£100k fine for health surveillance failings leading to HAVS
Hand Arm Vibration (HAVS) is something which we have covered many times before but an area in which many still have a way to go. The following prosecution illustrates just how many are still getting it wrong and the suffering which is resulting from this.
If you’re a safety advisor or manager within an organisation who feels they should be doing more, the case below should help you justify to your board the actions which you need to take to protect them, your staff and the business. If you need advice or support on HAVS then please do get in touch – it’s just one of the things we do to help and support our clients under Safety~net.
South Wales based Charter Housing Association fined £100k for health surveillance failings which led to HAVS
Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court heard how Charter Housing Association Ltd. reported six cases of HAVS following a health surveillance programme launched in June 2015. The affected employees were all part of the maintenance team. Subsequently, the HSE’s investigation found that the health of six of these staff were likely to have been caused or worsened by the use of vibratory power tools while in Charter Housing’s employment. It was further found that maintenance and refurbishment staff had also experienced significant exposure to hand arm vibration in their daily work which put them at risk of developing or exacerbating existing HAVS.
The investigation also revealed that the company:
- neither adequately planned its working methods nor trained or informed employees on the risks to their health
- did not limit the duration and magnitude of exposure to vibration
- failed to put in place suitable health surveillance to identify problems at an early stage.
Charter Housing Association Ltd (now part of Pobl Group Ltd) of High Street, Newport pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. The company was fined £100,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £9,896.88.
HSE Comment
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Joanne Carter said:
“An individuals health should not be made worse by the work they do. If Charter Housing had correctly implemented its health surveillance earlier, it would have ensured the right systems were in place to monitor workers’ health. The six affected employees’ conditions may have been prevented from developing to a more severe stage.”
“How people work today can affect their health and wellbeing tomorrow. This case serves as an important reminder of the necessity of task based risk assessments to establish the level of exposure, control measures to reduce that exposure to as low as is reasonably practicable and effective health surveillance systems. In the case of Charter Housing this realisation came too late.”
“All employers need to do the right thing to protect workers’ health.”
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is a serious and permanent condition caused by regular and frequent exposure to hand-arm vibration. HAVS results in tingling, numbness, pain and loss of strength in the hands which may affect the ability to do work safely and cause pain, distress and sleep disturbance.
following a worker falling over 7 metres through a fragile roof which was being replaced.
keep you staff safe when working with electricity. To secure a place(s) please complete the registration page at: Shockingly Good Advice; Free Event from WWT Southwest; 
