Significant fines for crane accident in Liverpool; read more at Safety and Health Practitioner online:

http://www.shponline.co.uk/incourt-content/full/guilty-verdicts-in-liverpool-crane-disaster

Are you testing electrical equipment unnecessarily? The HSE has issued new guidance and warned businesses that quite often a visual check is all that’s needed in relatively low risk environments.

New date for health and safety cost recovery scheme
Date:
15 March 2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today announced that its cost recovery scheme, Fee for Intervention, is going ahead but will now not start in April 2012.

The scheme sets out to recover costs from those who break health and safety laws for the time and effort HSE spends on helping to put matters right – investigating and taking enforcement action.

Law-abiding businesses will be free from costs and will not pay a penny.

Gordon MacDonald, HSE’s programme director, said:

“The Government has agreed that it is right that those who break the law should pay their fair share of the costs to put things right – and not the public purse.

“The Government intends to proceed with the FFI scheme as recommended to ministers by HSE’s Board in December in response to the formal consultation that took place last Summer.

“Discussions are still taking place on the technical details of the scheme, which we expect to conclude soon.

“Therefore, FFI will not be introduced in April but at the next available opportunity, which is likely to be October 2012.”

HSE is taking advantage of the extra time to work further with businesses to improve their understanding of the scheme and how it will affect them.

Detailed guidance for employers and organisations will be available on HSE’s website ahead of implementation.

A practice run of the new processes and procedures underpinning the scheme is already underway in HSE and will continue until the scheme is implemented.

We attended the IOSH conference yesterday in Manchester.  It was a really great day and we met a number of clients and contacts throughout the day.  One of our partners had a stand there: Affixxius.  They produce some excellent safety related media for companies large and small.  A great example is linked in here.

From 6 April 2012, subject to Parliamentary approval, RIDDOR’s over three day injury reporting requirement will change. From then the trigger point will increase from over three days’ to over seven days’ incapacitation (not counting the day on which the accident happened).

Incapacitation means that the worker is absent or is unable to do work that they would reasonably be expected to do as part of their normal work.

Employers and others with responsibilities under RIDDOR must still keep a record of all over three day injuries – if the employer has to keep an accident book, then this record will be enough.

The deadline by which the over seven day injury must be reported will increase to 15 days from the day of the accident.

New guidance that explains the change will be available to download from the HSE website on 16 January 2012.

Also see:http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/reporting-change.htm

Just returned from the IOSH (www.iosh.co.uk) annual food and drink manufacturers conference, which was held at the Nottingham Belfry Hotel.  Once all the write-ups and photos are available I’ll be sure to share them.  High points for me included Gerrard Hand’s (new IOSH President to be) summing up and excellent speaking/light hearted approach, with a serious message:  health and safety professionals should be proud of our profession.  We have one of  the best health and safety records in Europe, which hasn’t come about through chance.  Also, Simon Hatson delivered a great presentation on maintenance at Britvic and there were many other insightful speakers.  Big thanks to Neil Catton (Director of Health and Safety at the Shropshire Group) and the working party for another successful conference.

Do you want to know how health and safety saves business money and saves lives? See http://www.iosh.co.uk/news_and_events/campaigns/new_campaign_life_savings.aspx

Loud noise damages tiny hair cells in the inner ear and can cause ear ringing distortion of sounds and of course hearing loss. The three factors that influence the level of hearing loss are the level of the noise in decibels, the proximity of the source to the ear and the duration of the exposure. Under the Noise at Work Regulations 2005, employers have a duty to prevent or reduce risks to staff from exposure to high levels of noise at work. Areas with noise levels exceeding 85dB (daily) or 137dB (at peak) are subject to noise reduction controls with advice from an H&S professional.

If left unattended, this type of hearing loss can lead to:

• Profound hearing loss and deafness
• Deterioration in quality of life
• Reduced productivity
• Loss of hearing which is irreversible

There are several methods to reduce noise induced hearing loss, a process that should be led by a health and safety consultant or similar professional. These are just a few examples:

1. Moving to quieter processes – To help reduce noise induced hearing loss move to quieter processes and replace noisy machinery with quieter alternatives.

2. Using hearing protection – The most popular being earplugs which can reduce sounds by as much as 20dB depending on their quality and fit. Other aids include ear muffs, which can be used in conjunction with earplugs to increase the level of noise protection.

3. Allowing staff to report noisy events – A noise control action plan will target areas which have been found to exceed the permitted level of noise. If other areas become noisy, staff should be able to report such events.

4. Training your staff – Under the 2005 Noise at Work Regulations, information and training should be made available to staff. This includes how to use hearing protection and offering ways to acclimatise to the use of various aids.

5. Give access to hearing tests – Staff should have access to occupational health professionals; in this case, a hearing test can be conducted in the workplace or taken at a local hearing centre, which can help diagnose signs of hearing loss.

On-going monitoring and noise surveys should be carried out routinely.

Article written for Vita Safety by Hampshire based Hearing Direct. Vendor hard aids and equipment for the deaf and hard of hearing from hard of hearing telephones to assistive listening aids and mobile phones for the hard of hearing.

As there so many health and safety consultants available, how do you know which organisation will suit your business or industry?

The approach of the organisation says everything. Because all industries have specific needs, you need to know that they will work in partnership with you, rather than just sell you a health and safety policy, or administer a health and safety audit and then disappear into the night. An on-going business relationship will allow the health and safety consultant to comprehend your individual requirements in order to help you facilitate the perfect health and safety programme. You also need to know what role the health and safety consultant will play overall. Do you wish them to draw up a plan and be available for further advice and guidance, or will they be implementing the actions?

The first step is to check their integrity. A credible health and safety consultancy will have professional qualifications, and will be able to provide references or genuine testimonials from past clients on request. You should ensure that they are members of IOSH (Institution of Occupational Health and safety). Have they ever had direct experience working in a similar industry as your own? Do they have the appropriate indemnity insurance cover? Now, it is even more essential that they are on the new HSE register for consultants. Vita Safety has consultants who were some of the first to be place on the register, click here to view.

The next step is to consider your requirements in terms of what they can offer. The more flexible and robust the experience and services on offer, the better. You will be hopefully nurturing a long term on-going relationship with this organisation so they need to be able to be flexible and also be able to provide relevant services as your business progresses and expands. For instance can they offer training to your staff?

A final area to consider is staff turnover within their organisation. It can be very frustrating explaining the whole process of your business every time they have a new member of staff so exploring this area can be a reflection of their internal processes.

If you are interested in a no obligation review with one of our qualified consultants please give us a call on 0161 789 1400.

http://www.iosh.co.uk/news_and_events/campaigns/new_campaign_life_savings/success_stories_video.aspx