Offshore industry benefits from HSE inspection programme
An inspection programme by Britain’s workplace regulator has led to major safety improvements in the offshore industry.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspected 13 production operators between January 2022 and May 2024 as part of its Process Safety Leadership Principles (PSLP) programme.
In addition to their inspections, HSE inspectors were also engaging with senior leaders at offshore firms and industry groups as they determined how PSLP was being embedded across the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS).
The programme was launched by HSE after it noted a stagnating safety record in the offshore industry.
Read more on the HSM website
Roofer given suspended sentence after man falls from scaffold
A self-employed roofer has received a suspended prison sentence after a man suffered serious injuries after falling from scaffold in Devon.
Daniel Hooper was given a 16-week custodial sentence, which will be suspended for a period of 12 months, following Iain Smith, 36, falling from a height of more than 25 feet while working for him, on 13 June 2023.
Father of three Mr Smith had been manually carrying old roof slates down a ladder attached to the scaffold platform at a domestic property in Honiton when he fell, suffering serious injury, including five broken vertebrae, as well as skull and rib fractures. Devon Air Ambulance took Mr Smith to Derriford Hospital where he was put into an induced coma for five days. He has since made a remarkable recovery but does still suffer from the effects of his injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Daniel Hooper, 28, trading as Hooper Roofing, failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of his employee as he did not undertake any planning or appropriately supervise the work at height or supply suitable equipment to do the task safely.
Learn more on the HSE website.
Man who burned asbestos waste fined £20,864
A man who burned waste including asbestos has been ordered to pay charges totaling £20,864.
Mark Greenhalgh operated a illegal waste site in Woburn Sands, near Milton Keynes, without an environmental permit. The 64-year-old admitted to two waste crime charges at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The Environment Agency said officers had investigated the site between 2018 and 2023 and found large amounts of waste on each visit, but their advice was continuously ignored.
It added that as the site was close to a housing estate and an ancient woodland, his activities had put residents and nature at risk of harm.
Greenhalgh, of Warwick Avenue, Milton Keynes, also burned vehicles, domestic appliances and soft furnishings at the site.
For more on the case visit the BBC website.
How well are you managing your waste?
IOSH’s Laura Wilding has good reason to ask the question. Here, she highlights the hidden costs of waste disposal, such as wasted energy and labour. And shares how safety and health professionals can help drive improvements.
The United Nation’s environmental programme calculated that in 2020, the global direct cost of waste management was an estimated USD 252 billion. When factoring in the hidden costs of pollution, poor health and climate change from poor waste disposal practices, the cost rises to USD 361 billion.[ref 1]
Global figures like this are so large that it’s hard to imagine them, but individual business costs are skyrocketing too. Waste-disposal expert Veolia calculated back in 2017 that small businesses spend around £384 a year each on waste disposal.[ref 2] This would equate to £502 in November 2024 with inflation.[ref 3]
I’m focusing on wasted energy and wasted labour, which Veolia also highlighted would add huge amounts to this figure.
Read the full article on the IOSH website.
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