Controlling construction dusts has really hit the headlines as a requirements in recent years – and with good reason. Deaths related to dust inhalation through COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and the effects of exposure to RCS (respirable crystalline silica) are estimated to be in the thousands each year. HSE estimates that over 100 people…
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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…
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I am sure that most of our clients are already familiar with the long established ISO.9001 as the Quality part of the ISO Management Systems standard, which has evolved to its latest version in 2015. To many, these changes to the standard were quite dramatic and now require far more Top Management Commitment and evidence…
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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…
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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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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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