Comply to Win

Raising RSI awareness

The term RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) is generally agreed as an umbrella term for a number of upper limb disorders. However, whilst many medical professionals will have their own preferred term for these conditions and disorders, most people recognize the term RSI.

Employees have a responsibility to report their injury once they realize what is happening, record the pain in the accident book, and pursue accurate diagnosis and treatment. The employer is encouraged to conduct an effective risk assessment in consultation with the worker, looking at equipment, workload and stress.
McCormack Benson offer a Computer Safety and Display Screen Equipment e-learning course that provides information on the correct set up of computer workstations to ensure that you and your staff avoid injury. In addition the course looks at some of the other hazards and risks you face while using this type of equipment.

Asbestos – hidden killer

Tradespeople are putting themselves at risk of an incurable cancer because they don’t know enough about asbestos, says the British Lung Foundation. Asbestos causes a chest cancer called mesothelioma, which kills one person every five hours in the UK. Tradespeople such as builders, plumbers, carpenters, electricians and gas fitters are most at risk of getting this cruel disease. A survey carried out by the British Lung Foundation for Action Mesothelioma Day on February 27th revealed that:

• Less than a third of tradespeople are aware asbestos exposure can cause cancer
• Only 12% of tradespeople know asbestos exposure can kill them
• Nearly a third (30%) wrongly believe most asbestos has been removed from UK buildings
• Three quarters (74%) have had no training in how to deal with asbestos

CDM conviction

In January 2008, the owner of a Hertfordshire based demolition and groundwork’s’ company was fined £12,500 with costs of £12,500 at the Old Bailey having pleaded guilty to a breach of CDM regulations. In August 2005, demolition work began at a two storey former garage, at Kilburn Lane, Brent whilst three workers were still within the ground floor section. Alarmed by rubble falling down the internal stairwell one of the workers ran out the open front of the building and was struck by the collapsing front facade wall. He was partially buried in the rubble, as the pavement was covered in debris, and suffered injuries to his neck, ribs and shoulder.

According to the CDM 2007 regulations, a CDM Coordinator must be appointed for any project that needs to be notified to the HSE. CDM Coordinators are responsible for advising and assisting Clients to comply with their duties under the regulations, in particular to ensure the project is properly managed and that competent Designers and Contractors are appointed. We do the work for you.

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From 6 April, The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act comes into force, which will clarify the criminal liabilities of companies or organizations where serious failures in the management of health and safety result in a fatality.

Not every "management failure" that causes death, however serious, will result in a company being prosecuted for corporate manslaughter. The failure must be at “senior management” level i.e. he or she must play a "significant role in the making of decisions about how the whole or a "substantial part" of the organization is to be managed or organized, or plays a significant role in the actual managing or organizing of the whole or a substantial part of those activities.

The difficulty for the construction industry in particular will be in determining who will be considered to be a senior manager. Will the project or site manager at a construction site be judged to be involved in the managing of a substantial part of the organization’s activities? Much will depend on the value of the project in comparison to the turnover of the company as a whole.

Under the new Act courts may impose an unlimited fine, a publicity order and/or a remedial order. Firms found guilty of the new offence of corporate manslaughter should be fined as much as 10% of their annual turnover, according to the Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP) - an independent body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice that advises the Sentencing Guidelines Council. This could mean vastly different penalties to those that have been levied in the past:

• In 2005, Transco was fined £15 million for safety breaches that led to the deaths of four members of a family in a gas explosion. To date, this is the largest fine ever imposed under health and safety legislation; but it represented less than 1% of the firm's annual turnover. A fine based on 10% of its annual turnover would have cost the firm £150 million.
• In November 2007, house builder George Wimpey (now Taylor Wimpey) was fined £300,000 after a contractor was killed on its site. A fine based on 10% of its 2006 UK turnover would have cost the firm £239 million.
• Network Rail was fined £3.5 million after the Hatfield train derailment in 2000 in which four people died and 102 were injured. If it had been fined 10% of its latest annual turnover, the fine would have been £600 million.
• Balfour Beatty was fined £7.5 million over the Hatfield derailment. If it had been fined 10% of turnover, the fine would have approached £200 million.

Although the new Corporate Manslaughter act is not part of health and safety law, it will introduce an important new element in the corporate management of health and safety. Its introduction therefore makes it even more crucial to review your health and safety policy and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance. One key action is to clarify who is considered to be “senior management” and ensure that this person / group of people are aware of their responsibilities and the potential consequences under the act. Once identified, the senior management needs to receive training about their role in satisfying the company’s health and safety responsibilities.

For assistance in any aspect of the review of your company’s health and safety policies or the training of your senior management team to ensure health and safety compliance, please contact McCormack Benson.

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Fire Safety

First Aid

Spill control