This case has highlighted the need for strict health and safety policies and procedures on all construction sites. Mr Gibbons was a self-employed contractor who had been hired by Acryglor Ltd, now trading under the name of Onyx Europe Ltd. The company was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive who discovered many failings. The firm had not put in place adequate safety measures, even though their employees were working at height.

Poor Planning and Inadequate Safety Measures

The work performed by Mr Gibbons had not been properly planned. There were no nets in place to prevent falls and not a single crash deck platform had been put in place. The company was criticised for not having a planning coordinator who could have helped to develop a strong construction plan, taking in all of the risks involved and coming up with a plan to prevent accidents and reduce the hazards that come with working at height.

The director of Acryglor Ltd, Mr Peter Williams has debts to a value of £1.5 million and earns £15,000 per year. He was fined for breaching Section 37 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £2,500 in court costs.

Receive the Best Training to Reduce the Risks

Health and safety training can prevent such tragic accidents like this one from occurring. Working at height is responsible for one in five deaths in the construction industry. Careful planning, the introduction of safety measures and safe methods of work can all help to reduce the fatalities and serious injuries which come from falls. If you would like to provide training to your site managers the SMSTS course is one which can help to save lives. Call 0844 576 6750 and ask about training for site managers and supervisors today.

Are You Complying with the Law?

The Health and Safety First Aid Regulations apply to all workplaces, even those which have fewer than five employees and also to the self-employed. Therefore training in first aid is essential. When making your assessment of your current first aid policy you should include the public and non-employees although this is not a legal requirement. However, it helps to make good practice and will help you to deal with any problems should they arise more effectively.

Choose the Right First Aid Training

First aid training courses can be completed in very little time. It is possible to ask for on-site training if you wish or choose to go to a local training centre. You can choose from appointed person course, general first aid and even be trained in how to use a defibrillator. It’s a great idea to attend the courses yourself to ensure you are up to scratch on how to treat casualties in a large number of emergencies such as:

• Strokes, heart attacks
• Diabetes and epilepsy
• Cuts, burns and bone fractures
• Unconscious casualties

You will also be able to understand your legal duties and how to report and record incidences in accordance with the law. You can choose appointed persons in addition to receiving your own training. These people will be responsible to help in an emergency situation. It’s important to make sure you have back up support available if the main appointed person is not always available at work or to cover absences and holidays. Find out more about appointed persons first aid training by calling 0844 576 6750 and obtain advice on the next moves to take.

You will also need to know what the regulations are and how you can follow them closely to avoid prosecution and accidents. Construction site safety management courses can help you to form a solid understanding of the CDM and also reduce the health and safety risks on site.

What is the CDM About?

CDM Regulations are designed to focus the attention on planning and managing construction projects. They cover the whole process from design onwards and play an important role in the whole project. It is essential that health and safety is thought about throughout the entire life of a project and the CDM are used to ensure this is so, reducing the probability of health and safety considerations being only an afterthought.

You Must Be Competent

It is important to be able to prove that you are competent when working safely. This is especially important for managers and supervisors, who have legal duties to others. Competence is necessary as those who are competent often work safer than those who are not. Therefore training is essential and you can find many excellent courses designed to make managers competent for their own safety, the safety of others and to show a compliance with the health and safety laws.

Finding a Suitable Course

If you require training, or wish to send your employees on courses you may be wise to consider the SMSTS course. This is a five day course which looks into the CDM Regulations as well as many different areas of construction site safety management. These courses run throughout the year and are available at many different training centres up and down the country, making them easily assessable. The skills learnt on the SMSTS are then put into practice on site helping to reduce and manage risks effectively.

To find out more about construction site safety management and the available courses you can look online for course details. For further information you can call 0844 576 6570 and speak to an advisor about the best CDM training courses available.

Further tests in the lab showed campylobacter wasn’t the only problem as 4% of the tested chickens were contaminated with listeria. The results of the investigation have been branded unacceptable and show the importance of health and safety when dealing with any part of the food production and preparation process.

Hygiene is Vital in the Preparation of All Food

There were nine supermarkets tested during the study which were:

• Aldi
• Co-Op
• Marks and Spencer
• Morrisons
• Asda
• Tesco
• Waitrose
• Sainsbury’s

The representative of all the above supermarkets excluding Aldi, The British Retail Consortium, said that ‘Which?’ were doing nothing but scaremongering the public. Campylobacter is a common bacterium which can be killed providing good hygiene practices are followed. However if the health and safety in food preparation is lacking it could lead to serious cases of food poisoning and even death. This is why it is essential to ensure that all food which goes through your kitchens is carefully handled by qualified people.

Find the Best Training for Food Safety

There are many food safety training courses available. If you have the right employees fully trained you can help to prevent food poisoning and protect people from being made ill after eating at your premises. Good hygiene and safe food practices will ensure that all the food is prepared safely, cooked thoroughly and is less likely to cause any infections or contamination.

Training is essential whether you are responsible for preparing or manufacturing food. The many available courses to consider include:

• Food Safety in Catering
• Supervising Food Safety in Catering
• Managing Food Safety in Catering
• HACCP for Food Manufacturing

If you are looking for a great food safety training course for you or your employees you can call 0844 576 6750 to receive some great advice.

Managers and those in a supervisory position need to have risk assessment training to ensure that the workplace remains safe and to show you are complying with the legislations and regulations regarding health and safety in the workplace. You can attend a course to help you discover what the hazards are, how to spot ones and what to do before any work commences which could possibly involve any dangers to those carrying out the work.

Find the Right Course for You and Your Managers

You can use risk assessments to highlight the people who are at risk, what the risks are and how they can be combated. This may involve further training, introducing new equipment or machinery or any other practice which can limit the risks. There are many courses available which are designed to pass on the necessary skills for managers, business owners and supervisors which have a legal responsibility to carry out risk assessments as part of their work.

Not only will courses help to show the process and requirements involving risk assessment, it can teach why the assessments are required and the laws and legal action which can be taken if assessments are found to be inadequate.

Varying Length and Levels of Training Available

You can find many courses, some of which can be carried out online and in the comfort of your own home. Employers are also able to offer the training in the workplace or send employees on the tutor led courses at a local training centre. The duration of the courses varies and so do the qualifications. It’s important to find the most suitable course depending on your previous training, your responsibilities in your place of work and also to discover the best ways of receiving the training. If you would like some advice, or book a place on one of the risk assessment training courses, call 0844 576 6750.

Have the Expert Come and Teach your Workforce

On site health and safety training is perfectly suited if you have more than one person that requires the education. You can arrange for a qualified tutor to come to your premises, or arrange to meet at a suitable location. The course materials are provided and the tutor is able to show practical skills and address any confusion concerning the core elements.

Not all courses can be provided on site but there is a great range of courses which can be taken at a location to suit you. There are lots of awarding bodies such as NEBOSH, IOSH, SSSTS, SMSTS, HSE, CCNSG and IEMA.

Providing the Right Course for Your Employees

There are various courses covering all sorts of industries and your certain requirements. These include health and safety at work on basic levels moving right up to management and owners. You can find great courses for first aiders and your appointed persons. There are loads of one day’s courses or longer courses that spread out over a few days to a week. Some of the common courses provided include:

• Site Management Safety Training Scheme
• Working/Managing Safely
• Safety for Senior Executives
• Construction Certificate
• Environmental Certificate
• Supervisor Passport
• Certificate in the Management of Health Wellbeing at Work

You can find the right advice by contacting course providers. They will help you to locate the best courses for your employers and arrange the tutors to come to provide the health and safety training on-site. Call 0844 576 6750 to find out more.

Tutors Provide Training of the Highest Level

At the very lowest level of health and safety education there is the one day tutor led health and safety awareness course. This is ideal for anyone in the two industries to gains some excellent knowledge and skills that will help to complete a safe working environment for your whole workforce. Anyone attending the course will receive excellent training from a qualified professional. They will be able to give a clear understanding of what is expected of your employee when they are working for you.

In addition to working on their own skills your employees will learn what is expected from you. They will understand that any concerns concerning their safety and that of their colleagues can be raised with the owners or the appointed health and safety manager. Everyone on a construction site or in the civil engineering industry needs to be aware of the dangers, and if people stay quiet and don’t raise their concerns it can lead to potentially fatal accidents. Communication between everyone helps to reduce the risks.

Gain a Qualification

Everyone can gain from the one day course. The participants are required to sit a multiple choice assessment that will need to be passed in order to gain the certificate. Employees will achieve a recognised certificate which can be placed on their C.V. Employers obviously gain an employee with basic health and safety training, and can show that they are working towards complying with health and safety laws and regulations.

Choosing the right type of certificate and qualification is important. If you would like to find out more about health and safety training, call 0844 576 6750 for more information.

Locate and book a first aid course in your area today!

The company, Concentra Ltd was investigated after the incident by the Health and Safety Executive. They found that the crane which was being used to lift objects, including the machinery, was not in adequate order for the jobs it was being used for. The sling was incorrectly fitted and this caused the machinery to fall out of the sling and hit the woman below.

£20,000 Fine for Failing to Protect Employees

Health inspector Bose Ogunsekan said that the company was prosecuted because they were unable to manage the safety of persons who were affected by their activities. A crane is a high risk activity and before any work commenced using the crane there should have been a risk assessment carried out. This would have highlighted the dangers and a safe method of work could have been created, severely reducing the risks to employees and the public.

The HSE prosecuted Concentra Ltd who was fined £20,000 with an additional £21,000 added in court costs. The firm admitted they had breached section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. This regulation states that it is the duty of employers to ensure that their employees are not exposed to risks concerning their health and safety.

If you are looking to comply with the law, health and safety training your employees is a great place to start. You can find courses that will provide skills concerning creating risk assessments such as the SSSTS two or five day training courses. The importance of risk assessments, how to carry them out and use them to create safe methods of work is covered on these courses and they are ideal for anyone working in the construction industry. Call 0844 576 6750 if you need to reduce the risks within your company, for your employees and the public.

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