Tag: health-and-safety

23 Mar 2017

Three People Jailed for Attempting to Cover Up Height Safety Failings

mike Health & Safety

Last week, a judge at Manchester Crown Court sent three people to jail. Why? Because they failed to follow the rules for working safely at height, and because they attempted to cover up their negligence after disaster struck.

Back in 2014, two men - Benjamin Edge and Peter Heap - were working on the roof of a shed in wet and windy conditions. There were no height safety measures in place to prevent Edge and Heap from falling and injuring themselves; they weren't wearing safety harnesses, and no other safeguards had been provided for their protection. During the job, Benjamin Edge fell from the roof and sustained severe head injuries. He was pronounced dead at Salford Royal Hospital that night.

If this were the end of the story, Mr Edge's employer - SR and RJ Brown Ltd - would still have been in very hot water indeed. Companies who commit corporate manslaughter by failing to identify and address on-the-job hazards are routinely punished with large fines and even jail time in some cases. In this particular case, however, the firm's wrongdoing did not end with Mr Edge's death.

After the accident, Mr Heap was ordered to bring a set of safety harnesses to the work site to make it look as though proper safety precautions had been taken. Furthermore, James Brown - one of the directors of SR and RJ Brown Ltd - created fake risk assessment forms and handed these to the authorities investigating the incident. All of this was done to create the impression that the firm had followed the rules and that they were not at fault for Mr Edge's death.

Eventually, the cover-up was revealed and the two company directors were sentenced to 20 months in jail, plus a fine of £300,000. Mark Aspin, who contracted the job to SR and RJ Brown Ltd, has been jailed for 12 months.

Why risk breaching safety regulations?

When preparing to carry out a routine task, it can sometimes be tempting to ignore health and safety law and just get it done as quickly as possible. However, as the story above demonstrates, any time you save by skipping the safety precautions will pale in comparison to the possible consequences. Not only can you face hefty fines and jail sentences for putting your employees in danger, you also risk ending lives, wrecking families, and causing damage that can never be undone.

Stay safe at work - if you're an employer, it is your legal responsibility to carry out a risk assessment and put the necessary safeguards in place to protect your workers!

07 Dec 2016

Do 'Safe' Construction Sites Exist? A Reflection on the Risks of Heavy Lifting

mike Health & Safety

Last week, a headline published in the Northen Echo captured our attention, as it was announced that a construction firm had been ordered to pay £45,000, as a result of an on-site injury. Initially, this struck us as the same neglectful safety story that we've grown used to reading about, whereby a firm or supervisor is found to have been using unsafe working practices, or unsuitable equipment, and is punished accordingly. This story, however, was distinctly different from previous cases that we have examined, as it lacked the obvious signs of neglect often present in cases such as these. As a result, this got us thinking about the way in which we discuss health and safety in construction, and how, at times, we may be guilty of forgetting the grey areas that surround workplace safety measures.

In the case mentioned, project manager Paul Powton was injured whilst working on a spa expansion for Walter Thompson Ltd, a family-run firm of contractors. Whilst laying two concrete slabs, Mr Powton was injured as the crow bar he was using to lever the slabs into place flew up and hit him in the face, after the top slab fell from the chain block being used to lift it. On inspection, it was found that this incident occurred due to poor planning, time pressure, and a lack of proper risk assessment procedures, with blame falling primarily on the firm, but also on Mr Powton himself.

Just two week prior to the incident, the site had passed its monthly health and safety audit, and during proceedings the company was praised for their 'exemplary' health and safety record. In addition, this was also the company's first prosecution in almost a 100 years of working in the industry. This illustrates the true scale of health and safety risks in the construction industry, by showing that heavy lifting incidents can easily occur, even in the most safety-conscious workplaces. Health and safety cannot be maintained on a monthly or even weekly basis, but must be properly assessed and executed as part of daily working practices.

In order to avoid these incidents, companies and employees should:

Plan ahead with plenty of time, to properly asses each element of the job at hand.
Use the correct lifting and handling equipment, which has been safety checked and approved.
Double check the equipment, and run through safety measures before going ahead with the work.
Clearly communicate health and safety procedures throughout the work force, for a unified approach to safety.
If incidents do occur, the situation should be properly scrutinised in order to ensure that a repeat in never allowed to occur.

For more health and safety news and advice, click here!

07 Dec 2016

Do 'Safe' Construction Sites Exist? A Reflection on the Risks of Heavy Lifting

mike Health & Safety

Last week, a headline published in the Northen Echo captured our attention, as it was announced that a construction firm had been ordered to pay £45,000, as a result of an on-site injury. Initially, this struck us as the same neglectful safety story that we've grown used to reading about, whereby a firm or supervisor is found to have been using unsafe working practices, or unsuitable equipment, and is punished accordingly. This story, however, was distinctly different from previous cases that we have examined, as it lacked the obvious signs of neglect often present in cases such as these. As a result, this got us thinking about the way in which we discuss health and safety in construction, and how, at times, we may be guilty of forgetting the grey areas that surround workplace safety measures.

In the case mentioned, project manager Paul Powton was injured whilst working on a spa expansion for Walter Thompson Ltd, a family-run firm of contractors. Whilst laying two concrete slabs, Mr Powton was injured as the crow bar he was using to lever the slabs into place flew up and hit him in the face, after the top slab fell from the chain block being used to lift it. On inspection, it was found that this incident occurred due to poor planning, time pressure, and a lack of proper risk assessment procedures, with blame falling primarily on the firm, but also on Mr Powton himself.

Just two week prior to the incident, the site had passed its monthly health and safety audit, and during proceedings the company was praised for their 'exemplary' health and safety record. In addition, this was also the company's first prosecution in almost a 100 years of working in the industry. This illustrates the true scale of health and safety risks in the construction industry, by showing that heavy lifting incidents can easily occur, even in the most safety-conscious workplaces. Health and safety cannot be maintained on a monthly or even weekly basis, but must be properly assessed and executed as part of daily working practices.

In order to avoid these incidents, companies and employees should:

Plan ahead with plenty of time, to properly asses each element of the job at hand.
Use the correct lifting and handling equipment, which has been safety checked and approved.
Double check the equipment, and run through safety measures before going ahead with the work.
Clearly communicate health and safety procedures throughout the work force, for a unified approach to safety.
If incidents do occur, the situation should be properly scrutinised in order to ensure that a repeat in never allowed to occur.

For more health and safety news and advice, click here!

31 Aug 2016

Company Fined £30,000 for Unsafe Lifting Practices

mike Health & Safety

Lifting large objects can be dangerous business, and it's critically important to carry out the right safety measures in order to minimise the risk of an accident. Failure to adhere to the lifting safety regulations can lead to serious injuries (or worse), and the responsible parties may face prosecution, hefty fines, and even imprisonment.

To see just what can happen when lifting safety guidelines are ignored, you need look no further than the example of Knowsley Engineering Services Ltd, a Merseyside firm that was hit with a £30,000 fine this week after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

What happened?

On the 30th of June, 2014, two workers were moving a structure using a forklift truck. Their goal was to lift the structure from its trestles and manoeuvre it away, but as the structure was being raised up, it twisted around and swung into the cabin of the forklift truck, striking its driver.

That forklift driver, a 46-year-old man from West Lancashire, came away from this incident with serious flesh wounds and a broken arm. This week, his employer (Knowsley Engineering Services Ltd) plead guilty to workplace safety violations at Liverpool Crown Court, resulting in a £30,000 fine (plus costs of £7,670).

How could this have been prevented?

Speaking after the court hearing, a representative from the Health & Safety Executive issued the following statement:

"Had the company taken basic steps, such as providing suitable training so that those undertaking the lift were in a more informed position to assess and then adequately manage the risks, this incident would have been avoided."

With that in mind, here's a breakdown of how this unfortunate incident and the subsequent court hearing could have been prevented:

Employee training. Workers who are required to undertake tasks such as this one should be fully trained to identify risks and take any necessary safety precautions in order to ensure the safe completion of the job at hand.
Risk assessment. Trained workers should know how to carry out a full risk assessment ahead of commencing a lifting/handling job. In an ideal version of this scenario, someone would have completed a risk assessment and spotted the possibility that the structure might twist towards the forklift.
Use of the correct equipment and safety measures. Preventing accidents means taking the right precautions and select the right tools/equipment for the job. In this case, it seems likely that a forklift was entirely the wrong solution for the task at hand, and a different piece of lifting equipment should have been utilised instead.

Source: SHP Online

31 Aug 2016

Company Fined £30,000 for Unsafe Lifting Practices

mike Health & Safety

Lifting large objects can be dangerous business, and it's critically important to carry out the right safety measures in order to minimise the risk of an accident. Failure to adhere to the lifting safety regulations can lead to serious injuries (or worse), and the responsible parties may face prosecution, hefty fines, and even imprisonment.

To see just what can happen when lifting safety guidelines are ignored, you need look no further than the example of Knowsley Engineering Services Ltd, a Merseyside firm that was hit with a £30,000 fine this week after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

What happened?

On the 30th of June, 2014, two workers were moving a structure using a forklift truck. Their goal was to lift the structure from its trestles and manoeuvre it away, but as the structure was being raised up, it twisted around and swung into the cabin of the forklift truck, striking its driver.

That forklift driver, a 46-year-old man from West Lancashire, came away from this incident with serious flesh wounds and a broken arm. This week, his employer (Knowsley Engineering Services Ltd) plead guilty to workplace safety violations at Liverpool Crown Court, resulting in a £30,000 fine (plus costs of £7,670).

How could this have been prevented?

Speaking after the court hearing, a representative from the Health & Safety Executive issued the following statement:

"Had the company taken basic steps, such as providing suitable training so that those undertaking the lift were in a more informed position to assess and then adequately manage the risks, this incident would have been avoided."

With that in mind, here's a breakdown of how this unfortunate incident and the subsequent court hearing could have been prevented:

Employee training. Workers who are required to undertake tasks such as this one should be fully trained to identify risks and take any necessary safety precautions in order to ensure the safe completion of the job at hand.
Risk assessment. Trained workers should know how to carry out a full risk assessment ahead of commencing a lifting/handling job. In an ideal version of this scenario, someone would have completed a risk assessment and spotted the possibility that the structure might twist towards the forklift.
Use of the correct equipment and safety measures. Preventing accidents means taking the right precautions and select the right tools/equipment for the job. In this case, it seems likely that a forklift was entirely the wrong solution for the task at hand, and a different piece of lifting equipment should have been utilised instead.

Source: SHP Online

17 Aug 2016

Failure to Use Correct Equipment Leads to More Worker Falls!

mike

Time and time again, we're seeing companies causing serious worker injuries and incurring huge fines, as a direct result of failing to use the correct fall prevention equipment!

Just yesterday, we shared this story from HSE, which details the life-changing fall of a worker down a lift pit. The worker was not only left with a slew of broken bones and a punctured lung, but was also rendered unable to return to work in the future as a result. On examination, the construction site in Cardiff was found to be poorly managed, with the investigation also revealing that an unsuitable system of lightweight barriers and beanbags (which had been removed), had been used as a feeble attempt at provide fall-prevention.

A similar case, published by SHP at the end of last week, also detailed a set of serious injuries to a 63-year-old employee, who was conducting work on a school roof. In this case, however, the fall protection wasn't simply insufficient, but completely non-existent! The worker's injuries included a broken collar bone, as well as a chipped vertebrae, resulting in the school being fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £1,477 in costs, for breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Upon inspection, no guardrails or alternative form of fall protection were found, creating a deadly mix in combination with the lack of adequate supervision and planning.

When it comes to working on a roof, or similarly high space whilst performing construction and maintenance work, it is of vital importance that workers are properly protected. When there is a steep drop or sharply plunging edge near the area where operations are being conducted, it is highly important that the correct use of edge protection systems are implemented. At SafetyLiftinGear, we do our best to provide both permanent and modular safety lines and fall arrest systems, in order to ensure that we are able to provide safe solutions for any environment or conditions.

Whether your work is part of a long-term operation, or is simply a one-off job, there is no excuse for failing to provide height safety and fall prevention measures!

To see our full selection of height safety equipment, click here. You can also follow us on Twitter for more health and safety news stories!

04 Aug 2016

More Height Safety Disasters!

mike Health & Safety

As we've noticed so many terrible examples of poor, or even non-existent height safety during the past few weeks, we decided it was about time that we created a post to highlight our concerns, and show just how common these idiotic actions can be! Just try to look at these photographs without feeling a little bit ill...

(Pinterest)

Lesson #1: The material lift equivalent of giving your mate a boost is never a good idea...

(Pinterest)

In fact, getting your work mates to hold you up is probably one of the worst ideas when it comes to height safety, which is why lesson #2 is to avoid a dizzying situation like the one pictured above!

(Stupid Humans)

Lesson #3: Your workplace probably isn't the best place to practise your tightrope skills. Stick on a harness, and learn how use a scissor lift properly!

(Pinterest)

Lesson #4: If you really want to be air lifted, just keep working like this! The emergency services will soon have you sorted...

(Pinterest)

Lesson #5: For goodness' sake, use the right ladder! It will save you the hassle of improvising this contraption, as well as a few dozen broken bones...

We hope that our latest disaster round-up inspired you to avoid any improvised shortcuts and crazy solutions in the workplace! If you'll excuse the pun, working at height is dangerous on all levels, which is why you should always have the proper safety measures in place, and ensure that you're making full use of the correct height safety equipment!