by Clair Mooney | 8 Feb, 2023 | Health and Safety, Skills
National Apprenticeship Week is a timely reminder to enusre young workers are receiving the training and supervision they need. Workers are as likely to have an accident in the first 6 months at a workplace as they are during the whole of the rest of their working life.
Apprentices could be facing unfamiliar risks and are more likely to be new to the workplace. The HSE website has information on health and safety for apprentices. There is also a wide range of guidance on its young people at work website, including:
by Clair Mooney | 28 Nov, 2022 | Health and Safety
he Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has released a guidance document on the provision of welfare facilities on construction sites, following frequent reports of poor hygiene and sanitation.
The guidance outlines what HSE Construction Inspectors require from building site managers. It includes their duties, information on the regulations, and guidance on interpreting standards.
The guidance document covers:
- sanitation in toilets and cleaning areas
- privacy for men and women
- adequate space, lighting, and ventilation
- how many cubicles/ urinals/ washbasins for the number of workers
Members can download guidance here.
by Clair Mooney | 17 Nov, 2022 | Health and Safety
Build UK member IPAF has issued guidance on the ‘catapult’ or whiplash effect which can occur when using mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) and result in occupants or materials being ejected from the MEWP. Ensuing work at height is properly planned with adequate control measures can prevent serious or fatal injury.
by Clair Mooney | 13 Oct, 2022 | Health and Safety
FIS members can access a template Drugs and Alcohol Policy which can be adopted by the whole supply chain to provide a consistent approach to the use of drugs and alcohol.
The policy has been developed by Build UK, working with Eurofins Workplace Drug Testing.
The policy recognises that there are different legal limits across the nations and workplace environments, along with various ways of testing and has been developed in response to calls from members to provide a consistent framework for drug and alcohol testing as well as dealing with instances of misuse, eliminating unnecessary duplication and waste across the industry.
The template policy can also be used to meet the relevant requirement in the Common Assessment Standard ‐ question 173 which asks ‘Do you have a drugs and alcohol policy?’.
by Clair Mooney | 28 Sep, 2022 | Health and Safety
Construction sites are being targeted from Monday 3 October as part of a health inspection initiative supported by the ‘Work Right Construction: Your health. Your future’ campaign.
The campaign is raising awareness of health issues in relation to moving and handling materials to improve the long-term health of those working in construction.
Site inspections will focus on moving and handling construction materials will be checking employers and workers know the risks, plan their work and are using sensible control measures to protect workers from injuries and aches, pain and discomfort in joints, muscles and bones known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
An estimated 40,000 construction workers suffered work-related MSDs last year. These injuries can have a serious impact on workers’ ability to perform tasks; their quality of life; and in some cases, their ability to stay in work and earn a living. Many can and do suffer from long-term pain and discomfort.
Act now to protect workers’ health
Employers have a legal responsibility to protect workers from ill health and should involve them in managing the risks to their health just as they would with safety.
Workers should not have to accept these injuries and potential long-term suffering as an inevitable part of construction work. They should talk to their employer about the risks and the measures in place to protect their health.
We have advice for employers, workers and small builders.
by Oscar Venus | 25 Aug, 2022 | Health and Safety, Technical
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has issued an urgent warning to all contractors over the safety of fire dampers.
Inspections by maintenance contractors found that a “huge number of dampers” had been incorrectly installed and would fail to work during a building fire.
BESA’s head of technical Graeme Fox has urged contractors to “alert their clients immediately” so that rectification works can begin.
The issue revolves around the use of self-drilling “tek” screws which have been used to install an unknown number of dampers in projects. The screws have a higher melting temperature and do not melt if a building is on fire.
“This means that spring-loaded dampers will not be released to contain the spread of fire within the zone and ensure the integrity of the fire stopping measure,” Fox explained.
“Dampers must be secured by fusible fixings that allow the duct to break away, otherwise the collapsing duct could pull the damper out of place and break the seal between the fire zones,” he added.
BESA published a special announcement on the subject. It includes updated guidance and statutory requirements covering installation, testing and maintenance of fire dampers and smoke dampers.
The document also highlights clients’ legal obligations to ensure their fire safety systems remain fit for purpose in line with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for England and Wales and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
Fox said: “While this is clearly a very worrying situation, we can take some reassurance from the fact that this problem is being brought to our attention by the increasing frequency of fire damper inspections and tests as awareness grows of this extremely important issue.”
The latest BESA technical advice can be found here.
