In a move which would have been unheard of just a year ago a magistrates court has handed a fine to DFS Trading Ltd of £1m plus costs of £15,099 On 2 July 2015 the worker was unloading wooden furniture frames at one of the firms upholstery sites when he was struck by an unsecured…
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Both a Principal Contractor and other contractors have been fined following a worker falling over 7 metres through a fragile roof which was being replaced. Our belief is that the client was lucky not to be prosecuted as a key requirement on them is to ensure that those they appoint are competent and adequately resourced…
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We work for a number of education establishments and the risks within them are diverse, its a challenge for a person or a small team to manage each of them. This example represents a situation which could arise in any number of similar organisations when risk isn’t adequately controlled, the consequences here could have been…
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Health is becoming the central thrust of any HSE visit and with good reason, health causes a huge impact on individuals and a massive strain on our NHS. However, not all safety professionals are aware of these risks well enough to control them and that’s where expert, external, independent advice can be invaluable. Alveolitis is…
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The use of pinch or crowbars to move components is a common practice in precast concrete erection. Components should be positioned as close as possible to minimise the need for it but there is often a need for some adjustment whether to ensure that the component reaches the right position or to tighten up a…
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When you start out in health and safety you usually end up on a 10 day NEBOSH Certificate and this is often taught in a college. You all file down to an old engineering workshop and are told about holding emery cloth on lathes (polishing on lathes and the terrible injuries it can cause. However,…
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A local authority (acting as a CDM Client) and its two contractors have been fined in excess of £1.5 million following two incidents involving roadworks on a busy Liverpool city centre road. A man died and another was seriously injured while attempting to cross Queens Drive in Liverpool during major resurfacing works which happened in…
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Between February 2016 and August 2016, we have seen a significant HSE Fines increase. These totalled totalled £20.6 million, compared to £14.4 million in February 2015 to August 2015 (please note that these costs may in fact be significantly higher as the data does not include sentences imposed in cases prosecuted by local authorities). HSE…
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In July HSE ran a consultation on health and safety enforcement allocation with a view to how it shares its enforcement role with local authorities EHO’s (environmental health officers). A number of options were on the table ranging from completely absorbing the LAs’ regulatory powers for health and safety to allocating them greater duties. It…
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