CONSTRUCTION INFONET – JANUARY 2009
Construction Infonet is a free e-Bulletin from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to provide a regular update on health and safety issues for all in the construction industry.
Please find attached some articles from January’s Issue :
1. THE NOTIFICATION OF CONVENTIONAL TOWER CRANES REGULATIONS 2010
The Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 come into force on 6 April 2010; they require certain information about conventional tower cranes used on construction sites to be notified to HSE. HSE has produced guidance which explains the types of tower crane that need to be notified to HSE and the notification procedures. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/indg437.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=1
2. SIMPLE MISTAKES CAN SHATTER LIVES…YOUR ACTION COULD STOP THEM HAPPENING
The Shattered Lives campaign returns on 1 February 2010, focusing on actions that employers can take to prevent slips, trips and falls at work.
Visit the new campaign website to access new posters and case studies, STEP and the new WAIT toolkit. STEP is a slips and trips e-learning package. WAIT is for occasional users of access equipment who need help in deciding what access equipment to use for planned work at height.
Visit the campaign website – http://www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives/?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=25
3. WORKPLACE TRANSPORT ‘LOAD SAFETY’ INITIATIVE
Unsafe loads on vehicles injure more than 1,200 people a year and cost UK businesses millions of pounds in damaged goods. Here the HSE show you how to secure loads safely on vehicles. http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/loadsafety/index.htm?ebul=cons/jan10&cr=4
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
7 January 2010 – A builder whose negligence put his employees and sub-contractors at risk was fined £8,000 with costs of £2,244 for using unsafe scaffolding. The Company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. During a routine inspection on in April 2009, HSE witnessed people working on scaffolding that was unsafe and posed a risk of serious, if not fatal, injuries. Further, employees working at a new housing build were put at risk of falls of up to 5 metres; the internal and external scaffolding was poorly erected and there was no edge protection in place.
Asbestos
27 January 2010 – A Bristol-based Company has been fined £18,000 with costs of £6,679 for putting its workers at risk of asbestos-related diseases while working on a property in the city. HSE inspectors visited industrial where the defendant had organised refurbishment work involving the removal of a large quantity of asbestos insulation board without taking statutory safety precautions; leading to exposure of the workers to the asbestos and also the contamination of the units being renovated. The company plead guilty to breaches under Regulation 14 of the Construction (Design and Management) [CDM] Regulations 2007 by failing to appoint a CDM-coordinator or principal contractor for notifiable construction work and Regulation 4 (10) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations by failing to review or implement a plan to manage materials containing asbestos.
Workplace transport
7 January 2010 – A Gateshead construction company has been ordered to pay a fine after one of its workers was seriously injured when a forklift truck telehandler he was operating overturned. HSE prosecuted the Company following the incident in July 2008; the company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 & was fined £4,500 with costs of £2,342.20 The worker was lifting roof trusses onto the roof of the development when the forklift truck telehandler that he was operating overturned. The machine fell onto its side throwing the worker against the machine’s window and controls. The worker was not trained to use the machine and was not wearing a seat belt when the incident happened.
15 January 2010 – A Wales construction company has been fined £80,000 after one of its employees had his head crushed at a site in Gloucestershire. HSE prosecuted the Company after a 23-year-old worker was killed while working on a construction site in Gloucester. The worker was driving a mini digger which he was not qualified to operate – and unintentionally hit a lever as he leaned out of the cab window. The digging arm of the vehicle was raised, crushing his head between the cab and the arm. He suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on site. The Company pleaded guilty to breaches under Regulation 9(1) and 28(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £40,000 for each charge with costs of £29,798.14
Building Collapse
12 January 2010 – A clothing importer has been fined £10,000 after pleading guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was also ordered to pay costs of £35,000 and ordered to pay £200 each, to four people who were in the building when it collapsed. No one was killed or injured in the collapse. The buildings in London were undergoing construction works. The company’s employees were working throughout the building while builders were on the site. At approximately 4.30pm, the front elevation collapsed, dropping large amounts of debris onto the pavement nearby. The scaffolding at the front of the property fell onto a lamppost preventing the bulk of the rubble landing on passers-by and on the road. The road was closed for several days while rescuers searched the rubble for any victims. The investigation by HSE found that there was no construction phase plan and the architect was not aware that any work was being carried out on the first floor and HSE had not been notified that any improvement work was taking place.
SOURCE: HSE
