New Hazard of the Month Revealed!
WA Management are pleased to announce their next hazard of the month for February is ‘Unsuitable PPE/Equipment.’ We have chosen this hazard after noticing instances on sites visits where PPE such as respiratory masks were being used despite not being face-fitted or incorrect working at height equipment being employed that was unsuitable for the task at hand. Accidents can occur when these factors are overlooked as despite PPE and equipment being in place, it is rendered less effective if it is not properly inspected and relevant to the task.
To learn more about this hazard, make sure you follow our social media accounts (see the buttons below) closely throughout February to read tips and tricks about how you can protect your workers, as well as research blogs designed to take a more comprehensive look at the risk.
You should also keep an eye for a voucher code that will be coming your way at the start of February to give you a special discount for our online training! Watch this space!
Data Privacy Day
Tuesday 28th January was ‘Data Privacy Day’, which raises awareness and promotes privacy and data protection best practices. Data protection has become more and more significant for businesses since the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into being in 2018, since breaches can result in not only a damaged reputation for your business but hefty fines also.
To learn more about the importance of ensuring compliance with data regulations, you can take a look at our GDPR and Cyber Security online training courses. These will give you an easy to understand and accessible overview of information security and it’s best practices.
Customer Fatally Crushed by Lift Truck
A customer was fatally crushed by a lift truck he had purchased whilst it was being loaded onto his own recovery vehicle, leading to a £30,000 total fine for a vehicle-salvaging company. On 15 February 2018, a lift truck purchased from Michael Douglas Autosalvage Ltd was lifted using the company’s skip lorry onto a recovery vehicle at Stainton Road, Etterby. The metal ring on the lift truck that the winch wire was attached to failed, causing the lift truck to fall and trap Mr Paul Spence against the skip lorry. The HSE’s investigation found that the company had failed to ensure that this complex lifting process was properly planned by a competent person and that it had failed in its duty not to expose customers to risk. A competent person would have identified that this loading method with this equipment was fundamentally unsafe, the HSE explained. The Company Michael Douglas Autosalvage Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £23,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,000.
Read more on the case from SHPOnline.
Printing Company Fined £98K After Amputation Injuries
Harrier LLC, a photo processing, printing and gift manufacturing business based in Newton Abbot has been sentenced after a worker suffered serious injuries when his hand was caught in machinery. On 19 January 2017, 44-year-old agency worker Neil Williams was working on a corner rounding machine at a site in Newton Abbot. The machine is hand operated with top and bottom blades and can also be activated by a foot pedal. While adjusting the settings of the cutter, Mr Williams put his fingers between the blades to ensure a flush fit. While he tightened them in place, his foot slipped and hit the foot pedal even though it was of a protected or “shrouded” design. The blade came down and severed his ring finger, middle finger and most of his index finger. A HSE investigation found that Mr Williams was not suitably trained and the safe system of work for the corner cutter failed to set out a safe way to change the template size. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £98,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,756.50 plus a victim surcharge of £170.
Read more on the case from SHPOnline.
Teacher Run Over By Reversing Delivery Van
St Andrew’s Tutorial Services Ltd has been fined after a teacher sustained serious injuries when she was struck by a delivery van. The 48-year-old teacher was on a trip to the UK, bringing students to the college from Italy. Whilst at the front of St Andrew’s College in Cambridge, the driver reversed over the teacher, only stopping his delivery vehicle after members of the public alerted him. The teacher sustained multiple fractures and crush injuries; her head was just inches away from one of the tyres. The HSE’s investigation found that St Andrew’s Tutorial Services Ltd had not adequately segregated vehicles and pedestrians. Although the company had identified measures that would likely have prevented this incident, it failed to implement them. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety and Welfare Regulations. The company was fined £30,000 with costs of £9,197.78.
Read more on the case from SHPOnline.