New WA Management Information Sheets
WA Management is pleased to announce our new information sheets that will be released every other Thursday on the blog. Made by our expert consultants, these are one-stop guides on various Health and Safety topics, giving you all the relevant information in a clear and easy-to-understand format. Topics covered by the sheets include:
- Respiratory Protective Equipment
- Vibration, the Law and Trigger Time
- Hi Visibility Clothing BS EN 471
…and much more!
You can read our first topic, LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998), on the blog now!
Sentence and Fine After Gas Dangers Found at Caravan Site
Felix Rooney, a man with management responsibility of a static caravan site, has been sentenced after the HSE found unsafe gas appliances and fittings at the site. Concerns were raised in April 2016 by North East Derbyshire District Council, resulting in an HSE investigation that found Mr Rooney had no Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificates for the gas appliances in the caravans. The risk was so high that some of these appliances had to be immediately disconnected. The LPG cylinders not being used were also stored unsafely posing a risk of fire and explosion. Mr Rooner was sentenced to an eight-month prison sentence and was suspended for two years. He was also ordered to pay full costs of £22,235.00
Read more from SHPOnline
Partners Of Roofing Firm Fined For Unsafe Working At Height
Heights risks have meant that partners of a roofing firm have both been sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence and suspended for 12 months, in which time 250 hours unpaid work must be undertaken. They were also ordered to pay costs of £1836.31. This is after the workers of CB Roofing were seen working on the roof with unsafe access, no edge protection and nothing to prevent falls through the fragile roof material. The HSE investigation concluded that the work was poorly planned, inappropriately supervised and not carried out safely.
HSE Inspector Sue Adsett remarked that “Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related injuries in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known.”
Read more from SHPOnline
Working At Height Tragedy Results In Hefty Fine
An unsafe scaffold led to the death of an employee after he fell from a ladder whilst exiting the scaffold. On 21 September 2016, Joseph Kane, an employee of Henderson and Aitken Limited, fell from the top rungs of a ladder when it slipped sideways on the scaffold and he died of multiple injuries. The ladder was tied to the scaffold only on the left side and thus was not secured safely; this was because an employee of the company erected the scaffold improperly after being asked by the director, even though the latter was aware the employer was not a qualified or competent scaffolder. As a result, the company was fined £53,000.
Read more on the case from the HSE
Employee Death After Wooden Bearer Injury
An engineering company has been fined £60,000 after an employee died from being struck on the head with a wooden bearer. The incident occurred on 7 September 2017 when James Longair, 62, was involved in an unsafe work method used to lift and move pipes. A pipe fell during this move, hit the deceased on the leg before falling onto a wooden bearer, which sent the bearer into the air, striking the deceased in the head. The immediate cause was that there was no method to secure the pipe on the forks when lifted and this ultimately lead to Mr Longair’s fatal injury. The HSE investigation deemed the work method unsafe and thus IODS Pipe Cad Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £60,000.
Read more on the case from the HSE