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…
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Safety Critical Medicals are an issue which is being raised by more and more clients since the beginning of this year. It is linked to a national scheme know as Constructing Better Health which is backed by the larger constructors in the construction industry. You can find out more about this scheme here; http://www.cbhscheme.com/About-CBH. The…
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The Health and Safety Executive has published its sector plans for the next 3-5 years following the draft it issued in March 2017. This earlier document saw HSE split the areas under its remit into 19 different sections rather than the, until now, traditional two sectors Interestingly, manufacturing has been given a ‘must try harder’…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Bear with us for a moment or two… this is relevant to a blog on health and safety but it might take a couple of paragraphs to demonstrate how. Time, not material goods, ‘raises happiness’ I read this whilst I was recently on holiday and so had some free time in which to think a…
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Lyme disease and the danger from tick bites is something which we’ve been communicating for almost 10 years now. Each month we come across another news story which reminds us that the message still needs a lot more promotion. This month alone we’ve seen two important stories. If you’re a fan of rugby you might…
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Lots of businesses which we visit have an oil drum or two lying around the workplace. It may seems like a good idea to make use of one of these unwanted items and we’ve seen them made into bins and even barbecues through some simple welding. However, depending on what used to be inside them…
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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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