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WORKPLACE TRANSPORTSafe Site! Safe Vehicle! Safe Driver!
SAFE & SOUNDNewsletter Vol 12 Issue 8
SAFE & SOUNDNewsletter Vol 12 Issue 8
SAFE & SOUNDNewsletter Vol 13 Issue 3
HSENI and the 26District Councils havepartnered to deliver aWorkplace Transportinspection andenforcement initiative.
Commencing in April2013 the organisationsinvolved will becompleting 1000Workplace Transportinspections with a focuson Safe Site; SafeVehicle; Safe Driver.
Vehicles are particularlydangerous in theworkplace. Between2004 and 2012 therewere 40 fatal accidentsin HSENI/LA enforcedworkplaces throughoutNorthern Ireland.
Workplace Transportaccidents happen in arange of sectors and fora range of reasons.Contributory factorsinclude:
● No or inadequate riskassessments
● Poor workplacedesign and layout(particularly vehiclepedestriansegregation)
● Poor systems fordetecting andcorrecting poorbehaviour
● Poor driver training
In the first of 3 articleswe will take each of the‘Safe’ areas in turn andoutline pointers fromHSE towards keepingthe accidents down.
Safe Site!
● Plan your workplaceso that pedestriansare safe fromvehicles
● Provide a one-waysystem if you can
● Provide separateroutes forpedestrians andvehicles wherepossible
● Avoid reversingwhere possible
● Provide appropriatecrossing pointswhere pedestriansand traffic meet
● Use ‘Highway Code’signs to indicatevehicle routes,speed limits,
pedestrian crossingsetc
● Make sure lighting isadequate wherepeople and vehiclesare working
● Make sure roadsurfaces are firmand even
● Make sure there aresafe areas forloading andunloading
● Try to provideseparate car parking
for visitors as theymay not know yoursite.
Further information canbe found at the websitebelow and also on HSE’swebsite.
The Safety Group will berunning a ‘Driving forWork’ seminar in Juneand workplace transportwill be one of the keythemes.
Further information willbe available shortly.
http://www.hseni.gov.uk/workplace-transport.htm
Beware of extremelydangerous counterfeitsafety helmets underthe name "burly" or
"Mkll"
Safety Flash from BSIFThe damage in the
picture was caused byhand pressure only.
INTERNATIONALSAFETY NEWS
USAMissouri worker's
legs severed inindustrial shredder
A Missouri worker waslisted in criticalcondition in hospital inKansas City last nightafter both his legs weresevered in an accidentearlier in the day atABC Tyre Recycling onGardner Avenue in thenortheast of the city. Itappeared that he wasperformingmaintenance work onan industrial shredderwhen he fell into it
MalaysiaTeenage worker
killed in 24-storeyfall
A 19-year oldconstruction worker hasbeen killed in a 24-storey fall from thebalcony of an under-construction apartmentblock in Gelugor in thesouthern suburbs ofGeorgetown. He wasworking with aluminiumframework when helost his balance andfell. 15th March 2013
Photo courtesy of A Safe Barrier
SAFETYALERT
On Wednesday 13thMarch 2013, MichaelGalloway t/a M.G.Construction was fined£2,500 and also given a12 month conditionaldischarge after pleadingguilty at Newry CrownCourt to 3 breaches ofhealth and safetylegislation.
The case arose whenasbestos containingmaterials weredisturbed, spread andremoved during thedemolition of a bungalowat a site at 22 LoughRoad, Dromore, Co.Down between 22ndSeptember 2010 and07th October 2010.
The HSENI investigationfound that during thedemolition work therewas asbestos insulationboard removed from thebungalow by MrGalloway who did nothold the necessarylicence to allow him todo the work.
Mr Galloway hadpreviously taken 2samples from thebungalow which wereanalysed and found to begrey insulation boardcontaining amosite andchrysotile asbestos.
The investigation alsofound that Mr Gallowaydid not take adequatesteps to prevent bothexposure to and thespread of asbestos fibresby allowing workers tocarry out demolitionwork in areas that werecontaminated withasbestos debris.
After the hearing DeniseDonaghy, an inspectorwithin HSENI’s MajorInvestigation Team,said,
"The dangers ofasbestos are well known,exposure to asbestosfibres is the greatestcause of work relateddeath in the UK. Thecorrect procedures forworking with ACM arelong established. It is alegal requirement thatthese procedures andcontrol measures are putin place to prevent thespread and exposure ofasbestos."
Safety Advice Centre LtdSafety Health& Environmental Consultants
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HSENI UPDATE/HSENI UPDATE/HSENI UPDATE/HSENI UPDATEMG Construction Fined After Failing to
Properly Manage Asbestos
Belfast Health and SocialCare Trust (BHSCT) wasfined £10,000 plus costsof £1,750 at LagansideCrown Court afterpreviously pleadingguilty to three breachesof health and safetyregulations. The casearose following aninvestigation conductedby the HSENI into anincident which occurredin their estates buildingat the Belfast CityHospital on 14 January2011.
Two constructionworkers were potentiallyexposed to asbestoswhen repairing a floor.The work involved theremoval of a section of aceiling in order to gainaccess to the floorabove. The ceiling wasconstructed of asbestosinsulation board (AIB), amaterial commonly usedin the construction ofmany buildings beforeits use was prohibited in1999.
The BHSCT had carriedout asbestos surveys ofits buildings and theestatesbuilding wasknown tocontain
asbestos but thisinformation was notpassed on to theirmaintenancecontractors. A number ofstaff in key roles withinBHSCT were not trainedin the management ofasbestos and did nothave a sufficient grasp ofhow the risks should bemanaged.
Investigating InspectorHugh Moss said,
"This case highlights theimportance of not onlyhaving accurate and up-to-date asbestos surveyscarried out, but alsoensuring that thisinformation is given toanyone who carries outwork on premises whichare known to containasbestos. There is nosuch thing as a safe levelof asbestos and caseslike this should serve toremind tradesmen andthose involved inmaintenance activitiesthat asbestos remains asignificant danger totheir health".
Trust Fined After Failing to ProperlyManage Asbestos in City Hospital
Correct Sealing of Horizontal Flue TerminationsHSENI has released aSafety Alert.
During the past 12months numerousRIDDOR reports havebeen submitted to theHSENI Gas Safety Teamwhich when investigatedhave shown thathorizontal flueterminations on both
concentric and twin pipesystems are not beingcorrectly sealed andsecured to the buildingfabric on completion ofinstallation.
Details can be found at:-http://www.hseni.gov.uk/gsis-010-flue-terminals-safety-alert.pdf
NewsletterSponsor
Company fined for dangerous excavation
Safety Advice Centre LtdSafety Health
& Environmental Consultants
The Ingenious $400 Million Plan To DealWith The Wrecked Costa Concordia
The Ingenious $400 Million Plan To DealWith The Wrecked Costa Concordia. This isa terrific article showing the scale of thesalvage attempt. By any standards this is ahigh risk environment.
Read more:http://www.businessinsider.com/plan-to-salvage-costa-concordia-wreck-2012-12?op=1#ixzz2MkPwcHFiCopyright © 2013 Business Insider
Sign up for City and Guilds NVQ level 5 Diploma in Health and Safety,contact [email protected]
TECHNOLOGY DOESN’T DRIVETHE HEALTH AGENDA!
2013 SAFETY AWARDShttp://safetyawards.ie/
Why enter?
Find out here
http://safetyawards.ie/about/why-enter/
For those already entering the key dates are :-
Early Bird Entry (reduced fee) 5th April 2013
Standard Entry 3rd May 2013
Awards Ceremony (Galway) 4th October 2013
A Kent constructioncompany has been finedfor unsafe excavationwork at a building site inRochester.
Concerns were raisedabout the BasiConstruction Limiteddevelopment onBritannia Road, HighHalstow, on 26 January2012 after bothSouthern Water andMedway Council sawevidence that work wasunderway down anexcavation some threemetres deep into softclay that was totallyunsupported.
Two plywood sheets anda single strut had beenadded when theyreturned to thesite a day later,but it stillposed asignificant risk.
It prompted aninvestigation bythe Health andSafetyExecutive(HSE), whichon 19 FebruaryprosecutedBasiConstructionfor failing to properlyplan the excavation, andfor endangering workersby leaving unsupportedsidewalls that were liableto collapse.
Chatham Magistrates'Court heard theexcavation had beenmade to connect a singlenew-build home to anexisting sewer, with anagent employed bySouthern Water visitingthe site to check theconnection.
An employee from thehighways department at
Medway Council visitedseparately in response tocomplaints about work inthe footpath outside thesite. The employeenotified HSE anddescribed in detail whatthey had seen, includingsomeone climbing fromthe excavation. Toolsand equipment couldalso be seen at thebottom.
The excavation had beenbackfilled by the time aHSE inspector arrived onsite, but the witnessevidence proveddamning.
Magistrates were toldthat although there wasno excavation collapseand no injuries, workers
could have been killedhad the clay sidewallsgiven way.
Basi ConstructionLimited, of Sir ThomasLongley Road, MedwayCity Estate, Rochester,was fined £8,000 andordered to pay £8,797 incosts for a single breachof the Construction(Design andManagement)Regulations 2007.
Article from HSE pressrelease.
The unsupported excavation atthe development on Britannia
Road, High Halstow
Maurice Dunlop set up inbusiness over a quarterof a century ago with thebelief that employeesworking in a family typeenvironment should feelvalued. He felt sure thisphilosophy was the keyto the growth of hisfledgling windowcleaning business.
Son Alan has carried onthis tradition whilstdriving the business tobigger and betterheights in today's safetyconscious environment.
Employing 65 staffthroughout their corebusinesses (window,industrial andcommercial cleaning)Finaghy Cleaning has thesafety and health ofemployees andcustomers as a centraltenet of how they dobusiness.
Every team leader (20%of staff) are trained FirstAiders and the companyuse an online ROSPAaccredited safetytraining system.
Last year the companyproudly achievedSAFEcontractor,certification as well as
ISO, 9001, 14,001 and18,001 shortly after.
“It hasn't been easy”said Alan “too often weare faced with a newcustomer beingconcerned purely aboutprice as opposed toquality, but I'm proud tosay we have stuck to ouroriginal ethos and builtup an impressiveportfolio of clients by notcutting corners ”.
Finaghy Cleaning investheavily in staff trainingand position riskassessment at the coreof everything they do.
“Staff appreciate it whenthey see us going theextra mile for them” saidCompany Secretary LisaDunlop.
It is easy to see how theorganisation believe inand practice continuingprofessionaldevelopment for all staff.
Make no mistake,business is still tough intheir marketplace butthey just show how asmall local businesscan empower andengage its staff andpunch well above itsweight.
The Safety Group weredelighted when thecompany chose as partof its commitment tosafety to put the Grouplogo on their fleet ofvans.
If you’d like to showyour organisation’ssafety and healthcredentials contact theSecretary [email protected]
Member profile - FINAGHY CLEANING & SUPPORT SERVICES LIMITED
CLEANING COMPANY PUTS SAFETY FIRST
CITB-ConstructionSkills NI's Health & Safety Blueprint for ConstructionOccupations is available for download from www.citbcsni.org.uk
IOSH NI Branch isholding a learning daytitled 'We meanbusiness, do you?' onTuesday 30 April from8:45 at Culloden Estateand Spa in Holywood,Belfast.
They have taken onmembers' suggestions
and will incorporatedeveloping businesscase skills, approachesto equality issues, andhandling conflict andnegotiations as part ofthe day.
Further information willbe available on theIOSH website.
'We mean business, do you?'Northern Ireland Safety Group
Celebrating 60 years Promoting a Safer Workplace1 9 5 3 - 2 0 1 3
STOP PRESS
Conference & Dinner (two separate events)date now confirmed as
Friday 22nd NovemberRamada Shaws Bridge, Belfast.
Watch out for details.
