Healthy and Safety gone wrong goes Viral
Viral videos zoom 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.
A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.
One Comment
This is a great post about the YouTube video where the safety demonstration goes wrong. This is a prime example of how easy it is to forget basic health and safety in the workplace. This is why it’s essential to be safety conscious at all times, in particular when working at heights and when in other high risk situations