HSE

image_pdfimage_print

Self-employed haulage contractor killed by reversing lorry

A Swinton transport company and a director were in court today following the death of an HGV company owner at their Sandywood Industrial Estate.

Daniel Adams, 63, of Farnworth, rented a unit on the industrial estate owned by Alec Sharples Farm Supplies and Transport Limited where the fatal incident occurred on the 7 May 2014.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Mr Adams had been working on one of his own lorries when an HGV owned by Alec Sharples reversed into Mr Adam’s section of the yard.

The HGV driver spoke with Mr Adams. However, when the conversation was over the HGV driver reversed his truck, inadvertently crushing Mr Adam’s between the two vehicles. Daniel Adams was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where he died of internal injuries two days later.

The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which prosecuted Alec Sharples Farm Supplies and Transport Limited for serious safety failings in the organisation and operation of the site.

The HSE investigation found the firm had failed to implement a safe system of work for reversing HGV’s and training drivers. There was no segregation of pedestrians and HGV’s or any banksmen provided.

Alec Sharples Farm Supplies and Transport Ltd of Roscow Road, Kearsley, Bolton pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,000.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Ian Betley said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the host company to implement safe systems of work, and failure to ensure that health and safety documentation was communicated and followed.

“This risk was further amplified by the company’s failure to undertake a number of simple safety measures including segregating vehicles and pedestrians, ensuring that vehicles were fitted with reversing ‘bleepers’, and ensuring that reversing manoeuvres were supervised, in accordance with their site rules.

Information on workplace transport is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg138.pdf

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement hse.gov.uk
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/
  3. Further HSE news releases are available at press.hse.gov.uk

Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases.

read more

HSE • •

HSL: Slips and Trips – Falls Prevention – London, 9 Mar 2017

Book Course

HSL is to run a 1 day course on Slips and Trips – Falls Prevention – LONDON.

THIS COURSE IS TO BE HELD IN LONDON

9 March 2017

PLEASE NOTE THIS COURSE IS TO BE HELD IN LONDON

Introduction

Slips, trips and falls are the leading cause of major injuries in the workplace. These injuries can be devastating for the individual involved and they generate a huge financial burden on industry. Almost all slips and trips can be prevented, often with simple inexpensive interventions.

Slips and trips can happen for a number of reasons, but all too frequently people jump to conclusions about why they happen rather than looking for the true cause, or assume that it is ‘just one of those things’ and do nothing.

The biggest challenges when trying to reduce slips in the workplace are knowing where to get reliable information on flooring, understanding the ins and outs of cleaning, and knowing how to select footwear. Understanding the science behind slips and trips makes it easier to identify the true cause of a fall and prevent future incidents.

This course will help you understand the causes of slips, trips and falls, and highlight successful interventions that offer a great starting point for organisations looking to reduce falls. It is delivered by experts in accident investigation and has a practical focus on understanding the causes of slips, trips and falls and reducing the risk of future incidents.

Previous attendees of our slip, trip and fall training courses have reported a reduction in incidents of up to 50%.


Course includes

  • Why people slip – the slip potential model
  • Characterising flooring, which tests work, which don’t and why
  • The role of contamination in slip accidents
  • The effect that good and bad cleaning techniques can have on slips
  • How footwear can help in reducing slip accidents
  • Preventing trips
  • The causes of stair falls and how to reduce the risk

There will also be an opportunity to visit the Falls Prevention Team laboratory and see slip testing in action.


Who should attend

Anyone who is involved in managing slips and trips, particularly those responsible for selecting flooring or footwear in their business. Employees involved in critical operations such as cleaning.

The course can also be tailored to suit all businesses and employees. Bespoke versions of this course for specific organisations can be developed on request.


Venue

ETC Venues – Marble Arch
Garfield House
86 Edgware Road
London
W2 2EA


Cost

The cost of this course is £525 per person (includes course notes, lunch and refreshments).

Book Course

Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers.  If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.

For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.

Back to Health & Safety Training Courses

read more

HSE • •

HSL: DSEAR Compliance for Managers and Supervisors – Buxton, 9 Mar 2017

Book Course

HSL is to run a 1 day course on DSEAR – Compliance for Managers and Supervisors.

9 March 2017

HSL is to run a course on the identification and control of risks from dangerous substances required to comply with the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR).

The regulations place duties on employers and the self-employed to protect employees, contractors and others from the risks from fires and explosions related to dangerous substances stored and used in the workplace.

This course explains the duties that DSEAR places on employers and the actions needed to comply with them. It focuses particularly on the assessment of risks and the application of controls to both minimise and mitigate those risks.

The course will cover

Who should attend?

Managers and supervisors of process plant and operations, where dangerous substances are used or stored, who need to understand how to manage the risks from dangerous substances within the framework of the DSEAR duties.

Venue

The course will be run at the HSL laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport. This course can be run at your site or local area by arrangement.

Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitbuxton.co.uk

Cost

The cost of this course is £495 per person (includes course notes, certificate of attendance and lunch/refreshments).

Book Course

Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers.  If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.

For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.

Back to Health & Safety Training Courses

Back to the top

read more

HSE • •

HSL: Biological Monitoring for Chemical Exposures at Work – Buxton, 9 Mar 2017

Book Course

HSL is to run a 1/2 day course on Biological Monitoring for Chemical Exposures at Work.

9 March 2017

Biological monitoring is a useful tool for occupational hygiene and health professionals. It is based on the analysis of hazardous substances or their metabolites in urine, blood or breath, and is used to assess chemical exposures by inhalation, ingestion and absorption through the skin.

Biological monitoring is particularly valuable where substances may be absorbed through the skin or where control of exposure relies on personal protective equipment. It can also be used to investigate the behavioural aspects of exposure controls.

This workshop is an overview of biological monitoring and how it can enhance the service that occupational hygiene and health professionals offer.

  • An introduction to biological monitoring.
  • Practicalities – how to establish a biological monitoring programme.
  • View from a practitioner – using biological monitoing to assess chemical exposures.
  • Practical session – small group working using a case study.
  • Interpreting results – understanding and acting on the results received.

The workshop is designed for occupational hygiene and health providers who are interested in what biological monitoring can do for them and their clients and for company employees specifically responsible for worker health protection.

Comments & Feedback
“Excellent, well worth the time.”
Andrew Booth, RPS Business Healthcare

The course will be run at the HSL laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport.

Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitbuxton.co.uk

Cost

The cost of this course is £295 per person (includes course notes, takeaway lunch and refreshments).  A special offer is available to those attending the Measurement of Hazardous Substances course.

Book Course

Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers.  If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.

For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.

Back to Health & Safety Training Courses

Back to the top

read more

HSE • •

HSL: Behaviour Change: Achieving Health & Safety Culture Excellence – Buxton, 28 Feb – 1 Mar 2017

Book Course

HSL is to run a 2 day course on Behaviour Change: Achieving Health & Safety Culture Excellence.

28 February – 1 March 2017

Not all risks can be engineered out of the work environment.  Even with the best plans, procedures and systems in place, individuals at work still take short cuts and make mistakes. Sometimes risk-taking behaviour is intentional, for whatever reason. In other cases, risks may be taken due to a lack of understanding about a particular hazard, associated controls or inadequate training. To individual workers, such risk-taking can result in injury, ill-health and fatalities. To the organisation, some of the many costs can include lost time, damage to machinery, litigation, and prosecution. If unchecked, these costs can escalate.

This course, delivered by HSL psychologists, will provide you with an understanding of the many factors that influence both workers’ and managers’ behaviour. It will also highlight the strengths and weaknesses of traditional behaviour modification strategies for correcting unsafe and unhealthy behaviour, highlighting why such approaches may have limited impact. The course adopts a holistic approach to health and safety cultural improvement using behaviour change techniques (incorporating HSL’s ASCENT – Achieving Safety Culture Excellence Now and Tomorrow programme) and concludes with strategies to help reduce the likelihood of risk taking behaviour for health and safety. It differs from other courses on this topic by demonstrating how behaviour change, leadership and worker engagement can be incorporated into the wider health and safety management system to ensure an integrated, and therefore more effective approach to risk management. In doing so, both the immediate and underlying causes of risk-taking can be tackled head on. These strategies apply as much to manager behaviour as they do to operational staff.

  • Why people take risks at work
  • The consequences of risk taking for individuals and the organisation
  • How to prepare an organisation for a health and safety cultural improvement programme
  • Assessing safety culture and safety climate – use and follow up of the Safety Climate Tool
  • Strategies for influencing senior management
  • Factors that influence behaviour outlining HSL’s model of behaviour change
  • Human failure: errors and violations
  • Strategies to identify the root cause of behaviours
  • Evidence based strategies to encourage safer and healthier behaviour, e.g.
  • Evaluating your programme and maintaining change

The course is most appropriate for health and safety managers with limited knowledge / experience of behaviour change approaches. However, it will also be relevant to those who have established behaviour change initiatives but are interested in how the psychological priniciples of human behaviour can be mapped onto an integrated health and safety management system.

In our experience whilst this course will prepare delegates to develop and implement a behaviour change programme, organisations often find that they want the security of having HSL experts available to support them through the process and help them tailor the approach to meet their current context, culture maturity level and audience.

We will advise and guide you, ‘sense check’ your ideas and trouble shoot problems that arise by drawing on our wealth of expertise (both theoretical and practical) and experience of applying such a process in organisations across industry.  Our knowledge of what has and has not worked previously for other organisations can be invaluable.

HSL experts can provide a variety of ‘next step’ solutions to help kick start your health and safety cultural programme, including:

1. Delivery of a one hour presentation to your senior management team outlining HSL’s ASCENT approach to achieving safety culture excellence.

2. A two hour facilitated exercise encouraging the SMT to develop an organisational vision and associated values.  Alternatively, HSL can provide you with a training/facilitation pack allowing you to run the exercise.

3.  A workshop to explore your leadership capability to deliver a change programme.

4. Facilitated ‘ask the expert’ session affording you and your team an opportunity to ask a member of the HSL safety culture team direct questions about your issues and support in developing your approach.

5. Facilitated action planning session using gap analysis to identify what you are currently doing for each of the 5 steps in the ASCENT process and identify what actions you might consider taking.

For further information and pricing on this post event consultation, please email jane.hopkinson@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

The course will be run at the HSL laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport.

Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitbuxton.co.uk

Cost

The cost of the course is £825 per person (includes course notes, lunch and refreshments).

Comments & Feedback
“Excellent course, professionally presented, that provided a range of ideas and approaches as to how we can modify behaviour.”
Chris Huckle, Rothamsted Research (North Wyke)
Book Course

Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers.  If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.

For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.

Back to Health & Safety Training Courses

read more

HSE • •