newsletter - Vital Skills...Cardiff-based construction company, Jehu Project Services Ltd, has been...

September 2016

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newsletter

1

A distillery in Oldbury has been fined after an

employee was engulfed in flames in a fire that

destroyed the warehouse, its contents, and caused

damage to nearby houses and cars.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how ethyl acetate

(highly flammable liquid) was being transferred from a

bulk storage tank into an intermediate bulk container

when an employee was engulfed in flames. The 21-

year-old sustained twenty percent burns to his head,

neck and hands.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive

(HSE) into the incident which occurred on 26

November 2012 found that the most likely source of

ignition was a discharge of static electricity generated

by the transfer of the liquid.

There was poor maintenance of pipework and

associated valves. There was a failure to competently

inspect the equipment or monitor the systems of work.

Alcohols Limited, of Charringtons House, The

Causeway, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, pleaded

guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health

and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined

£270,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,009.

Distillery fined after fire

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September 20162

newsletter


A Bulgarian construction firm has been fined after a

member of the public reported unsafe working practices

during the construction of an adventure course in

Markeaton Park, Derby.

Derby Magistrates’ Court heard how a passing member

of the public noticed work at height being carried out

from a pallet on the forks of a telehandler at the site in

Markeaton Park, where a high ropes adventure course

was being constructed by Bulgarian based firm

Walltopia.

The member of the public first reported the incident to

the company but despite receiving assurances that the

matter would be dealt with, unsafe work at height

continued.

They then reported it to the Health and Safety

Executive (HSE).

The HSE’s investigation at the site found work was

taking place on a section of roof 11 metres off the

ground, without the use of any means to prevent two

workers falling from the open edges.

In addition, these workers were accessing the roof by

climbing from the basket of a cherry picker.

Walltopia of Bulgaria Boulevard, Letnitsa, Bulgaria, was

fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,013.25

after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the

Work at Height Regulations 2005.

HSE Inspector Lee Greatorex said “Work at height

should always be sufficiently planned and managed to

protect workers from being exposed to extreme risks

from falls from height. In this case someone could have

suffered significant injuries or death”

Bulgarian construction firm prosecuted for working at height breaches




September 20163

newsletter


A Hertfordshire-based home improvement company

has been fined after the unsafe removal of asbestos

material from a domestic property.

St Albans Magistrates’ Court heard how Ace of Hearts

Home Improvement Limited (AOH) removed asbestos

containing materials (ACM) from a domestic property in

St Albans.

The Asbestos Insulation Board (AIB) soffits surrounding

the underside of the guttering around the front, gable

end and back of the property had been dismantled in an

unsafe manner creating the serious risk of respiratory

exposure of asbestos fibres to the two workers and the

residents of the property (family of four including two

children).

An investigation by the HSE into the incident which

occurred on 25 Sept 2015 found that the company were

not licensed to remove asbestos.

Ace of Hearts Home Improvements Limited, from

Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to

breaching Regulation 8(1) and Regulation 16 of the

Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2012, and

The Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 33

(1) (g) in that it failed to comply with an Improvement

Notice.

They were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of

£2,118.50.

Company fined for exposing family to risk of asbestos exposure




September 20164

newsletter


Cardiff-based construction company, Jehu Project Services Ltd, has been sentenced

after a worker was seriously injured falling down a lift pit.

The incident happened on 8 July 2015 at a construction site in Pontcanna, Cardiff.

Stephen Harrison, a specialist drilling contractor, was employed by Jehu to help

refurbish a 73-bed care home when he fell into the basement of a lift pit that was

under construction.

Mr Harrison stepped onto the ground floor having been working off a tower scaffold,

but stood on a loose concrete block causing him to fall backwards, head-first, into a

skip full of rubble on the floor below.

A specialist Fire and Rescue team were nearby and after stabilising Mr Harrison,

attached him to the hook of a tower crane and winched him out of the pit, over the

site and into the carpark of a housing estate nearby where an ambulance was

waiting.

Mr Harrison suffered shattered vertebrae, five broken ribs, a punctured lung and

spent 18 days in hospital. He is still recovering and although not paralysed, his

injuries were life-changing and he will not return to work.

The HSE investigated the incident and found that Jehu had been using a system of

lightweight barriers around the edges of the drop, along with bean bags at the bottom

of the hole, but these were incompatible with all of the work that needed to be done

by the different contractors and had been removed. Following the incident, all of the

danger areas were fenced with scaffolding.

Newport Crown Court heard that there were numerous management failings

associated with this project, which included a lack of effective site management and

supervision, a construction plan that did not properly consider obvious working at

height risks and a lack of an effective Temporary Works Management System.

Jehu Project Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Construction (Design and

Management) Regulations 2015, Regulation 13(1) and Work at Height Regulations

2005, Regulation 6(3) and was fined £143,000 and ordered to pay full costs of

£15,029.30.

HSE Inspector Liam Osborne, who brought the case, said: “Jehu had been given

many warnings in the past by HSE about the lack of effective planning, managing

and monitoring on their construction sites, as well as warnings about unsafe working

at height. It is crucial that construction firms properly think through the risks involved

before starting work, they then need to ensure there is a workable plan to iron-out or

manage the resultant dangers. There is a clear hierarchy for managing work at height

risks, site managers need to prevent it if possible and then provide suitable fixed

barriers. Lower-order measures, such as soft-landing systems or the use of

harnesses should only be selected as a last resort and if it is safe and appropriate to

do so”.

Construction firm sentenced after worker falls down a lift pit




September 20165

newsletter


Network Rail has been fined £130,000 after a worker was hit by a 25,000 volt power

surge while repairing an overhead line near Ardrossan South Beach station in 2009.

The court heard that Network Rail had provided crews carrying out the repairs with a

“hopelessly inaccurate” work diagram.

David McDermott suffered “catastrophic injuries” in the incident resulting in significant

loss of function and years of surgery.

He had been with a colleague in a mobile platform fixing an isolated section of cable

when he touched a live wire and was struck by a 25,000 volt power surge.

Sheriff Alistair Watson described Mr McDermott’s injuries as “catastrophic” and said

no penalty would set a price or value on the pain and suffering he continued to

endure.

Network Rail was fined £130,000 after it admitted failing to provide safe working

documentation and ensuring work was only done on isolated sections of line.

The sheriff added:“The obvious failure in the system, which is perhaps self-evident, is

the fact that the schematic or diagram used as an essential guide for those involved

in the repair operation was hopelessly inaccurate for a considerable length of time,

despite it potentially being an issue of life and death importance.

“It appears to have been in continuous use by those who entrusted their safety to

their employer. Put bluntly, this meant that a serious accident of this type, while

perhaps not inevitable, was eventually highly foreseeable.”

Sheriff Watson also voiced his “grave concern” over the delay of seven years for the

case to reach court, which prosecutors blamed on technical hitches involving

statements and different agents being involved in the case.

Over 5,000 people have now signed a petition calling for lifeguards at Camber

Sands, after five men in their late teens and early 20s died on 24 August.

The men, believed to have been on a day trip, are thought to come from greater

London. Three of the men were pulled from the water while two more bodies were

discovered by a member of the public as the tide receded the same day.

The deaths have intensified calls for permanent lifeguards to be stationed at Camber

Sands. Beach patrols are in operation, but many feel that the beach, which is visited

by up to 25,000 people on a summer day, needs further safety improvements to keep

the public safe.

Network Rail prosecuted after electrocution Camber Sands petition for life guards




September 20166

newsletter


Two roofing companies and one of their directors have

been fined after a worker fell to his death through a

skylight.

The Senior Flexonics factory on the Pen-y-Fan

industrial estate

Cardiff Crown Court heard how 46 year old Lance

Davies, a father of seven, died after falling over seven

metres through a roof light at industrial premises in the

Crumlin area of South Wales.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive

(HSE) into the incident which occurred on 15

December 2011 found that the work at height on the

roof was not properly planned, managed or monitored.

There were inadequate control measures in place to

prevent a fall through the roof lights.

SPAN Roofing Contractors Limited, of Sunnyside Road

North, Weston Super Mare, North Somerset, pleaded

guilty to breaching Regulation 13(2) of the Construction

(Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and was

fined £65,000 and ordered to pay costs of £37,500.

B & T Roofing Solutions Limited, of Arthur Street,

Ystrad, Pentre, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections

2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act

1974, and was fined a total of £20,000.

Kristian Griffiths, of Arthur Street, Ystrad, Pentre, a

director of B & T Roofing Solutions Ltd pleaded guilty to

breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and

Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by virtue of Section 37 of

the Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974, and was

given a 160 hours community service order.

B & T Roofing Solutions and Kristian Griffiths were

ordered to pay costs of £32,500 between them.

Following the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Paul

Harvey said: “Falls through fragile roof lights and roofs

are one of the biggest causes of fatalities and serious

injury in the construction industry. The issue is well

known in the construction industry and there is plenty of

guidance available.

“The tragic death of Mr Davies could easily have been

avoided had the work been planned, managed and

monitored effectively and simple and cost effective

control measures put in place.”

The HSE’s new poster on work-related ill health

amongst construction workers in Great Britain is now

available to purchase online on the HSE’s website.

The poster visualises the key information in an

infographic style, which makes communicating the

scale of work-related ill health in the construction

industry easier.

The poster costs £7.50 and is available from:

https://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/saleproduct.jsf?cat

alogueCode=9780717666546

Infographics

are a way of

communicating

information / data in a easy to understand way - It can

be a useful way to supplement your health awareness

campaigns.

Roofing firms fined after worker fell to his death Health in construction




https://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/saleproduct.jsf?catalogueCode=9780717666546

September 20167

newsletter


Gas Safety Week aims to raise awareness of gas

safety and reminds us to have our gas appliances

safety checked annually by a qualified Gas Safe

registered engineer.

Over 3,000 supporters have already signed up to this

year’s Gas Safety Week.

More information is available at:

www.GasSafetyWeek.co.uk

Two security companies have been fined after a

security guard died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Javaid Iqbal, a 29 year old father of three, was

employed by London based KK Security Services Ltd

as a security guard on a construction site in Leigh,

Wigan. KK Security were sub contracted by Veritas

Security (Southern) Ltd, a Southampton based

company, despite it being written into the contract from

the client that no sub-contracting would take place.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard that during the early

hours of 6th December 2014, the site’s generator failed

in sub-zero temperatures and in an attempt to keep

warm Mr Iqbal lit some barbecue coals in a

wheelbarrow which he placed in a 20 foot steel

container used as the site office.

Mr Iqbal was found dead by police a few hours later

having died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

A HSE investigation found that KK Securities Limited

failed to provide a management system to protect the

welfare and safety of their employees, particularly lone

workers. No real provision had been made by the

company for emergency support, the only option open

to Mr Iqbal being to ring his employer who was

hundreds of miles away and could offer no practical

assistance.

The investigation also found Veritas Security

(Southern) Limited failed to put proper arrangements in

place with the site occupier for emergency situations

outside office hours, such as a loss of power or heating.

HSE Principal inspector Neil Jamieson said after the

hearing: “Mr Iqbal should have been required to ring

and speak to his company every hour or have some

form of panic button.

“His calls were not being monitored. Instead of this he

was simply required to text in every hour stating that all

was well.

“This tragic death could have been so easily avoided

had either KK Securities Limited or Veritas Security

(Southern) Limited made adequate arrangement to

regularly check on Mr Iqbal’s welfare during the quiet

hours. Instead, it appears he was left to fend for

himself ”.

KK Security Services Ltd, of One Canada Square,

Canary Wharf, London, pleaded guilty to breaching

section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act

1974 and was fined £8,000 with £ 4,854 costs.

Veritas Security (Southern) Ltd, of St Anne Street,

Salisbury, Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to breaching section

3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and

was fined £8,000 with £ 6,220 costs.

Both parties were also required to pay an additional

£120 victims surcharge

Security firms fined over death of security guardGas safety week 19-25 Sept




http://www.gassafetyweek.co.uk/

September 20168

newsletter


A Hampshire based engineering firm has been fined

after a worker severed a finger in a metal working lathe.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard how the company

had allowed the custom and practice of defeating

interlocks on CNC metal working lathes to develop.

This meant that machines could be operated whilst

allowing access to the moving parts.

An investigation by the HSE into the incident, which

occurred on 3rd July 2015, found that the worker’s

hand had come into contact with the moving parts of

the machine whilst he was attempting to release a

jammed work-piece. This resulted in one of his fingers

being severed.

Repro Engineering Limited, of Aysgarth Road,

Waterlooville, Portsmouth, pleaded guilty to breaching

Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work

Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay

costs of £2,222,37.

HSE Inspector Frank Flannery speaking after the case

said: “This incident could have been prevented by more

active and robust management action, it sends out a

message to employers that tampering with safety

devices can lead to injury and prosecution”

A 35-year-old self-employed worker from London has

been given two suspended jail terms for falsely

claiming to be Gas Safe Registered.

The court heard how he signed Gas Safe certificates

for a number of properties. This was only discovered

after a gas leak was reported by National Grid at a

rented property.

Brian Winters of Edmonton was found guilty of four

charges of regulation 3(7) of the Gas Safe Installation

and Use Regulations 1998 and was given an 18 month

suspended sentence for two years for the property

where a gas leak occurred and 12 months suspended

for two years for the three other charges. He was also

given two community orders.

Health and Safety Executive Inspector Monica Babb

said after the hearing:

“Gas Safe registered engineers are regulated and have

to ensure they can prove they are competent. This safe

guard is removed when people choose not to register,

putting people at risk in their homes.

“It is important that anybody who has gas work carried

out checks their engineer is carrying a valid gas safe

registered identification card. They should also check

online or call Gas Safe Register to confirm they are

competent to carry out the work ”

A school in Brentwood has pleaded guilty to breaching

health and safety regulations after a worker was injured

as he fell from a roof.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard how in January 2014 a

maintenance team at the school was working to replace

components on a bay window of a residential flat within

the school grounds.

A 63-year-old employee was working on the roof of the

bay window when his foot got caught and he fell

approximately 2.6 metres to the ground below.

He was taken to hospital and was found to have

suffered injuries including a broken collarbone and

chipped vertebrae.

An investigation by the HSE into the incident found that

there were no effective guardrails or any other means

of protection to prevent workers from falling from the

roof.

There were also no supervisory arrangements and the

work was not carried out in a safe manner.

Brentwood School Charitable Incorporated

Organisation, Brentwood, Essex, pleaded guilty to

breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height

Regulations 2005, and was fined £40,000 and ordered

to pay £6,477.10 in costs.

Engineering firm fined after

worker loses finger in lathe

Man sentenced for pretending to

be Gas Safe Registered

Essex school fined after worker

falls from height




September 20169

newsletter


Many accidents, some resulting in death and serious

injury, continue to occur during the storage and

handling of steel and other metal stock. Accident

investigations often show that these injuries could have

been avoided.

The HSE has revised guidance aimed at directors,

owners, managers and supervisors and pays particular

attention to the most common hazards, including

(un)loading of delivery vehicles, storage systems,

workplace transport, mechanical lifting and injuries

from sharp edges.

New sections compare the use of single- versus

double-hoist cranes and give additional information on

the safe use of pendant and remote controllers, suitable

lifting accessories, working at height and providing

better access arrangements with stock products.

There are also now specific requirements which

effectively prohibit the stacking of ‘U’ frame racking and

‘barring-off’.

This revised guidance was produced in consultation

with the National Association of Steel Services Centres

and the City of Wolverhampton Council.

The guidance can be accessed at:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg246.pdf

The M20 has reopened after a busy weekend clearing

debris following a footbridge collapse onto the

motorway in Kent after it was hit by a lorry carrying a

wheeled excavator.

One half of the bridge crashed on to a second lorry on

the London-bound carriageway between junction 1 and

4, leaving the other half hanging over the southbound

carriageway. A motorcyclist was hurt whose injuries

were described as not life-threatening and the driver of

the second lorry was treated for shock.

The other half of the footbridge has been left standing

after been assessed by highways engineers as posing

no immediate threat to motorists.

Safety in the storage and

handling of steel and other

metal stock

M20 reopens following

footbridge collapse

Get you own copy of the HSQE newsletter by emailing us at:

[email protected]




http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg246.pdf

newsletter


September 201610

You will learn:

• The reasons for managing safely

• What risk is

• How to conduct risk assessments

• How to control risks effectively

• Basic legal responsibilities of managers and

supervisors

• How health and safety law works

• Key parts of a health and safety management

system

• Common hazards encountered in the workplace

and how to control the risks they present

• How to report and investigate incidents

• How to measure health and safety performance

• How to prevent pollution and waste

• The key parts of an environmental management

system

IOSH Managing safely online course

Key features:

• The industry-standard health and safety course

for managers and supervisors in the UK

• Meets the latest IOSH Managing safely syllabus

(version 4.0) – fully approved by IOSH

• Course is fully online, including the exam and

project, so no need to attend a training centre or

pay the associated overheads

• Interactive content will keep you engaged

• Works on PC, tablet or mobile

Prices:

• 1 to 4 students £175 +VAT per licence



• 50+ students £125 +VAT per licencew: www.hsqe.co.uk e: [email protected]

More info:




newsletter


September 201611

Key features:

• Meets the category A training requirements for

asbestos awareness in the Control of Asbestos

Regulations 2012

• For managers, supervisors and trades people

that could be exposed to asbestos, so that they

can avoid the risks it presents

• Independently audited and approved by the

IATP

• Works on PC or tablet

Prices:

• 1 to 4 students £15.00 +VAT per licence



• 50+ students £7.50 +VAT per licence

Asbestos awareness

(cat A) online course

Asbestos awareness for

designers online course

Key features:

• Meets the category A training requirements for

asbestos awareness in the Control of Asbestos

Regulations 2012

• For designers, architects and anyone that

needs a more in-depth understanding of the

risks associated with asbestos

• Independently audited and approved by the

IATP

• Works on PC or tablet

Prices:




• 50+ students £7.50 +VAT per licencew: www.hsqe.co.uk e: [email protected]

More info:




newsletter


September 201612

Key features:

• For anyone that uses ladders, or is responsible

for people that use ladders

• Explains the dangers associated with the range

of ladders and the practical steps that should be

taken to manage the risk they present

• Also covers ladder components, the key legal

requirements, risk assessment and basic ladder

inspection and maintenance


Prices:





Ladder safety

online course

Working at height

online course

Key features:

• For anyone that works at height, or is

responsible for people that work at height

• Explains the dangers associated with heights

and the practical steps that should be taken to

manage the risk it presents

• Also covers key legal requirements, risk

assessment and the issues associated with

commonly used access equipment


Prices:




• 50+ students £7.50 +VAT per licencew: www.hsqe.co.uk e: [email protected]

More info:




newsletter


September 201613

Key features:

• For anyone that is a fire warden or is

responsible for managing fire wardens

• Covers: accidents involving fire, fire safety

legislation, basic components of fire, stages of a

fire, how fire spreads, fire classification, fire

prevention, fire extinguishers, risk assessment,

fire safety arrangements and the duties of fire

wardens


Prices:





Fire warden / marshal

online course

w: www.hsqe.co.uk e: [email protected]

More info:

Fire safety awareness

online course

Key features:

• For anyone that needs an awareness of the

dangers associated with fire and the practical

steps that should be taken to reduce the risk

• Covers: accidents involving fire, fire safety

legislation, basic components of fire, stages of a

fire, how fire spreads, fire classification, fire

prevention, fire extinguishers, risk assessment

and fire safety arrangements


Prices:








newsletter - Vital Skills...Cardiff-based construction company, Jehu Project Services Ltd, has been...

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