Iosh announced today that their Working safely course has been recognised as an equivalent to a Level 1 Award in health and safety in a construction environment.

This means that delegates who successfully complete Working safely can apply for a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) green Labourer card once they have also passed the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Operative test.

Iosh have been working closely with CSCS over the past five months to achieve this recognition, bringing Working safely in line with their new national occupational standard. That’s because IOSH know it is important to so many of you who recognise Working safely as being world–class training.  The green card will allow easier access to construction sites across the UK which will be a great benefit to many of your clients and delegates.

We appreciate that this new development is likely to spark a number of questions and to help you IOSH have put together some frequently asked questions.

National Safety Training are currently offering this qualification fully funded to employers and their staff in Yorkshire. Thier is also a small amount of places available for those who are unemployed and in reciept of JSA living in Hull.

Contact us today on 01482 644855 to find out when the next course is running.

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A logistics firm has been fined £250,000 after a worker was killed when he fell through a warehouse roof in Wythenshawe.

Michael Sweet, 48, from Stockport, was cleaning out the guttering at Aramex (UK) Ltd on the Ringway Trading Estate near Manchester Airport on 12 December 2011 when he stepped on a fragile panel and fell to the concrete floor below.

Aramex and Mr Sweet’s employer, roofing contractor Gary Edwards, were both prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found no safety measures had been put in place.

Manchester Crown Court heard Aramex had hired Mr Edwards to fix a leak when water began to drip into the warehouse and offices, as he had previously carried out work for the company. He arrived on site with Mr Sweet and they were asked to fix the leak and clean out the guttering.

Later that same day, Mr Sweet fell through the warehouse roof when he stepped on a clear roof panel, designed to let light into the warehouse. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

During an interview under caution, Mr Edwards admitted that the only safety equipment he had provided for cleaning the warehouse roof had been a pair of gloves.

Safety measures could have included placing boards over the fragile roof panels, using harnesses, erecting scaffolding or hiring a cherry picker. However, Mr Edwards failed to implement any of these or to carry out a risk assessment for the work.

The HSE investigation found Aramex had also ignored its own health and safety guidelines. The company failed to supervise the work or assess how it would be carried out, despite knowing the roof was fragile.

Aramex (UK) Ltd and Gary Edwards each pleaded guilty to single breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Aramex, of Heywood Distribution Park in Heywood, was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £20,000. Gary Edwards, 55, of Silverdale Road in Gatley, received a four-month prison sentence suspended for one year, which means he will be sent to prison if he commits another offence in the next year.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Ian Betley said:

“Michael Sweet sadly lost his life because neither Aramex nor Gary Edwards put enough thought into his safety while working on a fragile warehouse roof.

“Mr Edwards had carried out work at the warehouse on several previous occasions and so knew the roof could be dangerous, but he failed to take any action to keep Michael safe.

“Aramex was also aware of the risks but simply left the two men to it, rather than carrying out its own assessment of how the work would be carried out and monitoring what was being done.

“Companies and individuals have a legal duty to ensure the safety of workers they employ or who carry out work for them. If Aramex and Mr Edwards had taken their responsibilities seriously then Michael’s life could have been saved.”

Information on preventing workplace falls in available at www.hse.gov.uk/falls.

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A self-employed building contractor from Chippenham has been fined for exposing workers to serious risk of injury after they were seen working on a barn roof with nothing to guard against a fall.

Ian Pitman, 56, exposed three workers to the risk of falling some eight metres from the roof but the dangers were spotted by a passing Inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Swindon Magistrates’ Court heard today (27 Jan) that on 4 July 2013 the Inspector was passing a farm in Burton, Wiltshire, where a new barn was being erected. He saw the men installing roof sheets but without any means of preventing or mitigating a fall from the perimeter of the steel frame or from the leading edge of the roof sheets.

The Inspector issued an immediate Prohibition Notice preventing any further work at height until safety measures were put in place to protect the workers.

HSE’s subsequent investigation found that Ian Pitman had been contracted to build the barn and had employed the three workers, who do not wish to be identified, to assist with construction.

He had failed to ensure that protective measures, such as scaffold edge protection and safety netting, were in place to prevent or mitigate a fall from height, leaving the three men at risk of serious or fatal injury.

Ian Pitman, of Honeyknobb Hill, Kington St Michael, Chippenham, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £735 in costs after pleading guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Ian Whittles said:

“Ian Pitman neglected to implement basic safety measures to minimise the risks of falls, despite having been the subject of formal enforcement action by HSE on the inadequate planning of working at height on a previous occasion.

“The dangers of working at height are well known in the construction industry yet poor safety standards and lack of safeguards still exist among some contractors.

“For the last ten years or so there has been a significant increase in the number of incidents involving falls from the roofs agricultural buildings. This prosecution should serve as a reminder to all contractors to properly plan any work at height and make sure robust safety precautions are in place. All employers have a legal duty to manage safety and failing to do so can end in tragedy.”

Further information about working safely at height can be found on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls

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Livingston firm has been fined £100,000 after a worker was killed when he was hit by a forklift truck so badly loaded its driver could not see him.

George Hardie, 60, from Livingston, was walking across the yard at Vion Food Scotland Ltd in Broxburn, West Lothian, on 2 June 2009 to drop paperwork off at another part of the site.

As he was walking, a colleague was driving a forklift carrying two large empty containers across the yard to be washed.

The containers were stacked on top of each other on the front of the forklift, and the top of the load was approximately 160cm from the ground, making it hard for the driver to see over them.

As the driver approached the container wash, he felt his truck go over something, stopped, climbed out and saw Mr Hardie lying on his back, with the lower half of his body trapped underneath the forklift.

Colleagues attempted to help Mr Hardie before the emergency services arrived. Fire crews freed Mr Hardie, but when paramedics treated him they found he was not breathing and there were no signs of life. He was taken to the New Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but was found to be dead on arrival.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had not properly assessed the risks of moving the containers around the yard or made arrangements to make sure the containers were moved in a safe way. The investigation also found the company did not have a safe traffic management system or adequate supervision in place to keep pedestrians away from vehicles.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Peter Dodd said:

"If Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had taken simple steps to keep their employees safe, Mr Hardie would still be alive today.

"Forklifts were being moved around the yard with loads that meant the drivers could not clearly see where they were going. At the same time, employees were walking through the same yard, with no separation between them and the traffic, and no more protection than a high visibility jacket.

"The company should have taken steps to make sure the containers were being moved in a safe way, and managed the traffic in the yard so that people and vehicles were not sharing the same space."

At Livingston Sheriff Court today (18 August 2011) Vion Food Scotland Limited of Kirkton Campus, Livingston, pleaded guilty to breaking Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £100,000.

To view this press release via the HSE website click - Here

HSE statistics can be found at

www.hse.gov.uk/statistics

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A Burton-on-Trent brewery has been sentenced after a delivery driver was hit by a forklift truck while on site.

Peter Jackson, 64, was at Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd's site at Station Street to unload a trailer of empty cans on 20 May 2008.

As he walked along the lines in the canning hall to find a space to deliver his load, he was struck by a forklift truck, which trapped his left leg beneath the forks. His foot and left wrist were both fractured and he has not been able to return to work since the incident.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the firm had failed to follow previous advice from HSE to devise and implement a safe workplace transport system after an inspector visited the site in December 2007.

Molson Coors, based at High Street, Burton-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and was fined £31,000 and ordered to pay £33,042 costs by Cannock Magistrates' Court.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Lyn Spooner said:

"This incident occurred because of inadequate risk assessments, poor management and monitoring of contractors, and managers failing to understand their responsibilities for health and safety.

"It was an entirely preventable incident which highlights the importance of companies developing proper health and safety management systems that manage risks in the workplace properly, and communicating these not only to managers, but also to contractors.

"Not only had poor workplace transport arrangements persisted over many years, but Molson Coors also failed to follow previous advice from HSE. As a result, Mr Jackson was seriously injured in an incident that could easily have been fatal.

"It is particularly disappointing to see such failings at a large company, which has the resources to deliver much better standards."

To view this press release via the HSE website click - Here

HSE guidance on workplace transport arrangements is available from

http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm

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