The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today published draft guidance on the legal requirements in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2015).

Subject to parliamentary approval CDM 2015 will come into force on 6^th April 2015. These will replace the existing CDM 2007 regulations.

The guidance is designed to help anyone who has duties under the regulations to prepare in advance and can be found on HSE’s website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l153.htm

Philip White, Chief Inspector of Construction said:

“The guidance may be subject to change while the regulations are awaiting parliamentary approval but we want duty holders to have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the main requirements before they come into force.

In addition we have worked with the industry to produce guidance to assist small businesses. Both sets of guidance complement each other and will help anyone affected by CDM 2015 to prepare for the changes in the law.”

Links to the draft industry guidance also published today can be found athttp://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l153.htm

(ends)

Notes to Editors

1.HSE has published draft Legal (L) Series guidance on the legal requirements in CDM 2015. The Regulations and the guidance may be subject to change while the Regulations are awaiting Parliamentary approval. The final versions of both will be available on 6^th April 2015.

2. A series of industry guides for dutyholders and one for workers have also been produced by industry groups set up by the Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC). These provide practical guidance for SME businesses on the actions required of them to deliver a safe and healthy construction project.

3. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.www.hse.gov.uk

A building company has been fined for safety failings after an employee broke his back when he was struck by the bucket on a digger.

RMC Building and Civil Engineering Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an investigation into the incident at the Longleat Estate in Warminster.

Swindon Magistrates’ Court heard today (12 Jan) that the company had been hired to install fencing around the estate in January 2014. Peter McGrellis, who was 48 and living in Westbury at the time, was one of three employees carrying out the work, which involved using a digger to push wooden fence posts into the ground.

The posts were held by hand whilst the operator of the digger rested the bucket on top of the post and applied downward pressure to it.

On 16 January, Mr McGrellis was holding one of the posts ready for the digger to push it down. The top of the post split, causing the bucket to slip and hit Mr McGrellis on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

He suffered significant injuries including a broken vertebra. Mr McGrellis was in hospital for over a week and he still suffers with pain.

An HSE investigation found that the company failed to plan, manage and monitor the work. The method statement prepared by the company for the operation indicated a piece of equipment called a post driver was going to be used to drive the posts into the ground but that the digger may be used to position the posts. A post driver had been ordered along with a smaller digger but it arrived after the incident happened.

The investigation also found that while a risk assessment had been produced, it made no reference to the risk of working close to the digger.

RMC Building & Civil Engineering Ltd, of Perivale Business Park, Horsenden Lane, Greenford, London, was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,117 after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Ian Whittles said: “The use of excavator vehicles in such a manner is dangerous and is known to cause injury. The serious failure of RMC Building & Civil Engineering in not managing this job properly led to this avoidable incident and unfortunately Mr McGrellis suffered as a result.

“Workers have a right to expect that the equipment they use is appropriate for the task – on this occasion the equipment used was clearly not suitable for the job.

“Anyone in control of construction projects must ensure the work is properly planned and thoroughly risk-assessed to avoid such incidents.”

Further information on construction site safety can be found on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction^[1].

Notes to Editors

1.         The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace        health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It   does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or      revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority           partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk^[2]

2.      Regulation 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998  states: “Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is used only for operations for which, and under conditions for which, it is suitable.”

3.         HSE news releases are available at www.hse.gov.uk/press^[3].

^[1]

A national oil and environmental services company has been fined £25,000 after two workers were badly burned in a tanker explosion.

One of the men suffered life-changing injuries that left him in a critical condition and mean he is now unable to expose his skin to direct sunlight. The 32-year-old from Eccles, who has asked not to be named, spent three and a half months in hospital and is unlikely ever to be able to return to work.

Adler and Allan Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at its site in Walkden on 5 March 2013, after an investigation found its procedure for cleaning out the tanker lorry had been unsafe.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the workers had been using the tanker to remove fuel from disused pumps at Plant Hill police station in Manchester. After dropping off a load of waste petrol, they returned to Adler and Allan’s site on Harcourt Street to clean out the inside of the tanker.

They reversed the vehicle into the yard and opened the rear door on the tanker, before using a pressure washer gun. As they did this, there was an explosion that engulfed both men and resulted in a large fire that destroyed the side of a neighbouring building.

One of the workers sustained burns to his face. The other was taken to intensive care in a critical condition. He needed four skin grafts and is likely to require ongoing treatment for the foreseeable future.

The court was told petrol vapour had been allowed to escape into the yard when the tanker door was opened, with a spark from the pressure washer or another ignition source at the site causing the explosion.

Adler & Allan Ltd, of Station Parade in Harrogate, was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £8,166 in prosecution costs after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 on 12 December 2014.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector David Norton said:

“Two men were badly burned, with one suffering horrific, life-changing injuries, because their employer didn’t do enough to make sure they stayed safe.

“Adler & Allan is experienced in dealing with flammable substances but its risk assessment for cleaning out the tanker did not identify fire or explosion as a potential danger.

“The firm now uses a specialist contractor to clean out its tankers to avoid the risk of vapours escaping. If this procedure had been in place at the time of the incident then the injuries both men suffered could have been avoided.”

Information on working safely with flammable substances is available at www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion^[2].

Notes to Editors:

The attached photo shows the aftermath of the explosion at Adler and Allan’ site in Walkden.

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk^[3]
2. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk/^[4].

A Moray engineering firm has been fined for safety failings after a worker severed the tip of his finger on a lathe.

Darren Wiseman, 31, was working as a machinist at Standfast Precision Engineering Ltd’s Inverfiddich workshop in Craigellachie, Aberlour, when the incident happened on 3 May 2013.

Elgin Sheriff Court was told today (11 Dec) that Mr Wiseman was carrying out finishing operations on a component. He had opened the guard on the lathe and was handfinishing the job with a piece of emery tape when his right forefinger caught on the thread of the component, which was rotating at high speed. As he pulled himself free his right hand forefinger was severed at the top knuckle joint.

Mr Wiseman’s finger has healed well and he has returned to work for the company.

Standfast Precision Engineering Ltd was prosecuted after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that more could and should have been done to prevent access to dangerous moving machinery parts.

The chuck and spindle of the machine are provided with a guard that is interlocked to prevent access to the danger area while the machine is rotating at high speed. HSE found evidence of employees disabling the interlocks, allowing the machine to operate with the door open in order to finish work by hand. Inspectors discovered this practice had been going on for a considerable time.

The investigation also found that while the machine operators, including Mr Wiseman, had been trained there did not appear to have been any specific instruction given regarding the interlocks or finishing components. As a consequence Mr Wiseman regularly operated the machine as he had done on the day of the incident and had not been given information to suggest that method was unsafe.

Following the incident, the company repaired and reattached the interlocks on all the machines and arrangements were made to bring components up to the main workshop for finishing and for tools to hold the emery paper. Clear instructions were given about interlocks and about using holders for emery paper.

Standfast Precision Engineering Ltd, of Victoria Street, Craigellachie, Aberlour, Moray, was fined £6,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulations 11(1) and (2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Following the case, HSE inspector Penny Falconer, said:

“This incident was entirely preventable. Standfast Precision Engineering Ltd should have ensured that sufficient measures were in place to prevent its employees being in close proximity to dangerous parts of machines. The interlocks should have been in place at all times and additional measures could have included having a selection of holders and tools available for finishing, avoiding the need for hand-held emery paper which can result in entanglement and injuries being sustained.

“Had these been in place, then employees would not have been exposed to the risk from the dangerous parts of the machine.

“In addition, Standfast failed to provide sufficient instructions to employees to ensure they fully understood the dangers of working in close proximity to dangerous parts of the lathe, the interlocks and the systems they should have followed.

“As a consequence of these failings, Mr Wiseman suffered a painful injury.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. In Scotland the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has sole responsibility for the raising of criminal proceedings for breaches of health and safety legislation.
3. Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: “Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken (a) to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or (b) to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone.”
4. Regulation 11(2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: “The measures required by paragraph (1) shall consist of (a) the provision of fixed guards enclosing every dangerous part or rotating stock-bar where and to the extent that it is practicable to do so, but where or to the extent that it is not, then (b) the provision of other guards or protection devices where and to the extent that it is practicable to do so, but where or to the extent that it is not, then (c) the provision of jigs, holders, push-sticks or similar protection appliances used in conjunction with the machinery where and to the extent that it is practicable to do so, but where or to the extent that it is not, then (d) the provision of information, instruction, training and supervision.”
5. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk/

A Tameside gate manufacturer has been fined £10,000 after it ignored a formal warning about installing guards on two circular saws.

Openshaw Bespoke Timber Gates Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after it continued to expose its workforce to danger by operating the saws for one month after being ordered to take them out of use at its workshop on the Greenside Trading Estate in Droylsden.

Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard today (5 December 2014) that two inspectors had spotted the unprotected saws during an unannounced visit to the site on 14 April 2014. They issued a Prohibition Notice requiring the saws not to be used until guards had been fitted.

When HSE inspectors returned to the site a month later, they found the saws still in use and no attempt had been made by the firm to fit guards.

Openshaw Bespoke Timber Gates Ltd, of Greenside Lane in Droylsden, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £729 in prosecution costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to comply with a Prohibition Notice.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Sarah Taylor said:

“When we first visited the factory in April, we were immediately concerned by two of the saws which were not guarded and could easily have resulted in an employee losing a finger.

“We therefore issued a Prohibition Notice requiring the saws to be taken out of use but the company failed to take any action until we returned to the site one month later, despite it being a legal requirement.

“The firm has since subcontracted its wood cutting work to an outside firm so the saws are not needed. If it had done this when we first served the notice, or fitted guards to the saws, then it would have avoided having to pay a court fine.”

More information on improving safety in factories is available atwww.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing.

Notes to Editors

The attached photo shows one of the unguarded circular saws.

The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk.

Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It is an offence for a person to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement notice or a prohibition notice (including any such notice as modified on appeal).”

HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk/.

A Carmarthenshire scaffolding company has been fined for safety failings that exposed workers to serious risks of injury from a fall.

It follows an inspection on 22 May 2014 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at a site in Old Station Road, Carmarthen, next to the safety regulator’s local office.

At the time, a scaffolder was seen standing on a platform only two boards wide at a height of approximately four metres. There were no guard rails in place or any other means to prevent a fall, such as the use of a harness.

Llanelli Magistrates’ Court heard today (27 Nov) that it wasn’t the first time that HSE had been forced to take action against Castle Scaffolding (Wales) Ltd for unsafe work at height.

The company had previously received written warnings from HSE. The first occasion in January 2012 resulted in a Prohibition Notice being issued and the second occasion in September 2013 resulted in the company receiving a Notice of Contravention. Both instances concerned unsafe systems of work relating to the erection and dismantling of scaffolding.

Castle Scaffolding (Wales) Ltd, of Old Coal Yard, Tir Onnen, Station Road, St Clears, Carmarthenshire, was fined a total of £10,600 and ordered to pay £2,500 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Speaking after the case, HSE Inspector Hayley Healey said:

“While it is fortunate that no-one was injured during the work in Old Station Road, the erection and dismantling of the scaffold was clearly unsafe, and those working on the scaffolding were exposed unnecessarily to high levels of risk.

“Death and serious injury following falls from height are all too common, and proper planning is vital to ensure the work is carried out safely and that the correct precautions are identified and used at all times.

“Castle Scaffolding fell far short of the standards required to ensure that work was carried out in a safe manner. It is of particular concern that the company failed to implement adequate monitoring of health and safety standards following previous intervention and advice by HSE inspectors.”

For more information about working at height safely visit the HSE website at:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm

Notes to Editors

1. Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.www.hse.gov.uk
2. Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 states: Every employer shall ensure that work at height is (a) properly planned; (b) appropriately supervised; and (c) carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe.
3. Regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states: “Every employer shall make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures; and where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record the arrangements.”
4. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk/

HSE is urging the construction industry to ensure basic health and safety measures are in place after a month long inspection initiative found 40 per cent of sites failing to properly protect workers.

Unacceptable conditions and dangerous practices were found at nearly half of the 1,748 repair and refurbishment sites visited by HSE inspectors, with 1 in 5 sites so poor, formal enforcement action was required. Many of the issues found could have been easily prevented with simple, straightforward management and planning.

The focus of the initiative was on health risks and 35 per cent of the notices served were for issues such as management of asbestos, failure to control exposure to harmful dusts, noise and vibration, and insufficient welfare.

However failure to provide basic safety measures for people working at height was once again the most common issue found by Inspectors with 42 per cent of all enforcement notices served for this activity.

HSE’s Chief of Construction Philip White said:

“These results show that whilst the majority of employers in the refurbishment sector are getting it right, a significant part of the industry is seriously failing its workers.

“The inability to properly plan working at height continues to be a major issue, despite well-known safety measures being straightforward to implement.  It is just not acceptable that Inspectors had to order work to stop immediately on over 200 occasions because of dangerous practices.

“We also find health is often overlooked as its implications are not immediately visible, however the effects of uncontrolled exposure to deadly dusts such as asbestos and silica can be irreversible. We urge industry to ensure the most basic of measures such as use of protective equipment and dust suppression methods are put in place to help protect the future health of workers.

“We need to continue to educate industry through initiatives like this and encourage a change in behaviour on small projects where over half the industry’s fatal accidents still occur and many workers become seriously ill.”

For examples of good and bad practice Inspectors found during the campaign visit HSE’s  Safersites 2014 Pinterest gallery ^[1]

You can also view HSE’s set of instructional film clips on working safely with dust ^[2] on our Youtube page.

(ends)

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk^[3]

2. Summary breakdown of results:

• Poor standards/dangerous practices at 40% of sites visited (691 of 1748)
• On 360 (one in five) sites, practices so poor that enforcement action needed.
• 313 prohibition notices issued
• 235 improvement notices issued
• The most common issues identified related to work at height and falls (42%), failure to control dust (12%), insufficient welfare (12%) and asbestos (10%).
• In total 35% of notices were served for health issues (asbestos, dust, noise, vibration, welfare, manual handling).

3. The initiative took place between 22 September and 17 October 2014. For more on the Safersites campaign visit:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/campaigns/safersites/

A waste firm in south-east London has been prosecuted after repeatedly putting its employees at risk of injury, or even death, from use of heavy machinery that was often left in a dangerous condition.

Westminster Magistrates today (5 Nov) heard that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had to serve Greenwich-based Murphys (Waste) Ltd with a total of ten enforcement notices between 2009 and early 2014. The most serious breaches related to defects in machines which presented a ‘risk of death or serious personal injury to employees and people on site’.

HSE told the court the latest two failures, relating to a loading shovel and a 360 degree excavator, had prompted the prosecution of the company in light of their poor safety record.

During an annual inspection by an engineer in Oct 2013, several defects were found with the loading shovel. The worst was extensive damage to the bolts fixing the front bucket to the machine, which could have led to the bucket falling off and crushing anyone nearby.

Murphys (Waste) Ltd was advised not to use it until repairs were carried out but were later found to have kept it in use until a visit by HSE in January 2014, when a prohibition notice was served to halt any further use of the vehicle.

In a visit just days later, HSE identified an excavator was being used but had neither its left-side mirror or rear mirror in place, severely restricting visibility of the driver while moving about the site, again posing a risk to other workers. HSE served a further prohibition notice on the company preventing its use.

The court was told that on top of these two breaches, the company had been inspected by HSE six times over five years resulting in eight enforcement notices. Two of these had related to defects on a shovel loader and one had required the firm to introduce a proper system for maintenance of the vehicles.

Murphys (Waste) Ltd of Horn Lane, Greenwich, SE London, was fined a total of £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,287 in costs after admitting two offences under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

After the hearing, HSE inspector John Crookes said:

“Murphys (Waste) has a dismal record of compliance with safety legislation and seemed to be content with repeatedly exposing its employees to unnecessary danger.

“This is a waste management company that takes bulk material from construction sites and uses heavy earth-moving plant. The risks associated with the waste industry are well-documented and widely recognised, but it is one of the most dangerous sectors.

“No company in the industry should be failing to address these risks and no worker should be regularly exposed to such uncontrolled dangers.  All work vehicles and equipment must be kept in an efficient condition and in good state of repair.”

Waste and recycling is one of the industries in which employees are most likely to be injured by their jobs according to the latest 2013/14 HSE statistics with 486 major/specified injuries.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]

2. Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations states: “Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.”

Petrol is a dangerous substance; it is a highly flammable liquid and can give off vapour which can easily be set on fire and when not handled safely has the potential to cause a serious fire and/or explosion.

This means there is always a risk of a fire and/or an explosion if there is a source of ignition nearby, for example a naked flame, an electrical spark or similar. Because of these risks storing petrol safely is covered by legislation; and this applies to you if you store petrol.