Health & Safety Alerts
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Congratulations, only 1 accident reported throughout October 2014. The most common Health & Safety accident and near miss reports received at Kingdom still remain ‘Slips, Trips and Falls’. A lot of these are the result of taking unnecessary risks, sometimes with the best of intentions but, none the less, unnecessary.
Don’t take those risks; Think Safe, Work Safe, Home Safe.
Complete your Shield Training (revisit modules as often as you feel necessary) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Legislation Updates
No legislation updates applicable to Kingdom’s industry sectors this month.
Previous updates. The recent update of RIDDOR, the ‘Common Sense – Common Safety’ report by Lord Young of Graffham, can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-sense-common-safety-a-report-by-lord-young-of-graffham
A recent review of the Health & Safety at work Act 1974 was completed by Professor Löfstedt entitled ‘Reclaiming health and safety for all’ can be found at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66790/lofstedt-report.pdf
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Case Study of a Risk Assessment
Stockline Plastics explosion
On 11 May 2004, the ICL Plastics factory (commonly referred to as Stockline Plastics factory), in the Woodside district of Glasgow in western Scotland, exploded. Nine people were killed, including two company directors, and 33 injured, 15 seriously. The four-storey building was largely destroyed.
The cause:
Poor maintenance resulting in an ignition of gas released by a leak in a pressurised petroleum gas pipe.
The HSE Report concluded:
- Failure to maintain pipes carrying hazardous gas.
- Failure to ensure the safety of staff and visitors.
- Failure to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments.
The hazard posed by pressurised petroleum gas appears to have ignored as was the need for maintenance work so they did not Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions resulting in the fatal explosion.
Court Action:
The HSE took ICL Plastics and ICL Tech Ltd to the Criminal Court, the companies both admitted liability and each were fined £200,000.
Conclusion:
Risk Assessment is critical, it’s the cornerstone of providing a safe working environment
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Dispel the myth (Health & Safety getting wrongly blamed again)
Pub bans confetti
Issue: A sign at a pub says: "Customers please note: due to confetti being a health and safety issue, unfortunately we are requesting that you do not use any. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Panel decision: This is not and never was a health and safety issue. It is encouraging to note that after contact from HSE the pub manager has agreed to take the sign down. If the pub wants to ban confetti because of the clean up problems it creates that is their decision but they can’t hide behind the veil of health and safety!
View more myths at www.hse.gov.uk/myth/index.htm
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Short Quiz
| What does COSHH stand for? |
| A. |
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health |
| B. |
Careful of Substances Harmful to Health |
| C. |
Control of Spillages Hazardous to Health |
| D. |
Control of Substances Hurtful to Health |
| What type of training is most likely to reduce back injuries when handling materials and loads? |
| A. |
1st aid training |
| B. |
Forklift truck training |
| C. |
Weight training |
| D. |
Manual handling training |
| How can workers best contribute to a positive safety culture in the workplace? |
| A. |
They should know how to complete work quickly if things go wrong |
| B. |
They should report unsafe conditions after an accident has occurred |
| C. |
They should report any unsafe conditions as soon as possible |
| D. |
They should know the location of the first aid kit and accident book |
Answers to last month’s quiz: (1) = B, (2) = A (3) = C
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Got a question for the Health & Safety Department?
Email it to Health&Safety@kingdom.co.uk
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Do you want to get involved?
Become a local Health & Safety ‘Champion’
- Join a project group or
- Provide comment on a project or
- Create a case study on your site or
- Provide comment on an HSE legislation update
Your involvement can be kept to a minimum, it won’t impede on your work or leisure time.
You will receive full assistance and advice from the Health & Safety Department.
You will gain a greater understanding of the application of Health & Safety Law.
Your involvement will be recorded as a positive action in your personnel file.
We are looking for persons from all the divisions within Kingdom, regional representation from all Branches.
With your help and assistance, together we can identify the best practices to ensure a safer workplace and you’ll get the satisfaction of saying “I helped make that happen”
Register your interest at Health&Safety@kingdom.co.uk
