Blog Archive

RTAL Ltd of Purley, Surrey - which manufactures items such as handrails and security fencing - has been fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs after a man fell to his death because a protective guard rail had been removed. Andrew Taylor, aged 29, died on 24 January 2003 when he fell eight metres from a platform whilst installing a kiln. Managing director of the firm Terry Green was also h...
[Read on about Firm fined £25,000 after worker fell to death]

East Riding Council is facing a bill of more than £10,000 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the safety of an employee at work. A cherry picker fell on a council worker, 51 year old Elena Tradewell, with the force of a 28-stone hammer because of serious errors in the council's health and safety procedure. The machine was being used by two untrained workers in Princess Mary Promenade on th...
[Read on about Council fined over cherry picker accident]

The HSE advises against using the HACA fixed rail vertical fall arrest system type 0529.7102 which has recently failed the BS test that represents the appropriate standard for this type of equipment. The device is typically used when climbing ladders or rungs attached to fixed structures. Further information is in the HSE website, http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/fixedrail011007.htm
[Read on about Safety warning - fixed rail vertical fall arrest system]

A supervisor has been told that prison is inevitable when he appears for sentencing for manslaughter on 29 November. Paul Alker, 34, died in June, after falling through a skylight at a Wrexham store. Steven Smith, 36, from Rhostyllen, near Wrexham, admitted manslaughter, intending to pervert the course of justice and health and safety breaches. The charge stated that Smith failed to ensure Mr Al...
[Read on about Prison sentence expected for skylight manslaughter]

A fatality recently occurred on a Major Contractor's site, when an operative was using a 500ml aerosol can of Evo-Stik expanding foam (see photo) in a new house. It was one of a batch of 3 boxes of 12, each purchased for the task and had just been delivered to site. The operative picked up one of the cans and gave it a shake as recommended on the can. A pressure explosion occurred when the can b...
[Read on about Expanding Foam Aerosol Fatality]

Falls through fragile roofs and fragile rooflights are a major cause of death and injury at work. A company director was recently sentenced to 16 months imprisonment for not acting to prevent a fatal fall through a fragile rooflight. This link to a safety alert advises building companies on how to prevent injury and comply with legal requirements. Follow this link for more on fragile roof s...
[Read on about HSE Advice - Working at Height and Fragile Roof Safety]

This Advice helps you identify the risks involved with minor roof work choose the right access equipment to do the job and considers Working conditions, Height, Surface, Ground, Weather and the type of task you are undertaking. Follow this link for minor roof work/roof edges.
[Read on about HSE Advice - Working at Height on minor roof work/roof edges]

This information sheet is aimed at users of mobile access towers (also known as tower scaffolds or towers). It will also help those who select and specify such equipment. Select this link to find out more using ladders safely.
[Read on about HSE Advice - Working at Height & using tower scaffolds safely]

On average 13 people a year die at work falling from ladders and nearly 1200 suffer major injuries. More than a quarter of falls happen from ladders. HSE's key message is that that ladders should only be used for low-risk, short-duration work. What do I need to know? The Work at Height Regulations (2005) came into force in April 2005. Employers have a duty to assess the risks, plan and supervis...
[Read on about HSE Advice - Working at Height & using ladders safely]

Cameron makes a U-Turn!
[Read on about CDM Early Day Motion]

This excellent document on the HSE web site is both very long and very clear on the background and intentions of the new CDM 2007 regulations.
[Read on about HSE's explanatory memorandum]

The ACoP book is out and can be obtained from HSE books.
[Read on about The ACoP is out!]

Confirmation from Andrew East that the new CDM regulations are signed . . . . finally
[Read on about CDM2007 regulations are signed!]

The Centre of Excellence will be launched at a free seminar on 9th February 2007 at the London Borough of Bromley. The event titled "Risk Free Compliance", centres on reducing risk to the organisation by working together with our joint "Centre of Excellence" partnership. The location seats up to 200 people and we are looking for the widest possible exposure to this event. The event is open to:...
[Read on about Centre of Excellence - Launch Programme]

cdmUK.com was set up by Ai Solutions to be a Centre of Excellence for construction professionals who want to:- Share their experiences in CDM Management Enhance their knowledge in regard to CDM Obtain support with the CDM Regulations. Please subscribe to the cdmUK News feed to keep up to date with cdmUK.com developments. Risk Free Compliance We now offer a new wrap-around servic...
[Read on about Centre of Excellence]

Managing CDM will now be cheaper and easier than before with the launch of an Internet based 'pay-as-you-go' service. For as little as £1 per day project teams and clients can set up easily accessible documentation and keep up to date with the latest changes to a project. cdmUK.com is a new e-commerce service launched by Ai Solutions, it is based on six years experience with their highly successfu...
[Read on about New Internet Service for the CDM Community]

"Mouchel, the major consulting engineering group, and Ai Solutions, developers of the CDM ToolKit™ 2000 software, have teamed together to provide a new e-commerce service for everyone involved in the HSE's Construction (Design & Management) Regulations. The new service will use a newly developed version of the CDM ToolKit™ currently installed throughout the UK with many local authorities, la...
[Read on about cdmUK.com]