The European Campaign for Safety and Health at Work for 2008-09 will focus on risk assessment.

European health and safety awards OSHA

This two-year campaign is aimed at a wide range of stakeholders, including employers, workers and safety representatives, and is intended to promote the benefits of completing and implementing a risk assessment. The campaign seeks to demystify the risk assessment process to show that risk assessment is not necessarily complicated, bureaucratic or a task only for experts.

The campaign also aims to raise awareness on this issue, provide information and practical advice, encourage activities that have a positive impact in the workplace, and identify and recognise good practice.

For European Week itself, on October 20-24, there are a number of activities planned based on the campaign theme, more details of which will be announced shortly.

To find out more information, please visit the website of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work where you can also find out about the European Good Practice Awards 2008.

For further extensive information on risk assessment, as well as tools, case studies and advice, please visit the dedicated risk management web pages on the HSE website.

Need further advice then contact the competent safety consultant’s

Exposure to asbestos while at work is a very real concern for millions of professionals who work in a variety of industries. Many people believe that exposure to asbestos is no longer a concern, but they are incorrect. The health and safety consequences of asbestos exposure are very serious, as previous asbestos exposure is the only known cause of pleural mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer that attacks the lungs and presently has no known cure.

Asbestos may be found in a plethora of construction materials, including insulation, plaster, stucco, roofing tiles, drywall, and floor and ceiling tiles. If asbestos-containing materials are disturbed or damaged, whether it is from fire, flood, or a renovation project, tiny asbestos fibers may be released into the air, putting individuals present in the area at risk for inhalation. If inhaled, asbestos fibers can cling to the pleural lining of the lungs for up to fifty years before an individual may begin to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms.

Professionals who work or have worked in the following industries are at a heightened risk for asbestos exposure:

Construction                              Auto Mechanics
Firefighters                                Sawyers
Damage Restoration                   Boilermakers
HVAC                                         Laggers
Oil refining                                 Millwrights
Custodial                                    Iron work
Military                                       Metal work

It is crucial that professionals understand how to protect themselves from asbestos exposure at work. Those who handle asbestos-containing materials should wear a mask that adequately covers the nose and mouth to prevent inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers. In addition, proper ventilation in the workplace will prevent errant asbestos fibers and dust from settling on the floor and other objects. Disposable clothing items, such as eyewear, gloves, and outerwear should be worn and then disposed of prior to leaving the workplace to prevent transfer of asbestos fibers from the workplace to secondary locations. Proper safety procedures related to asbestos should be posted in the workplace so that all workers can educate themselves and take the appropriate precautions.

If a professional suspects that they may have been exposed to asbestos, it is advisable to consult with a doctor to determine whether or not they are at risk to develop mesothelioma. A mesothelioma diagnosis is a devastating reality – the majority of mesothelioma sufferers succumb to this extremely aggressive disease in less than two years following their initial diagnosis. There is no cure for mesothelioma cancer, but there are a variety of treatment options available.

The Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center is the web’s leading resource for information related to occupational asbestos exposure, mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment, and more. Please visit the MAA Center website at www.maacenter.org for further information.

Please find below a resume of the SWMP which came into force this year on 6th April 2008. (Regulations SI 2008: No. 314 issued under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005).

If the project you are working on has a construction phase cost of more than £300,000 (excluding VAT),
NO WORK SHOULD COMMENCE unless there is a Site Waste Management Plan in place.

Each project should have one SWMP, which is a live document that must be updated through the course of the project. The Plan has also to be kept by the principal contractor (under these regulations) for two years after completion of the construction phase.

Whilst there are differing requirements on projects costed at between £300,000 to £500,000 and those costed at over £500,000, responsibilities can be summarized as follows:

The Client has to:
• produce the initial SWMP before construction work begins
• appoint the principal contractor
• pass the SWMP to the principal contractor

The Principal Contractor has to:
• obtain relevant information from subcontractors
• update the SWMP at least every six months as the project progresses
• keep the SWMP on site during the project
• ensure that other contractors know where the SWMP is kept
• allow other contractors and the client access to the SWMP during the project
• hand the completed SWMP back to the client at the end of the project
• keep a copy of the SWMP for two years

The level of detail that the SWMP should contain depends on the estimated contract value before VAT.

For projects estimated at between £300,000 and £500,000 (excluding VAT) the SWMP should contain details of the:
• types of waste removed from the site identity of the person who removed the waste
• site that the waste is taken to

For projects estimated at over £500,000 (excluding VAT) the SWMP should contain details of the:
• types of waste removed from the site
• identity of the person who removed the waste and their
• waste carrier registration number
• a description of the waste
• site that the waste was taken to
• environmental permit or exemption held by the site where the material is taken

At the end of the project and no later than three months after the end of the construction phase the Plan must be reviewed by the principal contractor and a record made of the reasons for any differences between the plan and what actually happened and a confirmation that the plan has been monitored. This review has further requirements where the cost of the project exceeded £500,000.

Irrespective of the above, parties must still comply with the duty of care for waste, particularly contractors.

Because the principal contractor must record all waste movements in one document, having a SWMP will help them to ensure they comply with the duty of care.

Those working as a sub-contractor need to check their contract for requirements on:
• purchasing strategies or methods of work aimed at reducing waste
• the on-site reuse or recycling of site-gained materials
• the disposal of waste
• what information they need to report to the principal contractor or client, and when

Note: Because the SWMP is produced at the very beginning of a project, the client, project managers, designers and any contractors engaged early in project development can consider ways that waste can be reduced and site-gained materials can be reused or recycled as part of the project. Identifying at waste materials at an early stage that cannot be reused on that project will make it easier to find other alternative uses for them.

Note: A CDM Coordinator will be able to assist the client on  this basis provided that he/she is the competent person to do so.

For the full SWMP Regs 2008, see SI 2008:No 314

Original article by Veritas Consulting

New offense called “corporate manslaughter” in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and “corporate homicide” in Scotland has been created for prosecuting companies and other organizations where there has been a gross failing, throughout the organization, in the management of health and safety with fatal consequences.

The offense can be brought against a company or other unincorporated organization where the death of a person arises from the way that an organization has managed it”s activities, and amounts to a gross breach of duty to take reasonable care for that person”s safety, and will face an unlimited fine.

The prosecution of a corporate body for manslaughter by gross negligence is not new, but to secure a conviction under S-37 of The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASWA), the prosecutor had to demonstrate a failure on the part of the organization”s “controlling mind” where a common law duty was owed to a person which resulted in death.

Senior management as defined by the Act will be the target for the new offense as those persons who play a significant role in decisions made in how an organization is managed. The personal liability of senior managers will remain unchanged under HASWA as a recent case of a managing director and sole shareholder of a company who was jailed for nine months and the company with an £11m turnover was fined £75,000 and was ordered to pay £89,000 costs.

With the new CDM regulations in place since April 2007 Im interested to know what impact, if any, they have on your business and what you find essential to your business in terms of CDM 2007, and whether you fully understand the role and responsibilities of the relevant duty holders - Client, Designer, CDM Coordinator, Principal Contractor, Contractor?