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Recent figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that more than 42% of construction sites have failed inspections by health and safety inspectors. In September, inspectors from the Health & Safety Executive made unannounced visits to 2,607 construction sites where refurbishment or repair work was taking place. Of these, 1,100 failed the safety checks. On 644 of the sites ... more
In the first nine months of 2013 the Ladder Association trained more people in ladder safety than in the whole of 2012. This is made doubly impressive by the fact that 2012 was in itself a record year; in 2012 the Ladder Association trained 5,052 people, up from 3,500 in 2011, an increase of 47%. The 2013 total is currently running 40% ahead of 2012 and heading rapidly towards 7,000 for the full ... more
A roofing company has appeared in court for safety failings after a young worker suffered a fractured skull just weeks after being hired. The worker, who does not wish to be named, was 20 years old and had started his job with Dodds Roofing Services Ltd, based in Driffield, barely a month before the incident on 29 September 2011. He was one of four employees installing 25 solar panels on the roo ... more
A Surrey roofing company has been fined for unsafe work at height after concerned members of the public spotted workers walking on a fragile roof without any fall protection. Following an HSE investigation about the work on a former industrial building in Gillingham, Industrial Roofing Limited – who had been sub-contracted to replace and repair gutters at the site - was prosecuted. When a ... more
A Blackburn-based builders’ merchant has been sentenced after a man fell through the roof of its Blackburn warehouse in September 2010, after they failed to check whether he was competent to carry out the work. R&J (Builders Hardware) Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the worker, aged 44, fell through a roof light September 2010. Preston Crown Court was ... more
Manual handling may sound like one of the more innocuous things that goes on in the workplace, but the statistics say otherwise. In 2011/12, they were over 30,663 handling injuries to employees, and these made up almost three in ten of all injury reports. Similarly, one in ten major injuries and almost a third of over 3 day injuries to employees involved handling of some sort. Th ... more
Monkey Tower Mini™ is human powered so has no batteries to go flat or replace and no electronics or hydraulics to maintain. The light weight (80kg) of Monkey Tower Mini make it simple for a single person to manoeuver and it can be lifted over obstacles or up stairs. Monkey Tower Mini™ offers access over desks and can be used without even disturbing computers or other equipment on ... more
This months poster reminds operators that they must be trained and familiar with the equipment they are using. Operators must: • be competent to operate the MEWP in the working conditions to which they are exposed, • be instructed in local hazards and site rules, • have attended a recognised basic training course, and • be familiar with the make and model ... more
A Cheltenham-based company has been fined after a worker was seriously injured when he fell more than 11 metres through a barn roof while installing solar panels. Daniel Harvey, 28, broke his back in three places, fractured his pelvis, broke several ribs, lacerated his liver and punctured a lung in the incident at a farm in Westbury-on-Severn in December 2012. He is still unable to work and is aw ... more
The owner of a Leeds building firm has appeared in court after two workers were injured, one seriously, when they fell from a mezzanine floor they were dismantling. One worker, then 61, broke two vertebrae and was in hospital for five days following the incident in July 2012. He is now unable to continue working in the construction industry because of impaired lifting and carrying abilities. The ... more
