As part of a nationwide inspection campaign, the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) visited hand car washing facilities throughout West and Mid Sussex and found "shocking" health and safety failings at 20 of the sites in West and Mid Sussex. The campaign's itinerary shows the next wave of inspections begins this week (19th June 2023) and is moving into East Sussex and Surrey. The nationwide campaign is in response to persistent safety problems with hand car washing businesses following the recent prosecution by HSE of a car valeting company in the North East of England. The majority of issues found during last weeks inspections (throughout West and Mid Sussex) were related to e..

A 51 year old mans right leg was amputated above the knee after he was struck by a telehandler on the 16th March 2022. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Eco Waste and Recycling Limited had failed to act on risk assessments and adequately separate vehicles and pedestrians at its Hullocks Pill Hill, Newnham site. Had they acted on risk assessment details, the man would not have been struck by a reversing telehandler whilst he was sorting recyclable materials by hand. Eco Waste and Recycling Limited, of High Firs Crescent, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching 4(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 a..

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) carried out an investigation following an incident at British Airways Maintenance Cardiff Ltd on 10th November 2019. The findings showed that the company had failed to adequately analyse the risks of working at height due to the removal of guard rails on the docking platform. Iain Mawson, a British Airways Maintenance Cardiff Ltd employee, was placed into an induced coma for three weeks as a result of the fall. He suffered multiple skull fractures and a brain haemorrhage after falling from height whilst inspecting an aircrafts wings at a facility in Cardiff. British Airways Maintenance Cardiff Ltd of Waterside, Harmondsworth, pleaded guilty to b..

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) conducted an investigation after a Scottish man named Robin Williamson suffered live altering injuries. The HSE found that City Property (Glasgow) did not plan, organise and supervise the work, to ensure that all risks were identified and adequate precautions were in place. Robin Williamson suffered the horrific injuries after falling eight metres whilst carrying out an asbestos survey on the roof of Netherton Community Centre, Glasgow on 5 April 2018. His severe injuries included multiple skull fractures as well as a bleed to the brain. He also sustained multiple spine and rib fractures and now uses a wheelchair. City Property (Glasgow) LL..

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) have investigated an accident where a HGV driver suffered fatal chest injuries. The driver was unstrapping a load on the flatbed trailer, when the load (steel gates) fell and tragically crushed him. Andrew Bayley-Machin, 41, was fatally crushed after the steel gates fell approximately 10 ft from the trailer. The investigation by the HSE found that planning arrangements for restraining the load were inadequate. Heavy goods should be stable independent of the straps, this ensures that the release of the straps does not allow the load to fall from the vehicle. Both Joseph Ash Ltd (the company who loaded the gates onto the HGV) and LM Bateman &..

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a campaign called Working Minds last year, the campaign is aimed at providing employers and workers with advice and tools to help recognise the signs and causes of stress, anxiety and depression. Whether you're a small business or large corporation, the law requires all employers to carry out stress risk assessments and act upon the findings to prevent work related stress and support good mental health in the workplace. Statistics published by the HSE show that stress, anxiety and depression are the number one reasons for illness in the UK. Of the 1.7million workers that suffered from work-related illness, almost half (822,000) were due t..

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a manufacturer of paper and cardboard (Amberset Limited) failed to regularly review safety measures on their machinery and equipment to ensure that access to hazardous parts was prevented. The HSE found that the safety of the paper rewinder had not been reviewed since August 1998. If Amberset Limited had conducted safety inspections on their machinery and equipment they would have spotted that the paper rewinder was not suitably guarded and allowed access to dangerous parts at various places including the front of the rewinder where the employee was drawn into the machine by their hand between two exposed rollers. ..

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have started targeting the manufacturing sector in an effort to ensure employers have suitable arrangements in place to manage health and safety and ensure they comply with the COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002). Inspections will be carried out to ensure Local Exhaust Ventilation, Water Suppressors and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is in good working order. If any health and safety breaches are discovered, the HSE will take necessary actions to make sure workers' health is protected. Machinery such as Local Exhaust Ventilation are hugely important for businesses where workers use materials such as silic..

A roofing contractor has been fined after an employee fell from a ladder and died at the scene. Whilst carrying roof tiles an employee slipped from a triple extending access ladder and fell to the ground, sustaining fatal injuries. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the interlocking sections of the ladder they had been negotiating did not allow for three points of contact to be maintained, especially when a load was being carried: a single pole access ladder would have enabled this. At Blackpool Magistrates’ Court Richard Anthony Thornton pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was sentenced to six mont..

Since January the 1st 2021 the rules and procedures regarding work place maintenance of machinery and equipment has changed. In order to ensure that work place machinery and equipment doesn't deteriorate to the extent that it may put people in harms way, employers are required by PUWER (The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998) to maintain it to a good standard. Effective maintenance of work place machinery and equipment can not only help businesses meet the expectations of PUWER but it can also improve productivity, reduce downtime and your environmental impact. Critical parts of workplace equipment may need a higher frequency of maintenance, which will be highlighted..

Since January the 1st 2021 the rules and procedures regarding work place inspections has changed. PUWER (The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998) highlights the circumstances where an inspection is required to maintain a safe working environment. PUWER specifies that workplace equipment requires inspection when: 1. Equipment requires installation - after installation, before first use and after reassembly. 2. Work equipment is subject to conditions that may cause deterioration or failure - regular intervals to ensure equipment remains safe. 3. Work equipment has been modified or it has been subjected to conditions which may have caused serious damage - after repa..

A worker who was installing a security camera on an unsecured ladder sustained multiple injuries after falling approximately 4.5 metres. The worker (whose name is unknown) sustained multiple fractures to his cheekbone, right arm, left leg and dislocated his backbone. The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) prosecuted and fined the Gwynedd manufacturing company £40 thousand after carrying out an investigation of the incident and found that the business had failed to plan the work at height and failed to provide alternative equipment (such as a MEWP) that would have allowed for safe working at height. Ensuring that employees working at height are fully qualified and trained professionals ..

A worker of a carpentry and joinery company fell 11.5 feet from an unsecured stillage on the forks of a fork-lift truck in order to clean office windows at height. The company "Staircraft Group Limited" were fined on 14 June 2021 after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to identify that using a stillage to lift someone on the forks of a forklift truck was unsafe. As a result of the incident, the worker (whose name is unknown) sustained a broken leg and an injury to his elbow. HSE inspector Rebecca Whiley said: “The employee’s injuries were very serious, and he could have easily been killed. (Falling from height accounted for 24% of all empl..

A fencing manufacturer and the owner of the yard where the business operates, have been fined following the death of an employee at the site. North Somerset Magistrates’ Court heard how on 14 August 2017, Roderick McKenzie Hopes was working for PA Fencing Ltd. A telehandler tipped and knocked over stacked timber which fell on to Mr Hopes resulting in his death. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the telehandler’s safety device, designed to stop loads being lifted to high, had not worked for a long time and maintenance had failed to identify this. The investigation also found that PA Fencing Ltd shared the machine with Mr David Crossman, who owns the..

The boss of a car salvage yard has been jailed for a year after ignoring 15 safety notices. A report from a forklift examiner in November 2018, which unearthed a Category A defect on a forklift, prompted a visit from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and resulted in Tahir Karim being sent to jail. The failings at Long Life Spares in Caerphilly, south Wales, included forklift trucks with defective brake mechanisms and broken mast chains [part of the lifting mechanism], investigating inspector Sian Donne told IOSH magazine. ‘Access under a bridge structure was at risk of collapse on foot and in vehicles [pictured below], and access to the premises was directly beneath a structurally ..