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Managing Construction for Time, Cost, Quality and Safety

01925 654158

In order to comply with regulation 3(2)(a) of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 after 1 October 2009, the first aiders provided by an employer must hold a certificate of competence in either:-
 

• First Aid at work (FAW – reduced from a four-day to three-day course) issued by an HSE-approved training organisation.
   
• Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW – a one-day course) issued by an HSE-approved body or an appropriately recognised Awarding Body of Ofqual/Scottish Qualifications Authority.
   
• Registered doctors, nurses or paramedics are exempt providing they have current knowledge and skills in first aid and the necessary training and experience to administer them in the workplace.

The changes are set out by HSE for relevant inspectors in Local Authority Circular 18/1, ‘Changes to the training regime for first-aiders in the workplace’.  It is available at

 http://tinyurl.com/kl3cqj       (HSE Infoline;  tel: 0845 345 0055).

Keelagher Okey Klein are able to provide the appropriate training in-house or locally at competitive rates.  Please call John Okey/Lee Smith on 01925 654158.

Advice on Swine Flu – General advice for employers about swine flu is available, together with regularly updated information on the state of the epidemic, international travel advice and information about government action from two websites – the Health Protection Agency website at
 

http://tinyurl.com/n6efhu  and the Directgov website at http://tinyurl.com/dd5vva  (HSE Infoline; tel: 0845 345 0055).

Provisional Health & Safety Executive data shows that 108 workers were killed between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009, a rate of 0.6 per 100,000 employees.  The figure is down from 233 in 2007/08 and 17% lower than the previous lowest total of 217, recorded in 2005/06.

Sizeable falls were recorded in some of the most historically dangerous industries in Britain:-

• 26 fatalities in agriculture, compared with 46 in 2007/08 and the last five year average of 40.
   
• 53 construction workers were killed, compared with 72 in 2007/08 and the last five year average of 70.
   
• 63 services workers were killed, compared with 73 in 2007/08 and the last five year average of 76.
   
• 32 manufacturing workers were killed, a slight fall from 33 in 2007/08 and the last five year average of 37.

The figures (which are provisional) show that GB had the lowest rate of fatal injuries of the four leading European industrial nations – France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

A free guide setting out an authoritative overview of the occupational health and safety system in Great Britain has been published by the Health & Safety Executive in response to the many requests for information it receives from international visitors and enquirers.  ‘A guide to health and safety regulation in GB’ also describes the HSE’s role and will be a useful source of information for many people in GB.

The guide is available at

http://tinyurl.com/la4dkl  - pdf (HSE Infoline; tel: 0845 345 0055).

Two cases of falls from height, two people injured, two court cases, all could have been prevented.

A property company and a construction contract worker have been fined a total of £13,000 following an accident where a labourer fell through a roof. The labourer had stepped on to the roof, which was made of asbestos-cement sheeting, it gave way and he fell 6.5 metres to the concrete floor below. He suffered two fractured vertebrae and serious injuries to his hands.

The HSE found that the client had failed to appoint a CDM coordinator and a principal contractor, had failed to appoint a competent contractor, and failed to ensure that suitable management arrangements were in place. The client was fined £7000 with £4486 costs. The contractor was fined £6000 with £4430 costs.

A similar incident occurred at Llanelli  when an employee fell through an open skylight. The employee was carrying a roof panel with a colleague when he fell almost 4m through an unprotected skylight. He sustained fractures to his ribs and back, nerve damage to his leg and also memory and hearing loss. The contractor was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £6,750 costs.

In these cases custodial sentences were not imposed.

Failure to discharge client duties contributed to the creation of an unsafe working environment in the first incident, but in both, the contractors’ failure to ensure that work was properly planned and appropriately supervised was a significant factor.

In recent years there have been a number of high profile incidents involving conventional tower cranes in which a total of 8 people have died and more have been seriously injured. 

As a result, a package of measures is being put into place both to improve the safe use of such tower cranes and to help reassure anyone concerned about their safety.  The Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 form part of these measures.

The regulations came into force on 6 April 2010 and require certain information about conventional tower cranes used on construction sites to be notified to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

In practice, whoever has the responsibility for ensuring that the crane is thoroughly examined by a competent person should also ensure that the notification is made to HSE.  In most cases, responsibility will usually fall either to the Principal Contractor or the contractor appointed by the Principal Contractor to provide all on-site crane services.

HSE should be notified within 14 calendar days from, and including, the date of any thorough examination either online at www.craneregister.org.uk  or by post, the cost is £20 per notification.

More information can be found on the HSE website by downloading leaflet INDG437.

The purpose of the survey is to help to manage asbestos in the duty holder’s premises.

The survey has to provide sufficient information for: an asbestos register and plan to be prepared, a suitable risk assessment to be carried out and a written plan to manage the risks to be produced.

Under new HSE  guidance new terminology is employed.  Types 1, 2 and 3 asbestos surveys are replaced with:-

1. Management Survey; for entry into the Asbestos Register for normal occupation and use.
    
2. Refurbishment and Demolition Survey; required prior to upgrading, refurbishing or demolishing any part of the building.
    

Both result in Risk Assessments and lead to Management Plans.

HSG 264  Asbestos – The Survey Guide replaces MDHS100 and is available to view on

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg264.pdf

or to buy at £10.95.

For further advice on any of these issues call John Okey or send an email.

A contractor and an architect’s practice have been heavily fined after a worker fell nine metres to his death.

The man was working on a roof mounted air conditioning plant of a building on behalf of the contractor when the incident took place.

The plant was built on a platform accessed via a ladder at the edge of a flat roof. The roof only had a low parapet, which was not high enough to prevent him from falling nine metres to the ground.

The contractor pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to safely manage subcontractors working for it. They were fined £75,000 and ordered to pay costs of £68,000.

The architects involved pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 13, and 14, of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, which require designers to take safety considerations into account. They were fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £60,000.

The HSE Inspector said: “This is a tragic case where both the failings of the construction firm and the architects led to this death.”

“While it is rare for designers to be charged with breaching health and safety legislation, they must be aware they can be held responsible where bad design is an important contributory factor to a work-place fatality.

“Designers must ensure that plant and equipment can be accessed safely, and that safety harnesses are only used as a last resort.

ARCHITECTS AND CLIENTS BEWARE OF POOR ACCESS DESIGN

FATAL INJURIES TO BRITISH WORKERS

AT ‘RECORD LOW’