February Newsletter

ACCIDENT/INJURY HEALTH FIGURES IN THE UK (2021/22)

• 1.8 million working people suffering from a work-related illness, of which 914,000 workers suffering work-related stress, depression or anxiety

• 477,000 workers suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder

• 123,000 workers suffering from COVID-19 which they believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work

• 61,713 injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR

• 123 workers killed in work-related accidents

• 565,000 working people sustained an injury at work according to the Labour force survey

• 36.8 million working days lost due to work- related illness and workplace injury

• £18.8 billion estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions (2019/20)

The full Summary Statistics can be found HERE. SOURCE: HSE

'Don't walk by' campaign

The campaign consists of a poster and hazard reporting forms which are displayed within the working environment. The completed hazard reporting forms are reviewed by a nominated manager with actions taken to remove, or reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

Some member companies have already used these resource but if any other organisations are interested in implementing this campaign, the documents are available.

It is recommended that staff receive a brief toolbox talk to introduce this campaign. A template toolbox talk schedule is also available.

Interesting Health and Safety Cases 2022

Sources from HSE

Company fined £200,000 after employee badly injured in fall:

- Employee fell 8m through rooflight whilst carrying out a survey on the roof at the community centre

- City property LLP didn’t provide safe system for working at a height on external roof areas and the work was not supervised

- HSE principal inspector Cameron Adam said “falls from height remain most common causes of work-related fatalities

- This incident resulted in the employee being in a wheelchair

Family-run company fined after member of public is crushed:

- A member of public crushed

- The employee was moving and processing a stockpile of concrete and brick rubble using an excavator at the company’s plant hire site

- The member of the public was driving a vehicle to remove building waste from their trailer, a reversing excavator crushed them

- The member of public sustained multiple fractures on both legs

- HSE found members of the public shouldn’t be allowed on the site without authorisation

- The company should’ve had it barriered off

A transport company has been fined £400,000 after one of its drivers was killed after being knocked off his trailer while loading and unloading it

16 November 2020, a worker employed by Arnold Laver & Company Ltd, was delivering timber to a company in Whaddon near Salisbury. He had climbed onto the bed of his trailer to sling the load and attach it to the vehicle-mounted crane. While moving the load using the crane’s remote control he was struck by the crane and fell from the vehicle to the ground. The worker was taken to hospital and subsequently died on 17 December 2020.

The subsequent investigation by HSE found that the risk of working at height had not been properly assessed or controlled by the Company. It also found that the employee had not been provided with sufficient training or instruction in the safe operation of the remote crane controls on the vehicle.

At a sentencing hearing at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on 13 October, Arnold Laver & Company Ltd, Bramall Lane, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Passing sentence today (November 9) they were fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £19,841.99.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Leo Diez said: “Falls from vehicles can be overlooked by employers when considering risks from work at height. Simple control measures would have prevented this accident.”

(source (UK Haulier)

Chemical company fined after releasing clouds of chlorine gas into a factory:

- Chemical company fined after releasing toxic chlorine gas which spread throughout the factory leading to some staff being hospitalised

- The company mistakenly mixed an intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) containing 700kg of sulphuric acid into a mixing vessel which already withheld 1,600 litres of sodium hypochlorite solution

- There was no clear evacuation plan for workers as the gas spread throughout the factory some were taken to hospital due to breathing problems

- Fortunately, there were no long-term effects

- HSE found that this incident occurred due to a non-serviced mixing plant and the company had failed to introduce effective records for the temporary manual system

Poor weather = Wintery conditions

Winter means an increase in extreme weather conditions which have an impact on health and safety at work. It is not just ice and snow that present hazards, but increasingly we are experiencing periods of heavy rain and high winds.

Take time to think about:

· What is the weather forecast?

· Have the risks of poor weather on the organisation’s activities/premises been assessed?

· Does the work or activity need to be suspended due to poor weather?

· What further controls are needed to perform the activity in poor weather?

The effect of cold temperatures on workers:

Is the work area temperature reasonable?

Are there local heating systems in the work area?

Are rest facilities warm and dry?

Can draughts be reduced or removed?

Can we reduce a workers exposure to cold conditions e.g. job rotation?

Working outdoors in cold weather:

Have workers been provided with adequate and appropriate PPE?

You may need to provide mobile facilities to allow workers to take a break in warm, dry conditions and to make a hot drink.

Can outdoor workers take regular breaks?

Do workers understand the symptoms of cold stress e.g. body aches or coughs.

Slips and trips in poor weather

Key preventative measures:

Think of the following areas in and around the workplace to ensure they are being dealt with:

Is all of the lighting working, are there areas where lighting needs to be improved?

Clearing debris such as, decaying leaves and foliage from walkways.

Is drainage working effectively, keeping walkways and traffic routes clear?

Do access/egress points have nonslip surface where needed?

Can we prevent people from taking short cuts or not using access routes increasing the risk of water and mud being spread around the workplace?

Is there a suitable winter gritting regime in place? Is anyone checking and acting on poor weather forecasts?