Health & Safety

Health and safety’s a given for millennials

The 18 to 25-year olds are most likely to die in a workplace accident. Fact. And in construction, falls from height are the biggest killers, then being trapped or hit by something or being hit by a moving vehicle, writes Paul Williams, Health, Safety and Environment Manager at the ECA. Some hazards take longer to kill you though, like inhaling asbestos fibres or other dust and fume contaminants. Robust health…

What are the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989?

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 expand on the rules regarding electrical safety in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. As with the HASAWA, employers are given duties and responsibilities to make sure that all work activity that uses or may be affected by electricity is done safely, and that all foreseeable risks are assessed and minimised as much as possible. The regulations are not purely to prevent…

COSHH – what you need to know

COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. COSHH regulations mean employers must assess the risks and take precautions to ensure neither employees nor members of the public are injured by exposure to hazardous substances. Employers must train their workforce in identifying and minimising the risks. They must also monitor employees’ exposure to dangerous substances, providing health checks where required. What counts as a hazardous substance?…

An introduction to RIDDOR

RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. It legally requires employers to report certain injuries, diseases, accidents and dangerous events that occur while working, with the aim of preventing similar accidents happening elsewhere. Who does it cover? Anyone who is an employer, self-employed or in control of work premises has duties and responsibilities under the regulations. Reporting RIDDOR incidents is a legal requirement. What…

Working at height – what you need to know

Working at height is one of the main causes of injuries and fatalities on-site. This article will give a brief overview of the recommended measure you should take to reduce risk to both you and your colleagues. Falls from height are the single biggest cause of fatalities on site and in the workplace, according to HSE statistics, and account for thousands more non-fatal injuries. Most of these injuries and accidents…

An introduction to Risk Assessments

This article will introduce risk assessments, explaining what they are and provide a brief overview of how you would carry one out. What are risk assessments? As part of managing the health and safety of a business, employers must control any risks and dangers in their workplace. At its simplest this means thinking about what might cause injury to people and deciding whether you are taking enough steps to prevent…

The dangers of asbestos

This article will explain why you need to be wary of the, potentially fatal, dangers of asbestos. Asbestos is a name used to describe a group of six different naturally occurring fibrous minerals that are resistant to heat, fire, electricity and most kinds of chemical reactions. Because of these characteristics, asbestos was routinely used in lagging, fireproofing, insulation, textured coatings, roofing felt and many other common materials used in the building…