Overhead powerlines are often uninsulated and may be carrying electricity at voltages up to 400kV, if a conductive item such as a scaffold pole, machine arm, ladder etc touches a powerline electricity will be conducted through it to earth. Anyone touching the item is at risk of receiving a serious or even fatal electric shock. It is not always necessary … Read More
DEAD LEG SAFETY ALERT
While medically a “dead leg” may be an injury caused by a numbing blow to a person’s leg, in terms of plumbing, a dead leg is pipework that normally has little or no significant flow including, but not limited to, piping that is no longer in use but still connected to a system. Following investigations into a recent failure which … Read More
The Health and Safety Executive issue electrical safety alert following fire
The HSE have issued a safety alert concerning high capacity electrical capacitors in industrial equipment. The alert follows investigations into a fire in 2018 that occurred in an industrial uninterruptable power supply system manufactured by Vertiv Infrastructure (previously known as Emerson / Chloride). The cause of the fire was traced to the dangerous failure of an ICAR branded capacitor. industrial … Read More
147 WORKERS FATALLY INJURED
The latest statistics just released by the HSE show that in the year 2018 to 2019 147 workers were killed as a result of accidents at work. The most common cause of fatal injury was falls from height accounting for 410 deaths, being struck by a moving vehicle resulted in 30 fatalities. Other common types of fatal accident included struck … Read More
GARDENING, GROUNDS KEEPING, HORTICULTURE – ARE YOU CONTROLLING YOUR VIBRATION RISKS?
Frequent, regular and prolonged exposure to vibration through the hands and arms can cause permanent ill health. Conditions associated with exposure to vibration include hand-arm vibration syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome. Sufferers can experience tingling and numbness in the fingers, pain, a loss of strength in the hands and an inability to do fine work. Some examples of sources exposure … Read More
OLD TYRE CONSULTATION LAUNCHED
Concerns have been raised about the safety of older tyres especially when used on heavier vehicles. Earlier this year we reported that the Department for Transport was planning to consult on legislation to make it illegal for buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles and mini-buses to run with a tyre aged 10 years or over. This consultation has now been launched. … Read More
REFORMING THE BUILDING SAFETY REGULATION SYSTEM
The Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety set up following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire made various recommendations for improving the regulatory regime covering safety for high rise buildings. The Government has now launched a consultation on proposals as to how the system of building regulations will be improved. Under the new proposals 5 duty holders (client, principal … Read More
CALL FOR EVIDENCE ON FIRE SAFETY REGULATION
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 regulates fire safety in non-domestic premises such as workplaces and the common parts of residential buildings. These regulations cover such matters as fire risk assessment, duties to take general fire safety precautions, consult with and provide fire safety information, instruction and training for employees, fire detection, emergency exits etc. In conjunction with the … Read More
NEW GUIDANCE: WORKING PLATFORMS FOR CONSTRUCTION PLANT
The Temporary Works Forum (TWF), a not for profit company, has published a good practice guide for the design of granular working platforms for construction plant. Construction sites often involve the use of various types of plant which will need to travel around and operate from different locations on site. Granular platforms are temporary structures, consisting of compacted granular fill, … Read More
Shift work and increased rates of cancer
Over the years there have been a number of reports suggesting a link between shift work and increased rates of cancer, in particular breast cancer in women. One theory that has been proposed is that light at night supresses the production of the hormone melatonin which is known to have anti-carcinogenic properties. Potentially reducing the body’s ability to fight emerging … Read More