According to a report by New London Architecture, there are 525 new planned high-rise buildings with 20+ floors, for London alone. 

This will increase the problem Health and Safety professionals face and how to consistently operate safe workings at height. 

 

So, what is working at height? 

According to the HSE, working at height is defined as; work in any place where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. 

You are working at height if you: 

• work above ground/floor level 

• could fall from an edge, through an opening or fragile surface or 

• could fall from ground level into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground 

Asbestos is a mineral that was mined for and used heavily in the construction/manufacturing industry following World War II, largely used in insulation, and building materials. This was due to its properties such as being a good thermal insulator, a good electrical insulator, minimal chemical reactions as well as being relatively fireproof. All these attributed made asbestos one of the best building materials. The only downside to Asbestos which was not widely known at the time was that once these Asbestos containing material are broken, the fibres they release are deadly once breathed in. 

When Asbestos containing materials or ACMs are broken or start to break-down they release exceedingly small fibres into the air, some looks like string others look like needles. 

Who are the duty Holders under the CDM 2015 regulations? 

1. Clients are organisations or individuals for whom a commercial construction project is carried out and have control of the decisions relating to the build. They must; 

a. Appoint a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor in writing or accept their duties themselves and assess their competence; 

b. ensure an F10 notification is submitted to the HSE, if the project is over 500 person days or over 30 days with more than 20 persons on site at any one time; 

c. Ensure suitable welfare facilities are in place from day 1 of construction 

d. provide Pre-Construction Information (PCI) to every designer and contractor appointed 

e. before the construction phase begins, a Construction Phase Plan (CPP) is in place 

f. a Health and Safety File for the project is prepared when construction is complete 

1. Are your employees fit to come to work or are their immediate family are infected or vulnerable, 

2. Should they be isolated, 

3. What happens if they show symptoms at work, 

4. Can your employees work from home and use technology 

5. Can you stagger shifts to reduce numbers at premises at any one time 

6. How are your employees getting to work, driving, using public transport, cycling or walking 

7. How are they signing in and out safely 

8. How is social distancing being managed within the workplace, 2m spacing, and moving around the workplace 

9. Use of desks, workstations, people in shared rooms or using shared working platforms. 

On July 23rd 2018 Brighton Magistrates Court heard how an employee of SolarUK Limited fell approximately four meters through a unprotected skylight, sustaining multiple long term injuries to his wrist; whilst carrying out insulation work in Ninfield. The court heard as he stood to move he stepped onto the unprotected rooflight. An investigation by the HSE found that, although the company were aware of the risks from fragile surfaces and unprotected edges, they failed to plan or properly supervise the work, failing to ensure that access to hazardous areas were prevented; thus showing that all the workers were at risk of falls throughout the job. 

 

SolarUK Limited, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of The Working at Height Regulations 2005 and were fined £40,000 and ordered to pay an additional £2,170 to cover costs and a victim surcharge. 

Creating work experience opportunities for students and school leavers is a beneficial situation for both your company and for the young person. 

 

For employers, work experience is about giving back to society and helping the future economy by doing your bit to help preparing young people for the world of work. Employers who offer work experience give young people the opportunity to work on the company premises for a few days, giving them insight to the reality of your industry. Many young people, once they have completed or while completing their GCSEs have an idea of what they want to do as a future career, but they have no real hands on experience in the workplace. 

You might think logically the new financial year should coincide with the calendar year; some countries it does, but in the UK, we scramble to get our affairs in order by April 5th and the new year starting on the 6th. To understand this, we need to look back a few years… 

In the UK, the new year used to start on March 25th, also known as ‘Lady Day ’, to mark the angel Gabriel’s announcement to the virgin Mary that she would become the mother to Jesus Christ. Lady Day was one of the four most important days in the religious calendar. 

The move forward to April 6th is a result in changes from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Until 1582, Europe has used the Julian calendar established by Julius Caesar. Under the Julian calendar, the year had 11 months of 30 to 31 days, with February being an exception of only have 28 (29 every leap year). This had worked well for centuries, however because it didn’t align with the solar calendar, over time problems developed. 

They are a co-founding member of the Safety Schemes in Procurement or better known as SSIP. 

Here at Auxil Limited we have just successfully renewed SMAS for another year, 

SMAS is a recognised SSIP Accreditation which helps us keep up to date with our policies and procedures. Without this accreditation we would not be able to, in good knowledge, give the pristine and established services we are proud to provide. 

All of the assessments are undertaken in-house which enable SMAS to offer a consistent standard across all assessments, the minimum standards SMAS assess against are set out in the SSIP Core Criteria. 

This month we are celebrating a very special milestone as we are turning 5 years old, and we wanted to mark this occasion with a blogpost dedicated to how we have grown from a small idea to the thriving local business we are today. 

 

The thing with starting your own business is that you literally don’t know what you don’t know. It’s easy to head off, all gung-ho, into the entrepreneurial world but sticking at it through good times and the tough times takes strength and determination about your business’s potential success. Its hours of hard work! 

From a one-man band to a team of dedicated consultants, Auxil Ltd has come leaps and bounds from where we began. But we couldn’t have got to where we are today without you, our customers. 

CHAS was created to achieve; simple Health & Safety contractor assessments, by standardising requirements, to allow companies to avoid undergoing Health & Safety assessments for every job. 

CHAS undergoes an annual audit to achieve and maintain the HSE’s SSIP Standard. 

 

The most basic CHAS Accreditation is completed with a main Health & Safety assessment, complete with four additional SELF-CERTIFIED question sets.Health & Safety – Assessment; The assessment is carried out by one of their qualified assessors, so you can be assured that any assessment is being carried out by an assessor with the appropriate knowledge base.