A COOPER SAFETY BRIEFING |
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Safety
Fines
Recent
Court of Appeal rulings on Health and Safety offences have provided guidance on the level
of fines given. The guidance was that fines
should reflect; ·
The means
of the offender (wealth) ·
The
seriousness of the offence ·
Any
mitigating circumstances ·
Whether
it was private sector or a public service. ·
The level
of public disquiet. ·
The
message for the organisations management. The recent
fines on Balfour Beatty of £10 million and Railtrack of £3 million following train
derailments, and Transcos fine of one million pounds following a preventable gas
explosion in a house indicates that public
service cases are being treated more
seriously. The recent round of court reports
for Health and Safety prosecutions makes grim reading following some horrific deaths and
injuries. The cases have been ordered by
increasing size of fine. · Climber
on course in North Wales was told to let go of the ropes.
Two colleagues holding the ropes also let go and the climber fell 30 feet
suffering spinal injuries leaving her paraplegic (£1,500) · Stone
cladding worker killed when six tonne pack of granite slabs fell forward crushing his head
(£3,000) · Electrical
contractor fell 2.5m onto concrete floor from basket balanced on forklift. The 85kg basket landed on top of him causing fatal
injuries (£13,000) · Engineering
worker crushed to death when a 300kg steel grid toppled onto him from a forklift truck
(£20,000) · Electrical contractor suffered fatal injury falling from ladder in plastics factory (21,000) |
· Child of
two crushed by a 300kg concrete slab balanced outside a building site (£29,000) · Lorry
driver crushed by a three tonne portakabin which came lose during unloading (£50,000) · Scrap
yard worker was sliced cleanly in half in a car crushing machine (£50,000) · Young
worker suffered fatal crushing injuries beneath one tonne of falling steel rods on
construction site (50,000) · Lorry
driver crushed by wooden beams as they fell from a fork truck (£60,000) · Security
guard poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from generator in unventilated area in hospital
(£60,000) · Motorist
killed when their vehicle struck a poorly positioned machine on highway (£70,000) · A
labourer fell forty feet through a hole in the fourth floor of a five-storey house.
(£100,000) · Two
workers were asphyxiated when they entered a steel tank during inspection where all oxygen
had been consumed by oxidation (£125,000) · Maintenance
worker killed in a 20 feet fall through a
perspex roof-light on a workshop (£133,000) · Fork lift
truck driver was crushed to death when his machine carrying tyres to a shredder overturned
(£140,000 fines & £3,500 funeral expenses plus £7,500 widow bereavement order) · Biscuit
lorry driver fell from vehicle when faulty cab door opened; he fell striking head on
concrete. (£150,000) · Engineer
suffered fatal head injury falling from machine in bakery (150,000) · Two workers suffocated when two tonnes of hydrocarbon gas escaped through a temporary repair patch which had been in place for ten months (£900,000). |
Safety Statistics
Even with
all these serious accidents, the Health and Safety Executive still indicate a small
reduction in the number of people being killed at work in 2004. The overall number was 220 with the top three
killers being falls from height (53), falling objects (46) and moving vehicles (35). The number
of members of the public killed in workplaces stood at 361 of which 244 involved suicide
or trespass on the railways. The number
of days lost from work was 39 million of which 30 million were from ill health and nine
million from injuries. Fit
Employees Increase Productivity
The Harvard
Medical School found that healthy employees were more productive. No real surprise here! The government Choosing Health white
paper and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy added to the good advice. Some
employer priorities might include: · Increasing
physical activity at work · Encouraging
balanced diets · Keeping
healthy through the working day · Canteen
menu changes · Nutritional
balance reviews · Serving
fruit at meetings instead of pastries and biscuits · Ensure
plenty of protein dishes · Encouraging
staff to cycle or walk · Raising
awareness of tax incentives. |
A COOPER SAFETY BRIEFING November 2005 |
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RSI Increase
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has released new figures showing that the number of employees suffering from work related upper limb disorders, known as Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI), is on the increase. These are musculoskeletal disorders that mainly affect the upper limbs or neck and are caused, or made worse, by their current or past work. 448,000 British workers now suffer from RSI. Rates in the North East are worse than other regions.Workers now
most likely to be affected are in health and social work, followed closely by those in
construction and manufacturing. Rates are
also rising among those employed in communications, transport and education. 4.7 million
working days were lost through RSI in 2003/4 & each affected person took an average of
18.3 days off. Employers can make a big
difference to the health of their workers, and improve the productivity and profits of
their business. Pain or discomfort caused by
upper limb disorders can lead to more sick days and low motivation. Here are
some simple steps to protecting the health of the workforce: · Provide
assessments for each staff member to see what risks are associated with their jobs · Encourage
early reporting of any symptoms · Provide
access to appropriate help, such as an occupational health physician · Ensure
employees are able to organise their work and take regular breaks. Watch Your
Step Campaign October 2005
Each year, slips and trips cause over 11,000 major injuries (37% of the total) and 26,000 over three-day absence injuries (20% of the total). Slips and trips cost the UK economy about £800 million each year. The three worst industries for major slip and trip injuries are: |
·
Public
administration ·
Construction ·
Manufacture
of food and drink. Well done
to the clients who put up posters and information on notice boards. Ladders
and Stepladders Campaign 14th-25th November 2005
Movable
ladders and stepladders account for an average of 14 fatalities per year. The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness
of the problem and promote forthcoming HSE guidance on safe use of ladders and
stepladders. The HSE
will also be facilitating awareness and promotional events and carrying out targeted
inspections of those companies or organisations likely to have key hazards. What you
can do is promote sensible precautions during training, audits or inspections that you
carry out or you could host an awarness-raising event. Errors of
the Month
Just to
keep things light-hearted we report here on the most amusing events during recent months: · A written
procedure for moving unconscious patients in a hospital operating theatre instructed: One nurse should push whilst two horses
should pull! · An accident form described how working too late had led to a domestic argument and involvement of the police. · An accident form described how a hospital patient received a blackened face when they went against advice and smoked a cigarette whilst wearing an oxygen mask, resulting in the unexpected flash-burn of the tobacco! |
Sexist Article
We
appreciated the feedback on the last newsletters menopausal safety
article. This was a genuine report on an idea
by the TGW union and was not intended to be sexist. We
have considered the suggestion from several colleagues for a Grumpy old man at work
safety policy. On discussion with
female friends and family, it would appear that the need for assessment extends beyond the
workplace to husbands and boyfriends. We will
keep you informed of any progress. Hazardous
Waste Regulations
The waste
legislation changed on 16th July 2005 when the special waste regulations ceased
to operate. These old regulations suggested
that we classify Special waste by feeding a set amount of the waste to a small
child of specified mass (a virtual child of course!).
If harm was caused, the waste was Special! Examples
under the new classification of Hazardous include certain types of the
following wastes; · Infectious
waste (most clinical waste is hazardous) · Cyto-toxic
and cyto-static waste (includes medicinal wastes above certain concentrations, where
toxic, carcinogenic, toxic for reproduction or mutagenic) · Photographic
wastes · Oils · Organic
solvents · Refrigerants · Vehicle
wastes · Batteries · Mercury
containing wastes i.e. fluorescent tubes · Televisions · Computer
Monitors Waste
producers must; · Segregate
hazardous and non-hazardous waste. · Register as a producer. |
A COOPER SAFETY BRIEFING November 2005 |
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· Produce
consignment notes showing waste code, description, hazard information, weight and
container type. ·
Accurately
describe waste. For more
information contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506. Assessments
by the Risk-Averse
A number of
mad Health and Safety decisions have appeared in the press including; · Children
playing conkers must wear safety goggles · A lake
swimming club banned from swimming · Ramblers
having to risk assess rabbit hole risks · Egg boxes
banned from classrooms for fear of salmonella risk · Work
experience programmes cancelled · Backstroke
banned at a swimming pool · Educational
and outward bound trips prohibited. It is not
Health and Safety professionals making these decisions but often senior executives being
concerned their organisation may be sued. Before
banning an activity assess whether anyone is really likely to be harmed. London
Fire Deaths Down
The number
of people who died in London fires in the year 2004 2005 was 41. This is a massive improvement on the previous year
as it is exactly half of the 82 reported in the year 2003 2004. With such a
remarkable reduction we are checking with the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
to ensure the figures are correct. Safety JobsThe best job seen in the safety journals recently was Helicopter Flight Test Safety Advisor! Get in the queue to apply for this one!
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Staff Consultants Neil
Cooper Martin
Marmoy-Haynes Jon
Halstead Gilly
Ede Geraldine
Perry Luke
Summers Sean
McIntyre Dr
Jay Dudhia Office Nikki
Cooper Tel 01264 598195 Newsletter Martin
Marmoy-Haynes Telephone:
01483 765 557 Website: e-mail
address Further
copies of this Newsletter are available on our Website. |
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