Formwork safety continues to be an area in which many sites could improve. There are a range of courses out there which give useful qualification and skills in the management of formwork and falsework risk. A good example of this would be the Temporary Works Supervisor Training Course (TWSTC) available from CITB. For more information…
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There have been more instances of tele-handlers and dumpers overturning on construction sites with often tragic consequences. These days we have trained operators and good site traffic management on most sites we see but in spite of this we are still seeing too many overturns. This gave use cause to think and discuss this in…
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As an employer you have the duty to assess the risks to Health, Safety and Welfare of all persons in your employment and also to those not actually in your employment but entering your premises – members of the public or visitors to your site. You have diligently carried out your work place risk assessments,…
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So, here you are. Steadily driving your way home along a motorway, mile after mile and junction after junction, perhaps in kind of semi aware state casually glancing at the sat nav, speedo or rear view mirror. Every now and then you find yourself simply gazing at the view ahead and seconds turn into minutes…
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Sometimes you just feel that something isn’t right, you can’t explain exactly why but you have that feeling, your subconscious is telling you to look a little more closely or probe a bit deeper. We think there is a case for intuition in safety and here’s why. I read an interesting article recently by Dr…
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Having read of a recent case where a company was fined £200,000 plus £27,724 costs for a HAVS incident has made us revisit the vibration issue here in the office. Each of us already know that the emphasis from HSE and our insurers is now firmly on health as well as safety. We reported nearly…
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Both industrial and construction sites we visit and support often have scaffolding in place and regardless of if you are a client or an experienced contractor, its nice to have sufficient knowledge to complete a quick assessment or to just be able to spot when something is amiss. For example, you’re a safety manager in…
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One of the key things people learn on their first safety courses are key phrases used in health and safety. We, like all professions, are awash with different phrases and acronyms and one of those is ITIS (as in healthandsafetyitis – a condition which can affect us all as some point on another). However, the…
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A CDM Client which failed to appoint a Principal Contractor under the CDM Regulations 2015 has been prosecuted and fined £50,000 Any Client who has building work completed which falls under CDM must appoint a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor in writing – this is one of the key requirements placed on any client under…
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We have yet to meet a client who doesn’t let out an involuntary sigh when we mention the above. To be truthful we do have a slight sinking feeling ourselves and often look around the office for the best person to pass the enquiry to! There is a lot of advice on how to proceed…
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