welcome back to north durham safety ltd first newsletter ... · respirator face fit tester...

NORTH DURHAM SAFETY LTD PROSPECT BUSINESS PARK, VALLEY VIEW, LEADGATE, CONSETT, CO. DURHAM DH8 7PW, Tel: 03332228959 EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE:

WWW.NORTHDURHAMSAFETY.COM

Welcome back to North Durham Safety Ltd first Newsletter of 2020.

You will find more important updates from the Health and Safety Executive, prosecution information on

companies found in breach of Health and Safety legislation and lots more information that we hope you

find relevant to your company.

In this edition we look at……

Contents

Update from North Durham Safety ........................................................................................................................................ 1

HSE stats show ageing workforce continues to be an at-risk group .................................................................................... 1

Fatal Injuries in Great Britain ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Main kinds of fatal accident for workers ........................................................................................................................... 3

Rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers ............................................................................................................................ 4

On the front burner CDM (Construction Design and Management) Regs. ...................................................................... 5

Sharp rise in fires ................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Best practice ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Design phase ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Construction phase ............................................................................................................................................................. 7

Specialist environments ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

WHO’S IN THE DOCK ........................................................................................................................................................... 9

Building firm's 'systematic failures' led to dumper crush ................................................................................................ 9

Delivery van reversed over traffic marshal’s head and body .......................................................................................... 10

Pedestrian worker killed by reversing delivery van ......................................................................................................... 10

HGV driver killed by runaway vehicle ...............................................................................................................................11

The death of an employee at the Coventry tyre distribution centre of logistics company DHL has resulted in a

multi-million-pound penalty. ........................................................................................................................................... 12

Ice conditions and winter weather…. ................................................................................................................................... 13

Lighting ............................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Wet and decaying leaves ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Rainwater ............................................................................................................................................................................ 13

Ice, frost and snow ............................................................................................................................................................. 13

Gritting ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.northdurhamsafety.com/

https://northdurhamsafety.com/



1

Update from North Durham Safety

We are delighted to announce, our latest recruit Katie Innes, successfully completed her RPE

Respirator Face Fit Tester (Qualitative) training course in November. Katie gained a certificate of

achievement having completed a Theoretical and Practical Assessment.

Katie now joins a team of trained competent Face Fit Testers at North Durham Safety Ltd.

Offering customers a bespoke ‘Respirator Face Fit Testing’ (Qualitative) service. Tailored to your company needs

and delivered by a certified competent person, trained by accredited Fit2Fit approval scheme training course

provider.

If you need more information on this service give us a call or follow the link for more

information:

https://northdurhamsafety.com/qualitative-face-fit-testing/

HSE stats show ageing workforce continues to be an at-risk group

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) newly published statistics on workplace fatalities revealed that

147 people were killed at work in the 12 months to the end of March (a rate of 0.45 deaths per 100,000

workers). A quarter of fatal injuries were sustained by workers aged 60 or over.

Read more…

The provisional annual data, which could change before being finalised in July 2020, shows there is a slight rise for

the second year running, up from 141 in 2017-18 and 135 in 2016-17. However, the number has remained broadly level

in recent years – the average number of fatal accidents at work over the five years between 2014-15 and 2018-19 was

142.

The new figures show that a quarter of those killed at work last year were aged 60 or over. Thirty-seven of the 147

workplace fatalities in 2018-19 were in this age group, despite them making up only 10% of the UK workforce.

Workers aged between 60 and 64 were twice as likely to die in a workplace accident last year, with 0.92 per 100,000

being killed, compared with the average for all groups of 0.45, the rate for those aged 65 and over was even higher,

with 1.99 per 100,000 killed.



https://northdurhamsafety.com/qualitative-face-fit-testing/

https://press.hse.gov.uk/2019/07/03/hse-releases-annual-workplace-fatality-figures-2/



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The figures also highlighted the most dangerous sectors, with 32 deaths in agriculture, 30 in construction and 26 in

manufacturing.

The number of construction workers killed on site last year is the lowest number on record and similar to the

previous low of 31 in 2016-17. It corresponds to a fatal injury rate of 1.31 per 100,000 workers.

Although this figure is around four times as high as the average rate for all industries, it is considerably less than

the rate in agriculture (9.21 per 100,000 workers) and waste and recycling (6.05 per 100,000 workers). Construction’s

fatal injury rate is lower than the five-year average of 1.61.

The statistics show that the total number of fatal injuries in the construction sector has fluctuated over the past five

years, from 30 to 47 in 2015-16.

The number of deaths in manufacturing has also fluctuated in recent years; last year it rose from an all-time low of

15 in 2017-18 to 26 – a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 workers. This is higher than the five-year annual average of 0.73 and

about 1.5 times the average rate across all industries.

Based on the five-year annual average rates, the agriculture and waste and recycling sectors were the worst affected,

which was also the case last year. Agriculture had the highest rate of fatal injury, 18 times higher than the average

across all industries.

The waste and recycling sector were 16 times as high, despite being a relatively small sector for employment.

The most common cause of deaths for all ages across all sectors was falls from height, accounting for 40 cases. This

compares to 35 in 2017-18 and an annual average over the period 2014-15 to 2018-19 of 36.

There were 30 deaths caused by moving vehicles in the year to March 2019, which exceeds the 24 deaths recorded

during the 12 months to March 2018 and the five-year annual average of 27. A further 18 workers were killed after

they were struck by a moving, including flying or falling, object.

In addition, eight workers sustained fatal injuries from an animal, five workers drowned or were asphyxiated, a

further five were killed in explosions and four came into contact with electricity or electrical discharge.

Another notable finding was that more than a quarter of fatal injuries in 2018-19 involved self-employed workers,

with an overall rate of 0.81 fatalities per 100,000 self-employed workers. This is more than double that for employees

(0.38 per 100,000).

In addition, 92 members of the public died in 2018-19 as a result of work-related accidents, eight less than the 100

who lost their lives the previous year. Of these deaths, 32 occurred on railways and a further 23 took place in the

health and social work sector.

The HSE also released the latest available figures on deaths from asbestos-related cancer, which showed that in

2017, 2,523 people died from mesothelioma, which is one of the few work-related diseases that can be counted

directly.

Of the deaths, 2,084 were among men and 439 were among women. Men who worked in the building industry

when asbestos was used extensively are now among those most at risk of mesothelioma





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The total number of deaths compared with 2,595 in 2016, 2,542 in 2015, 2,515 in 2014 and 2,556 in 2013. The HSE said

the latest projections suggest there will continue to be about 2,500 deaths per year for the rest of this decade before

annual numbers begin to decline.

HSE Annual figures for work related fatal injuries 2018/19

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released its annual figures for work-related fatal injuries for 2018/19 as

well as the number of people known to have died from the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma, in 2017.

Read more…

FATAL INJURIES IN GREAT BRITAIN

147 Workers Killed in 2018/19 - (RIDDOR)

Fatal injuries to workers by Fatal injuries to workers by age

main industry

MAIN KINDS OF FATAL ACCIDENT FOR WORKERS



https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJlbWFpbCI6ImJyaWFuQG5vcnRoZHVyaGFtc2FmZXR5LmNvbSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2xpbmtfaWQiOiIxMDEiLCJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIjoiOTU5MDcxNTM2IiwibGlua19pZCI6IjM5NzY0MzQxMyIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpkaWdlc3QiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhzZS5nb3YudWsvc3RhdGlzdGljcy9mYXRhbHMuaHRtP3V0bV9jb250ZW50PSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9uYW1lPSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5JnV0bV90ZXJtPSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAxOTA4MDYuODgzODE5MSJ9.GSsR6sMVKMNISjcykMf5DLgi1F45PSWQKl4BzMwENDA

https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJlbWFpbCI6ImJyaWFuQG5vcnRoZHVyaGFtc2FmZXR5LmNvbSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2xpbmtfaWQiOiIxMDIiLCJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIjoiOTU5MDcxNTM2IiwibGlua19pZCI6IjYyMjc3ODcyNSIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpkaWdlc3QiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhzZS5nb3YudWsvc3RhdGlzdGljcy9jYXVzZGlzL21lc290aGVsaW9tYS9tZXNvdGhlbGlvbWEucGRmP3V0bV9jb250ZW50PSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9uYW1lPSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5JnV0bV90ZXJtPSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAxOTA4MDYuODgzODE5MSJ9.u9L3GP4zRXgErI4I3fFcnZU1ROejBOIYShM6vy4GW8o



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RATE OF FATAL INJURY PER 100,000 WORKERS

92 Members of the Public were killed due to work related activities in 2018/19

*Data Source: RIDDOR: Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. Figures for 2018/19 are published as provisional at this stage

and will be finalized July 2020.

The provisional annual data for work-related fatal injuries revealed that 147 workers were fatally injured between

April 2018 and March 2019 (a rate of 0.45 per 100,000 workers).

There has been a long-term reduction in the number of fatalities since 1981. Although 2018/19 saw an increase of six

workplace fatalities from 2017/18, the number has remained broadly level in recent years.

The new figures show how fatal injuries are spread across the different industrial sectors:

Agriculture, forestry and fishing, and construction sectors continue to account for the largest share of fatal injuries

to workers (32 and 30 deaths respectively in 2018/19).

The figures also indicate those sectors where the risk of fatal injury is greatest:

Agriculture, forestry and fishing and waste and recycling are the worst affected sectors, with a rate of fatal injury

some 18 times as high as the average across all industries respectively (annual average rates for 2014/15-2018/19).

The three most common causes of fatal injuries continue to be; workers falling from height (40), being struck

by a moving vehicle (30) and being struck by a moving object (16), accounting for nearly 60 per cent of fatal

injuries in 2018/19.

The new figures continued to highlight the risks to older workers; 25 per cent of fatal injuries in 2018/19 were to

workers aged 60 or over, even though such workers made up only around 10 per cent of the workforce.

In addition, there were also 92 members of the public fatally injured in incidents connected to work in 2018/2019,

approximately a third of which took place on railways.

Mesothelioma, which is contracted through past exposure to Asbestos and is one of the few work-related diseases

where deaths can be counted directly, killed 2,523 in Great Britain in 2017- a broadly similar number to the previous

five years. The current figures are largely a consequence of occupational asbestos exposures that occurred before

1980. Annual deaths are expected to remain broadly at current levels for the rest of the decade before beginning to

reduce in number.





5

On the front burner CDM (Construction Design and Management) Regs.

The creation of a fire-safe working culture should be a priority for construction firms to prevent life-

threatening incidents on sites

Read more…

Take a minute to think about who is present on a construction site and the immediate surroundings. There’s

everyone in the supply chain, including the client, the principal designer, the principal contractor, designers,

subcontractors, suppliers and manufacturers, not forgetting site visitors and workers as well as members of the

public in the local vicinity, notably children and the elderly.

Next, consider all the hazardous substances, environments and processes which are associated with construction

projects. With such huge potential for property damage and the loss of human life, effective safeguards to prevent

fires cannot and should not be overlooked.

The construction industry has improved its safety record over the past decade. Even so, the sector still strives to

further reduce the number of accidents and fatalities which not only have an impact on workers’ lives and those of

their families, but also create a significant financial burden and reputational damage, even in instances where there

have been no reportable incidents on site.

SHARP RISE IN FIRES

Figures obtained by Construction News (see Figure 1) from the Home Office show that the number of deliberately

caused fires on construction sites increased by nearly 43% between 2015 and 2017, despite the rate of new

construction work increasing by only 13% (bit.ly/2Z8SUg9).

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) data (see Figure 2 below) shows that between 2015-16 and 2017-18 three

construction workers in the UK were killed and 70 construction workers were injured as a result of fire or explosion.

These fatalities demonstrate why it is so important to put effective safeguards in place to avoid these tragic

incidents.

It is worth noting that, although the number of fires on construction sites significantly increased between 2015 and

2017, the number of fire-related incidents (both specified injuries and over-seven-day injuries) that are reportable

under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) has reduced.



http://bit.ly/2Z8SUg9



6

BEST PRACTICE

A number of guidance documents have been produced demonstrating best practice in terms of reducing the

likelihood of fires on construction sites.

They include the HSE’s guidance in HSG 168 (bit.ly/1SzBLWk), which sets out the key principles of fire risk

assessment, guidance on fire precautions and an explanation of the relevant legislation; the Fire Protection

Association’s (FPA) construction site fire prevention on construction sites checklist (bit.ly/2K0nOkk); and the

Confederation of Fire Protection Associations in Europe’s (CFPAE) common guidelines (bit.ly/2y7nCua), which

provide examples of acceptable solutions, concepts and models.

The purpose of these documents is to prevent as many fires on construction sites as possible and to reduce the

severity of those that do occur. Most fires can be prevented by reducing the number of hazards present, in terms of

both potential sources of ignition and the fire load.

Measures can be put in place to achieve this which are not onerous and do not result in major changes to the

patterns of work or the processes and procedures that are undertaken. If action is taken early on in the design phase

of a project, in most cases there will be no impact on the timescale of the construction process. In the UK, the FPA’s

document is considered best practice by the insurance industry and if the guidance is not followed this could place

the validity of a policy at risk.

Businesses can significantly reduce the likelihood of a fire by taking effective action at several stages.

DESIGN PHASE

In the concept and design phase, and as detailed in the Mobile Works Directive 92/57/EEC (bit.ly/2Ytd47e), the

client and appointed parties should work together to identify and eliminate hazards and reduce the likely risk from

them where elimination is not reasonably practicable. This includes all potential fire hazards which may be

identifiable at the design stage.

At this stage of the construction process the following should be considered:



http://bit.ly/1SzBLWk

http://bit.ly/2K0nOkk

http://bit.ly/2y7nCua

http://bit.ly/2Ytd47e



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the use of non-combustible and non-flammable materials to reduce the fire load

materials and methods that avoid the need for hot work on site

design details that prevent the passage of smoke

and flames up through a building during the construction phase

design of access routes to enable contractors to construct buildings in such a way as to retain safe evacuation routes

during the construction phase

designing fire-fighting systems and fire alarm systems to allow for early use.

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

The construction phase is sometimes referred to as the “build phase” in recognised industry guidance, and therefore

you may well come across statements such as: “During the build phase the nominated responsible person must take

such general fire precautions as will ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of his employees and, in

relation to persons who are not his employees, take such general precautions as may reasonably be required in such

circumstances.”

In practice this means that the responsible person or contractor should:

ensure a fire-safe working culture is actively promoted at all times

ensure one or more competent persons are appointed to assist the responsible person in carrying out their duties

ensure they follow all procedures and precautionary measures identified in the site fire safety plan and make sure

that these are clearly understood and complied with by all on site

make sure permit systems are in place for any hot work required on site and monitor compliance

ensure all fire alarm systems are tested regularly as well as other smoke and heat detectors

make sure all emergency exits and escape routes are maintained and free from obstructions and that all emergency

lighting is functional

liaise with local fire and rescue, including any site visits by the emergency services as required

maintain a regime for fire protection equipment, a written record of fire safety training and

arrangements/procedures for calling the emergency services

make sure in the event of a fire that the duties for safe evacuation (see box below) are executed, and all staff and

visitors report to assembly points.

SPECIALIST ENVIRONMENTS

Consideration should also be given to how specialist environments on construction sites such as confined spaces

are dealt with.





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In a confined space, certain activities such as operating plant and refueling (especially with petrol) should not take

place. Equally, refueling should not take place on scaffolds or escape routes. Refueling should take place only in the

open air or in well-ventilated spaces away from ignition sources and bulk flammable liquid storage tanks should be

bunded to current standards.

The use of portable petrol-fueled generators indoors, or in partially enclosed areas to provide a power source for

heating, lighting and other equipment, can put operators at risk of serious illness and death from carbon monoxide

poisoning.

This hazard is present from the exhaust fumes of any internal combustion engine, and care needs to be taken to

avoid the use of other equipment such as disc cutters, chain saws, floor polishers and pressure washers.

All of this requires the development of an effective fire-safe working culture. This is where everyone is empowered

to make sure that the construction site is safe and as free from fire risk as possible. The culture’s creation starts at

the design stage and is maintained throughout the life of the construction project and extends to ensuring that final

delivery is completed and handed over safely.

The seven steps to creating a fire-safe working culture are as follows:

Reduce risks at source: wherever possible design out fire risks in the early stages of the design process

Communicate: make sure everyone on-site, including visitors, is aware of the emergency procedures and liaises

with the local emergency services

Provide training: train, train and train so that, in the event of an incident, people do not rise to the occasion but fall

to the level of their training

Lead by example: make sure that the senior people on-site constantly do the right thing and role-model the

behaviour you would like everyone to exhibit

Develop a positive reporting process for fire hazards: make sure everyone knows how to report hazards and is

empowered to deal with issues they identify on site

Involve everybody: fire safety is everybody’s responsibility – make sure you all play your part in keeping yourself and

others safe

Put your plans into action: it’s not enough just to risk assess – you need to make sure you put your plans into action

and continuously monitor to make sure they are still fit for purpose throughout the life of the construction project.





9

WHO’S IN THE DOCK

BUILDING FIRM'S 'SYSTEMATIC FAILURES' LED TO DUMPER CRUSH

A family building firm has been fined £225,000 after a 32-year-old worker was crushed to death when his

dumper truck overturned.

Read more…

David Green died in October 2016 when the dumper truck he was driving overturned at Rose Builders’ Summer

Park development in Essex. He was pulled from underneath the vehicle after it fell from the top of an 11ft-high

mound of soil at a building site in Lawford.

Despite initially being employed by Rose Builders as a ground worker, he soon began operating tipper trucks

despite not having the required training.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation also found that Green was not wearing a seatbelt. The spoil heap

being worked on was 11ft to 12ft high, and post incident it was found to have different gradients, with some edge’s

steeper than others.

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court was told the company had not carried out effective risk assessments into how

dumper truck operators safely navigated the large mounds of soil on the site.

Other workers interviewed by the HSE said they used their personal judgement of how to tip safely, including how

close they get to the edge and whether to wear seatbelts.

Investigators found tipping should have taken place at ground level, which would have eliminated the risk.

Rose Builders was ordered to pay a £225,000 fine plus £11,822 costs.

Judge John Woollard said the fine was to punish the company for its “systematic failures” to put in place safeguards

which could have prevented the accident.

Following the incident, the victim's family launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of not wearing

hard hats and seatbelts when operating machinery on building sites.





10

DELIVERY VAN REVERSED OVER TRAFFIC MARSHAL’S HEAD AND BODY

Ferry operator Stena Line has been fined £400,000 after a worker was struck by a 3.5-tonne delivery van

being reversed out of a docked vessel.

Read more…

George Ball was working as a pontoon traffic marshal at the company's port terminal in Birkenhead, Wirral on 17

September 2017 when the van was reversed off the Stena Lagan vessel onto the pontoon area by a port service

operative.

The vehicle collided with Ball, knocking him to the ground, and continued to reverse over his head and body. He

sustained multiple injuries including numerous fractures to his skull and ribs and loss of sight in one eye. He has

been left with double vision in the other eye and suffers ongoing mental health problems.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed there was no consideration of physical segregation of

pedestrian operatives from moving vehicles when vessels were being unloaded. Stena Line had failed to adequately

assess the risks to pedestrians from moving vehicles and consequently put in place effective control measures

leading to a safe system of work.

“The injuries sustained by Mr Ball, which affect him to this day, were easily preventable," said HSE inspector Rohan

Lye after the hearing. "The risks to pedestrians from moving vehicles is an obvious one which should have been

identified and controlled.

“Had Stena Line employed suitable control measures, the life changing physical and emotional injuries which

continue to impact Mr Ball and his family would have been avoided.”

PEDESTRIAN WORKER KILLED BY REVERSING DELIVERY VAN

A textile recycler has been fined £650,000 after a worker was struck by a vehicle

Read more…

On 26 April 2016, a delivery driver had arrived at Savanna Rags International’s site in Nottinghamshire. He drove off

a weighbridge and reversed towards the rear yard when he struck an employee.

Mansfield Magistrates’ Court was told that the injured worker, who was on foot, had crossed over the weighbridge

and was walking towards the smoking shelter when the accident happened. She sustained fatal injuries.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Savanna Rags had not risk assessed vehicle movement on site and

had failed to ensure pedestrians and moving vehicles were safely segregated.

It was custom and practice for vehicles to reverse from the weighbridge, which was also used by employees to

access the factory, it said.

Savanna Rags pleaded guilty to breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, reg 3(1) of the Management of

Health and Safety at Work Regulations, and reg 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations.

It was fined and ordered to pay full costs of £3,300.





11

After the hearing, HSE inspector Aaron Rashad said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the

failure of the company to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the risks arising from the movement

of vehicles and implement safe systems of work. This meant the company failed to put in place a number of simple

safety measures including segregating vehicles and pedestrians and reducing the need for vehicles to reverse.”

HGV DRIVER KILLED BY RUNAWAY VEHICLE

A road haulage company that was fined after an employee was crushed to death by a runaway lorry had

failed to implement control measures after a previous near miss, said the Health and Safety Executive

(HSE) inspector that led the investigation.

Read more…

heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver Martin Greenwood was killed on YCT’s site in Thurrock Parkway, Tilbury, Essex,

on 20 October 2015. He was coupling his tractor unit cab to a trailer that a colleague had dropped off at the loading

bay in the early hours of that morning, HSE inspector Jessica Churchyard said.

As he was winding up the trailer’s landing legs, the entire vehicle started to roll forward. Greenwood, who at the

time was standing near the rear of the trailer on the passenger’s side, ran around the front of the lorry in what the

HSE assumed was an attempt to climb into the cab to stop it moving. However, it crashed into another parked

vehicle, fatally crushing Greenwood between them.

The HSE said that YCT had not implemented a safe system of work for coupling and uncoupling and there were no

monitoring arrangements to ensure drivers were carrying out the procedures in accordance with industry guidance,

Safe Coupling and Uncoupling (bit.ly/2gdppFa).

It found that the manual parking brakes on the trailer had not been deployed when it was dropped off at the

loading bay on the day of the accident. In addition to that, Greenwood had not applied the handbrake before

exiting the cab.

Churchyard said a culture had developed within the organisation whereby workers did not always apply the brakes.

“We spoke to a number of drivers and we found that several of them were reporting not using these manual trailer

parking brakes regularly,” she said.

After the accident YCT reviewed its risk assessment and put in place a safe system of work for the coupling and

uncoupling of trailers, which management began to routinely oversee under a new “robust” monitoring system.

They also undertook parking brake spot checks.

In 2014 – a year before Greenwood’s death – a tractor unit had rolled forward after another of YCT’s drivers had not

applied the handbrake. Churchyard said: “Luckily in this case no one was hurt but the company didn’t take any

measures to ensure that this wasn’t a site-wide issue. There was no review of coupling and uncoupling procedures

in light of this near-miss.”

Fine for haulage company after worker crushed on Christmas eve

A haulage company worker was fatally crushed when attempting to repair a hydraulic ramp.

Read more…



http://www.fta.co.uk/export/sites/fta/_galleries/downloads/health_and_safety/safe-coupling-guide.pdf



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On 24 December 2014, J. & J Currie was delivering and offloading a vehicle from a trailer at Galloway Forest, when

the hydraulic ramp developed a fault and failed to lower.

Andrew Adams, who was accompanied by a delivery driver, attempted to carry out a repair by removing a valve.

However, this caused hydraulic pressure to be released and the ramp collapsed on the 61-year-old.

A ratchet strap, used to secure the ramp, also failed due to its poor condition, Ayr Sheriff Court heard.

An investigation by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there was an absence of effective planning, and

that Andrews and the accompanying delivery driver were not competent to carry out the repair.

J. & J. Currie pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 3(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act was

fined £45,000.

THE DEATH OF AN EMPLOYEE AT THE COVENTRY TYRE DISTRIBUTION CENTRE OF LOGISTICS

COMPANY DHL HAS RESULTED IN A MULTI-MILLION-POUND PENALTY.

Read more…

Robert Baynham was crushed when a stack of tyre stillages toppled and fell through an internal office roof where he

and three colleagues were working.

An investigation by Coventry City Council found that the tyre warehouse was principally used for the bulk storage

and distribution of Bridgestone tyres, however it also handled ‘cross-stocked’ tyres, which were stored temporarily

and ranged in size from small car tyres, right up to extra-large agricultural tyres.

Warwick Crown Court was told that in the early hours of 2 February 2016, a tall stack of eight cross-stocked stillages

had been placed next to an office in which Baynham, John Knight, Bernard Halpin and Jason Gordon were working.

The stack toppled, possibly after being knocked as a second stack was being put next to it, and the top two stillages,

each weighing 578 kilos, fell through the office roof.

Investigators found DHL had failed to complete a comprehensive health and safety audit after taking over the site

from another company in September 2015. They told the court tyres were stacked too high and too close to the

internal office – an inherently dangerous practice which had become a common occurrence and was not a practice

that staff had ever been told not to do.

The company – which has a turnover of £1.4bn – was fined £2.6 million for what Mr Justice Jeremy Baker described

as its “serious corporate failure”.

“When the driver was in the process of making a new stack, contact with the first stack caused it to topple over and

fall onto those working in the office. There is no question that these failures have led to a human tragedy.”

Commenting after sentencing, Cllr Abdul Khan, cabinet member for policing and equalities, said: “DHL has

received a significant fine and probably the largest following a health and safety prosecution by the council. Most

importantly lessons have been learned by DHL and safety management at the warehouse has improved.”

Last year DHL was fined £2m after Krzysztof Sontowski suffered fatal injuries when he was crushed between a large

goods lorry and the wall of a loading bay.





13

Ice conditions and winter weather….

January/February is traditionally the coldest month of the year and slips and trips accidents are especially

frequent in freezing temperatures. Employers, Employees, Contractors and visitors should therefore be

particularly vigilant at this time of year.

Read more…

Slip and trip accidents increase during the Autumn and Winter season for several reasons: there is less daylight,

leaves fall onto paths and become wet and slippery and cold weather spells cause ice and snow to build up on paths.

There are effective actions that you can take to reduce the risk of a slip or trip. Regardless of the size of your site,

always ensure that regularly used walkways are promptly tackled.

LIGHTING…

Is there is enough lighting around your workplace for you and your workers to be able to see and avoid hazards that

might be on the ground? The easiest way to find out is to ask your staff. Another way is to shadow your employees

for a couple of days, walk the main internal and external routes that they use throughout their working day. It is

important to do this both inside and outside of the workplace, as the effect of light changes during the day. If you

can’t see hazards on the ground, you will need to improve the lighting (e.g. new lights or changing the type of

bulb).

WET AND DECAYING LEAVES…

Fallen leaves that become wet or have started to decay can create slip risks in two ways, they hide any hazard that

may be on the path or they themselves create a slip risk.

Put in place a procedure for removing leaves at regular intervals; you might even consider removing the offending

bushes or trees altogether.

RAINWATER…

When fitting external paved areas ensure that the material used will be slip resistant when wet.

Discourage people from taking shortcuts over grass or dirt which are likely to become slippery when wet. Consider

converting existing shortcuts into proper paths.

On new sites, before laying paths, think about how pedestrians are likely to move around the site. Putting the path

in the right place from the start may save you money in the long term.

Many slip accidents happen at building entrances as people entering the building walk in rainwater. Fitting

canopies of a good size over building entrances and in the right position can help to prevent this.

If a canopy is not a possibility, consider installing large, absorbent mats or even changing the entrance flooring to

one which is non-slip.

And consider the pools of water throughout the year which left untreated become skating rinks.

ICE, FROST AND SNOW…

To reduce the risk of slips on ice, frost or snow, you need to assess the risk and put in a system to manage it.





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Identify the outdoor areas used by pedestrians most likely to be affected by ice, for example: - building entrances,

car parks, pedestrian walkways, shortcuts, sloped areas and areas constantly in the shade or wet.

Monitor the temperature, as prevention is key.

You need to take action whenever freezing temperatures are forecast. Keep up to date by visiting a weather service

site such as the Met Office or the Highways England.

There are also smart signs on the market, available to buy at low cost, which display warning messages at 50 and

below.

Put a procedure in place to prevent an icy surface forming and/or keep pedestrians off the slippery surface.

Use grit (see below for more detail) or similar, on areas prone to be slippery in frosty, icy conditions.

Consider covering walkways e.g. by an ‘arbor’ high enough for people to walk through or use an insulating material

on smaller areas overnight.

Divert pedestrians to less slippery walkways and barrier off existing ones.

If warning cones are used, remember to remove them once the hazard has passed or they will eventually be ignored.

GRITTING…

The most common method used to de-ice floors is gritting as it is relatively cheap, quick to apply and easy to

spread. Rock salt (plain and treated) is the most commonly used ‘grit’. It is the substance used on public roads by

the highway’s authority.

Salt can stop ice forming and cause existing ice or snow to melt. It is most effective when it is ground down, but this

will take far longer on pedestrian areas than on roads.

Gritting should be carried out when frost, ice or snow is forecast or when walkways are likely to be damp or wet and

the floor temperatures are at, or below freezing. The best times are early in evening before the frost settles and/or

early in the morning before employees arrive. Salt doesn’t work instantly; it needs sufficient time to dissolve into

the moisture on the floor.

If you grit when it is raining heavily the salt will be washed away, causing a problem if the rain then turns to snow.

Compacted snow, which turns to ice, is difficult to treat effectively with grit. Be aware that ‘dawn frost’ can occur on

dry surfaces, when early morning dew forms and freezes on impact with the cold surface. It can be difficult to

predict when or where this condition will occur.

And finally - REMIND your own employees they have a duty to report issues, use the salt bins and not to walk past

a hazard.



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