A global glass bottle manufacturer has been fined £600,000 after a worker suffered burns when molten glass and hot water spilled into his cab. O-I Glass Limited pleaded guilty to a single health and safety charge following the incident at its Glasshouse Loan site in Alloa on 3 February 2024. The 32-year-old employee sustained scald burns covering eight percent of his body but has since made a full recovery. The company employs around 500 people at the Alloa site, which operates continuously to produce glass bottles. Furnaces used to smelt raw materials are located above two glass reject basements containing large, moveable skips. These skips collect molten or formed glass rejected during the..

A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Greater Manchester Police was conducted after a three-year-old died on the 16th July 2022. The investigation identified that Mr Speakman failed to ensure there was a safe segregated area for Albie to play in. Instead, Albie was able to move around the farm while vehicles were being driven / operated. Mr Speakman had borrowed a telehandler from a neighbour, and while he had previously used the vehicle, he was not appropriately trained. Additionally, the telehandler being driven was in poor condition, it was missing a wing mirror on the passenger’s side, and the driver’s side wing mirror was dirty – severely reduc..

GroundsWeek is an annual celebration of the often overlooked groundskeeper, who plays a vital role in maintaining the green spaces that enhance our lives and support mental and physical well-being. The week is marked by activities and campaigns to promote the profession, share best practices, and appreciate the work groundskeeping professionals accomplish. An entire week dedicated to highlighting the skills of grounds staff, whilst inspiring everyone to appreciate the industry. Groundskeepers Roles and Responsibilities It requires specialist training to enable for a grounds person to carry out their daily activities such as mowing, hedge-cutting, strimming and leaf blowing...

Thorough inspection checklists of all warehouse equipment are required under Health and Safety law: LOLER 1998 & PUWER 1998 Asking employees to perform pre-use inspections before using forklifts, pallet trucks, racking, ladders, tow tractors, podium steps or any other warehouse equipment is not only a smart and responsible policy to enforce, but is also required by law. Good to Go Safety provides companies easy-to-use inspections which enable competent employees to walk-through a series of checks to ensure that their warehouse equipment is safe to use. Each inspection only takes a short time to complete but ensures equipment is safe and provides invaluable evidence should an accident o..

An investigation was conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a serious incident on the 13th June 2023. A father of three sustained serious injuries after falling more than 25 feet (7.5 metres) whilst manually carrying roof tiles down a ladder attached to fixed scaffolding. Devon Air Ambulance took Mr Ian Smith to the hospital where he was put into an induced coma for five days. He has since made a fantastic recovery however still suffers from his injuries, which included five broken vertebrae as well as skull and rib fractures. His employer, Daniel Hooper (self-employed) was given a 16-week custodial sentence (suspended for 12months) following the incident..

National Scaffolding Week provides an opportunity to celebrate the industry and provide advice, information and valuable insights which can influence the direction of training in the industry. The campaign, which runs from 7th – 11th October 2024 will showcase the diverse range of career options available within the industry; highlight achievements of both organisations and individuals operating within the sector and aim to inspire the next generation to take up a role within the scaffolding and access industry. While many people look past or ignore scaffolding as they go about their lives, these temporary structures are a vital part of the construction industry. National Scaffolding W..

An investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a gruesome incident which was so severe that an employee had to have his leg amputated above the knee. The incident occurred on the 5th of October 2022, whilst employees were sorting out refuse at the Pink Skips (NW) Ltd site at Levenshulme. CCTV footage provided the HSE investigators with key knowledge about the incident. When reviewed, it showed employees working around and in close proximity to a 360° rotating excavator. One of the employees was standing behind the vehicle whilst it was moving waste, when it suddenly reversed, striking him and running over his leg. The investigation also found tha..

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have released the 2023/24 statistics for UK work-related fatal injuries and according to these statistics, there were 138 deaths across all UK workplaces in 2023–24 with the construction industry accounting for more than a third of the total with 51 fatalities. The new figures, which can be found here, show that the annual number of work-related fatalities has remained broadly similar for over a decade. Additionally, as per previous years, male workers continue to account for the vast majority of fatal injuries with 95% of those recorded in the year being men. Within the statistics published is one that truly horrified me. A staggering 34% of work..

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an investigation following an incident at Code-A-Weld, Harfreys Industrial Estate, Great Yarmouth on the 19th November 2022. A man (54 years) was airlifted to hospital and placed into an induced coma after being struck by an object whilst manufacturing steel cable drums for the offshore industry. During the manufacturing process, the jacking set-up failed, causing parts to strike the man in the face. This caused extremely serious injuries including fractures to the man's face and skull, and him losing the sight in one eye. The man required facial reconstruction surgery and spent just under three weeks in hospital. Although the company..

2% OF ALL ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO VEHICLE DEFECTS AND FAULTS Given that the National average age of UK vehicles is 8 years, it's no surprise that faults such as tyre blow outs, broken lights and smearing window wipers are causing accidents across the UK. ONLY 44% OF PEOPLE INSPECT THEIR CAR PRIOR TO TRAVELLING FOR WORK.. and of that 44% who do complete checks... • 30% don't check their oil levels • 42% have a warning light on their dashboard • 57% have deferred their MOT • 27% don't check tyre pressure • 35% don't check brake lights • 32% don't check tyre tread • 32% don't check headlights THERE ARE 6 CARS IN EVER..

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted a thorough investigation following a site visit to a property where a man was carrying out unsafe work on his home in Manchester. The HSE served enforcement notices to put work to an immediate stop in August 2020. During their initial visit, the Health and Safety Executive found that Abdul Rehman had engaged operatives to help him build an extension to the property on Kings Crescent in Old Trafford. At the property there was an extremely unsafe scaffold, which was subsequently dismantled. A year later, in November 2021, the HSE found that Mr Rehman was once again carrying out work on his property and instructing operatives to re-r..

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation was carried out after the death of a construction worker. Gary Webster, a 60-year-old man was repeatedly pulled under water after his boat capsized during routine cleaning of the River Aire. Mr Webster and another worker (who managed to swim to safety) had been removing debris at the bottom of the weir gates at Knostrop Weir. The accident occured when the boat they were using was pulled into churning water due to the considerable rush of water flowing over the top of the weir. Mr Webster was eventually recovered by a dive team 14 minutes later but was pronounced dead two-days later on November the 1st 2017. The investigat..

Managing hazards in a business is fundamental to maintaining the safety of employees. Under UK law, employers have a duty of care to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of all employees. This means it’s an employer’s responsibility to identify the hazards facing their employees and implement measures to mitigate them. It's fairly common for employees (and in many cases, management) to be unaware of the hazards they face regularly. Those who haven't encountered an accident often feel they aren't at risk. Additionally, many workers become accustomed to an unhealthy or unsafe workplace due to working in that environment for an extended period. The best way to prevent injuries..

Numerous health and safety accidents or incidents occur every day due to equipment being used in the workplace that is improperly managed, maintained or is not made for the intended purpose. Industries such as farming and agriculture, factories, warehouses and construction are all high risk due to numerous equipment types being used daily. Employers are required to ensure that all the workplace equipment provided to employees is regularly inspected and maintained in safe working order. They are also responsible to make sure that the workers using such equipment are skilled and competent to do the work safely. Numerous legislations revolve around workplace equipment such as the..

A 47-year-old grandfather sustained multiple fractured vertebrae on the 14th November 2019 at a Pirelli Tyres' factory in Carlisle. The forklift truck engineer was in the process of servicing a truck when two metal skips fell from a stack of waste tyres, crushing Mr Weightman against the ground. A HSE investigation found that in order for Mr Weightman to work on the forklift truck, he had to move the truck. He was however, unaware that the truck was positioned to stabilise the skips. This improvised working method was approved by Pirelli, and carried out by workers regularly at International Rubber and Tyre Recycling Limited and DCS Multiserve Limited. There had been no effective cont..