Health and Safety News

A civilian police worker with the Thames Valley Police has received six-figure compensation from his employer.

An accident which occurred in May 2007 left him with life-threatening injuries. Following the incident, he is yet to resume his duties.

The victim, Keith Tilbury, from Walton on Thames, was employed as a 999 control room operator. He was attending a demonstration on weapons safety when the mishap occurred.

PC David Micklethwaite, a firearms trainer, was demonstrating the working of a Dan Wesson .44 Magnum revolver. The trainer was demonstrating the use of weapons that may be encountered by police workers in the course of their work. During the demo he loaded the gun with what he believed were blank rounds from a sweet tin where such ammunition was usually stored. However, the rounds that he loaded were found to be live and when he pulled the trigger after pointing the firearm at Tilbury, the shot severely injured the worker.

Following this incident a complete investigation into the system of operation was undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It was found that risk evaluation had already been done and safety provisions were in place for all possible risks. In fact, the assessment report clearly mentioned risks arising from mixing blank and live ammunition and set forth measures to ensure that such mixing did not take place. However, these measures were not followed fully at the precincts.

Court proceedings were conducted last September in the case wherein the Thames Valley Police accepted responsibility for the accident. They were fined £40,000 and asked to pay costs of £25,000 under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974. PC David Micklethwaite, was also fined £8,000 under Section 7 of the same Act, and asked to pay an additional sum of £5,000 as costs.

Just as they did in April of the previous year officials of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will conduct spot checks on vehicles carrying loads that are not properly secured. They will be working in tandem with the officials of the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA).

The aim of the campaign, which will commence in the North West region of the country and go on for eight days, will be to check if load safety norms are being adhered to by hauliers and other transporters. The campaign which is intended to cover the country is likely to be carried out over a period of nine weeks.

According to statistics given out by the HSE, injuries occur to more than 1200 people every year. More than a million pounds worth of losses are suffered annually owing to improper loading and unloading of goods.

HSE and VOSA officials will check vehicles in a random manner to see if there are proper restraints on the goods being carried. Where there is clear evidence of unsafe loading, fines will be imposed on the drivers or the business owners. The penalty could be as stiff as ordering the vehicle off the road.

The previous year’s campaign disclosed that 80% of the vehicles were found to have unsafe loads, a figure that the HSE hopes will not be reached this year.

The nine week campaign also hopes to educate hauliers and transporters in load safety norms through adverts on the radio and in trade journals. The official website of the HSE will give guidance on loading safety at www.hse.gov.uk/loadsafety

VOSA’s Research and Development Manager, John Fitch, is of the view that the campaign will effectively address the issue of insecure loading of goods and help in the reduction of losses arising from improper loading by carriers.

In a recent study, it has been found that employees who provide constructive feedback to their managers help the latter in improving their professional nature.

The research has been jointly funded by Investors in People, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and the HSE. The findings of the research were unveiled at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference.

The main emphasis of the research was on the relationship between employees and managers, which often creates stressful situations in the workplace. During the survey, 150 managers were asked to evaluate their managerial capabilities and about 500 employees were told to asses how their managers fared at their workplace.

The managers were grouped into those that had been imparted training and/or given feedback on their managerial abilities and those that did not receive any feedback. The feedback and training emphasised on positive behaviours that on the part of managers that can reduce stress-levels in workers.

The group that received constructive feedback from employees were found to be eager to improve themselves, and they evolved as better managers. The behaviour expected of them included:

• having more emotional control and integrity
• getting a better grip on the work at hand and future work, and communicating the same effectively
• managing team members with empathy
• be more capable in conflict management

Managers who were not provided any feedback did not mend their ways and continued with their behaviour. It was thus discovered that constructive feedback can have a positive impact and can change the behaviour of managers.

A research team led by Ms Donaldson-Feilder is in the process of developing effective tools that can be used at the workplace. One of these tools is a detailed questionnaire that will serve as rating criteria for managers. The rating will be done by employees. Other tools include specific learning modules meant for line managers. These tools will soon be available online.

A law firm has appealed to British employers to draft a sound driving policy to keep away from any unwanted legalities arising out of workers’ accidents, especially in view of the deteriorating driving conditions in the wet winter season.

According to Penningtons Solicitors LLP, about one out of every three road accidents in the UK involve people driving for work, and every week, nearly 20 are killed while 250 are grievously injured as they drive or are driven around for official purposes.

Philippa Luscombe of Penningtons said that employers should make operational an effective driving policy, failing which employees who meet with accidents can take them to court under a personal injury claim. Additionally, a company’s driving strategy can prevent it from being booked under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007.

Luscombe asked bosses to make the driving policy an essential part of their organisation’s health and safety plan. She feels that the staff would drive more safely if senior management set an example before them.

Luscombe also pointed out the cost reducing features of a driving plan. She said that driving safely would lessen the vehicle’s wear and tear and reduce the cost of fuel. She added that safe driving would cause fewer accidents, which would not only keep workers away from going on sick leave but also trim down the premium for motor and employers’ liability insurance, benefiting the company commercially.p>

The owner of a fireworks firm and his 25-year-old son have been jailed after being convicted of killing two fire fighters due to their negligence. The firemen were killed in a massive blast at their family-run company named Alpha Fireworks Ltd (formerly called Festival Fireworks UK Ltd).

The owner Martin Winter has been jailed for seven years, while His son Nathan has been jailed for five years for the deaths of fire-fighter Geoff Wicker, 49, and support officer Brian Wembridge, 63. The judgement was passed at Lewes Crown Court.

The blast had occurred in East Sussex in December 2006, and besides the two deaths, 20 people from the police and fire department were injured. The blast also drew a £30,000 fine for the company.

The father-and-son duo were found to be “grossly negligent” as they kept fireworks in metal containers not licensed for the storage of explosive items, despite knowing fully well the potential dangers and eventualities if they came in contact with fire. It was discovered that the metal container had previously been used to hold chicken feed.

The court heard that the accidental ignition of some fireworks sparked a chain reaction in the factory site, and this led to the spread of the fire until the entire factory was engulfed in flames. By the time the explosion took place in the metal container, many firefighters had evacuated the scene after failing to combat the initial blaze. However, some fire officers, like Mr Wembridge and Mr Wicker were still present in the scene. Mr. Wembridge was busy filming footage of the blaze.

Mr. Wembridge’s footage was shown to the court. The footage revealed that the blast was so strong that the doors of the metal container were blown apart by the tremendous pressure. The explosion was very similar to a bomb blast.

Judge Mr Justice Cooke told the winters that they did not make proper arrangements for the storage of the fireworks despite being familiar with the safety regulations to be followed for storage of different kinds of firework.

The lawyers defending the winters however told the jurors that the fire fighters had breached their own safety guidelines by failing to evacuate the factory area at the right time. The judge added that had the fire fighters been given proper training regarding ways to deal with explosives, then the accident could have been avoided.

In an incident that occurred in Bridgend last year, a 15-year-old boy suffered serious injuries after he fell 50 ft inside a quarry to which he had gained access.

The teenager had trespassed into the quarry with his friends. He suffered a fractured wrist, a chipped pelvis and a broken elbow as a result of the accident that took place in May 2008.

Tarmac Ltd of Wolverhampton, the owner of Cornelly Quarry, was prosecuted by HSE following the incident. The company has been ordered to pay a fine of £10,000 and costs of over £6,000. The company pleaded guilty to infringing Regulation 16 of the Quarries Regulations 1999 at Cardiff Crown Court.

HSE conducted a thorough investigation after the incident and discovered that a thick lining of hedge that marked the boundary of the quarry had been removed by the owner, as there were plans of expanding the quarry. However, since there was a postponement of the expansion work, two lines of earth banks had been erected. These banks served as a temporary border to the quarry. The banks were however easy to climb, and the injured teenager entered the quarry by climbing these banks.

HSE Inspector Alan Strawbridge admitted that it was the youth’s fault, and that he should not have entered without permission in the first place. However, he was quick to add that the quarry owner should have been more cautious and should have erected better and more permanent barriers to prevent trespassers from entering the site. According to Strawbridge, the earth banks that were erected were not sufficient for the purpose.

Strawbridge added that it is the duty of quarry owners to conduct proper risk assessment and take into account all the eventualities that might happen if trespassers are allowed easy access inside quarries. In addition, the common people should also realise that entering a quarry without prior permission might be dangerous. In the present incident, the boy was lucky enough to have escaped the 50ft fall with broken bones, as the accident could have ended his life.

In two similar cases in the past of trespassing at work sites, the companies owning the sites were prosecuted.

Nuclear operator Sellafield Ltd has been fined heavily after it admitted to breaching health and safety norms following a recent incident of contamination at one of its sites. In the incident that occurred on 11 July 2007, two contractors inhaled toxic dust when they were appointed for drilling a floor at the company’s Nuclear Licensed Site in Cumbria.

Following the incident, HSE conducted a thorough investigation to study the employer’s responsibility in the incident. The investigation revealed the management’s negligence and it found that the company had violated Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The management was fined £75,000 and ordered to pay costs of £26,100 at Carlisle Crown Court after the company pleaded guilty to the violation.

The contamination occurred when drilling work on a floor that was contaminated with plutonium blew off toxic dust, and the workers inhaled the dust laden with radioactive particles. The floor they were drilling had been contaminated after a spillage occurred a few years ago.

The two Sellafield contractors who were working on the floor were unaware of the contamination until a monitoring alarm went off. By that time, dust laden with plutonium had already been inhaled by the contractors, and one contractor already had significant contamination on his PVC suit. The workers were immediately undressed and removed from the room.

The contamination did not have any significant effect on the health of the contractors, as their inhalation level was low. However, that did not exempt the company from being guilty of endangering the health of the workers, believes HSE’s Superintending Nuclear Inspector Mark Bassett. According to Bassett, Sellafield should have prioritized the health and safety of the contractors before engaging them to do such hazardous work.

The company should not have assigned the workers with the task of drilling without conducting proper risk assessment, added Bassett.

In a case that concluded recently, a factory worker has been awarded damages from his employer after a chemical leak in the company’s premises damaged his eye severely. This incident has underlined the critical need for safety norms to be deployed at workplaces by employers.

The 59-year-old worker who was employed with chemicals manufacturing company Ciba Speciality Chemicals Ltd. was left with a damaged eye when a chemical dripped onto his face from a broken pipe at his workplace. The accident occurred in 2005. The broken pipe was carrying the corrosive chemical Sodium Hydroxide, which dripped into the worker’s eye through the leak. It caused severe corneal damage to his right eye. He also needed surgical treatment to set right his eyelid that had turned inward as a result of this accident.

The accident left the victim particularly affected because sight in his left eye was already compromised from childhood. As he was mostly dependent on the vision in the right eye, the accident caused him great trouble. He is now unable to continue work and has had to quit his job. In addition, he cannot drive at night any more due to his poor eyesight.

After being informed of these reasons and claims, Ciba Speciality Chemicals Ltd accepted liability in the issue and agreed to pay damages amounting to £100,000, which it paid in an out of court settlement.

Speaking about this case, sources from the GMB, the victim’s union, stated that given that the accused company manufactures chemical products for various uses, it should have carried out regular checks in its premises to avoid such mishaps. Had this been done earlier, the victim could have escaped the accident, said the GMB.

The HSE board has decided to introduce a statutory tower crane register after a comprehensive public consultation, in which the opinions of trades unions, construction contractors and other stakeholders were taken into account. The consultation went on for three months, and the register is now awaiting ministerial approval. About 100 responses were received by HSE from different interested groups during the consultation.

By April 2010, the new regulations will be implemented officially and they will cover all cases related to tower cranes that are deployed in construction sites.

Tower cranes have had a dismal performance as far as safety is concerned. Since 2000, no less than eight people have been killed in accidents related to tower cranes. Of these eight people, one was a member of the public. These spate of accidents prompted HSE to introduce the register.

According to the new regulations, the task of notification rests on the employer. Required information about the crane has to be notified to relevant authorities within a fortnight of detailed examination of the crane. Cranes built and installed before the implementation of the regulations should be registered within a month. Provision for electronic notification has also been made, and this has to be done through the HSE website.

A register will be maintained that will display the details of any notification made to HSE. The register will be made available to the public. An administration fee of £20 will be charged for any new registration.

Philip White, HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, said in this regard that tower crane accidents are not uncommon, and that employers are looking for ways to ensure safe use of such cranes. He added that the opinions of the people have helped HSE in formulating regulations to avert risks.

Recent incidents have been a revelation in this regard, and HSE is working in close coordination with employers and manufacturers to see that proper rules are implemented, added White.

Union Unite has come up with the ‘Lighten up’ campaign to raise awareness about the ill effects of heavy baggage on airline employees.

Baggage handlers are required to move and transport passenger’s baggage and lift on an average the weight of an elephant during a typical workday. With about 9 tonnes of weight being carried by them in a day, there is no wonder they are five times more at risk than other professionals to musculoskeletal problems.

The union is appealing for a universally applicable maximum baggage weight of 23 kgs as opposed to the current 32 kgs. This limit has so far been implemented by Thompsons, the charter company. Some other groups have also shown willingness to join the campaign, but some airlines have insisted that an industry wide standard regulation be put in force first.

However, the union’s call has been supported by HSE and IATA. There are no regulations in place yet, but the union is appealing for this to happen soon. Speaking on behalf of Unite, Steve Turner, national officer, pointed out that people normally think that all baggage handling is done by machines. However, a significant amount of the carrying, hoisting etc is actually carried out manually.

A recent HSE report studying trends in the past three months showed that about 73% of baggage handlers reported lower back problems while more than half reported knee problems. Another 43% reported shoulder strain. These massive percentages of afflicted workers show clearly the need for urgent and effective steps to be taken in this regard.p>