HSE LAUNCH PACK TO PROMOTE DUTY TO MANAGE ASBESTOS IN PREMISES
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a key feature in its campaign to promote awareness of the proposed Duty to Manage the asbestos in premises. The Asbestos Risk Management Presenter's Pack is available free of charge to HSE's registered partners and contains a range of training material for events aimed at those affected by the proposed asbestos regulation when it is introduced in August 2002.
The topics covered include:
The hazards of working with asbestos
Changes in asbestos law
The steps needed to comply with the new duty
Further advice and guidance
The Duty to Manage is HSE's further response to the UK's biggest occupational health killer in the UK – asbestos related disease. The regulation will require duty holders to identify and manage the risk from asbestos containing materials in their premises.
Although the duty to manage regulation will not come into force until early 2004, getting the message out to the million or so duty holders is a major task that needs to be tackled now.
A key part of HSE's Asbestos Risk Management Campaign, is to cascade its campaign messages to duty holders and others via a network of partners. More than 450 organisations have committed themselves to providing practical help to the campaign.
Sandra Caldwell, head of HSE's health directorate said:
"The package has been designed to be as flexible as possible, to be used by a range of partners who have agreed to support HSE in raising awareness of the new requirements among a range of audiences."
Under HSE's new partnership logo a nationwide year long programme of events will be delivered through the established 'partner' network giving those with a duty under the new regulation an opportunity of gaining an early insight to their responsibilities. Many of the events will be promoted through HSE's asbestos campaign website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm - the site also carries useful background to the development of the new regulation and details of the supporting campaign, including how to obtain the presenters pack though joining the HSE in its ongoing asbestos promotion campaign.
NEW HSE CHECKLIST FOR MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIRS
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
Today the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a new leaflet on how to prevent ill health and accidents during the servicing and repair of motor vehicles at work.
The leaflet aims to help everyone involved in the motor vehicle repair (MVR) industry to identify the main causes of accidents and ill health and gives examples in the form of a "checklist" of some of the precautions which can be taken to prevent them. The leaflet folds out so that the checklist can be used as a poster for display in garages and other places where motor vehicles are serviced or repaired.
Over 3,000 injuries and cases of ill health in MVR are reported to the HSE and local authorities every year, and many others go unreported. The main causes are: manual handling; slips and trips; falls from a height; transport accidents; fire and explosion; and plant and equipment. It is estimated that accidents at work cost the UK motor vehicle repair industry around £250 million every year, or on average about £5,000 per garage.
The guidance was produced by HSE's Motor Vehicle Repair Health and Safety Forum, which includes representatives from across the motor vehicle industry, including trade unions.
Copies of 'Reducing ill health and accidents in motor vehicle repair' (INDG 356) can be ordered free of charge online at: http://www.hsebooks.co.uk or are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, tel: 01787 881165 or fax: 01787 313995.
HEALTH & SAFETY INSPECTORS TO BLITZ CONSTRUCTION SITES!
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will carry out a series of construction blitzes in Wales, South West England and the East Midlands this month, continuing its 12-month national rolling programme which began in April.
HSE inspectors are carrying out monthly construction site blitzes in different parts of the country in a bid to cut down on the unacceptable toll of deaths, injuries and ill health on badly run sites. Of the 291 work-related deaths last year, 106 were on construction sites.
Teams of inspectors from the construction division and other parts of HSE will be involved in the blitzes which will concentrate on falls from height. They will visit both small and large sites across the regions, adopting a rigorous, enforcement-led approach and stopping work on sites where poor standards are found.
SAFETY SCHOLARSHIP OFFERED TO SMALL BUSINESSES
Posted Wednesday, June 12, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
Small firms & organisations are being given the chance to improve their health & safety management thanks to a scholarship offered by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents & Esso Petroleum Company Ltd. For the past decade the RoSPA/Esso Safety Scholarship has offered help to small businesses who do not have a health & safety officer.
Current legislation requires employers to appoint one or more competent persons to assist in carrying out health & safety duties. This can prove expensive for a small firm, but the scholarship, entirely funded by Esso, could provide a solution.
Applicants are asked to either complete a questionnaire or submit a 500-word essay explaining why & how the award would be of benefit to both themselves & their company.
Winners receive free enrolment to the RoSPA-organised National General Certificate in Occupational Safety & Health course, which concludes with the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety & Health examination.
Cost of accommodation, travel & course reference books are also provided. The course is held in Birmingham or Edinburgh & is worth around £3,000.
Short-listed entrants will be invited to attend an interview with the judging panel. Travel expenses will be refunded. Entries for the scholarship close on July 31, 2002.
For further details & an entry forms contact:
David Walker or Jackie Bradley
RoSPA
Edgbaston Park
353 Bristol Road
Birmingham. B5 7ST.
Tel: 0121 248 2091
PPE FOR ULTRA HIGH PRESSURE WATER JETTING PERSONNEL
Posted Tuesday, June 11, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
Ultra high pressure water jetting operations are a potentially hazardous activity. Accidental contact with ultra high pressure water jets can lead to amputation & severe infection due to contaminated water being forced into body tissues. Jetting operators have, until recently, had no real protection against such injuries.
Now, personal protective clothing & footwear are available in the UK for use in jetting operations, which should should lead to a reduction in the likelihood of these injuries due to their increased resistance to penetration by the jet. Simply Workwear will shortly be launching a range of suitable PPE.
The new PPE is the subject of HSE guidance in the form of a Sector Information Minute (SIM) & was launched at the recent AGM of the Water Jetting Association in Derby.
HSE will now require the use of such clothing & footwear for manual ultra high pressure water jetting. This should be based on a risk assessment to identify the most appropriate type of PPE for a particular job.
Steve Catterall, of the Utilities National Group with the HSE, says: "Typically, if the operator falls over he may accidentally come into contact with the jet before the water flow can be stopped. The new clothing and footwear provides vital seconds to avoid serious injury."
Ultra high pressure water jets operating in excess of 25,000 psi are being increasingly used by industry for removal of surface coatings, cleaning & cutting - particularly in the marine, chemical & offshore industries. Jetting brings with it its own hazards but nevertheless it can be used to replace other techniques, which have an even greater health risk & environmental impact.
Training & instruction on the use & limitations of the new PPE are necessary & such requirements also apply to jetting operators using hired equipment.
Copies of the SIM - Protective clothing & footwear for use with ultra high pressure water jetting - are available from the HSE office in Nottingham, tel: 0115 971 2800.
TEST CASE VICTORY FOR ASBESTOS VICTIMS
Posted Tuesday, June 11, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
Three test cases brought by or on behalf of people seeking compensation for the damage to their health or loss of life through asbestos exposure have succeeded at the House of Lords. Two of the cases were brought by widows, & have importance for those who have suffered illness through exposures while with more than one employer. It had been deemed beforehand that although a number of employers were negligent, they were not liable.
The insurance industry had maintained that it could not be determined which exposure had triggered illness. They now face a possibility of meeting claims that may eventually amount to £10bn.
According to Anthony Coombs of John Pickering and Partners, who represented two of the appellants: "Hundreds of asbestos cancer victims have been waiting for this result. They & future victims will be relieved that justice has prevailed."
Frank Maguire of employment specialists Thompsons pointed out the morally indefensible position of some insurance companies saying: "It is a terrible situation where you have the same insurance company, insuring three employers saying it was not any of them."
The decision has wider ramifications, as the principle upon which it is founded extends to compensation matters beyond those involving only asbestos.
MOBILE WORK EQUIPMENT COMPLIANCE DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING!
Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by Ahmed Khan
The Compliance Deadline for Mobile Work Equipment is fast approaching! Remember all mobile work equipment, including such items as fork-lift trucks, dumpers and tractors, which was provided for use before December 1998 must be brought into compliance with Part III of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) by December 5th 2002.
If you are an employer or are self-employed, or if you are in control ‘ to any extent’ of mobile work equipment, this part of PUWER requires you to ensure that it is safe to use by preventing or controlling risks. For new equipment, the requirement has been in effect since December 5th 1998.
The main risks involved include:
Being struck by the vehicle;
Equipment rolling over;
Driver or passengers falling from the vehicle or being struck by
falling objects;
Unauthorised start up of vehicle;
Inadequate devices for braking and stopping;
Restricted driver visibility.