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Health and Safety News

Occupational health and safety news and guidance

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Safety alert for KN95 facemasks

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned against the use of KN95 facemasks as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). A safety alert has been issued, urging all employers and suppliers not to purchase or use KN95 facemasks as PPE.

The alert stated that "KN95 is a performance rating that is b…

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Face fit testing - what you need to know

photo shows respiratory protective equipmentIll-fitting clothing is unflattering. Ill-fitting shoes are uncomfortable and ill-fitting protective equipment is unfit for purpose and therefore unsafe. This fact is recognized in law.

For example, the law requires that almost all protective masks be face-fit tested to ensure that they provide e…

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Health and safety & security threats in retail businesses and how to remedy them

photo shows a shutter being closed over a shop windowHealth and safety and security threats are often either the same or very closely related. This means that by practicing good health and safety, you will often improve your security - and vice versa. Here are some tips to help.

Conduct regular assessments of your premises

Risk assessments are m…

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A health and safety guide to maintaining a private commercial car park

image shows a car parkCar parks are now one of the UK’s most essential amenities and while their nature is changing (for example due to the move towards electric vehicles), the need for effective health and safety remain the same. With that in mind, here are some points to keep in mind.

Safety begins at the approach…

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Stone merchant fined after vehicle struck an overhead power cable

Fairhurst Stone Merchants Ltd. has been fined for safety breaches after a vehicle made contact with an uninsulated overhead electric power line.

The company, of Langcliffe Mill, Stainforth Road, Langcliffe, Settle, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 19…

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Construction company fined half a million pounds for fatal demolition work

McGee Group Limited was fined £500,000 with £66,236.22 in costs for a breach of Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, following the death of 33-year-old labourer Dainius Rupsys in April 2014.

Southwark Crown Court heard that Mr Rupsys from Lithuania w…

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Common office health and safety risks and how to avoid them

image shows a cluttered officeEven though the average office is a whole lot safer than say, the average construction site, there are still a fair number of health and safety risks that need to be managed. Here are some of the most common and how to avoid them.

Slips, trips, and falls

These tend to be the number one health …

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Asbestos 20 Years On: Still a Present Problem

images shows a crossed box next to the word bannedAsbestos may have been banned in the UK 20 years ago this month, but it continues to have a devastating effect on people’s lives today. In this post, we explore how and why asbestos is still a problem.

The UK Ban on Asbestos

Following a ban in the 1980s on blue (crocidolite) and brown (amosi…

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Five essential health and safety tips for the Haulage industry

HGVs are big, heavy, vehicles with lots of moving parts and as such they need to be treated with great respect as they have the potential to cause serious accidents (including fatal ones).  Fortunately, paying suitable attention to health and safety can go a long way to avoiding this.

Here are f…

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What is a 'Competent Person' and does my business need one?

Photo shows two workers looking at blueprintsEven the smallest businesses have the legal responsibility to manage health and safety at work and are mandated to appoint a competent person to take ownership of fulfilling this obligation.

The definition of a competent person

A competent person does not have to be a qualified and dedicated h…

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Infographic: One Festive Tipple Too Many – The Sober Truth of Drink Driving During December

An estimated 10 million British motorists drink and drive. In December, when alcohol consumption rises by 40% in the UK, nearly 8% more people are arrested on drink driving charges than any other month of the year. 

These surprising figures show just how many people are risking their lives – and…

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Health and Safety Hazards in the Office

Image shows an office areaOffices may not seem like dangerous places to work, but they can pose serious health and safety risks. An estimated 609,000 non-fatal injuries were sustained by workers in 2016/17, according to the Labour Force Survey - and that’s just those that were officially reported.

Given the size of the …

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7 Ways to Prevent Forklift and Equipment Hazards

Image of a forklift truckMechanised lifting and transportation greatly enhances the efficiency of workplace operations - but only if health and safety is given the attention it deserves. Neglecting hazards can cause accidents, leading to loss of livelihood, delayed operations, and disruption to both cost and time-efficiency…

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ABCs Can Help Your First Aid Training

Photo shows a first aid training sessionComing across someone who has had an accident – or indeed being involved in or witnessing such – can be daunting. Thinking about it now, you may believe that you would panic; in fact, most people -when faced with such a situation – react with a calmness that may even surprise them, as your first ins…

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5 challenges of being a manufacturer in 2018

Photo shows a worker wearing personal protective equipmentThe manufacturing industry faces many challenges year on year. It’s an important sector to both current and emerging markets.

These are the most commonly faced challenges to the industry in the UK in 2018.

  1. Manual handling and safety

Manufacturing can be a dangerous industry, and it’s…

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A Guide to Personal Protective Equipment and Clothing

Photo shows a worker wearing Personal Protective EquipmentPersonal Protective Equipment, often referred to as PPE, describes the equipment that is used in order to protect workers against any risks to their health and safety. PPE covers a wide range of equipment throughout many different industries, with some of the most common items of equipment being hel…

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Health > safety: how to improve workplace wellbeing

Photo shows a healthy lunch optionModern day employees can receive training for site safety, fire safety, construction safety, food safety, and a million subjects besides. In short, safety is a pretty tightly controlled and well understood discipline. Yet many of the industries where health & safety training and protocols are most p…

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Top Five Common Warehouse Safety Hazards & Ways to Prevent Them

Photo shows a forklift being used in a warehouseWorkplace safety standards continue to improve each year; however, today’s workforce, especially within a warehouse, still can be dangerous environments with many potential hazards and associated risks.

Warehouse safety goes hand in hand with productivity. Lost workforce hours, damaged stock a…

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8 Tips for a Safe Journey During Your Next Business Trip

Photo shows people on an aeroplaneNowadays, the world is so connected and easily accessible that business now requires people to fly to the other side of the world in order to sell products, meet clients and establish potential partnerships.

However, as a business sending employees to travel into uncharted territory, it’s vital t…

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Workplace Injuries Cost Businesses Billions

Photo shows people on some metal stairsLast year, 609,000 injuries occurred at work according to the Labour Force Survey. Of those, the majority were as a result of a slip, trip or fall.

The cost to businesses is over £14billion a year and 31.2 million working days lost. The irony is that slip and trip accidents are some of the most e…

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20 Blog Posts