Machinery Needs to Be Handled Carefully and Operated by Trained Professionals

There are constant risks involved when dealing with any type of machinery. In the past there have been many accidents, injuries and deaths caused by machines which have not been treated with the respect they deserve. Workers often are put at unnecessary risks however due to bad management and companies who are ignoring the laws and regulations put in place to help reduce some of the risks which come with the territory.

Know Your Responsibilities to Your Employees

If you are in control of any workplace it is essential that you are fully aware of your responsibilities to yourself and your employees or colleagues. Health and safety consultants should always be contacted if you are in any doubt of your legal standing to make sure you are doing everything you should be doing in the eyes of the law, and out of moral respect for those who work for you.

Crushing Accident Could Have Been Avoided

In the news this week there has been one case which saw an employee suffer a horrendous accident while working for a company which failed him. The worker who did not want to be named was informed about a problem with a machine which mixes animal feed.  The air slide was not working so the supervisor decided to clean the slide which had a build-up of sticky deposits.

While the supervisor tried to fix the problem his hand was caught in the moving parts and he was seriously injured. He lost two of his fingers and suffered from nerve damage which will cause problems for the rest of his life. As yet he has not been able to return to work since the accident which occurred in August 2010.

Lack of Safety Measures and Training

The investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive discovered that there were no measures in place which would have stopped the employee from coming into contact with the dangerous moving parts of the machine. It was also found that the supervisor was not trained in the methods of cleaning and clearing the machine, despite having undergone two months of training in other areas.

The firm, One Feed Supplements based in Thirsk, were fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of an additional £2594.30. They pleaded guilty to an offence under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Health and Safety services are available to every business in the UK. These services not only involve training for managers, owners and employees on all levels, they can also make owners aware of their legal duties and the laws which need to be adhered to.

Contact the health and safety consultants to discover how they can help you to avoid accidents like these from happening. Call 0800 1488 677 to find out how their health and safety services can make your workplace safer for everyone.  The HSE revealed that there have been 3800 serious injuries and 27 deaths in the manufacturing sectors during 2010/2011.

Has Health and Safety Taken a Step Too Far?

Alison Hume’s Life Could Have Been Saved. Has Health and Safety Taken a Step Too Far?

In the news last week there was the story about the tragic and preventable death of Alison Hume who dies in July 2008. The 44 year old mother fell down and old mineshaft on Galston while walking home and was found by her daughter who called for help. Ms Hume suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs and sternum. However it has been found that Ms Hume would have most likely survived these injuries had there not been a delay in bringing her up to the surface.

Health and Safety Regulations Cost a Woman Her Life

The senior officer in charge of the rescue operation would not use the equipment needed to winch out Ms Hume in time to help treat her. The fire fighters present were willing to go down and help her but due to the senior officer following the health and safety guidelines Ms Hume remained down in the mineshaft for six more hours. When they finally rescued her she died from a heart attack which was brought on by hypothermia.

The equipment needed to rescue the 44 year old mother was only to be used to help the rescuers and the regulations surrounding its use stated that it should not be used for the public. The officer would not move from these regulations and the inquiry has now discovered that the death could have been avoided of it wasn’t for the delay due to the health and safety regulations.

Lack of Training Also a Contributing Factor?

The inquiry also showed that the Strathclyde Police and Fire and Rescue workers did not have adequate knowledge of the resources that they had available to them in order to aid the rescue of Ms Holmes. They were not familiar with the potential uses of the equipment and did not understand how it could have been used. There was also a lack of training among the emergency services and the fire crews did not have an advanced knowledge of first aid.

Health and Safety Is Necessary

There has been a public outcry and now demands are being made that there should be a get out clause in some of the laws and regulations, such as those which stopped the senior officer from using certain equipment to save Ms Hume.

Health and safety consultants would like to remind people that regulations are there to protect lives, and without the regulations more people each year would die due to inadequate safety measures in the workplace, especially in industries such as agriculture and construction where in the past adults and children have lost their loves from being exposed to asbestos, mercury and having to operate extremely dangerous equipment.

Knowledge and Education

The correct training is always an important part of running any business. Health and safety services are able to provide in depth training courses to help increase knowledge and prevent terrible accidents leading to tragic losses of lives.  To discuss the type of training which could benefit you or your employees contact the health and safety consultants at Veritas. Call 0800 1488 677 for further

Collapse of Scaffolding Seriously Injures Nottingham Worker

A scaffolding company which is based in Kirkby in Ashfield has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety executive.  They were found to be responsible for a collapse of the scaffolding in Nottingham which injured a local roofer.   The roofing contractor had to take four months off work while he recovered from his injuries.

The contractor aged 48 fell off the scaffolding landing six metres below. In the fall he suffered painful injuries as his pelvis was fractured in four different places. The scaffold which collapsed was put in place for David Knowles in 2009. The accident caused an investigation from the Health and Safety Executive to see why it occurred and if it could be avoided.

The Health and Safety Executive discovered that the scaffolding was not erected correctly.  A non-competent person had failed to build the scaffold according to the standard configuration and there were places where it had been incorrectly tied.   Mr Knowles therefore was prosecuted by the HSE as he had not made sure that health and safety had been maintained to protect the people who were not employed by home.

Use Services to Make Sure You are Up to Scratch

Health and Safety services are able to help avoid situations like these.  It is important to know your legal position when it comes to safeguarding the health and safety on site or in the workplace.  Scaffolding is extremely dangerous and it is essential that the right policies are in place and that the correct procedures are followed at all times.

Health and Safety Consultants are able to assist construction workers with training and with planning when it comes to carrying out any job on site. As a result of poor management David Knowles ended up pleading guilty to the charges brought against him.  For breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, section 3(1) he was fined £5000 and also a further £3944 in charges by the Nottingham Magistrates Court.

A Preventable Accident

Mr Knowles could have prevented the accident by making sure that a competent person had erected the scaffolding. Health and Safety services which are designed to assist the construction industry can be lifesaving and also help to protect you should an accident occur. It is vital that you ensure all your workers are trained for the work that they are responsible for.

To contact the health and safety consultants all you need to do is call 0800 1488 677 for more information. There is a wide range of services for this extremely dangerous industry. You can ask for a complete health and safety audit to discover any areas of weakness and learn ways to change in order to make sure you are operating legally and safely.   The experts at Veritas Consulting are able to help by offering:

• Health and Safety Training courses
• Health and Safety Audit
• Competent Person Service
• Document Writing
• CSCS Card Test
• Construction Phase Plan
• CHAS Registration
• Health and Safety File, and more.

Talk to your personal health and safety advisor to see how you can benefit from these health and safety services.

Health and Safety Demonstration Goes Wrong and Becomes a YouTube Hit

Viral videos zoon over the Internet thanks to sites like YouTube.  Once a video has been caught it spreads quickly, amassing thousands of viewings.  Sometimes this can create superstars, and other times it can bring serious matters to the attention of the public and corporation owners.

A Series of Mistakes Shown to over 200,000 People World Wide

The latter is what happened to a Health and Safety officer who was employed by Morrisons in Gateshead.  Despite being well aware of health and safety protocol Mr Cavanagh is clearly seen up a ladder without wearing a hardhat. His aim of the video was to demonstrate the use of a safety harness designed to stop accidents from occurring while working on ladders.  He was supposed to demonstrate the harness as a brand new safety measure; however it didn’t quite work out that way.

When Mr Cavanagh was asked to step off the ladder to show that the system was safe the ladder slipped and he came crashing to the ground.  Thankfully he was not hurt as one of the other Morrison employees threw a hard hat to him just before he side stepped off the ladder.

Head Injuries a Major Concern in the Construction Industries

Any health and safety consultant will be able to tell you the amount of head injuries which occur within the construction industry.  Hard hats are essential kit, and it was a huge error when Mr Cavanagh choose to be filmed giving a safety demonstration.  Therefore since the video can be used as proof Mr Cavanagh has now been suspended from work while Morrisons carry out a full investigation.

Companies like Morrisons have to take safety extremely seriously as they could risk being investigated and potentially prosecuted by the HSE. Health and Safety consultants work with many businesses across the West Midlands and over the UK to make sure that all their employees understand the safety protocols and are properly trained in the hope that accidents will be completely avoided.

Health and Safety Services for the Construction Industry

Another of the health and safety services besides training is assisting with complying to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.  A legal requirement of the CDM regulations is the production of a Health and Safety File.  This is a document which is provided for the client and is where all the health and safety details are recorded during the duration of the product.

Health and safety consultants also make certain services readily available for the construction industry.  The construction phase plan template can be instantly downloaded and provides a template which is fully compliant with the CDM Regulations.  This can then be edited and completed by the Principal Contractor before work is started on site.

To find out more about basic health and safety training for all of your employees and for assistance complying with the legal requirements set out by the CDM Regulations 2007 contact the health and safety consultants.  Call 0800 1488 677 and enquire into all of the various services which can protect your from prosecution and reduce the risk of accidents and injuries from occurring in site.

The Green Deal – What can we expect?

The ‘Green Deal’ is the governments attempt to get the construction industry back on it’s feet, relieve the unemployment figures, and create a new industry micro-cosm in associated manufacturing, administration and implementation. All of this as a by-product of the Uk’s unswerving commitment to the world to reduce it’s carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050.

There are few people who can accurately look 40 years ahead, so I guess we are stuck with trying to do as much as we can, as far in advance as we can. In the hope that it all might just come together at about the right time. To the government’s credit they are not hanging around, and the Green Deal has got to be a committed and positive move in the right direction.

Will it work?

The Green Deal is wrapped up as part of the governments ‘Energy Bill’, which is described as being “designed to provide for a step change in the provision of energy efficiency measures to homes and businesses, and make improvements to our framework to enable and secure, low-carbon energy supplies and fair competition in the energy markets.” There, so now you know.

One of the forerunners to the Green Deal was, still is, and will continue to be the “Feed in Tariff” (FiT). Now if governments were ever prone to admitting fiscal errors this would be high upon the list. They started a scheme in July 2009 allowing businesses and private individuals to apply to be paid to generate renewable energy – Primarily electricity from Photo voltaics and wind turbines. But the offer was too good! Not only can you use the electricity generated by your renewable installation, but the government will also pay you to do so. How fantastic is that? – It was the payment level though that was too high. Very, very attractive. But too high, and unsustainable.

So they are lowering the rate by just over 50%. Down from 43.3p per Kwh to 21p, with a proposal to implement starting 8 December 2011. This of course is contrary to the previous rumours that it might be 1 April 2012. – What fools we were to believe that! This strategy only applies to energy production via photo-voltaics. The argument being that the FiT has been so successful in bringing down the cost of PV installations (reported at up to 30%) that the original projected figures are now too high, and need to be reigned in. Yeah right. The bottom line is it’s not going to be as lucrative as it used to be. But the government is still hoping the attraction will be there.

So the FiT reduction is just a glitch in the Green Deal matrix. The move to empower an industry with everything it needs to reduce the country’s carbon footprints marches relentlessly onward, like some android army under the Generalship of the Secretary of state of energy and climate change, Chris Huhne.

So what is General Huhne promising?

He might say he’s promising nothing, but he’s looking to achieve an affordable, manageable, sustainable and effective solution to ease the consumption of energy within the UK. – Good answer. It might not be his, but nonetheless, a good answer.

How will this be achieved?

The principles of the Green Deal are now fairly well known. The starting premise is that the UK housing and general building stock is now so old, and so poor at efficiently managing energy consumption that it is responsible for around 25% of the Uk’s carbon emissions. The Green Deal will allow the affordable retrofit and upgrade of our buildings to become more energy efficient, and reduce overall carbon emissions as a consequence. So that’s it in a nutshell. Not too difficult at all.

How will the Green Deal be rolled out?

The claim is that the manner in which the proposals have been drafted mean that the implementation will not be on a one size fits all basis. The scheme has built in flexibility that will give “businesses and consumers the opportunity to make the energy efficiency improvements that best suit their situation.” Seems viable on the face of it. It is the words “their situation” that will be the governing factor. For there will be a formula to be applied to each property. You may have heard of this as ‘The Golden Rule’. The golden rule states that the financial savings realised as a result of any energy saving measures must be greater than or at least equal to the capital cost of installation.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) promotes the golden rule as protection to the building owner, or occupier. The capital cost of the work will be borne by the energy provider for that property. The theory being that the new energy efficient installation will reduce the energy used by that building, and therefore the associated energy bill cost pro-rata. This creates an opportunity for the energy provider to recover the cost of the installation, over time, by making a charge to the consumer of a maximum of the difference between their monthly bill cost before the measures and the projected reduced cost afterwards. So the consumer’s bills will largely stay the same, but they will be using less energy.

You might ask what’s stopping the energy providers charging what they like for any given ‘energy saving’ installation? And that would be a very good question. The answer, on the face of it, is nothing. Nothing at all. But what we should find is that it will be self-regulating. The energy providers will be under government pressure to achieve a significant number of installations. Each installation will have a prescriptive pay back period. A finite amount of time during which the whole installation cost must be recoverable by the savings it has generated. This is the ‘Golden Rule’ and of course is a ‘deal breaker’ if the installation and pay back figures fail to stack up.

So what happens at the end of that period then? In practice it is hoped the energy saving installation will continue to ‘save money’. Chances are that after say ten, fifteen or even twenty years technology will have overtaken the performance of the PV installation that was commissioned in 2012, such that, for example, in 2030, if PV panels still exist, their efficiency rating will be off the scale compared to today’s technology. You can easily make the comparison with a computer bought today, will almost certainly have been superseded in 6 months time by a model that is smaller, faster and has more memory; all for less money. The counter argument being that if you don’t take advantage of today’s technology TODAY, you will miss out on the benefits offered tomorrow, and the day after. But that is the current way of the world.

Your energy use goes down, but your bill remains the same – So what’s in it for me?

You are not paying any less each month, so YOU are not going to SAVE money by having all this disruption to your home, and, or business then why bother? – On the face of it I think that’s a perfectly reasonable response and reaction. Except we should all have our eye on the ‘energy ball’. We have a duty to the world we live in, our children, their children and so on. So taking the glass half full approach, this is the perfect opportunity to make it work for us at no cost. Short-term disruption to our living and working environments is the price we pay. But is your average man on the street so altruistic? Or, Is he just plain selfish? Will the energy providers need to guarantee some form of saving to incentivise the roll out? I think so. The cynic in me says that people will not budge to save the planet if all they are doing is standing still, because after all W.I.I.F.M. is a very powerful lobby.

How do we get our energy saving measures installed?

Initially there will be a massive media promotion of the Green Deal by both government and energy providers. This is currently scheduled to be rolled out around autumn 2012. Then it is up to you and me to ask whether we are able to qualify for what’s on offer. This could be anything from simple loft insulation, to Biomass boilers, to PV panels and wind turbines. But not every building will be suitable for all that will be on offer. Even if it is, if the capital cost cannot be repaid during the projected ‘pay-back’ period – again that particular horse will be deemed to have fallen at the first fence. However, the energy companies will be under substantial government pressure to make this work for as many applicants as they can. Even if it means bending over backwards. Please get in an orderly queue behind me because I would like to see that first.

Accredited Assessment and Installation

Once we have decided that we want a slice of the Green Deal cake we must invite an assessment of our building by someone trained and qualified to do so. How many times have the public been stung by inexperienced, poorly trained, so-called advisors who plainly didn’t realise the difference between A and E? Why should it be any different this time? Well General Huhne has stated, ” We are working with industry and accreditation bodies to ensure the assessment is robust, delivered to agreed standards by qualified advisers and backed up quality assurance and compliance mechanisms.”  Believe that if you want to. We shall find out in due course.

Likewise, installers trained to understand what they are doing will only carry out the installation. Call me an old cynic, but experience shows that consistency on this will build it’s own mountain, and many so called accredited installers will run out of oxygen long before they reach the top. If only because not all the installation team will understand the science of what they are trying to achieve. However, ‘accreditation means that all installations will be carried out to a new British Standard PAS 2030 (Publicly Available Specification) – Now if you wanted to find out what this contained, you are too late. The draft consultation document has been withdrawn for redrafting. The consultation period having ended on 21 October 2012.

To the government’s credit, the whole package does appear remarkably well thought through. But it is still a dream and the alarms’ not due to go off for another few months. Of course the proof of this pudding, sorry cake, will be in the first few helpings dished up, and that is nearly a year away. The waters will become less murky as more and more of the detail falls into place.

Current status -

The governing legislation has received royal ascent, and if you are prone to believing government rhetoric, things seem to be pretty much on target to start empowering Green Deal providers in spring 2012, ready for a public roll out in the autumn of the same year. What we don’t know is exactly how the Green Deal will be rolled out, and who will be at the sharp end of rolling it out.

We also know that there has been a massive intake of breath from the PV industry over the government confirmation of the reduced tariff. Cries of the industry collapsing. Jobs lost in there thousands, and product manufacturing severely curtailed. It’s not a surprise though is it? We have known the rates were to be slashed for months. This was a veritable golden goose, which has been plucked for the last time. Agreed, perhaps those swines in Whitehall didn’t have to be so swingeing with their PV scythe. But we have to get on with it. Use a bit more imagination. The first enterprising soul to lick his wounds and reinvent his business model will reap the rewards: Bundle PV with something else perhaps. I don’t know. But I’m not here to provide the answers.

The Green Deal. We’ve been expecting it, and now we’ve got it. Well, almost.

This Blog article has been provided by the Building Design Expert

Public Liability insurance: European Campaign for Safety and Health at Work

European Health and Safety Week took place again between 24 and 28 October this year, with the specific and sole aim, as always, of raising awareness of the need for health and safety in the workplace, and reducing Employers Liability and Public Liability insurance cost for businesses of all sizes.

The European Agency for Safety and Health describing the week-long annual campaign as being “Aimed at people in organisations, companies and workplaces of all sizes and sectors. Everybody involved in occupational safety and health matters is invited to take part, especially safety and health institutions and occupational insurance organisations, trade unions and employers’ organisations, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives.”

The two-year campaign is being aimed at a vast range of stakeholders, including employers, employees and health and safety representatives, and is intended to highlight the benefits of carrying out and implementing the findings of a risk assessment.

The campaign seeks to clarify and make more accessible the standard risk assessment procedure in order to demonstrate that risk assessment doesn’t have to be complex, a bureaucratic nightmare or a task reserved only for the so-called experts.

And not only this, but the campaign is also aimed at raising awareness regarding health and safety and its necessity in the modern workplace, identifying and recognising good practice, and imparting knowledge and practical tips that will work to encourage behaviours that have a truly positive impact within the workplace.

The primary theme of this year’s campaign was based on maintenance work, which affects every sector and is, contrary to popular assumption, not the sole province of mechanics, fitters and tradesmen, but encompasses a wide range of workers.

This year’s campaign was aimed at underlining many of the risks associated with both reactive maintenance and routine maintenance, such as asbestos poisoning and other forms of industrial disease, falls from height, injury through using incorrect methods, materials or tools, and incorrect health and safety implementation, to name but a few examples.

Similarly, if an employer neglects to carry out routine maintenance works, this can also generate new hazards and expose employees to an entirely different set of risk factors. The week was run by the European Agency for Safety and Health, which has published on its site lots of news, learning materials and engagement activities, and the week here in Britain was overseen by the Health and Safety Executive.

Health and Safety Helps Firework Displays Go Off with a Bang – Of the Right Sort!

This time of year is always a lot of fun with Halloween and Fireworks night.  If you are planning to hold a fireworks display or have a bonfire it is worth taking a few moments of your time to read some health and safety advice to make sure the event is one of entertainment and not disaster.

Health and safety consultants are able to help you to understand where you stand with the laws and regulations if you are holding a public display.  It is vital that you make sure the whole event is planned properly and that you have procedures available should any accidents occur during the event.

The HSE have put up a useful guide to help prevent accidents so here are a few of the major points which could mean the difference between a successful event and one which ends in injuries.  This is broken down into two sections, what to do before the event and on the day.  You can contact health and safety services to assist you if you are unsure of any of the guides, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Preparations for a Fireworks Celebration

• Think about the type of display you will be having.  Fireworks come in different categories, 1, 2, 3 and 4. As an amateur you are allowed to light and be in charge of the fireworks within categories 1 to 3, however, category 4 fireworks have to have a professional operator.
• Look at the area where you will be holding the event.  There must be enough room to have the display far enough away from the spectators as the fireworks need to land at a safe distance.  Look out for power lines above the area too as you may need to move the display area to avoid disaster.
• Alcohol at the event needs to be positioned far from the display.
• Consider where you will be storing the fireworks up until the display.
• Make sure the supplier and manufacturer is reputable to make sure you are not sold faulty and dangerous goods.
• Have a plan in place so that everyone knows what to do if an accident was to occur. Consider whether you will need to have the St. Johns Ambulance or any emergency services present.
• If you have decided to use professional firework operators work closely with them so that you all know who is in charge in case there is an emergency.

Firework Display Night

• Take a walk around the area and consider the weather conditions, is it too windy? Will the rain cause any additional safety problems?
• Mark out restricted areas where spectators are not allowed to cross to keep them separated from the fireworks.
• Designate the job of lighting the fire to one person and never use petrol or other fuel to start the fire.
• Talk through safety procedures with any helpers.
• Only light a firework once, never go and try to relight it if it fails.
• Place a first aid kit in one area and signpost this area in case anyone is hurt.

Health and safety consultants will be able to advise you further on any insurance which is useful to have when planning public events. Contact 0800 1488 677 to speak about health and safety services further to make sure your event is helped safely and responsibly.