In a street near you

HSE construction inspectors are carrying out unannounced visits to sites where refurbishment projects or repair works are underway.

This year the Initiative began on 3 October 2016 and will end early November 2016.

Inspectors will be out and about ensuring high-risk activities, particularly those affecting the health of workers, are being properly managed.

These include

• risks to health from exposure to dust such as silica are being controlled
• workers are aware of where they may find asbestos, and what to do if they find it
• other health risks, such as exposure to noise and vibration, manual handling and hazardous substances are being properly managed
• jobs that involve working at height have been identified and properly planned to ensure that appropriate precautions, such as proper support of structures, are in place
• equipment is correctly installed / assembled, inspected and maintained and used properly
• sites are well organised, to avoid trips and falls, walkways and stairs are free from obstructions and welfare facilities are adequate  

Where serious breaches of legislation are found then immediate enforcement action will be taken, but Inspectors will also be taking steps to secure a positive change in behaviour to ensure on-going compliance.

Health and safety breaches with clients and designers will also be followed up to reinforce their duties under CDM 2015 and to ensure that all duty holders with on site health and safety responsibilities understand and fulfil these.

Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS)   CITB - Site Supervisors Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS)

Environmental services firm fined for safety failings

A Lancashire based environmental services company has been fined after a worker suffered serious injuries when his arm was crushed by machinery.

Preston Magistrates’ Court heard how on the 20th May 2015 30-year-old worker, Muhammad Shoaib, was working on a waste line cleaning out waste plastic material from a conveyor belt when the machinery was started and his arm was drawn in between the rollers and the belt.

Mr Shoaib suffered crush injuries in two places on his left arm and needed extensive surgery. He has not been able to return to work since the incident.

HSE’s investigation found that no suitable and sufficient risk assessment had been carried out to identify the risks from the rollers. There was no suitable isolation process or guarding in place, and no safe system of work for cleaning the rollers.

HSE Inspector Sharon Butler said: “This incident was entirely preventable. It is essential to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. As in this case the outcome for ignoring these simple safety measures can result in life changing injuries and a substantial fine.”

Consillium Environmental Services Limited, Tower Road Business Park, Darwen pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £30,000 with £4500 in costs.

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Manufacturer fined after worker was crushed by door – Company fined £20,000

A Worcestershire-based manufacturer was fined after a worker nearly lost his life when a door collapsed and pinned him to a baler.

Hereford Magistrates’ Court heard that on 5 May 2015, two maintenance workers were replacing the bottom of a heavy sectional door at the factory. While removing the hinges and brackets the door collapsed, pinning one of the workers between it and a baler that was next to the door.

The worker suffered serious injuries including broken ribs and asphyxiation which led to a loss of consciousness for eight hours. He has since made a full recovery. ^[1]

HSE investigated the incident and found that managers had failed to recognise the risks involved in the maintenance work that was taking place. There was no appropriate equipment, instruction or training provided to the workers to ensure the method of work was safe.

Essential Supply Products Limited of Enigma Business Park in Malvern pleaded guilty to Section 2(1) Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £2,714.10 in costs

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Distillery blaze left 21-year-old worker engulfed in flames

A distillery in Oldbury has been fined after an employee was engulfed in flames in a fire that destroyed the warehouse and its contents.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how ethyl acetate (highly flammable liquid) was being transferred from a bulk storage tank into an intermediate bulk container when an employee was engulfed in flames. The 21-year-old sustained twenty percent burns to his head, neck and hands.

The fire, at the Alcohol Limited distillery on Crosswell road in Oldbury, destroyed the warehouse and caused damage to nearby cars and houses. West Mercia Fire and Rescue Service were called to bring the fire under control.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 26 November 2012 found that the most likely source of ignition was a discharge of static electricity generated by the transfer of the liquid.

There was poor maintenance of pipework and associated valves. There was a failure to competently inspect the equipment or monitor the systems of work.

Alcohols Limited, of Charringtons House, The Causeway, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £270,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,009.

After the hearing HSE inspector Kieron Jones said: “Companies that fail to ensure the integrity of their safety critical equipment place their employees, members of the public, emergency services and their entire livelihood at risk of serious harm.

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Firm sentenced after worker’s arm severed

A Bristol based manufacturer of concrete products has been fined after a worker’s arm was torn off when it was pulled into the rotating tail pulley of a conveyor belt.

Bristol Crown Court heard the injured man was making adjustments to a misaligned conveyor belt at Concrete Fabrications Ltd plant in Henbury, Bristol on 18 May 2015.

The court heard that to do this, the man who does not wish to be named, had to adjust tensioning rods which were located inside the machine’s guards, in close proximity to the conveyor belt and rotating tail pulley.

The worker noticed that aggregate had built up on the tensioning rod and he tried to knock off the material with a hammer so he could use a spanner to adjust the rod. However, the hammer was dragged into the rotating machinery along with the employee’s arm which was severed between the shoulder and the elbow.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting told the court that Concrete Fabrications Ltd should have had adequate guards on dangerous parts of machinery.

It said clear procedures should exist regarding maintenance and adjustments of machinery and arrangements should be in place to ensure that machinery is not run without the necessary guarding in place, and that clear isolation and lock off procedures exist.

An unsafe system of work existed for the maintenance of machinery, in so much that the dangerous moving parts of the machine were exposed during maintenance operations. A sufficient risk assessment would have identified the risks associated with tracking conveyor belts, and identified appropriate control measures.

Concrete Fabrications Ltd of Cole Road, St Phillips, Bristol, United Kingdom, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 and was fined £100,000 with £7758 costs awarded to HSE.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Matthew Tyler said: “Company’s need to ensure the risks associated with maintenance tasks are adequately assessed, and effectively controlled, through adequate guarding of dangerous parts of machinery, and the existence of clear robust procedures in respect of maintenance and adjustments of machinery, including isolation and lock off requirements. The consequences of not doing this are clear to see here today.”

NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety