester.

Sahara Force India reveals dynamic new look for 2015

Sahara Force India launched its 2015 season yesterday  offering fans and media a first impression of how the VJM08 will look when it makes its track debut next month. A spectacular event at the Soumaya museum in Mexico City saw Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg pull back the covers to reveal the team’s fresh new look for 2015.
The new car livery is guaranteed to get heads turning. The chassis features an elegant combination of silver and black with the team’s traditional colour of orange streaking from the nose cone to the rear of the car in two symmetrical curves.
Team Principal, Dr Vijay Mallya, was the first to praise the team’s new livery: “It’s another evolution of the contemporary look we introduced last year, which reflects the growth of the team and the global brands with which we are working. I love the addition of silver, which makes the car appear more sleek and aggressive and I’m sure it’s something that will appeal to the fans as well. Our traditional team colours remain integrated in the livery, but we’ve given it a very modern twist.”
CRS has for the last 10 years been a team partner with Sahara Force India F1 and will again this year be  running various free seminars from Sahara Force India F1 HQ at Silverstone. The first seminar is planned for Friday 10^th April and will be delivered by Richard Ball our Head of Environment, more information to follow in our monthly e-news, or contact Ros Stacey – rs@crsrisk.com. This could be your chance to get ‘close and personal’ with the Sahara Force India Team and their new cars for 2015. CRS wish Dr Vijay Mallya and all the Sahara Force India F1 Team great success for 2015.

Firm fined after worker suffers severe burns

A Highland manufacturing company has been fined for safety failings after a worker suffered severe burns to both arms as he tried to clear a blockage in an unguarded machine.
Dingwall Sheriff Court heard on 15 Jan 2015 that Mr Grzybowski was working on a production line to heat-treat carbon fibres where the material is pulled through a series of ovens operating at increasing temperatures. On the day of the incident he was heading for his break when he noticed that the carbon fibre material coming out of an oven had wrapped around a roller.
He and his deputy team leader went to the front of the oven, which was heated to 200C, and Mr Grzybowski climbed through the barrier and began to move the material that had caught using his left hand.
The deputy team leader, unaware that Mr Grzybowski still had his hand inside the machine, instructed another operator to open the nip roller, which narrowed the gap between two rollers trapping Mr Grzybowski’s left wrist.
He reached in with his right hand to withdraw his left and burned that wrist too. He was wearing company-provided gloves and safety jumper but was not wearing the Kevlar arm sleeves provided by SGL.
Mr Grzybowski was taken to hospital with severe burns to the back of both his wrists and a first degree burn to the inside of his right forearm. NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety

Air pollution in Scotland 'creating public health crisis'

Air pollution in Scotland's towns and cities is creating a public health crisis, according to environmental campaigners. The claim by Friends of the Earth Scotland came after they analysed official data for two toxic pollutants.
The group said the latest figures showed pollution levels were continuing to break Scottish and European limits. But ministers defended their record, saying they were working hard, along with councils, to improve air quality.
Friends of the Earth Scotland examined two key pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter - tiny particles which are pumped into the air by diesel vehicles. It found that air pollution had worsened in several areas over the last year.
The environmental group said air pollution had worsened in several areas, including Whitehall Street in Dundee. High levels of NO2 are linked to asthma and other respiratory problems.
Those sites where nitrogen dioxide levels had worsened included St John's Road and Queensferry Road in Edinburgh, Dundee's Whitehall Street, Falkirk's West Bridge Street and Rutherglen's Main Street. Last April, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said air pollution may have been responsible for 2,000 deaths in Scotland in a single year.
CRS’s Head of Environment commented ‘ It’s clear that air pollution in the UK is nearing threshold limits the pressure on Government to tackle air pollution at source through congestion charging in Cities, low emissions zones and  tighter permitting. Organisations need to act sooner rather than later to avoid the measures that are sure to come.’
Low Emission Strategy
Emilia Hanna, air pollution campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "Yet again, Scotland's streets are shown to have dangerous levels of toxic pollution which are breaking legal limits that were due to be met in 2010.
"Pollution levels in our urban areas are showing little sign of improvement with some key streets even more polluted than in 2013. Air pollution is responsible for more than 2,000 deaths in Scotland each year and costs the NHS here up to £2bn annually. The time has come for our polluted air to be treated as the public health crisis it really is."
She added: "The Scottish government is starting to show signs of action but it is painfully slow.
"A new Low Emission Strategy was promised by the end of 2014 but has yet to appear.
"The Low Emission Strategy is the crucial blueprint which should spell out when people in Scotland will finally be able to breathe clean air. If the Scottish government gets it right, then its Low Emission Strategy will save thousands of lives every year."
'Significant reductions'
A Scottish government spokesman said: "The Scottish government, working in partnership with Scotland's 32 local authorities, continues to make progress in improving our air quality.
"Data shows that significant reductions in air pollutants have been achieved since 1990 and further decreases are predicted in the future, given our knowledge of the likely impacts of planned investment.
"Although there has been excellent progress, we recognise that there is more to be done to deliver further benefits for human and environmental health where areas of poorer air quality remain."He added: "Following work with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, the Scottish government will launch, later this month, a consultation on a Low Emission Strategy.
"This will set out the contribution that reduced air pollution can make to delivering sustainable economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for communities across Scotland, with a focus on progress in Scottish towns and cities over the coming years."
Source: BBC

DHL fined £50K after employee was run over by his own vehicle

Global courier firm DHL has been sentenced for safety failings after an HGV driver was run over by his own vehicle at a depot in Bedfordshire. The 42-year-old, from Leeds, was connecting a trailer to his cab at DHL Express (UK) Ltd’s Dunstable depot at the start of his shift at around 2am on 4 September 2012, when the vehicle moved. He was run over after he tripped and fell while attempting to catch up with the cab to stop it hitting and injuring a pedestrian or nearby property.
The worker suffered life-changing injuries including five fractures to his pelvis. He was unable to walk for six months, can no longer drive as he cannot sit for any length of time, and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, for which he is still receiving treatment. He has been unable to work since. The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted DHL Express (UK) Ltd at the Old Bailey.
The court heard that the driver reversed his cab unit up to the trailer to recouple them.  The driver parked on a sloping driveway off Boscombe Road in Dunstable and left the cab’s engine running.  He walked to the rear of the vehicle to connect the trailer to the cab. But it was when he released the trailer’s independent brakes that the weight of the trailer pushing on the cab caused the whole vehicle to move forward. He ran down the length of the vehicle to the front but tripped and fell before reaching the driver’s door. The vehicle ran along the length of his right leg and stopped at his waist.
HSE’s investigation revealed that the company had failed to assess the risks associated with parking on uneven or sloping ground and, as a result, had not identified and implemented practicable controls or safeguards such as the use of wheel chocks and audible handbrake alarm.
DHL, registered at Great South West Road, Hounslow, was fined a total of £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,698 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
After the case, HSE Inspector Emma Page said: “This was a horrific and entirely preventable injury caused by the failure of the company to recognise all hazards arising from routine operations at their depot and their duty to protect the people working there. The risk of large goods vehicles moving when parked on sloping ground when the brakes of the trailer are disengaged is foreseeable and referred to in a number of HSE publications. There was therefore no excuse for such a big employer working routinely with vehicles to ignore this risk.”

£150,000 fine for Chessington over youngster's severe injuries

Chessington World of Adventures was sentenced this week (12 January 2015) for safety failings that led to a four-year-old girl suffering life-changing head injuries when she fell from a raised walkway while queuing for a ride. The youngster, from Kent, fell nearly four metres while waiting in line for the Tomb Blaster ride with her family at the theme park in Surrey on 7 June 2012. She suffered a fractured skull, bleeding to the brain and broken ribs and was in hospital for a month. She still needs extensive rehabilitation treatment and specialist support.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated and prosecuted Chessington World of Adventures Operations Ltd after finding the girl had fallen through a gap in a wooden fence.
A hearing at Guildford Crown Court heard HSE had identified that a rotting paling in the fence had fallen out on the morning of the incident and that the whole fence showed evidence of serious weakening. However, despite the fact that the theme park attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year to the site in Leatherhead Road, HSE said that Chessington did not have either an adequate system of checking and inspecting the fencing or a maintenance process to ensure faults were identified and rectified. The investigation revealed the fence palings, which were examined in detail, were found to have evidence of white and brown rot. Although covered with a brown stain, they had not been painted with a preservative. Their lack of resistance to the weather had been exacerbated by being positioned just where they were hit by rainwater from the roof. There was also evidence that numerous palings had been re-fixed over the years, demonstrating a recurrent problem.
HSE told the court that an adequate maintenance regime and reporting system would have captured details of regular repairs and identified problems and trends. But without these, management were unable to see any pattern developing and address it properly.
Chessington World of Adventures Operations Ltd., of Market Close, Poole, Dorset, was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £21,614 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the sentencing, investigating HSE inspector Karen Morris said: “This was a disastrous and horrifying incident for the child and her parents. They had travelled from their home in Kent for a fun day out together at this well-known attraction only to find themselves hours later in an intensive care ward with their daughter. Quite simply, Chessington had insufficient measures in place to prevent or control the risk of falling from the raised walkway in the first place – and this was not just a couple of feet from the ground but nearly four metres. This incident shows the importance of implementing robust systems for checking and maintaining all aspects of rides, and this includes the walkways and fencing associated with queuing and where people gather.”

New draft guidance on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2015)

CRS keep its subscribers up to date with the main changes to UK HSE legal requirements.
Published today is the new draft guidance on the requirements of the new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2015).  Subject to parliamentary approval, CDM 2015 will come into force on 6th April 2015. It will replace the existing CDM 2007 regulations.

Please contact CRS if you require training or briefings for your team(s) on CDM 2015 – advice@crsrisk.com

Crown Censure for Highways Agency following traffic officer's death

The Highways Agency was issued recently (8 January 2015) with a Crown Censure – the equivalent of a criminal prosecution – for safety failings after an experienced Traffic Officer was struck and killed by a car that went out of control on the London-orbit M25 motorway.
Grandfather John Walmsley, 59, from Gravesend in Kent, was deployed with a colleague to an incident on the M25, between junctions 4 and 5 clockwise, on 25 September 2012. They were faced with a car that had spun around after heavy rain, ending up pointing in the wrong direction in a live lane on the motorway. Mr Walmsley and his partner had towed the vehicle to the hard shoulder and the pair, along with the car’s driver who was unhurt, were awaiting a recovery vehicle. Mr Walmsley then walked down the hard shoulder, and was using his phone, to keep his eye out for the truck when a second car went out of control on the same bend, skidded across the carriageway and hit him. He died at the scene. The driver was subsequently convicted of causing death by careless driving.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated, took the decision to deliver a Censure after identifying failures in the Highways Agency’s quarterly supervision checks at the Dartford outstation.
HSE found that despite the introduction in July 2011 by the Highways Agency of formal quarterly supervision checks of Traffic Officers by a team manager, these quarterly supervision checks were not carried out with Mr Walmsley between August 2011 and the date of his death. While the Highways Agency had in place other health and safety training and policies, including informal supervisory checks, more than half the traffic officers based at the Dartford depot had also not undergone any quarterly supervision checks. HSE said the Highways Agency therefore did not provide the necessary supervision to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of its employees.
The Censure was administered at Ashford Borough Council by HSE’s Regional Director (Southern Division) Tim Galloway and accepted by Mr Simon Sheldon-Wilson, Executive Director of Customer Operations for the Highways Agency.
HSE Inspector Guy Widdowson, who investigated, said: “Mr Walmsley, who had worked as a traffic officer for seven years, was killed because he was not standing behind the safety barrier when a car crashed on the motorway. If the Highways Agency had conducted the necessary supervisory checks between July 2011 and his death the following September, it may have ensured he followed the correct safety procedures and prevented him from working the way he did”.
After delivering the Censure, Tim Galloway added: “Without proper supervision, companies have no way of knowing if their specified control measures are up to date and are being properly used. It is a vital step in controlling risks in the workplace. This is the case for staff who work for the Highways Agency, or indeed any other similar organisation out on the UK road network, just as much as it applies to those who work within a more traditional environment.”
The Highways Agency cannot face prosecution in the same way as non-Government bodies. Crown Censures are agreed procedures applicable to Crown employers instead of criminal proceedings.
CRS says “Validating the implementation of any control measure is almost-always the difference between successful an incomplete implementation of a health and safety management system.  There is a big difference between manuals and paperwork, and a system that works.  Crown Censures are relatively rare, and as a result, health safety practitioners will find this case interesting to read about”.

Leeds fudge manufacturer fined £7K after untrained employee lost her thumb

A Leeds-based chocolate and fudge manufacturer has been fined after an employee lost a thumb while cleaning an unguarded stirring machine. Maria Pirie, 46, from Sherburn-in-Elmet, was cleaning the chocolate hopper at the end of a trial product run at Pecan Candy Deluxe (Europe) Ltd’s site in the Moor Lane Trading Estate when the incident happened. Ms Pirie, who was not fully trained and was cleaning the machine by herself for the first time, moved the stirrer using the control buttons. Her left thumb was sliced off as the stirrer moved, trapping it between the side of the vessel and the stirrer.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated and prosecuted Pecan Candy Deluxe for failing to properly guard the machine’s dangerous moving parts. Leeds Magistrates heard about the incident which took place on 25 January 2013, could have been prevented by a simple interlocked guard, which the company had fitted quickly afterwards.
Ms Pirie’s thumb was surgically re-attached but will never function as before. Being left-handed she has had to relearn how to write and has difficulties with everyday tasks.
The court was told the company had been served with an Improvement Notice by HSE in January 2012 regarding the guarding of mixers following a proactive visit by an inspector.
Pecan Candy Deluxe (Europe) Ltd, of Moor Lane Trading Estate, Sherburn-in-Elmet, was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £627 in costs after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the incident, HSE inspector Rachel Brittain said: “This incident need not, and should not, have happened. The company could easily have prevented access to the dangerous parts of the chocolate hopper by making sure it was effectively guarded. It did not and Ms Pirie has suffered a painful and lasting injury as a result. Preventing workers from getting too close to moving parts of machinery is vital. Pecan Deluxe Candy had subject to an enforcement notice on guarding before this incident but obviously didn’t sustain the improvements required. Too many are injured, limbs are lost and even fatalities can and do happen because employers fail to guard machinery adequately. Employees must also be well trained and supervised.”
CRS says “In the food and drink industries, machinery and plant cause more than 30% of fatal injuries and more than 10% of major injuries each year.  It’s time to take competent advice, people”.

Hospital trust fined £180,000 after patient suffers debilitating burns from super-heated mattress

A sedated patient suffered debilitating injury when a saline bag caused a warming mattress to reach temperatures high enough to cause full thickness burns, a court has heard. It is believed the bag was inadvertently placed on a sensor intended to monitor the mattress temperature, providing an inaccurate reading that prompted the equipment to continue heating.
Mike Wilcock, 56, awoke from a minor operation with third degree burns to his hip and buttock as a result of the incident at Maidstone Hospital on 25 September 2012. As he had been under anaesthetic, he had been unaware of what was happening and was therefore unable to alert medics.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was ordered (18 December 2014) to pay almost £195,000 in fines and costs after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified failings with the way the warming equipment was used. Maidstone Crown Court was told that Trust staff did not have sufficient information and training to ensure the heated mattress was used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Mr Wilcock required skin grafts at a specialist burns unit.  He was unable to work for almost five months and also suffered a mild heart attack that was likely to have been attributed to the successive operations. The qualified sailing instructor has been forced to curtail the hobby he loves because he is no longer able to sit in a boat, and has been left with permanent scarring.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was fined a total of £180,000 and ordered to pay a further £14,970 in costs after admitting breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the hearing HSE Inspector Dawn Smith commented: “Mr Wilcock suffered a serious debilitating injury that was entirely preventable had the Trust implemented a better system and procedures to ensure the warming mattress was used correctly. While the precise circumstances of what happened are somewhat unusual, it is entirely foreseeable that failing to ensure that staff know how to use a piece of equipment may have a negative outcome. The risk of injury from warming devices is well documented, and it also well known that anaesthetised patients require extra care and attention because they are not able to respond and react as they ordinarily would.”
Mr Wilcock said: “What should have been a simple operation has left me disfigured and has disrupted my life and that of my family. My case highlights the critical nature of suitable and adequate training for staff in how to use and maintain equipment. It also highlights that even with the most dedicated staff in the world things can go wrong, and when they do it is absolutely vital that a full and open investigation is carried out and that lessons are learned.”
CRS has specialist health and safety consultants with expertise in assisting organisations to protect their staff and patients the healthcare sector, and welcomes enquiries from NHS and private sector care providers – advice@crsrisk.com for a no-obligation discussion.

Two firms in court fined £237K after worker killed in quarry

A quarry operator and contractor have been ordered to pay a total of £237,500 in fines and costs after a worker was killed when he became trapped under a large stone crushing machine. Gary Ian Ward, 43, of Crook, was working for Ward Bros (Plant Hire) Ltd as a mechanical fitter when the incident happened on 19 February 2009 at Divethill Quarry in Northumberland, which is owned by CEMEX UK Materials Ltd. The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted (23 December 2014) both companies for serious safety failings.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Mr Ward, the nephew of the company’s chairman, was told there was a problem with the conveyor on a large mobile crushing machine. He went underneath to identify the cause of the problem and while he was there the crusher moved, trapping Mr Ward, who subsequently died from asphyxiation.
A HSE investigation found the movement of the machine was caused by a failure of the insulation on an electrical control wire causing a ground fault. This would have been prevented if the machine had been isolated or locked off from its power source before any maintenance activity took place. The quarry rules required a permit for the work being undertaken by Mr Ward, which would have meant the crusher had to be isolated and signed off by a supervisor or manager. No permit was issued and it was discovered there was no lock off facility on the machine. HSE also established that there was no effective supervision of the work being done by Mr Ward by either company.
In addition the investigation found that the crushing machine was in a poorly maintained condition, that some of the workers using the machine were not qualified to operate it, and that safety records for some Ward Bros (Plant Hire) Ltd employees were not up to date.
Ward Bros (Plant Hire) Ltd, of Thistle Road, Littleburn Industrial Estate, Langley Moor, County Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £85,000 and ordered to pay £55,000 in costs.
CEMEX UK Materials Ltd, of CEMEX House, Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe Egham, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £37,500 in costs. The court accepted the breaches CEMEX UK admitted to were not causative of Mr Ward’s death.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Baillie said: “A quarry is a dangerous work environment and the quarry operator and contractors who work there need to ensure that health and safety is properly and effectively managed. Ward Bros (Plant Hire) and CEMEX failed to properly manage and control the work activity at Divethill Quarry. They failed to ensure that the requirements of both their own rules and those required by regulation were met. Employers have a duty to manage and control work activity to ensure it is done safely. It is not enough to just put rules in place. Monitoring the work activity and ensuring there is adequate supervision in place are essential components of a safe system of work. Sadly both were absent in this instance.”
Stephen Asbury, MD of CRS, is the author of the world’s best-selling book http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0415508118 on HSEQ management system auditing. He encourages organizations to conduct effective audits to confirm whether manuals and procedures are being properly implemented in the workplace.  “There can often a big difference between procedure and practice, and senior management is accountable for the implementation of systems that effectively eliminate or mitigate risks, not just for the creation of manuals and paperwork”, he said.

Construction firm and its managing director in court over 'appalling' site safety

A Kent construction company and its managing director have been prosecuted after both displayed a ‘shocking disregard’ for workers’ safety at a demolition site in Surrey. The workers at the site were exposed to ‘appalling risks’ of falling from an unprotected roof and from the presence of dangerous asbestos material.
Conditions at the site in Chobham Road, Woking, were spotted by a passing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, who immediately served a prohibition notice halting the work going on at roof level.  An investigation followed and a prosecution brought against Daniel Lautier and his firm, ICG Construction Management Services Ltd, both of Sevenoaks in Kent, for numerous safety breaches.
Redhill Magistrates were told on 9 December 2014 that the HSE inspector had been driving past on 5 June 2014 when he saw the two-storey, part-demolished house. On top of it, standing at the edges of where a pitched room had been, were three workers. There was no edge protection or fall prevention measures in place despite the dangers to the men of a six to seven metres’ fall. Roof tiles and masonry had been thrown from the structure as it was being demolished.  HSE served a further prohibition notice to ensure that an asbestos survey was carried out prior to any further demolition taking place.
Asbestos was found on site and had it not been removed could have caused serious long term and irreversible ill health to on-site workers and passers-by who may have been exposed the dust from its demolition.  HSE also required a demolition plan to be drawn up, and for workers to halt the uncontrolled and unsafe throwing of building materials to ground level.
HSE’s investigation found a catalogue of failures on the part of Mr Lautier and ICG Construction Services:

• there was no proper system of work drawn up for the demolition of the property, which belonged to Mr Lautier;
• men were working at a dangerous height with no safety measures to protect them from falls;
• demolition was ad-hoc and work bore little resemblance to accepted practice in the industry;
• there was inadequate supervision and planning;
• welfare facilities on site at one point were non-existent.

Daniel Lautier of Harrison Way, Sevenoaks, Kent, admitted two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and his firm, ICG Construction Services, pleaded guilty to one breach of the same Act and a further breach of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Lautier was fined a total of £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,044. No separate penalty was imposed for his company.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Russell Beckett, who investigated, said: “The disregard for health and safety shown by Daniel Lautier and ICG was shocking, and exposed workers and others to appalling risks. The management of health and safety was non-existent even at the most basic level. There were so many failures on site. Many were obvious but all contributed to making the site one of most inadequate and unprofessional I have ever seen. Demolition of a property requires planning and that includes a survey to establish whether asbestos is present. The demolition industry has vastly improved its health and safety record but Mr Lautier decided to cut corners and to try to do it himself.  If this demolition had been simply carried out using an excavator machine then there would have been very few risks involved.”
Head of Consulting at CRS Karen Fryer commented “We’re shocked again that managers in the construction industry seem to know so little about health and safety.  Years after the launch of training schemes by IOSH, CITB, CCNSG and others, even basic awareness like here seems often to be lacking.  If you work in construction, consider construction safety training – it will protect your wallet, and you life!”.

Jaguar Land Rover prosecuted over worker's 'horrific' injuries

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd has been fined for safety breaches after an employee suffered life-threatening crush injuries when he was dragged into inadequately guarded machinery. The 57-year-old maintenance electrician from Northfield, Birmingham punctured both lungs and broke ten ribs, his breastbone, two bones in his spine and two in his right hand. He had blood clots on his heart and kidneys and was in an induced coma in intensive care for 12 days. He was in hospital for a further seven days but was back at work within 17 weeks. The incident happened in the paint shop at the company’s Lode Lane site in Solihull on 14 June 2013
Birmingham Crown Court was told a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that following the latest in a series of frequent production line stoppages the employee approached a gap in the perimeter guarding that surrounded the vehicle body lifting equipment so he could witness the troublesome process in operation. As he watched, he was hit by an empty vehicle body carrier on a circulatory chain conveyor that was travelling through the gap. He was knocked to the ground and forcibly dragged through the gap into a restricted processing area where he was severely crushed.
The gap remained unguarded following the incident until HSE enforcement required that further protective measures be provided. The area of conveyor was enclosed with fixed perimeter guards by Jaguar Land Rover and a robust key exchange access system introduced.
On 23 December 2014, Jaguar Land Rover Ltd, of Abbey Road, Whitley, Coventry, was fined £40,000 with £13,474 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. Passing sentence, His Honour Judge Carr said Jaguar Land Rover “fell far short of a safe and reasonable standard”, adding: “This was an entirely reasonable, foreseeable situation. The breach was an ongoing failure and an accident waiting to happen.”
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector John Glynn said: “The incident was entirely preventable. Although the gap was minimally sized to allow empty carriers into the restricted area, it also allowed access to dangerous moving parts within the production process while in itself creating a crush hazard with the moving conveyor. Jaguar Land Rover has extensive safety systems in place and the Lode Lane plant had other facilities with similar processes that are guarded much more effectively. The company should have ensured the same level of protection at this location. It didn’t and as a result a man suffered horrific injuries. It is remarkable that he recovered enough to return to work within 17 weeks. The incident could very easily have ended his life.”

Thames Water ordered to pay more than £361,000 in fines and costs

Thames Water has been ordered to pay more than £361,000 in fines and costs after a worker was killed by a reversing excavator at a treatment works in Walthamstow. Raymond Holmes, 59, of Rayleigh, sustained multiple crush injuries in the fatal incident at the utility company’s Coppermill Lane site on 30 April 2010, and died at the scene. He was undertaking profiling work as part of team cleaning a large sand filter bed, a process that involved the use of several items of large mobile plant machinery, including the excavator that struck him.
Thames Water was sentenced on 8 December 2014 after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified serious failings with the way the machines and workers were allowed to operate.
Southwark Crown Court heard that Mr Holmes, an employee of Thames Water Utilities Limited (TWUL) for more than 30 years, was using laser levelling equipment to measure the depth of the sand bed on foot. He was struck by an excavator working close by after the driver reversed without seeing him or realising he was there.
HSE established that although TWUL recognised the need for control measures to mitigate the risk of a collision between plant and workers, the company failed to implement sufficient measures on the day. Those working in the beds, including Mr Holmes, had also received no formal instruction or supervision to ensure they understood the safe systems of work. HSE also found that nobody was required to wear hi-visibility clothing, and that the excavator involved  was not equipped with effective rear view mirrors or any form of reversing aid or alarm. The court was told that had the work been better planned and managed, with effective control measures in place, Mr Holmes’ death could have been avoided.
Thames Water Utilities Limited, of Clearwater Court, Vastern Road, Reading, was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay a further £61,229 in costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After sentencing, HSE Inspector Nick Patience commented: “Raymond Holmes sadly lost his life because basic safety standards were not in place to protect him and other workers. Working alongside mobile plant can be extremely dangerous, and it is vital that effective control measures are in place at all times to ensure collisions are avoided. Although Thames Water had identified the potential risks, the company failed to ensure the necessary precautions and safe systems of work were in place, understood by all and monitored on that fateful day.”
Laura Wyer, Raymond’s daughter, speaking on behalf of the family, commented: “When we heard the news that my father had been killed it was not only completely devastating, but incomprehensible that he was killed at work. We had never thought his job was in any way dangerous and couldn’t understand how it was allowed to happen. If only a few simple procedures had been implemented then he would still be here today. My father was a very jolly, easy going man who had a huge amount of time for both myself and my mum, and also my husband Robert, who he saw as the son he never had. He was only a few years from retiring and both he and my Mum were already looking forward to the time they would have together. If just a little more thought and time is taken by employers then workers would not need to lose their lives for simply doing their job. Working in a safe and healthy environment should be a right – it must never be referred to as a burden on an employer to ensure this.”

Chinese court issues 14 prison sentences and record pollution fines totalling £16M

The Jiangsu Provincial Higher People's Court in China's eastern province has fined six companies 160m yuan (£16.6m; $26m) for polluting rivers, state media report. The Xinhua news agency said the fine was the highest ever in China as a result of public interest litigation against polluters. The companies were found guilty in August of discharging 25,000 tonnes of chemical waste into two Taizhou rivers.

Taizhou Intermediate People's Court had already given jail terms to fourteen people involved in the pollution but the companies, which have not been named, appealed against the fines, said the Xinhua agency.  The court has rejected all of these appeals, and has ordered the companies to pay the fines to an environmental protection fund within the next 30 days.

China's rapid economic growth has caused widespread environmental damage, and the country is facing international pressure to clean up its environment and an increasing number of local protests concerning pollution.  The government says that around 70% of China's lakes and rivers are polluted. The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says the record fine will be welcomed by environmentalists as a sign that the government is finally prepared to get tough on polluters.

Record Chinese fine for pollution http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-30640385

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Safe work in confined spaces L101 (3rd revision, December 2014)

This revised Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance is for those involved in work within confined spaces, those who employ or train such people and those that represent them. This 3^rd edition explains the definition of a confined space in the Regulations and gives examples. It will help you assess the risk of working within a particular confined space and put precautions in place for work to be carried out safely.

This edition brings the document up to date with regulatory and other changes. The guidance has been simplified to make the understanding and use of the document easier, particularly with clarifying the definition of a confined space. Other changes include:

·         a flowchart to help in the decision-making process

·         additional examples including new workplace risks such as specifically created hypoxic environments, and gaseous fire suppression systems

·         amendments relating to the need to check, examine and test equipment

Download a free copy here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l101.pdf

Directors fined after young worker crushed by dumper

A 20-year-old man died on his first day at work for a new company when the four-tonne dumper he was driving toppled over a bank and crushed him. Daniel Whiston, from Dulverton, was allowed to drive the dumper, which had a number of serious defects, before it overturned down the embankment at Sweetings Farm, near Tiverton, on 27 October 2009. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  investigated the incident, and prosecuted Mr Whiston’s employers, company directors William Friend and Robert Plume, at Exeter Crown Court this week (22 December 2014).
The court heard that Plume and Friend’s company, Wedgewood Buildings Ltd, had been contracted to expand a pond on the farm, which involved excavating and moving spoil around the site. Mr Whiston received about 30 minutes’ training from a more experienced colleague, who was also operating an excavator and filling the dumper, before he started his first day’s work. During the afternoon, the excavator operator, who was the only other worker on site saw the fully-loaded dumper driven by Mr Whiston topple off the side of the causeway and down the 60 degree slope, turning over and crushing him underneath.
HSE’s investigation found a number of serious failings on the site:

• The excavator driver was not trained to teach Mr Whiston how to use the dumper and was not competent to supervise him
• The dumper had a number of serious defects, including steering failure, defective and inoperative front braking and a non-functioning handbrake with worn-out parts
• No suitable or sufficient risk assessments had been carried out for the work and no safe system of work was used
• The causeway used by the dumper was too narrow for a front-tipping dumper to be positioned and safely tip the load down the embankment

Robert Plume, of East Street, South Molton, and William Friend, of Hannaford, Swimbridge, near Barnstaple, each pleaded guilty to a breach of Health and Safety legislation. Each was given a 12 month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and 180 hours of community service, to be completed within a year. They were also ordered to pay costs of £25,000 each.
HSE Inspector Jonathan Harris, speaking after the hearing, said: “The very serious failures to manage this job properly contributed to the tragic and needless loss of a young man’s life. Workers have a right to expect that the equipment they use is appropriate for the task, properly maintained and in a safe condition. Mr Whiston was not given suitable basic or advanced training under the industry’s Construction Plant Competence Scheme and was, instead, given a short briefing by a worker who himself had no formal qualifications for driving the dumper. Anyone in control of construction projects must ensure the work is properly planned and risk assessed to avoid similar tragedies in the future. Knowing what needs to be done is not the same as knowing how it should be done safely.”
CRS says “This was a case where the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act could have been, but was not, used to punish the company. Gross negligence by the company and its controllers clearly led to this young man’s death”.