Health & Safety

Two security companies have been fined after a security guard died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Javaid Iqbal, a 29 year old father of three, was employed by London based KK Security Services Ltd as a security guard on a construction site in Leigh, Wigan. KK Security were sub contracted by Veritas Security (Southern) Ltd, a Southampton based company, despite it being written into the …

A school in Brentwood has pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations after a worker was injured as he fell from a roof. Chelmsford Crown Court heard how in January 2014 a maintenance team at the school was working to replace components on a bay window of a residential flat within the school grounds. A 63-year-old employee was working …

Travis Perkins, the UK distributor of building materials to the trade, construction and home improvement markets, and British Military Fitness (BMF), the provider of outdoor fitness classes, are celebrating a year-long partnership. The partnership, which forms part of Travis Perkins’s commitment to employees’ health and wellbeing, has run 120 dedicated BMF lunchtime sessions with Travis Perkins and plc brand Wickes …

J G Hale Construction Ltd based in South Wales has been fined £100,000 for running an unsafe timber-frame construction site. Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court heard that HSE launched an investigation on 27 July after making an unannounced visit to inspect Hale’s site in the centre of Blaenavon. Fifty-four timber-frame houses were under construction, which carry a serious fire risk if not …

Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission has been fined following the electrocution death of a worker serves as a reminder of the importance of training

A Hertfordshire-based home improvement company has been fined after the unsafe removal of asbestos material from a domestic property. St Albans Magistrates’ Court heard how Ace of Hearts Home Improvement Limited (AOH) removed asbestos containing materials (ACM) from a domestic property in St Albans. Asbestos damage The Asbestos Insulation Board (AIB) soffits surrounding the underside of the guttering around the …

Roger Bisby takes a look at the Wale Tale (sic), a device designed to minimise the spread of dust when mixing construction powders. Dust and the related health issues are a ticking time bomb in the building industry. Everyone knows about asbestos and most intelligent people do everything they can to avoid exposure to it but dust doesn’t begin and …

A Bristol based manufacturer of concrete products has been fined after a worker’s arm was torn off when it was pulled into the rotating tail pulley of a conveyor belt. Bristol Crown Court heard the injured man was making adjustments to a misaligned conveyor belt at Concrete Fabrications Ltd plant in Henbury, Bristol on 18 May 2015. The court heard …

An exhibitions and displays company has been fined for safety breaches after a labourer was crushed by a road roller. The incident occurred in November 2015 at Quantum Exhibitions & Displays Ltd in Hipperholme. The 26-year-old injured worker sustained several breaks to his right leg tibia and fibula bones along with burns to his right hand and an open fracture …

An Essex school has been fined after poorly-planned and managed refurbishment and maintenance activities exposed school staff and others to asbestos. Chelmsford Crown Court heard that managers at The Boswells School, Chelmsford, decided to convert an old boiler room at the school into a cleaning store. During the course of this work, asbestos residue on the walls was disturbed and …

A construction company in Gateshead has been fined after a worker suffered injury when he fell down a service riser shaft. Newcastle upon Tyne Magistrates’ Court heard how Meldrum Construction Services Limited (MCS) was the principal contractor for refurbishment work at premises in Percy Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne. MCS failed to plan for the requirement for temporary platforms to be …

The Access Industry Forum (AIF), the forum for nine of the leading trade associations and federations involved in work at height, has announced details of its first national, one-day conference. Supported by the Association for Project Safety (APS), Hire Association Europe (HAE) and the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM), Implementing change and innovation in work at height …

Provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents in Great Britain’s workplaces has shown a rise in deaths among construction workers. Forty three construction workers were killed while at work in 2015/2016 – up from 35 in 2014/5. The construction industry has the highest death rate of all industries. HSE figures show 144 people were killed accross all industries in 2015/2016 …

A Somerset based Timber company has been sentenced for safety failings relating to a construction project which an HSE inspector has said should act as a warning to other construction firms. Oxford Magistrates’ Court heard how The Timber Frame Company (TFC) was contracted to work at Tracey Farm, a country retreat. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served a Prohibition …

Shortlisted for the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) Awards 2016, The Harley Scientific Fibrecheck 6 (HS-FC6) from SMH Products provides a real-time warning for tradespeople and others at risk of inadvertent exposure to airborne particulate. Fibrous particles, such as asbestos, produce distinctive scatter patterns when they break a beam of light. The HS-FC6 works by drawing a constant air sample …

A gas engineer undertook gas work despite his registration with Gas Safe Register (GSR) lapsing and produced false gas safety checks.

Two companies based in Northamptonshire have been fined after a worker died following a fall through a roof. Northampton Crown Court heard how an employee of A-Lift Crane Hire Limited, who had been hired by Premier Roofing Systems Limited to provide them with a crane to lift roofing sheets onto a factory roof at Virani Foods Limited in Wellingborough. Whilst …

Casella, the provider of dust and noise monitoring equipment is inviting anyone in need of  workplace noise monitoring to attend a one day noise at work training course on 19th July in Bedford. Casella’s one day course has been created to equip attendees with the knowledge and skills required to effectively monitor workplace noise in accordance with the Noise at …

A man who fitted central heating boilers at two houses in Greater Manchester has received a suspended prison sentence, after he admitted he did not have the required safety registration to do the work. Christopher Dignam, trading at Blue Flame Plumbing and Heating Services, has never been on the Gas Safe Register, the body which ensures those who carry out …

A young entrepreneur from Glasgow has redesigned the traditional kneepad to launch a product aimed at tradespeople which reduces pressure on the knee by 76%. Vicky Hamilton, 25, a product design engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde, originally developed Recoil Kneepads as part of her final year project. She was inspired to help her dad, Gordon Hamilton, 48 who …