News

The latest annual report and statement of accounts by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI), covering the period April 2008 to March 2009, has revealed that reported injuries at work fell by 12% on the previous year.

Moreover, according to the report, workplace injuries have dropped by 30% since the HSE NI was established 10 years ago.

Professor Peter McKie, HSE NI's Chairman, said, "April of this year saw the HSE NI reaching its tenth anniversary and over these ten years, despite rising levels of employment, we have seen a 33% reduction in the number of reported work-related injuries. Whilst one must always remain cautious against reading too much into statistics, this is a very significant reduction and I see the continuing downward trend as a clear endorsement of the innovative and challenging approach that has been adopted by the HSE NI since its establishment as the regional authority for health and safety in 1999. This approach is based on three complementary strands; the provision of advice and assistance; the recognition of good practice and the relentless pursuit of those who blatantly flout the law."

Professor McKie added, "I must recognise the assistance of the courts in driving home the importance of the effective management of health and safety which has resulted in a significant rise in the levels of fines for health and safety offences over the past decade. For many firms this is a powerful deterrent. Credit must also be paid to the work undertaken by the HSE NI's enforcement partners, the district councils, who have supported the HSE NI in its drive to tackle the priority issues and have undoubtedly contributed to the improvements seen over recent years."

For more information see:

• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974;
• Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1978/1039.

A man was taken to hospital this month after a floor collapsed at a property in South Belfast.

The incident happened in the Fitzroy area, at a property which is currently undergoing construction work. Emergency services, including fire crews, were called to the scene and the road remained closed for several hours. The injured man, understood to be a construction worker, was taken to hospital for treatment and was discharged a short time later.

An eyewitness who came across the scene said there was debris everywhere. "You could see all the debris on the floor, there was quite a lot. It looked like the floor had given way, and there were fire crews and an ambulance there."

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland has launched an investigation into the matter.

For more information, see:

• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2007/291.

It has been suggested this month, that employers should carry out risk assessments for women working in high-heeled shoes because they create a health and safety hazard, according to a motion passed at the TUC's annual congress in Liverpool. Delegates have also debated the practicality of wearing heels and the resulting health problems associated with stilettos, such as knee and back pain. The vast majority voted in favour of a motion which read, "High heels may look glamorous on the Hollywood catwalks but are completely inappropriate for the day-to-day working environment."

Research on employers' dress codes, conducted by the TUC for its guide "Working Feet and Footwear", found that some upmarket shops, airlines and City financial institutions insist on women wearing high heels to work. But the TUC says employers should allow women to wear "sensible" shoes. Commenting on the debate, Lorraine Jones from the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists pointed out wearing high shoes puts seven times as much pressure on the ball of the foot as flat shoes. "This is not a trivial problem. Two million working days are lost every year through lower limb and foot-related problems. We are not trying to ban high heels - they are good for glamming up but they are not good for the workplace. Women should have the choice of wearing healthier more comfortable shoes."

Though the motion received general consensus at the congress, Lorraine Monk from the University and College Union (UCU) opposed it, warning the unions would be painted as fashion killjoys in the press. "We should list all inappropriate dress in the workplace, not pick on something that is symbolic of a much wider debate about gender roles and is something that many women have a particular view about - both for and against."

Other health and safety motions which were debated at the congress included working temperatures, pleural plaques and North Sea safety.

A Carlisle tyre firm has been ordered to pay a total of £40,000 for breaching health and safety legislation after being caught stacking dangerously high piles of tyres in a warehouse. Kings Road Tyres & Repairs Ltd were fined at Carlisle Crown Court after a jury found them guilty of failing to ensure the safety and welfare of their employees.

The jury also cleared the firm of two other charges linked to health and safety issues, which related to an accident in which a roofer fell through a dirty skylight. Judge Barbara Forrester issued the fine after taking into account several "aggravating factors" about the firm's storage of tyres, including a contravention of its own health and safety policy. In fact, they had already been warned of such dangers more than six years ago.

During the trial, the court heard and saw photographic evidence of two piles of tyres, large enough for wagons, stacked high in its Kingstown warehouse on Millbrook Road. One pile was 19 tyres high, while another was found leaning over into an aisle.

Passing sentence, Judge Forrester said, "The aisle in the warehouse was used by forklifts and/or pickers to get tyres and equipment to be fitted to vehicles. The breaches I refer to are all contrary to the health and safety policy of the company itself. There have been no accidents in relation to the storage of tyres either at this depot or any of the other eight owned by the company, but this section of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is aimed at imposing duties on employers to protect their employees so there is no need for there to have been an accident. However, if there had been an incident involving the way these were stacked it could have been very serious, leading to an injury or death because of the amount, the weight and type of individual tyres and the height which they could have fallen."

A marquee manufacturing and hire company, Big Tops Ltd, has been prosecuted after it erected a wedding tent directly under a power line. The Nottingham-based company placed dozens of people at risk of death or serious injury by erecting the tent in a farmer's field, so that it was touching a live electrical cable.

The company admitted two charges of putting at risk its employees and members of the public in July 2007, and was left with a court bill of more than £10,000 in fines and costs after failing to ensure that the electricity lines were switched off before a reception in the tent.

Neil Scott, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said, "The tent was in contact with a live electricity cable and this equipment was used by significant numbers of people. All were put at risk of death or serious injury."

Fortunately, the father-of-the bride spotted the danger. The power was subsequently switched off and the reception went ahead with the use of generators.

Mr Scott said the marquee could have been erected away from the power lines in another part of the field. However, John Rodmell, managing director of the company, insisted that there was nowhere else in the field to put the tent up. He also stated his staff were told at the scene that the power had already been switched off, although this claim was denied by the HSE. Mr Rodmell said the company had no convictions for health and safety offences in 30 years and added that the company might have to fold because of a fall in business.

For more information see:

• Electricity at Work Regulations SI 1989/635.

Health and Safety Works NI, in partnership with ConstructionSkills in Northern Ireland and the Federation of Master Builders are holding a health and safety workshop designed specifically for the woodworking industry. Woodworking machinery is responsible for a third of the major injuries in the industry, with circular saws, vertical spindle moulders and surface planers causing over two thirds of these. Other major injuries are caused by kickbacks of timber and ejected cutters.

With the deadline of 5 December 2008 having passed, woodworking machines should now comply with new braking and limited cutter projection tooling, and chip thickness limitation tooling requirements. Following a recent survey, the industry asked for guidance on how to meet these demands, advice on guarding woodworking machinery and help with risk assessment. In addition to these topics, the half day workshop will also focus on the other main hazards of working in the woodworking industry, including controlling wood dust with local exhaust ventilation, manual handling, managing workplace noise and driver training and maintenance of forklift trucks.

The event will be of benefit to business owners, HR managers, production managers and safety officers across a range of woodworking businesses - from kitchen manufacturers to shop fitters to site joiners. It will take place on Wednesday 28 October 2009 at South Eastern Regional College, Lisburn.

For more information, see:

• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 1999/305.