News for 2007
August
Companies prosecuted for car incident
Two companies have been prosecuted following an incident in which an employee of one company suffered serious head injuries after being struck by a car belonging to the other company. Robert Campbell, a 56-year-old security officer employed by G4S Security Services (UK) Ltd, suffered serious head injuries after being struck by a car leaving the premises of packaging company Rigid Containers Ltd on 17 February 2006. The security officer was checking an HGV leaving the site when he was hit by an employee's car that was also exiting the site through a different security barrier.
Rigid Containers and G4S, of Sutton in Surrey, had jointly agreed the system of work used by the security officers. The plan did not make proper arrangements for controlling the operation of the vehicle barriers and the sequencing of traffic on to and off site.
The problems were made worse as a result of Rigid Containers redesigning the main entrance to its factory in the summer of 2005 to change the way in which HGVs entered and exited the site. This was done without the company making a proper risk assessment of what the effect of these changes would be, particularly on the security officers who were required to work at the main entrance.
The changes to the main entrance created an unmarked traffic junction in the open paved area and left security officers to decide traffic priorities and the sequencing of barrier opening and closing with inadequate instructions. In addition the security officer who had the accident was inadequately trained and poorly equipped to do the job, as he had not been issued with a high-visibility vest and torch.
Rigid Containers Ltd was fined £65,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) and Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
G4S Security Services (UK) Ltd were fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the HSW Act. Costs of £10,650 and £7,900 respectively were awarded to HSE.
David Welsh, Northamptonshire HSE Inspector says: "This incident showed all the classic signs of a workplace transport collision between a vehicle and pedestrian. There was no separation of vehicles and pedestrians at Rigid's main entrance, the area where the accident occurred was poorly lit and road signs and markings to direct traffic were insufficient. Rigid had not thought about the effect of making changes to the routing of vehicles and Rigid and G4S had not communicated effectively with each other to decide issues of worker training, and the use of a safe system of work around workplace transport.
"HSE has published guidance covering all these issues for more than ten years and takes workplace transport accidents very seriously as they are the second highest cause of deaths at work in the UK. I hope other businesses can learn something from the accident that occurred at Rigid Containers by appreciating the high risks that affect workplace transport activities and do more to control those risks."
Renewable energy comes into focus
The government has undertaken to change planning rules and make it easier for retail, office and leisure businesses to install green technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines. Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has asked environmental and planning consultancy Entec to draw up new planning rules that will ensure the system encourages the use of renewable energy.
The plan is to look specifically at removing barriers to installing small-scale renewable and low carbon technology equipment that can currently lead to increased costs and lengthy delays. Blears has asked Entec to investigate how renewable energy equipment can be included as 'permitted developments', meaning that changes can be made without the need for specific planning permission.
At the same time, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper has asked the UK Green Building Council to set out a 'route map' for improving the overall energy efficiency of non-domestic buildings with the aim of delivering substantial reductions in carbon emissions from new buildings over the next decade.
Explaining the plans, Blears noted that estimates suggest 30-40% of the UK's electricity could be met by installing microgeneration equipment to all types of building by 2050. The technologies range from wind and water generation to ground sources like heat pumps and biomass boilers.
Reports from Entec and the Green Building Council are expected before the end of the year.
Opinions sought on new noise regulations
Actors, musicians and producers are being urged to voice their opinions on new draft guidelines issued to help the entertainment industry cope with a radical overhaul of noise regulations. In April 2008, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations will come into force in the entertainment sector and will affect staff working in theatres, concert halls and even pubs where music is played. It will also have serious implications for venue owners and producers, whose responsibility it will be to ensure shows and events comply with the new law.
Under the changes, theatres and concert venues may have to look at altering their repertory so sound levels are varied across a week to satisfy noise limits, screens may have to be introduced around loud parts of orchestras, musicians may have to rehearse at less than full volume or staff be required to wear ear protection or limit their exposure to loud music or stage effects. Set designers will also be asked to take into account noise containment when creating productions and venue owners and producers will have to undertake risk assessments to measure how much noise is being produced and what risks it might cause for staff.
Society of London Theatres and Theatrical Management Association legal officer Louise Norman explained it would be extremely important for theatre operators and producers to comply with the new guidelines to help protect them from legal action in the future, if an employee suffered hearing damage. She said: "I would urge people in the industry to look at this guidance and comment on it. It's important to protect people's hearing, but at the same time it's important the regulation is applied in a sensible way, because this is an industry that produces noise - music - on purpose."
Equity, the Musicians' Union, Bectu and SOLT have all been part of a working group advising the Health and Safety Executive on a set of draft guidelines. These have now been published online and the three organisations are calling on their members to read them and offer their responses before the October 12 deadline. SOLT/TMA chief executive Richard Pulford said: "This is a serious issue for the theatre industry and one that needs to be addressed in that all those engaged in the industry need to think carefully about how they can best respond to the new legislation."
Equity added that the advice was "essential in ensuring both employers and workers are fully aware of their obligations." Meanwhile, MU spokesperson Keith Ames said the union had prepared a briefing paper on its website to help its members respond to the consultation.
New Event Safety Vehicle service comes online at STAGESAFE
STAGESAFE have announced availability of their new Event Safety Vehicle. The 4-litre 4 x 4 Jeep Cherokee, complete with a full support package, can now be hired as an additional service for outside events. For further details, please go here.
Corporate Manslaughter Act given Royal Assent
Just hours after the 2006/07 workplace fatal injury statistics were released by the HSE, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill has been given Royal Assent. Companies whose gross negligence leads to the death of individuals will now face prosecution for manslaughter.
For the first time, Government bodies will be under the remit of the law, and will face an unlimited fine if they are found to have caused death due to their gross corporate health and safety failures.
Employees of companies, consumers and other individuals will be offered greater protection against corporate negligence. The new law will focus the minds of those in companies and other organisations by ensuring that they take health and safety obligations seriously.
Commenting on the fatal injury statistics, Roger Bibbings, RoSPA Occupational Safety Adviser, said: "The latest fatal injury figures are disappointing and remind us all that we must not become complacent. Effective management of health and safety must be a key business goal in every organisation. And it must be led from the top with clear reporting on performance to all stakeholders.
"There has been a growing focus on the health and safety responsibilities of directors and senior managers in all organisations, particularly in the decade it has taken to secure the introduction of the new offence of corporate manslaughter.
"The new Act, which will only be used when standards have fallen far below what might have been reasonably expected, makes clear that the full weight of criminal law will be brought to bear on organisations of all sizes that cause death by behaving recklessly. And, although it will target organisations and not individual directors or senior managers, investigations will lead to the behaviour of individuals coming under much greater scrutiny than before."
The Corporate Manslaughter Act:
- will make it easier to prosecute companies and other large organisations when gross failures in the management of health and safety lead to death by delivering a new, more effective basis for corporate liability;
- has reformed the law so that a key obstacle to successful prosecutions has now been removed. It means that both small and large companies can be held liable for manslaughter where gross failures in the management of health and safety cause death, not just health and safety violations;
- complements the current law under which individuals can be prosecuted for gross negligence manslaughter and health and safety offences, where there is direct evidence of their culpability. The Act builds on existing health and safety legislation – so the new offence does not impose new regulations on business;
- lifts Crown immunity to prosecution. Crown bodies – such as Government departments – will be liable to prosecution for the first time. The Act will apply to companies and other corporate bodies, in the public and private sector, Government departments, police forces and certain unincorporated bodies, such as partnerships, where these are employers.
The Act will come into force on 6 April 2008 and the Ministry of Justice will issue further guidance for organisations affected by the Act in the autumn. Extension of the offence to deaths in custody will not come into effect at a later date.
Justice Minister Maria Eagle said: "The Corporate Manslaughter Bill is a ground-breaking piece of legislation. This is about ensuring justice for victims of corporate failures. For too long it has been virtually impossible to prosecute large companies for management failures leading to deaths.
"Today's Act changes this, for the first time companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter on the basis of gross corporate failures in health and safety. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act will make it easier to prosecute companies who fail to protect people. We are sending out a very powerful deterrent message to those organisations which do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously.""
BBC blasts HSE for lack of investigations
The HSE is failing to investigate hundreds of serious accidents every year because of a lack of funds, the BBC has claimed. A BBC Radio 4 programme, Face The Facts, found that more than 300 cases went unexamined last year. Inspectors said it was because the HSE is starved of Government money. However, the HSE has publicly denied it lacks the resources to investigate all the cases.
The claim comes the day after the HSE announced that the number of workplace deaths was at a five-year high, with 31% of the 241 deaths happening in the construction industry. An unnamed inspector told the BBC: "[The HSE] is being hamstrung. It's being financially strangled by the Government and isn't able to carry out the work that it’s supposed to do. You could say that the HSE is a watchdog with its teeth filed down." HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger says that 94% of serious workplace accidents were investigated last year.
The HSE's definition of 'serious injury' includes:
- most fractures;
- amputations;
- certain eye injuries;
- injuries resulting from burns or electric shocks;
- loss of consciousness due to lack of oxygen; and
- any injury that requires hospitalisation for more than 24 hours.
Notes on fire safety training
Since October 2006, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) has been in force in England and Wales. The RRO requires that the responsible person must ensure that his/her employees are provided with adequate fire safety training, and that this training be repeated periodically where appropriate. But how often is ‘appropriate’ when it comes to fire training?
The RRO states that employees be given fire safety training at the time when they are first employed, and when they are being exposed to new or increased risks because of:
- their being transferred or given a change of responsibilities;
- the introduction of new work equipment into, or a change respecting work equipment already in use;
- the introduction of a new technology; or
- the introduction of a new system of work or a change respecting a system of work already in use.
This training is to be organised by the responsible person, who is generally the employer, occupier or owner of a premises.
STAGESAFE, gives this further advice: “The simple answer is that there is no statutory requirement regarding specific periods when fire safety training is required. Generally speaking, the frequency of fire safety training tends to be led by a combination of a change in personnel or a change in the working environment (such as an office move-around, relocation, following building works, or the installation of significant new equipment). This tends to be around two to three years, but will obviously depend on each person’s situation. Refresher training is always a good idea after three years, in any event.”
Street festival cancelled
Liverpool's famous Mathew Street Festival has been cancelled for health and safety reasons. The event, scheduled for 26th and 27th August, was axed after police, the city council and health and safety experts agreed the city's extensive building works made it unsafe to attract the expected 100,000-plus. The major problem is that Liverpool's Pier Head, which can accommodate nearly 35,000 people, is being redeveloped.
City council chief executive Colin Hilton, said: "We have been working tirelessly for months to try and make the Mathew Street Festival work in the city centre. Unfortunately, it has just not been possible to make it happen this year. We have a responsibility for the safety and welfare of every single person attending the event." Extra measures this year included an extensive temporary CCTV network to monitor crowd build-up, a big increase of safety stewards and the use of seven stages across the city centre to spread the density of the crowds.
The festival is the only major event for which a large area of the city centre is licensed for the sale and consumption of alcohol. The decision does not alter the city's ability to stage other large-scale events, including the city's 800th birthday celebrations on 28th August. Jason Harborow, Liverpool culture company chief executive, said: "In many ways, the Mathew Street Festival has become a victim of its own success this year.
"The huge growth in the popularity of the festival, combined with the loss of the Pier Head, presented us with a massive problem. Unfortunately, that problem has proved to be insurmountable. We worked hard to try and find a way to stage the event in the city centre, but even after months of planning we were still not satisfied."
