Category: Health and Safety

Bob the Builder needs a makeover – and for once, you really can blame health and safety rules. The cartoon character’s traditional yellow hard hat – a symbol of building sites across the country – is being quietly dropped. According to news reports, BuildUK – an industry body that represents some of the biggest contractors and trade […]

A man who was trapped under a lorry in a collision at Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in Solihull has died. The incident happened on Monday 26th September at the firm’s base off Lode Lane. The company have confirmed that the man who died was an employee with one of their suppliers. According to workers, he was […]

One crew member has died and four others have been injured in an accident on the Harmony of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ship. The 42-year-old Filipino crew member died when a lifeboat, with five crew, became detached from the fifth deck during a safety exercise. It fell 10m (33ft) into the water. Two […]

Official Guidance Issued On Robot Ethics Isaac Asimov gave us the basic rules of good robot behaviour: don’t harm humans, obey orders and protect yourself. Now the British Standards Institute has issued a more official version aimed at helping designers create ethically sound robots. The document, BS8611 Robots and robotic devices, is written in the dry language of a […]

Stress is often discussed in relation to sickness absence. However, it’s less reported how it can endanger lives. Whether it is work-related stress or stress that people bring to work, stress can put at risk the safety of both employees and members of the public. Matthew Holder, Head of Campaigns and Engagement at the British […]

Search efforts have resumed to find the bodies of three men, who died when part of Didcot power station collapsed in February this year. The search was halted in May when contractors reached a 50m (164ft) exclusion zone, beyond which it was considered too dangerous to continue. Yesterday morning (Sunday 17 July) a remote demolition […]

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner say the ‘halo’ head protection system is not yet ready for introduction. Vettel tried the latest version of the device in practice at the British Grand Prix and said it “needed some further running”. Horner added that the device should not be “rushed through” […]

Sports Direct Treats Workers “As Commodities Rather Than Human Beings” A report by the Business, Innovation and Skills committee has accused Sports Direct, one of Europe’s biggest retailers, of not treating its workers like humans, after an investigation revealed “extremely disturbing working practices” and serious health and safety breaches at the company’s Shirebrook Warehouse. MPs […]

A Plymouth company has been fined £500,000 after an employee suffered fatal injuries when a stack of boxes of frozen fish fell on him. Tomas Suchy, 22, an employee of Interfish Limited, was helping to clear up a fallen stack of frozen fish boxes in one of the cold store areas when there was another […]

A food waste disposal and recycling firm has been fined £250,000 after three employees were overcome by toxic gases, including hydrogen sulphide, and a reduced oxygen atmosphere in an animal waste facility in Stoke-on-Trent. The prosecution comes 12 months after the firm was fined £660,000 following the death of an employee. Prosecuting, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) […]