As health and safety consultants and experts in our field, it’s essential that we remain up to date with what’s happening in the market. Laws and regulations change. Best practices are continually evolving.

Our monthly Health and Safety News Roundup is our pick of the news items and articles that we’ve read over the past month. We hope you find this month’s selection as informative and thought-provoking as we do.

This month, the news items that have caught our attention most include two articles discussing Brexit and health and safety, and other articles that look at health and safety in offshore environments, food production and farming. Click on the headlines to read news that includes:

• Interesting technology developments that could be brought into the workplace to improve health and safety procedures and help companies comply with evolving regulations. How about using drones to prioritise health and safety, or 3D visualisations to help workers become better acquainted with new or restricted workplaces?
• A warning to farms that the HSE will be undertaking targeted inspections on farms across the country. As farming has by far the worst health and safety record in the UK, farmers would be advised to seek a health and safety consultation rather than risk a hefty fine.
• Confirmation that health and safety fines are trending up, and fast. In 2014, the average fine was £29,000. In 2017/18 this had increased to £147,000, with companies now routinely fined more than £500,000 for health and safety breaches.
• Several photos published in The Sun show how workers around the world cheat death – could these examples happen in your workplace? We hope not.
• In Brexit news (we couldn’t not mention it, could we?), companies that make or import chemicals will need to register on a new UK system that will replace REACH.

As always, plenty to get your health and safety juices flowing, whatever industry you work in. Click on the headlines to reveal the full article.

·      6 ways technology will change health and safety in the workplace

An interesting summary of health and safety law in the UK and US since 1970, followed by a look at a few products that have been introduced in line with evolving health and safety requirements. Could your company soon be using drones, AI, and autonomous vehicles in its pursuit of complying with health and safety regulations?

·      Farmers warned to be ready for health and safety inspections

Farming businesses have been warned to be ready for upcoming health and safety inspections, and those that fail to manage workplace risk will face serious penalties. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that it will be undertaking a programme of targeted inspections on farms across the country.

·      What’s new in health and safety?

A brief look at the new laws in health and safety in the UK – including news about the increasing size of penalties for breaches of health and safety regulations, and new guidelines for gross negligence manslaughter that could lead to up to 18 years in prison if found guilty.

·      Construction company fined after fatal fall

Working at height is one of the biggest sources of accidents in UK workplaces. A London-based construction company has been fined £300,000 after being found guilty of several breaches of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which led to the death of a worker.

·     Health and safety would have a field day on these building sites

A gallery of photos from around the world shows workers seemingly cheating death.

·      Pub company fined for health and safety breaches

The UK’s fourth largest managed pub company has been fined £100,000 plus costs for an accident in which a worker broke several fingers while preparing to unload a drinks delivery.

·      UK to replace REACH if no deal on Brexit

The United Kingdom government has issued guidelines for businesses that make or import chemicals, in case of a no-deal Brexit by March 29^th. From that date, chemicals would have to be registered to a new UK system, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. (For health and safety tips if your company uses chemicals, read our article ‘10,300 reasons you must carry out a Risk Assessment if your employees use chemicals’.)

Would you like to be among the first to receive this roundup every month? Click here to be added to our email list – and no, we won’t send any spam!

As health and safety consultants and experts in our field, it’s essential that we remain up to date with what’s happening in the market. Laws and regulations change. Best practices are continually evolving.

Our monthly Health and Safety News Roundup is our pick of the news items and articles that we’ve read over the past month. We hope you find this month’s selection as informative and thought-provoking as we do.

This month, the news items that have caught our attention most include two articles discussing Brexit and health and safety, and other articles that look at health and safety in offshore environments, food production and farming. Click on the headlines to read new that includes:

• The potential effects on health and safety regulations and practices that Brexit may cause companies in the UK. Will H&S amendments published in draft form in July 2018 have the desired effect? The British Safety Council is demanding that high standards are maintained.
• The HSE has warned that ‘flimsy’ procedures are to blame for leaks in the offshore industry, and has noted several shortcomings in crucial areas, including equipment and audits. It has now met with representatives of Oil and Gas UK, and various offshore health and safety managers, and together they are now working to improve health and safety records and working practices.
• Two food companies have recently been fined for health and safety offences. A baked goods manufacturer has been fined £150,000 for failing to do enough to protect workers from exposure to flour dust – a reminder that the HSE is very serious about health and safety standards in the food industry. The other fine was levied on a potato farming company, for breaches of Working at Height Regulations which led to serious injuries sustained by an employee falling from height.

As always, plenty to get your health and safety juices flowing, whatever industry you work in. Click on the headlines to reveal the full article.

·      How will Brexit affect health & safety?

With only weeks to go until we leave the EU, it’s important to understand just how Brexit will affect health & safety. What’s going to happen? Which H&S regulations will be affected? How will it all affect your H&S team’s processes and procedures? What do you and your team need to do now in order to be compliant?

·      Britain’s high health and safety standards must be protected after Brexit, demands British Safety Council

The British Safety Council reiterates its demand that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU must not in any way erode the progress made in the UK over the last four decades on workplace health, safety and welfare standards, together with the protection of workers’ rights and product safety.

·      Flimsy procedures to blame for leaks, watchdog says

Weaknesses in procedures aimed at preventing major North Sea gas leaks have been identified in a review by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

·      HSE, offshore industry working together to prevent spills

HSE recently met with representatives of Oil and Gas UK and the health and safety managers of several of the UK’s offshore producers to discuss how the industry plans to improve process safety leadership, audits and assurance.

·      Bakery fined more than £150k for health and safety offences

A manufacturer of baked goods has been fined more than £150,000 for health and safety offences involving long-term exposure to flour dust.

Potato firm fined £40,000 after worker seriously injured

A Scottish farming company has been fined £40,000 for health and safety breaches after an employee sustained serious injuries in a fall from height.

·      Health and Safety Executive calls for ‘new attitudes’ on farm safety

Agriculture has the poorest record of any industry in Britain, and latest figures show that 33 people were killed in agriculture across Britain in 2017/18 – around 18 times higher than the rate for all industry fatal injuries.

As 2019 gets underway, the Health and Safety Executive is calling for ‘new attitudes’ on how farmers can reduce on-farm injuries and fatalities. Farmers are being told they must pay closer attention to how they manage workplace risk or face serious penalties.

·      Stonework company fined for failing to guard dangerous machinery

A stonework company has been fined for failing to comply with an enforcement notice served by a health and safety inspector, requiring it to guard a stone-cutting saw.

·      Care home fined when worker severely injured after falling down a lift shaft

A privately owned care home has been fined after an employee sustained severe injuries following a fall from height. The company allowed its employees to operate a lift by opening the doors with a screwdriver. An employee entered the lift backwards and fell approximately four metres to the ground, as the platform had not been raised to the landing.

Would you like to be among the first to receive this roundup every month? Click here to be added to our email list – and, no, we won’t send any spam!

As health and safety consultants and experts in our field, it’s essential that we remain up to date with what’s happening in the market. Laws and regulations change. Best practices are continually evolving.

Our monthly Health and Safety News Roundup is our pick of the news items and articles that we’ve read over the past month. We hope you find this month’s selection as informative and thought-provoking as we do.

This month’s news highlights how well UK industry is doing with health and safety, while also showing how much further we have to travel to what must be the ultimate goal: zero injuries and deaths in the workplace. Striking news includes:

• After last month’s news that Amazon has suffered 440 H&S accidents since 2015, it has been reported that Amazon’s Peterborough warehouse called for an ambulance on average once every three weeks between June 2015 and June 2018. However, Amazon quotes that the Health and Safety Executive has reported that Amazon suffers 40% fewer injuries than the UK average for transportation and warehousing companies.

• Do you think ‘early finish Friday; would stop UK construction workers taking health and safety risks and rushing jobs on a Friday afternoon to get to the pub earlier? This is what Protecting.co.uk believes, after discovering that three quarters of construction workers rush their jobs at the end of a week.

• As the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement has been finalised, if not quite signed off yet, we couldn’t not mention the ‘B’ word. British manufacturers have lobbied government via a report titled Making Health & Safety Work for UK Business – Manufacturers’ Concerns in a post-Brexit World. It wants the government to ensure that the current health and safety landscape is maintained after the UK leaves the EU.

• An article in ThisWeekinFM discusses digital innovations, and asks if they could aid health and safety, improving accountability and reducing risks and injuries. Do wearables, drones, and monitoring equipment have a place in your company to help keep remote workers and others safe?

As always, plenty to get your health and safety juices flowing, whatever industry you work in. Click on the headlines to reveal the full article.

·South Western Railway criticised by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall after …

South Western Rail is one of the only train companies in the UK which does not let … I bought a smaller cup but refused due to health and safety rules. Surprised …

·HSE releases Great Britain’s annual injury and ill health statistics

Annual statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show 1.4 million … and ill-health statistics report can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/

·The number of ambulances called to Amazon’s Peterborough …

“All of our sites are safe places to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong. According to the UK Government’s Health and Safety Executive, Amazon

·UK workers admit to carrying out sloppy work on a Friday

A survey of UK construction workers undertaken by legal consultant … down the line, they also open up a can of worms when it comes to health and safety.

·INDUSTRY CALLS FOR UK TO KEEP EU HEALTH & SAFETY …

Britain’s manufacturers are appealing for the current health & safety landscape to be maintained when the UK leaves the European Union, with existing worker .

·Can Connected Systems Benefit Health & Safety?

… a great advance to the large number of mobile and remote workers in the UK. … This is revolutionising the way health and safety professionals do their jobs

·Steel fabricators fined after employee received multiple fractures

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company did not have a safe system of work in place to avoid this kind of incident.

As health and safety consultants and experts in our field, it’s essential that we remain up to date with what’s happening in the market. Laws and regulations change. Best practices are continually evolving.

Our monthly Health and Safety News Roundup is our pick of the news items and articles that we’ve read over the past month. We hope you find this month’s selection as informative and thought-provoking as we do.

This month’s news highlights how well UK industry is doing with health and safety, while also showing how much further we have to travel to what must be the ultimate goal: zero injuries and deaths in the workplace. Striking news includes:

• Amazon UK has had some bad health and safety press in the last few weeks, with revelations that there have been 440 health and safety accidents at its UK warehouses since 2015. These include forklift accidents, injuries sustained in moving machinery, and working at sub-zero temperatures.

• Manufacturers have called in the government to retain the current health and safety landscape when the UK leaves the EU. In a report published by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, and Arco, manufacturers have also requested that the government seeks to ensure that the British Standards Institution continues to play a leading role in setting European standards.

• The Network Rail Infrastructure Projects team has won three safety awards from the British Safety Council – the third year running that it has picked up a Sword of Honour. Its adherence to improved health and safety processes has led to a 70% reduction in lost time injury frequency rates.

• In more good news on the health and safety front, reportable incidents in the offshore oil and gas industry continue to fall. In 2017, ‘only’ 255 reportable incidents occurred, and not a single work-related fatality was recorded. Reportable incident numbers have now fallen by two-thirds since 2000/01.

Plenty to get your health and safety juices flowing, whatever industry you work in. Click on the headlines to reveal the full article.

·Amazon warehouse accidents total 440

Amazon has reported more than 440 health and safety incidents at its UK warehouses since 2015, according to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests. The GMB …

·Manufacturers in call to keep health and safety rules after Brexit

Manufacturers in call to keep health and safety rules after Brexit … The call is made in a wide-ranging report into the UK’s health and safety landscape published

·Ikea fined after two of worker’s fingers partially amputated

Ikea admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was also ordered to … Bristol City Council said it found more examples of health and safety

·Network Rail wins safety awards

… has been awarded three Safety Swords of Honour by the British Safety Council (BSC). … The team also had to demonstrate excellence in health and safety … stakeholder engagement, risk management, organisational health and safety

·UK offshore safety incidents slowing

Its Health and Safety Report 2018 showed a continued downward trend in reportable incidents, with 255 reported to the UK’s health and safety regulator last year

·World’s first rotational moulding health and safety guidance launched

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has produced the world’s first rotational … The document has been approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

·Waste firm worker injury leads to £18000 fine

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there was inadequate guarding around the conveyor belt to stop workers hands from being injured

Would you like to be among the first to receive this roundup every month? Click here to be added to our email list – and, no, we won’t send any spam!