MacBrac

Inadequately-trained worker in coma for two weeks

macbrac-admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:49:09 +0000

He had been trained in how to use the excavator to lift loads – but not how to safely transport it across a construction site. When he moved the vehicle, its boom was positioned at an unsafe height, and struck a bridge. Mr Foulke, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown over the steering column and through the open front screen, hitting his head on the front excavator blade. He was unable to return to work for five months and still suffers from reduced function in his left arm and leg.

HSE inspector Kevin Wilson said: “This worker was extremely lucky to escape with his life. As it is, he has been left with life-changing injuries.”

Van Elle Ltd, contractor assisting with M1 widening work, appeared at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on 23 January and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.9(1) of PUWER 1998, for failing to adequately train Mr Foulke. It was fined £12,750 and ordered to pay £29,660 in costs.

Macbrac Business Safety can train employees in Health and Safety and Risk Assessment, including the NEBOSH General Certificate and IOSH “Managing Safely”. Courses are available in Telford, Shropshire and in Central London. Contact us for more details.

Legal Note:

PUWER is The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Reg. 9(1) states “Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken.”

£180,000 fine after worker killed by falling steel beam

macbrac-admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:13:17 +0000

HSE investigation found that the lifting operation could have been successful if the whole process had been planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe mannerfrom the outset. The 1.4 tonne beam fell on Colin Dickson, 38, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, when the temporary suspension points failed.

Mr Dickson’s employers J H Carruthers Ltd and one of its supervisors, John Hamilton, were prosecuted at Reading Crown Court by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation into how the lifting operation failed at the Lakeside Energy from Waste installation in Colnbrook, Slough. The firm was fined £180,000 and ordered to pay costs of £74,000; Hamilton, of Orchard Gardens, Strathaven, Lanarkshire, was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £400 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

Legal Note:

Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 states
“Every employer shall ensure that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is—
(a) properly planned by a competent person;
(b) appropriately supervised; and
(c) carried out in a safe manner.

Evesham migrant worker fell through glass roof

macbrac-admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:43:57 +0000

Inadequate training, delivered by an employee who was not trained in working at height, was revealed by the HSE’s investigation.

The worker, Mr Radi Radev, suffered concussion and a fractured hand when he fell. He had been cleaning a gutter between two roofs on a glasshouse when he lost his balance. The incident could have been avoided if the company had provided a lightweight balancing frame, which places a cage around the worker to prevent them from falling.

Pleading guilty to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974, Westland Nurseries was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £6835 in costs at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on 5 January.

MacBrac Training & Development offers courses in training, including the Award in preparing to teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS). Courses are available in Telford, Shropshire. Contact us for more details.

Legal note:

Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires an employer “to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”

Worker saved by safety helmet – could have been killed

macbrac-admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:57:26 +0000

Two maintenance fitters were seriously injured when a 300kg door fell on them. The protective headgear worn by one of them took the brunt of the blow – he would probably have been killed had he not been wearing it.

They had been sent to repair a jammed door, damaged by a fork lift truck, at the Tata steelworks in Workington, Cumbria, in April 2009. The ensuing HSE investigation found that Tata Steel UK Ltd had failed to make sure a suitable risk assessment was carried out for the work and did not have a robust system in place to ensure its maintenance staff were carrying out work safely. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) HSWA 1974 before Workington magistrates on 22 December 2011, and was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay £11,631 in costs.

Macbrac Business Safety can train employees in Health and Safety and Risk Assessment, including theNEBOSH General Certificate and IOSH “Managing Safely”. Courses are available in Telford, Shropshire and in Central London. Contact us for more details.

Legal notes: Section 2(1) of HSWA 1974 addresses the general duties of employers to their employees.

£80,000 fine plus costs after worker killed by falling crane

macbrac-admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:20:51 +0000

The crane had been used to lift a six-tonne steel column when it was nearly 18 metres away, taking it well outside its safe lifting capacity for that distance. HSE investigation found the crane had not been properly maintained, the external alarm could not be heard by those working nearby, and the override switches were also faulty, including the switch that prevented the crane lifting loads beyond its capacity.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that 46-year-old Richard Mark Thorton was crushed to death after being struck by the column when the crane overturned. His employer, Siteweld Construction Ltd, and the managing director of the company, Benjamin Lee, were were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) . Lee, 36 of Ashley Lane, Goosnargh, Preston pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £18,478 in prosecution costs on 16 December 2011.

The crane hire firm, Bryn Thomas Crane Hire Ltd, and the crane’s operator, Frederick Scott, were also prosecuted for health and safety failings, and were sentenced at an earlier hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on 11 April 2011.

Legal note:

Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 states: “Every employer shall ensure that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a safe manner.”
Bryn Thomas Crane Hire Ltd, of Chester Road in Oakenholt, North Wales, admitted breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and Regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £4,500 with no costs, due to being in administration, on 11 April 2011.
Frederick Scott, 45 of Flatt Lane in Ellesmere Port, admitted breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £2,500 with no costs due to his financial situation.

Severed finger costs local authority £13,235

macbrac-admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:56:51 +0000

Warwickshire County Council was fined £8,000 with £5,235 costs as a result of the incident which left a resident heating contractor with one severed finger; another had to be amputated down to the knuckle. He was testing new pipework that he had installed, but while he attempted to check the tension of drive belts, the pump was activated and he suffered the injury.

Appearing in court on 6 December, magistrates heard that the HSE inspector found no guards were in place to prevent access to moving parts. The County Council pleaded guilty to breaching reg.11 of PUWER 1998. For more details see www.shponline.co.uk

MacBrac Health and Safety, based in Telford, Shropshire, provides training for the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. Courses currently on offer include Central London, 13th-17th Feb and 27th Feb-2nd Mar plus 9th Mar (exam). Contact us for more details.

Don’t be an office turkey at Christmas!

macbrac-admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:58:00 +0000

The current issue of “People Management“, the fortnightly magazine of CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) offers advice on surviving the Christmas period without getting into hot water – everything from whether employers should wish their employees “Happy Holiday”, to giving inappropriate presents in Secret Santa’s christmas stockings. See A happy workplace Christmas

MacBrac offers consultancy services for HR matters. Contact us for more details.

HSE intervention – £124 an hour

macbrac-admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:10:56 +0000

From April 2012 the HSE will charge £124 an hour for its intervention, when duty-holders materially breach health and safety law. This will be counted from when a letter or e-mail recording the duty-holder’s breach is sent.

The move is part of the Government’s ‘Good health and safety – good for everyone’ framework unveiled in March 2011.

Macbrac Business Safety can train employees in Health and Safety and Risk Assessment. Contact us for more details.

Airlift to hospital for teacher injured in science-experiment blaze

macbrac-admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:02:35 +0000

A teacher at Hazeley Academy in Milton Keynes was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after her clothing ignited on 30 November.

The science teacher was in a prep room rehearsing “a routine, tried-and-tested demonstration involving a flammable substance”. Crews from four Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue stations attended the blaze, along with Thames Valley Police, the ambulance service and the air ambulance. On that day, the academy was partly closed due to strike action, and although three-quarters of the staff were in the building, no students were present or involved. A young boy, son of another teacher, present because his own school was closed, suffered “minor, superficial injuries” and was discharged from hospital the same day.

Earlier this year, the Department for Education issued revised health and safety guidance for schools, reducing 150 pages to eight.

Macbrac Business Safety can train employees in Health and Safety and Risk Assessment, including the NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management. Contact us for more details.

C&G PTLLS Update – courses in Telford, Shropshire

macbrac-admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:47:01 +0000

PTLLS 7303, which provides an introduction to teaching and training adults, has been updated and revised to the 6302. It is now a 4 unit award at level 3 or level 4 and distinguishes between those delivering teaching and training and those facilitating assessing to individuals and groups

See C&G PTLLS for more details of courses in Telford, Shropshire