Every year HSE updates its statistics for the UK. All of the information gathered from the wheels and workings of government, the report made under RIDDOR and the information passed back from the NHS come together to form a picture of how we are doing as a nation. We have a lot to be proud…
Read more
Well then – who better to tell you about how provide a risk assessment training than an actual HSE Inspector! Or is it…. HSE have recently started to offer more in the way of courses and have some which cover risk assessment, others covering CDM and more are likely to arrive in the future. The…
Read more
Scaffolder Terrance Murray faces up to 6 months in jail after being photographed by a retired HSE Inspector working 60 feet up on a scaffold in Manchester. Even more surprising is that the building he was working on housed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who are now involved in prosecuting the case against him! Scaffolder…
Read more
You might well find the following report of interest if you’re in construction, particularly if you’re CDM Principal Designer. For those of you living in the South-west you might be interested to know that Bristol came second in the list for most enforcement notices issued under CDM 2015 (just behind Hammersmith in London)! We’ve just…
Read more
We’ve now had the first full calendar year of the updated CDM Regulations in place with some very big changes in terms of Clients duties. Some things have changed and designers, architects in the main, have begun to feel the pinch of the regulations. Contractors seem happy to proceed largely on the same basis as…
Read more
Almost all the people we know and work with struggle with knowing the right mix of safety aspects and operational aspects when planning work. We do have to get the job done, but let’s do it safely is a common phrase through industry and construction. However, every now and then we come across a case…
Read more
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and its requirement for a Client to appoint Principal Contractor are long-established having been first issued in 1994 but more recent changes in the 2015 update are catching out some clients. We think that as time progresses HSE will be looking to enforce more regularly on client duties in…
Read more
This recent case involving a Bristol construction firm highlights two common misconceptions; You have to have an accident to get prosecuted and fined by the HSE; Most inspections come through random HSE visits. This case disproves both of these assumptions. Firstly, the case was prosecuted based on the risk of the breach rather than based…
Read more
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…
Read more
All of us have our pet subjects. Some of us do tend to bury our heads in the sand for areas in which we’re not as competent and Hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is all too common an example. You may, if you are honest with yourself, have a hit list of subjects which you…
Read more