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 had a full year of CDM 2015 and the conversations regarding client and designers and their specific role in the new regulations are ongoing. Coupled to this HSE now have a specialist team visiting designers (architects and similar) to ensure that the message of CDM 2015 and its specific requirements related to the assessment of risk at the design stage are fully implemented by the CDM Principal Designer.
CDM Principal Designer: Take a look at the report below
If you’d like a quick summary please read on below;
total number of enforcement notices issued to the construction sector related to CDM 2015: 3155
of this number the total of prohibition notices issue: 1793
of this number the total of improvement notices issued: 1362
number of regulatory breaches these notices listed: 7993
Most breached regulation: HASWA: 3391
Second most breached regulation: Work at Height: 1790
Third most breached regulation: CDM 2015: 1669
Interestingly, there were 99 potential breaches of Client duties under CDM but only 5 potential breaches of duty by Principal Designers and just 2 potential breaches by Designers.
An accurate depiction of the real state of the CDM 2015 Regulations? We’ll leave you to decide…
HSE often attends sites which have been reported as dangerous by members of the public. In fact, we hear of these visits quite regularly and they can be as a result of genuine concerns or perhaps as a result of noise, dust and other disturbances causes nuisance to neighbours.
The case below relates to a North London site at which safety management and edge protection were sadly lacking. Malik Contractors and Engineers Ltd were fined a total of £52,000 plus £4,415 costs after pleading guilty under Reg 13(1) of The Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015.
In response to concerns from members of the public HSE carried out three separate inspections and each time found numerous breaches of health and safety legislation. These included electrical systems, unsafe work at height and no fire detection of fire fighting equipment despite workers sleeping on site.
HSE inspector David King commented:
“This case highlights the importance complying with enforcement action. Duty holders have the responsibility to provide their workers with appropriate training and equipment so they can work safely. In this case Malik Contractors failed to do so.
It is essential those responsible for construction work understand they are also responsible for the health and safety of those on and around the construction site, and ensure
suitable and sufficient arrangements are in place to plan.”
Guidance on protecting the public from construction risks
The project client should provide information about:
boundaries
adjacent land usage
access; and
measures to exclude unauthorized persons
This will influence the measures contractors take.
Key issues are:
Managing site access
Hazards causing risk to the public
Vulnerable groups
Check out the HSE guidance page for more information on public safety with construction sites and contact us on 01453 800100 if you need help and advice on protecting the public at your construction site.
We are all used to HSE visiting site and reviewing our arrangements on safety. If these fall below expected standards we typically see Fee for Intervention costs (FFI) and the possibility of the serving of Improvement or even Prohibition notices. What’s unusual is when a HSE Inspection results directly in prosecution.
HSE launches several campaigns each year across the different regions of the UK to check on site safety and hundreds of sites are visited. We know that the April visits in our own region resulted in more than 50% of sites receiving FFI and/or enforcement action.
HSE Inspection leads directly to prosecution
One site visited in Wilmslow led directly to a court case, an unusual step for HSE. Read on to find out why these steps were taken.
Despite no specific injury having occurred the site was so poorly organized that the inspector decided that a prosecution was the best course of action. Reference to the photographs above show the poor state of the site and it was felt that a death or serious injury was a real possibility.
Key failings were the missing and removed edge protection and general site debris – this was not removed from site but was tipped to the rear of the plot burying the footings of the scaffolding and making access hazardous.
A prohibition and Improvement Notice were served and the subsequent prosecution saw Skyline Building Services Ltd fined £20,000 with £4095.60 costs.
Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Ian Betley said:
“Numerous failings were found on this site, including serious risks of falls from height and site tidiness that could have resulted in major injuries or even death.
Skyline Building Services Limited showed scant regard for the safety of the workers they were responsible for and it was fortunate that nobody was seriously injured or killed.”
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 the summer of 2012.
CDM Client fined more than £1.5m
In the case, heard at Liverpool Crown Court, it was reported that on the 3 July 2012 a 74-year-old man suffered head injuries after he was hit by a car while using a crossing at temporary lights. One side of the Queen’s Drive dual carriageway had been put into a contraflow to allow vehicles to travel in both directions but temporary pedestrian lights were not working and no alternative was provided.
The Court also heard that on the 19th August 2012, 69-year-old Ernest Haughton died when he was struck by a car whilst crossing a single lane of traffic on the same road using a temporary pedestrian crossing.
Following complaints from motorists changes were made to the traffic control lights to alleviate congestion but this resulted in the removal of the natural break in traffic flow needed to allow pedestrians to safely cross the carriageway.
When Mr Haughton died the temporary lights were removed but no alternative control measures were put in place to enable pedestrians to cross. In addition, a large A-frame sign was placed on the crossing which obscured the view of both pedestrians and motorists.
Liverpool City Council pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM) and were fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £100,000 costs.
HSE investigators found that Liverpool City Council had failed to ensure that the arrangements for managing the roadworks were suitable, including failing to appoint a suitable co-ordinator for the work. Instead the council sought to delegate responsibilities to Enterprise Liverpool Limited who pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM) and were fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 costs.
HSE found that Enterprise Liverpool Limited failed to ensure the designs for the traffic management were checked or approved and failed to check that the construction plan for pedestrian routes and provision of barriers was being followed. At the time of the incidents they were found not to have provided a safe means of pedestrians crossing the works area or the carriageway.
Tarmac Trading Limited of Solihull, pleaded guilty to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974 and were fined £1.3 million and ordered to pay £130,000 costs.
Tarmac Trading Limited, who were responsible for the provision and installation of the traffic and pedestrian management, failed to provide alternative assistance for pedestrians at the time of the first incident despite it being known that the temporary lights were broken. A temporary bus stop had also been placed in the middle of the road at the crossing.
HSE Inspector Jacqueline Western commented:
“The risks associated with road works are well known in the industry and specific guidance is available to assist with the planning and implementation. It is not unreasonable to expect that those who regularly engage in this type of construction work should be well aware of their roles and responsibilities.
The combined failure of all three dutyholders to comply with their duties on more than one occasion during the Queens Drive resurfacing project, led to one man losing his life and another suffering serious injury. It could quite easily have been two fatal incidents.
By engaging with the entire project team at the very start of a project, clients like Liverpool City Council, can ensure that a good health and safety culture is embodied throughout the life of the project. Ongoing communication and cooperation between the principal contractors and sub-contractors ensures that the project is being adequately planned, managed and monitored.”
Contact us on 01453 800 100 if you need expert help with health and safety for a fixed cost or use our contact us page.
We’ve carried out many monitoring programmes which have involved exposure to styrene vapour over the past 20 or so years. The substance is in common use and because of this businesses and their staff can sometimes become too familiar with the substance and fail to take adequate precautions.
We also have heard staff assuring us that they don’t need to use protective equipment as they have developed a tolerance or even an immunity to styrene’s effects – wouldn’t it be good if that could ever be the case…
In the case below styrene exposure simply wasn’t guarded against and although HSE Inspectors know that small businesses have pressures on them they quite rightly won’t allow this as an excuse to endanger the health of their employees.
If you need occupation health advice, air monitoring for styrene or any other safety support please speak to your retained advisor or contact us on 01453 800100 to get some sound advice.
Solar panel installer falls through fragile asbestos roof, company fined more than £20,000
Templetown Canopies Limited from Tyneside has been prosecuted over the lack of controls regarding the use of the hazardous substance styrene during the production of fibre glass door and window canopies.
Styrene exposure causes irritation to the nose, throat and lungs and neurological effect including difficulty in concentrating, drowsiness, headaches and nausea.
HSE inspected the company premises in May 2013 issued an Improvement Notice. However, the company did not take action to comply with the Notice until they moved premises in March 2015 failing to adequately control exposure of their employees to styrene.
An extraction system should also have been in place to remove the heavier than air vapours and RPE provided with the correct filters (FFP3) to protect operators.
Employees exposed to styrene vapour for almost 2 years
Templetown Canopies Limited, of Shaftsbury Avenue, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) and was fined £8,500 and ordered to pay costs of £4,500.
Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Fiona McGarry said:
“Workers’ health was put at risk from exposure to styrene for a period of 22 months, even after the company had been made aware of the actions it needed to take.
Whilst HSE is sympathetic to the pressures faced by small businesses, this is simply not acceptable. Employers need to take action to ensure they are providing adequate control to protect the health of their employees.”
Despite HSE insisting that its Fee for Intervention (HSE FFI) scheme is not intended to plug the hole in its finances caused by the reduction of its government grant recent figures show a 13% decline in enforcement notices (improvement notices and prohibition notices). At the same time a 26% increase in the charges made under FFI has been made against the construction sector with fees from April 2015 to March 2016 reaching a record £4.22m
Some may be rightly concerned whilst others may be grateful to avoid having an enforcement notice issued against their business and the subsequent need to admit this to their client base (as its presence in the HSE Hall of Shame).
Whatever your particular viewpoint it does show that Fee For Intervention is on the increase and that construction and contracting businesses are being targeted. As you will probably be aware all FFI is ‘in the Inspectors opinion’ and so good practice is important and base legal compliance may not be enough to protect you from fines.
As always, if you need more advice please contact your retained consultant.
Notices of Contravention (HSE FFI)
HSE issue invoices following a written Notice of Contravention sent to duty holders regarding ‘material breaches’ of the law found by HSE inspectors, HSE invoice data for the last three full year invoice is as follows:
April 2013 – March 2014 – 6960 invoices issued with a total value of £2,545,474. The average value of invoices issued is £366.
April 2014 – March 2015 – 6075 invoices issued with a total value of £3,1116,234. This represents a 21% increase in the total value of invoices issued over the previous period. The average value of invoices issued is £513 representing a 29% increase.
April 2015 – March 2016 – 6990 invoices issued with a total value of £4,220,972. This represents a 26% increase in the total value of invoices issued over the previous period. The average value of invoices issued is £604 representing 15% increase.
Enforcement Notices (HSE FFI)
Over the same period which shows that the number of enforcement notices issued in the construction sector has fallen.
April 2013 – March 2014 – the database shows 3625 prohibition and improvement notices issued by HSE construction teams.
April 2014 – March 2015 – the database shows 3244 prohibition and improvement notices issued by HSE construction teams. This represents a 11% fall in the number of notices issued.
April 2015 – March 2016 – the database shows 2713 prohibition and improvement notices issued by HSE construction teams. This represents a 13% fall in the number of notices issued. Comment
The data suggest that the HSE Notice of Contravention and consequent inspection fee forms an increasingly important mechanism for HSE in securing compliance and improved standards of health and safety in the construction sector.
This is occurring at a time when use of formal Enforcement Notices (improvement and prohibition) is declining in the sector.
