OUR BLOG 

 
Below are a number of posts containing useful tips and insights from the Directors of Auxil Limited, acknowledged industry experts and trusted advisors in the fields of Health & Safety and Human Resources, which will hopefully trigger some thoughts or ideas. 
 
Why not join the conversation? We would love to hear your views… 

Posts tagged “HSE”

Principal contractor in Greater Manchester sentenced for putting lives at risk. 
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a principal contractor for failing to safely manage a large, deep excavation during the construction of a dwelling in Greater Manchester. The defendant was Mr Matib of Bradford who was sentenced to sixteen weeks imprisonment suspended for twelve months, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and pay costs of £5,673. 
 
The inspectors reported that Mr Matib, who had employed several groundworkers, was found to have supervised unsafe excavation which put workers at risk and rendered the neighbouring property unstable. 
 
In addition, the defendant had failed to prepare a construction phase plan, with risk assessments and method statements, failed to appoint a site manager with suitable skills, knowledge and experience to manage the work. 
Ensuring the health and safety of employees has always been important for business owners, with this in mind we have put together information to help to manage your health and safety. 
The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989, requires employers to either display the HSE-approved law poster or to provide each of their workers with the equivalent leaflet. 
 
If an employer chooses to use the Health and Safety Law poster to communicate with their employees, they should consider two things; the location of the poster or leaflet and the quantity that they display. 
 
HSE- approved law posters must be displayed in a prominent location in all business sites; in an area that can be easily accessed by employees; this could be in places like break rooms, kitchens, reception areas and communal spaces, ensuring they are clearly visible. 
CDM stands for Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015 and not Cadbury’s Dairy Milk! 
CDM 2015 applies to all construction work which means the carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work. 
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 
Construction company, Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches after worker, Mark Smith, fell 4.8 metres via an unprotected opening. 
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 28 April 2016, Mr Smith, aged 36, was working at Stone Gappe Hall, Lothersdale, Keighley, owned by Richard McAlpine, a director of the McAlpine team of companies. Mr Smith was attaching straps to a water tank while preparing to pass it to a decrease flooring of a water tower at the property, in order to paint the floor. 
 
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) observed that Mr Smith fell through an opening that did not have fixed aspect protection. As a result, he sustained serious injuries including: a tibial shaft fracture, a distal fibular fracture, a fracture to the left patella, orbital and nasal fractures, lacerations to the face, a concessional head injury, damage to his ribs and he was hospitalised for 9 days.  
 
This month, we are taking a look at recent news. 
An article published by hsmsearch.com shows that “a solar panel company has been fined after a worker fell through a skylight during the installation of solar panels on a farm workshop in East Sussex.” 
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. 

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