C&G Safety & Environmental has introduced Safety 247, an on-line service for companies who are struggling to manage complex health & safety requirements. It allows companies to put all their training needs, statutory tests, checks and inspections, documents and other details on a web database which will automatically remind them when they need to take action.

The system collects all the necessary data through audits and inspections and keeps it up to date.   A training matrix is prepared with the various course types and due dates entered.  The client is alerted by email whenever a test or inspection needs to be arranged, documents need to be updated or someone’s training is due for a refresher.   The user can see an audit report summary which shows all sites and outstanding issues, inspection dates, copies of reports and so on.  Sub-contractor assessments and approvals can also be monitored.  All safety documents are stored on line for ready access.

“Many of our clients are finding it a major headache to keep on top of the increasing body of safety legislation” says Roger Hart of C&G Safety & Environmental.  “Safety 247 looks after it all.  It also allows clients to present a more professional image to clients, and to keep costs down.”  More information at www.safety247.co.uk

Most of us use the services of an insurance company not just for our insurance needs but also to carry out thorough inspections, tests and examinations of the plant, equipment and machinery which we have within the business, typically forklift trucks.

In a situation such as this imagine that the insurance inspector identifies that one of the trucks has a serious defect with its lifting chains making it unsafe to use. The inspector contacted you and advised that it needed to be taken out of service immediately pending corrective work.

A few days after the visit by the insurance assessor, you are then contacted by your local HSE office. They had been told of the faults with the forklift truck and wanted to know what was being done about it.

Why did the insurer reported this?

Regulation 10 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations states that the competent person completing the statutory inspection must do the following:

“Where there is in his opinion a defect in the lifting equipment involving an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, send a copy of the report as soon as is practicable to the relevant enforcing authority.”

Technically, the competent person completing the inspection should always tell you that they need to report the defects to the HSE but this doesn’t always happen. So we would suggest that if you are informed that any item of equipment or plant has a serious defect, ask whether it’s serious enough to be reported to the HSE or other any other authority.

Whilst its true that you can’t stop the report from being made, you can take steps to demonstrate that the truck was taken out of service immediately, that you have commissioned a company to complete the works required, and systems have been put into place to help prevent this happening again.

Remember

Your plant, equipment and machinery should be under a regime of regular maintenance to make sure that they can’t get into a condition whereby a serious defect report would need to be made in the first place.  Review your recent reports and if you find that serious reports have been brought up before then re-examine your current maintenance arrangements.

HSE inspectors are to launch an intensive inspection initiative aimed at stopping dangerous practices on building sites across Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) wants to raise awareness of construction site risks and prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths. During 2008/09, 53 workers died and 11, 264 were injured, across Great Britain, while working in construction.

The inspection initiative – starting on 1 March – will focus on refurbishment or roofing work. Inspectors will make unannounced visits to ensure that sites are managing work at height safely and are in good order.

Philip White, HSE’s Chief Inspector of Construction said:

“Each year too many construction workers are needlessly injured or killed while working on site. While some sectors of the industry have made real improvements in recent years, we are really concerned about standards in the refurbishment sector, particularly on small projects. HSE does not think a lax attitude to health and safety in one of the more dangerous industries is acceptable, especially when many of the incidents are completely avoidable by taking common sense actions and precautions. This is the third year running we have run initiatives like this and, after these latest inspections, we hope that we can report back that we have found good practice and safely operating sites. However, if we find poor practice that is putting the lives of workers and, in some cases the public, at risk we will take action; this could include closing sites and prosecuting those responsible.“

Note: Last year inspectors visited 1,759 sites and 2,145 contractors and issued more than 270 prohibition notices to stop dangerous work – much of it relating to working from height.

If you need any help or assistance with health and safety our expert health and safety consultants can help you From health and safety policy development to noise and COSHH risk assessment, safety audits and staff development, just call us on 01453 800100 or visit us at www.outsource-safety.co.uk. We also provide safety services to the construction industry including CDM Coordinator, construction site safety visits, method statement and risk assessment development and health and safety policy work. Please contact us on 01453 800100 for an informal chat or visit our website for more information.

Most businesses use agency staff at some point.  Whether to cover a longer term absence, cope with an upturn in business or to cover a the absence of a key worker.

Naturally, the person who is employed to carry out this role has a right to expect a safe workplace and you, as an employer, have a duty of care towards them.  But what of the employment agency?  How can you share the risk of employment and what should your agency be doing to help you manage the risk?

Read on for an interesting update of what should be happening and what you can do to share the burden of risk management.

The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectorate has reported that eleven out of twelve employment agencies it investigated were failing in their health and safety duties.  If you do use agencies you should be aware that they share the burden of good health and safety with you and must play their role to ensure that their staff are safe whilst working on your premises.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (CEAEBR) clearly sets out the safeguards which should be in place. In total, the investigation found evidence of 57 infringements. Of particular concern were the breaches of the CEAEBR health and safety requirements. These state that an employment agency may not, “introduce or supply a work-seeker to a hirer unless the agency or employment business has obtained sufficient information from the hirer”. Specifically, the agency must identify from the hirer “any risks to health or safety and the steps the hirer has taken to prevent or control such risks”.

If you’re using employment agencies:

• Supply your agency with copies of relevant risk assessments.
• Set out details of the experience, training, qualifications and any particular authorisations required.
• Remind the agency of their legal responsibility under the CEAEBR to pass on the information about the risks of the job and to check that the workers they supply will meet all of your requirements.
• Ask them to sign to confirm that they have fulfilled all of these responsibilities.

The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectorate has reported that eleven out of twelve employment agencies it investigated were failing in their health and safety duties. If you do use agencies you should be aware that they share the burden of good health and safety with you and must play their role to ensure that their staff are safe whilst working on your premises.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (CEAEBR) clearly sets out the safeguards which should be in place. In total, the investigation found evidence of 57 infringements. Of particular concern were the breaches of the CEAEBR health and safety requirements. These state that an employment agency may not, “introduce or supply a work-seeker to a hirer unless the agency or employment business has obtained sufficient information from the hirer”. Specifically, the agency must identify from the hirer “any risks to health or safety and the steps the hirer has taken to prevent or control such risks”.

If you’re using employment agencies:
• Supply your agency with copies of relevant risk assessments.
• Set out details of the experience, training, qualifications and any particular authorisations required.
• Remind the agency of their legal responsibility under the CEAEBR to pass on the information about the risks of the job and to check that the workers they supply will meet all of your requirements.
• Ask them to sign to confirm that they have fulfilled all of these responsibilities.

If you need any help or assistance with health and safety our expert health and safety consultants can help you From health and safety policy development to noise and COSHH risk assessment, safety audits and staff development, just call us on 01453 800100 or visit us at www.outsource-safety.co.uk. If you would like to be able to manage all of your risks online use our tool at www.safety247.co.uk, contact us for a guest log in.

The death of a seven-year-old, who’d managed to gain access to scaffolding, led to a successful prosecution by the HSE.
Background
Lovell Partnerships Ltd erected a scaffold so that its staff could repair a chimney flue whilst controlling the risk of falling from height, all well and good you might think. The plan was to put the scaffold up, complete the work, and then take it back down again shortly afterwards. However, work was delayed due to an unexpected hold-up and the scaffold remained in place.
As the scaffold was there with no one using it, local children soon adopted it as a playground. They even built a den on the roof of the building. However, twelve days after the scaffold was erected, seven-year-old Adam Triffin fell from it to his death.
Prosecution
The subsequent HSE investigation identified that the accident happened because the scaffolding had been in place long after the time when it should have been needed. The HSE Principal Inspector stated that had the scaffold been removed promptly when it was no longer needed the accident would not have occurred leading to a fine of £75,000 and costs of £46,109 against the company.

Rough justice
You could argue that this was a little heavy handed. Although the company had left the scaffold in place this was due to unforeseen circumstances, further, the company had taken steps to make access more difficult including the removal of access ladder to the lower levels of the platform. However, in this case access was made from the balcony of the building which children did have access to (the area was not fenced off as a construction site and the work area was in the middle of a housing estate), had the company netted the scaffold to prevent this access the courts decision could have been different.

Lessons
If you leave items plant, equipment or access you could be at risk. Construction sites are an attraction to children and the Courts recognise this fact when considering cases such as these. Take some time to review your current arrangements and see if you would pass this test, if you need help in this simply contact us for some free advice and assistance.

Some confusion exists over this issue but the realities are clearly explained in regulation. In fact, the regulations specify areas where cover may not be refused, for example;
• “any breach of the insurance policy by the employer following the event giving rise to a claim, e.g. failure of, or delay in, notification
• any breach of any enactment by the employer concerning the protection of their employees; or
• failure by the employer to keep records as required by the policy or to provide information from such records for the insurer.
• any lack of reasonable care by the employer to protect employees against the risk of bodily injury or disease”

Other than in extreme cases claims cannot be refused but restrictions can be made, particularly in respect of work which the insurer considers hazardous. The majority of insurers limit the height at which employees may work (still the single biggest cause of workplace deaths) and most also include a standard restriction relating to work with asbestos containing materials (ACM’s). These restrictions can be removed but you will find yourself paying much higher premiums for this privilege.

Restrictions are the key issue here. If you decide to work at height on a project and a restriction exists which you then break it is highly unlikely that the insurer will still have to honour the claim. Make sure you know these restrictions and make sure that your staff and managers know. A one off job or even a favour for a good client could leave you with a very significant bill if restrictions are breached and an accident occurs.

EL cover for micro businesses
If you employ just one person within the business then since February 28th 2005 EL cover has no longer been compulsory. However, consider the following scenario’s in which cover would be needed before cancelling any existing arrangement;
• You hire a part time member of staff to ease your workload over a busy period
• You employ a temp to cover you for a holiday or period of sickness absence
• You get help from volunteer works or work experience students
• You employ a gardener, cleaner or security guard through the business
• You employ an agency worker

Finally always consult with your broker before making any change, failure to meet legal requirements on EL insurance can result in a fine of £2500 per day, over a year this could add up to over £900,000.