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Health and Safety News

Occupational health and safety news and guidance

Blog posts : "risk assessment"

How avoiding the ‘fatal four’ can improve your construction site

Photo shows a worker on a construction siteYour employees are your number one asset on the job site, and taking a few moments to make certain the job site is safe and secure can go a long way towards productivity and can save you money in the long run.

According to the US Department of Labor, 806 workers were killed in 2012 while working on…

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Didcot manufacturer fined for acetone burn failings

Photo shows the open bowl used to hold the acetone that ignited

A specialist manufacturer of vessels and pipework designed to carry liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen has been fined after a welder was seriously burned during unsafe hotwork.

The 38 year-old employee, from Oxford, who does not want to be named, was in hospital for a week and needed skin grafts a…

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Hearing loss laws in the workplace

photo shows a work area with noisy equipmentEmployees who work in environments where loud noise is prominent have a greater risk of developing hearing problems compared to those who work in other sectors. Employers must adhere to regulations when their workers are involved in such work.

Employers must follow the Control of Noise at Work Regu…

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Sheffield Forgemasters fined over worker’s cellar death

Photo shows the incident scene

Sheffield Forgemasters has been ordered to pay £245,000 in fines and costs for safety failings that led to an employee dying of carbon dioxide poisoning after the cellar he was working in filled with the deadly gas.

Labourer Brian Wilkins, 48, was found unconscious at the South Yorkshire foundry…

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What are employers' fire safety duties?

photo shows a building on fireEmployers, building owners and other people responsible for commercial buildings have a duty to put necessary fire safety precautions in place to all reasonable and practicable extents. This is seen in health law under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies to all non-domestic…

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Engineering firm sentenced following Preston worker’s death

Photo shows the overhead crane that crushed Liam ONeill

A major engineering firm has been sentenced for safety failings following the death of an electrician who was crushed by an overhead crane at a Preston factory.

Liam O’Neill had been trying to replace a control cable when the incident happened at Assystem UK Ltd. in Bamber Bridge on 12 March 2011…

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Neath Port Talbot demolition firm fined after workers injured by collapsing floor

Photo shows a section of collapsed mezzanine floor

A Neath Port Talbot based demolition firm has been fined £30,000 after two of its workers were injured when a mezzanine floor collapsed on them.

On 18 October, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Wrexham Demolition and Dismantling Ltd. following the incident which took place on 9 Se…

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Assessing electrical fire risks in the workplace

picture shows an electrical socketMaking sure that your workplace is suitable for you and your employees to spend a large majority of their time is vital. In fact, if you do not pay enough attention to this particular area of your business, you could be fined, even be taken to court. There have been many cases in the past where empl…

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Council prosecuted after worker's near-death fall

Photo shows the overturned cherry picker

Bradford Council has admitted serious safety breaches after one of its parks' employees narrowly escaped death when he plunged eleven metres from the cradle of a cherry picker.

Bradford Magistrates heard the 23-year-old arboricultural worker from Bingley was working at a height of some 35 feet pr…

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Farm fined for young worker's death in tractor tragedy

Kim Webb - young farm worker killed in tractor tragedy

A young Somerset farm worker was killed when the tractor she was driving overturned in a field.

Kim Webb, 26, from North Cadbury, was driving a tractor that had no seat belt, cab or roll over bar on a sloping field near North Cadbury when the incident happened on 26 June 2009.

On 18 June, Bristo…

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BAE Systems sentenced for death of worker

Photo shows the press frame resting on the rails between which Gary Whiting was found

Global defence company BAE Systems has been ordered to pay almost £350,000 in fines and costs after a worker died when he was crushed by the 145-tonnes weight of a metal press at its East Yorkshire plant.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting, described the death of maintenance engi…

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Conder Allslade in court for safety breaches

The steel beam that struck the worker with the steel trolley, to the right, that it was sitting upon before it fell

A Portsmouth steel manufacturer has been sentenced after one of its workers suffered life-changing injuries when he was hit by a falling 1.4 tonne steel beam.

Conder Allslade was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for serious safety failings that led to the incident at its factor…

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Building firm sentenced after employee falls to death

manhole chambers above the circular tank

A building firm and one of its directors have been sentenced after an employee fell 15 metres to his death in an empty water storage tank in Macclesfield.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Galt Civil Engineering Ltd. and Peter Stuart following an investigation into the death of Pet…

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Nightclub fire safety

fireOn Sunday 27 January, Brazil encountered its most deadly fire for over 50 years. The blaze, which took place at the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, devastatingly claimed 213 lives and left a country – as well as the wider global community – angry, distressed and confused about ho…

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Refurbishment firm fined for exposing workers to fall risk

Unsafe work on the roof of a large furniture store in Bridgtown, CannockA Willenhall refurbishment and shop fitting company has been fined for safety failings after instructing two employees to work at height without any protective measures or relevant roofwork training.

The men were working on the roof of a large furniture store in Bridgtown, Cannock, on 26 September …

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Take responsibility and carry out a Legionella risk assessment

As an employer it is your job to ensure that you provide shower heada safe working environment. After all, the wellbeing of your employees and the general public is in your hands when they are situated on, or near, your work site. Therefore there is a vast array of different assessments and safety precautions …

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Why your business will benefit from a competent person service and health and safety support

According to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), in the working year 2010/11, 1.2 million people were suffering from a work related illness. 26.4 million working days were lost due to work related illness and workplace injury.

It is the legal responsibility of every employer to make sure that…

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Aberdeenshire haulage firm fined after worker severely injured

An Aberdeenshire haulage firm has been fined after a driver was severely injured when he was knocked to the ground and run over by a tractor unit of a Heavy Goods Vehicle.

Ian Mackie, 43, from Turriff, was one of a team of drivers who worked for R & J Milne Limited operating out of its haulag…

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Stoke trailer firm in court over serious crush injuries

A Stoke firm, which designs and manufactures trailers for commercial vehicles, has been sentenced after a worker was seriously injured when he was crushed underneath a lorry when the tuck-away tail-lift closed on him.

Mark Dimmock, 28, from Stoke-on-Trent, had only been working for Don-Bur …

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Care home's safety failures led to elderly woman's death

The owners of a West Yorkshire care home have been told to pay £183,000 in fines and costs after a frail 93 year-old widow died because established safety measures were neglected.

Mrs Elsie Beals asphyxiated after becoming trapped in the gap between her mattress and incorrectly-fitted bed sa…

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20 Blog Posts