How the World has Changed in Ten Years: 2000 – 2010

• World population: 2000 = 6.1 billion / 2010 = 6.9 billion
• Billionaires: 2000 = 306 / 2010 = 1011
• The under-nourished: 2000 = 857 million / 2010 = 925 million
• Terror attacks: 2000 = 423 / 2010 = 11000
• Tallest building: 2000 = Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur (452m) / 2010 Burj Khalifa, Dubai (828m)
• Internet users in China: 2000 = 22 million / 2010 = 420 million
• Cell phones in India: 2000 = 2 million / 2010 = 545 million
• Bentleys sold in Russia: 2000 = 0 / 2010 = 103
• US Defence budget: 2000 = $316 billion / 2010 $693 billion
• Polar ice cap: 2000 = 7 million km2 / 2010 = 4.9 km2
• UK Workplace fatalities: ye2000 = 220 / ye2010 = 152

Source: Time magazine

Christmas safety moment

Christmas is a time when your home might be full of people and it is in the excitement of the season that accidents can happen. But one of the good things about Christmas is that there are typically more people around to supervise young children and, with a little care and forward planning, accidents can be avoided.

At CRS, we’ve done a ‘safety moment’ in our office to identify the best safety tips, and present here the best ones which you may find useful:

* Be a good neighbour – if it snows or ices over, clean the paths around your home
* Look out for small items that could pose a choking hazard to young children, including parts that have fallen off toys or from Christmas trees, button batteries and burst balloons
* Keep decorations and cards away from fires and other heat sources such as light fittings
* If you have old Christmas fairy lights, seriously consider buying new ones, which will meet much higher safety standards.  Keep the lights switched off until the tree is decorated, and don’t let young children play with lights (some have swallowed the bulbs).  Remember to switch off the lights when going out of the house or to bed
* Remember, Christmas novelties are not toys, even if they resemble them, and they do not have to comply with toy safety regulations. Give careful thought to where you display them, for example, place them high up on Christmas trees where they are out of the reach of young hands
* Beware of hot fat, boiling water and sharp knives and keep young children out of the kitchen. Wipe up any spills quickly
* Beware of trailing cables and wires in the rush to connect new gadgets and appliances
* Falls are the most common accidents so try to keep clutter to a minimum. Make sure stairs are well-lit and free from obstacles, especially if you have guests
* Plan New Year fireworks parties well in advance and follow the Firework Safety Code – see http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/the%20fireworks%20safety%20code.pdf  
* Never drink and drive, and plan long journeys so you won’t be driving tired

Team CRS

CRS are proud to announce that we will again be sponsoring TEAM CRS for 2011.

Please look out for us at the Mighty Mini events and watch out for the competitions in our news letter.

As a thank you for our sponsorship we have been given a great year planner for you to download.

 

Please feel free to download and distribute.

Concorde Paris Crash - Continental guilty

Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics were this week found guilty of criminal negligence in causing the French Concorde crash that killed 113 people 10 years ago.  Air France Flight 4590 was a flight Paris Charles do Gaulle Airport, Paris to New York.  On 25 July 2000 it crashed in Gonesse, France shortly after take off. All one hundred passengers and nine crew on board the flight perished. On the ground, four people were killed.

A Paris court ruled on 6 December that the company and mechanic John Taylor must pay fines over the July 2000 disaster.  Taylor was also given a 15-month suspended prison sentence. All other defendants were acquitted in the verdict.

Investigators said a Continental DC-10 dropped titanium debris on the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport before the Concorde took off.  The debris cut the Concorde's tyre, hurling bits of rubber into the fuel tanks and starting a fire.  The airline was fined £170,000, and Taylor £1,700.  Three former French officials also facing manslaughter charges were acquitted.

While France's aviation authority concluded the crash could not have been foreseen, a judicial inquiry said the plane's fuel tanks lacked sufficient protection from shock and that airline officials had known about the problem for more than 20 years.  The families of most of the crash victims were compensated years ago, so financial claims were not the trial's focus - the main goal was to assign responsibility. It is not uncommon for such cases to take years to reach trial in France.

Continental is now part of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings , which was formed in October as the holding company owner of United and Continental airlines, which will eventually be combined into a single airline.  The court also ordered Continental to pay Air France £847,000.

A round up of construction prosecutions.

HSE has recently issued several safety alerts which have relevance to the construction industry. Please read them to check if there are actions you need to take.
Deterioration and failure of cold / frozen food store ceilings
HSE recently completed a fatal accident investigation following the failure of the ceiling of a frozen food store. The store was constructed in the 1970s and the ceiling panels were bolted to a metal support frame. The investigation revealed that the bolts had failed primarily due to fatigue and corrosion.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/coldstoreceilings.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=1
'False' engagement of tipping hooks on 'builders' skips
A fatality during the tipping-out of a 'builders' skip has identified a potential danger whereby fabrication of the skip can result in a lip on which tipping hooks may 'falsely' engage.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/tippinghooks.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=2
2. ++ Ladder Exchange ++
Ladder Exchange is helping to remove dodgy ladders from Britain's workplaces. This year's initiative ends on 30th November - so if you have a ladder which is broken, damaged or bent, hurry now to exchange it for a safe, new one at one of our partner companies.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/ladderexchange.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=3
3. ++ HEALTH AND SAFETY STATISTICS 2009/10 ++
Statistics released by HSE show that despite a significant fall in the number of recorded deaths and injuries construction is still one of Britain's most dangerous industries. Falls from height remain the biggest cause of fatalities with the other main causes being struck by a moving/falling object, being struck by a moving vehicle and collapses.
Further information
HSE Press Release - http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/hse-statistics2010cons.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=4
Construction statistics - http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction/index.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=5
4. ++ RECENT ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY ++
Read details of some recent HSE prosecutions and enforcement action in the construction sector and find sources of relevant advice.
Work at height
17 November 2010 - A foam manufacturer has been fined after a worker fell through a roof at its Derbyshire factory. The worker had repaired a leaking roof and was walking back down when he fell through a fragile roof light.
The HSE investigation found Recticel Ltd had failed to properly plan the work and consider the risks.  The company admitted breaching regulations 4(1) and 9(1) of the Work at Height Regulations and was fined a total of £13,000 and £5,098 costs.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-em-10010.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=6
Further information
Working at height - http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/workingatheight.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=7
Roof repair work - What you need to know as a busy builder http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/site3.pdf?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=8
Roofwork - http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/roofwork.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=9
Struck by
10 November 2010 - Two Black Country construction firms have been fined after a worker was severely injured by falling timber.
Neil Anson was struck by timber roof trusses being unloaded by a mobile crane from a lorry trailer.
HSE prosecuted Kent Road Construction Limited and Mr S K Sharma, trading as Fortmere Construction. Kent Road Construction Ltd was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £4,496 costs while Mr Shiv Sharma, trading as Fortmere Construction, was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £899 costs.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-wm-22810.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=10
17 November 2010 - A Cardiff-based recycling company has ordered to pay over £230,000 after an employee died following an incident at its premises.
John Penhalagan, 44, was employed by Celsa Manufacturing (UK) when he was struck by a crane hook weighing 3.7 tonnes used to convey ladles of molten steel.
An HSE investigation found that while there was no mechanical defect with the crane, the hooks were able to move at head height near to operators on the ground without adequate safeguards.
Celsa Manufacturing (UK) pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £36,294.38.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-w-1110ap.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=11
Further information
CDM Regs 2007 -http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=12
Lifting Operations - http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/cranes.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=13
Power cables
11 November 2010 - A Birmingham heating company has been convicted after one of its workers suffered serious burns from a power cable. The worker was using a hand held mini breaker to dig through concrete in an alleyway when he struck an 11kv cable under the pavement.
The Magna Heating Company Limited which is no longer trading pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 The company was fined £1.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-wm-26710.htm?ebul=cons/nov10&cr=14

Lords debate on Lord Young’s review

As you may have noted there was a debate in the House of Lords yesterday on Lord Young’s recent review, ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’ to which RoSPA contributed views and evidence.

(It can be accessed again via http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=6977 Lord Young speaks at 47 mins into broadcast

or The Hansard link is at Lords debate on Lord Young’s report http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/101125-0001.htm#10112529000774
On the whole the debate was quite broad and thoughtful. Clearly many of Lord Young’s proposals are to be supported, including his underlying message about proportionality and simplification for small firms - on which RoSPA have been campaigning for some time.



There were lots of good points raised by peers, particularly about the need to free up outdoor education and to bear down on aggressive claims advertising. Also, the need to see safety essentially as a matter of balance and good judgement seems to be widely shared.



At the same time, several peers, including Lord Jordan, Lord Brougham and Vaux, Lord McKenzie, Baroness Turner, and Baroness Donaghy drew attention to the continuing costs of accidents and ill health, the strong business case for health and safety  and the extent of work still to be done in this area, including in apparently ‘low hazard’ settings.



In the coming months RoSPA will be continuing to work with other organisations, including feeding in to consultation on implementation on various parts of the review. And we will be continuing to work via the All Party Group on Health and Safety to explain to parliamentarians the patient work which goes on every day, largely unseen, to prevent work related accidents and health damage.

Civil sanctions for environmental offences England and Wales

The Environment Agency in England and Wales will start using new enforcement powers, called civil sanctions, from 4 January 2011. Civil sanctions can be used against a business committing certain environmental offences, relating to harm to water resources, hazardous waste and packaging waste, as an alternative to prosecution. The new civil sanctions the environmental regulator can use against a business committing certain environmental offences include:

·         Compliance notice - written notice to take steps to ensure that an offence does not continue or recur.

·         Restoration notice - written notice to restore harm caused by non-compliance.

·         Enforcement undertaking - voluntary agreement by business to take corrective action to make up for non-compliance.

·         Fixed monetary penalty - a low level penalty for minor offences fixed at £100 for an individual and £300 for a company.

·         Variable monetary penalty - a monetary penalty for more serious offences with a maximum of £250,000.

·         Stop notice - written notice to stop an activity which is causing harm.

Legal action will be taken against anyone not paying monetary penalties, whilst anyone not complying with restoration notices or stop notices will usually be prosecuted.