New publications this month:
HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE (HSE)
Updated Building Safety Act Guidance
The following guidance documents relating to the higher-risk residential building regime were updated during August 2024:
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
Fire and smoke alarms: the law
Guidance is provided on interlinked fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, which are mandatory in every home in Scotland. These systems are the responsibility of the owner of the property.
OFFICE OF RAIL AND ROAD (ORR)
Managing rail staff fatigue
Guidance is provided on managing employee fatigue in the rail industry. This includes legal responsibilities, basic controls and fatigue risk management systems.
MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY (MCA)
The following notes and notices relevant to occupational health and safety were published or updated in August 2024:
HSE announcement on fire at Spectrum House, Dagenham
The HSE continues to make enquiries into the fire at Spectrum House in Dagenham on Monday 26 August 2024.
The building involved in the fire was a working site undergoing remediation and therefore a joint HSE investigation team within HSE will work closely with the London Fire Brigade, the Police and other parties including the local authority.
The HSE states that they remain in contact with first responders and work closely with the London Fire Brigade on the way forward with investigations. HSE inspectors from the Investigations and Building Safety divisions attended the site on 29 August.
The HSE’s investigation will focus on areas within its remit under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Areas to be considered for investigation include:
The HSE has also announced that the regulator was separately also engaging with the London Fire Brigade to determine the circumstances of the fire at New Providence Wharf in Blackwell, East London.
Fines for food manufacturer after a worker suffered severe injuries
A multinational food company has received a six-figure fine after a worker lost four fingers on his right hand while unblocking a machine.
On 4 August 2021, the man was working on a mixer at the site in Glasgow, which manufactures dry seasoning blends and mixes for the food industry. The machine began to develop a blockage during the mixing process. The worker attempted to clear by inserting his right hand into the machine. However, as he did so, his hand came into contact with the rotating blades, which resulted in the amputation of four of his fingers.
Since the incident, the man has had to re-learn how to do everything with his left hand.
An HSE investigation established that there were no fixed guards preventing access to the blades from the underside. It also found there were not any interlocked guards which would stop the rotating parts if any component on the underside of the mixer was removed.
Breaches
Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited pleaded guilty to contravening Regulations 11(1) and 11(2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(c) to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974:
Penalty
Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited was fined £360,000.
Forest conservators fined after dog walkers were hit by a tree
A body that manages a major forest in East Sussex has been fined after a husband and wife were struck by a tree.
On 25 January 2023, the pair were walking along a deer track in Ashdown Forest with their dog when the pair were hit by a silver birch tree that was being felled. The Conservators of Ashdown Forest, the body that manages Ashdown Forest, had identified that the 12-metre tree was rotting and needed to be cut down.
The tree was located in the corner of a car park which is surrounded by public footpaths, including the main pathway to the visitor centre. The tree began to fall after a forest ranger made a sink cut with a chainsaw. As it was falling, the ranger noticed the walkers on the nearby track and attempted to warn them, but it was too late.
One of the walkers suffered a traumatic brain injury, a fractured collar bone, fractured ribs and a shoulder dislocation. She spent considerable time in hospital following the incident and continues to undergo physical and cognitive therapy months later. She also had to surrender her driving licence. The other walker suffered cuts and bruising.
An HSE investigation found that the conservators had failed to identify the risk to members of the public from tree felling. This meant that precautions, such as posting warning signs and using barriers and banksmen, were not implemented to prevent members of the public from accessing areas where the tree felling was taking place.
Breach
The Conservators of Ashdown Forest pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974:
The Conservators of Ashdown Forest were fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £3,589.80 in costs.
