25.01.2011
Occ Health
In a rare prosecution under vibration Regulations, Cheshire East Council has been ordered to pay more than £11,000 in penalties after an employee developed severe hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
The mechanic had regularly used heavy-duty vibrating equipment, including pneumatic drills and handheld grinders, since starting work with Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council (now part of Cheshire East) in 1984.
His employer first identified he was suffering the early stages of HAVS in July 2005 and recommended he receive annual assessments. But after one reassessment in 2006, there was no follow-up until 2009.
He now finds it difficult to pick up small objects, such as coins, and his hands become painful in cold weather.
The HSE’s investigating inspector Chris Goddard said the council had failed to take any significant action for more than four years.
“It should have limited the amount of time he spent using vibrating equipment, or provided alternative tools,” he said. “Instead, he was allowed to continue with his job without any changes.”
The council pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 5(1) and 6(1) of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations.
These require employers that might expose workers to vibration to carry out a suitable risk assessment and then either eliminate any risk at source or reduce it as low as is reasonably practicable.
At South Cheshire Magistrates’ Court on Friday (21 January), the council was fined £5300 with costs of £5860.
Source
19.08.2010
First Aid, First Aid Equipment, Occ Health, Products, Training Courses
Ensuring your risk assessments are thorough and your staff are adequately trained is something which can sometimes get overlooked, especially in today’s economic climate. This could mean your attention is focused elsewhere (the accounts!). But this is something which cannot be overlooked as these following articles point out!
If you have any questions on our products or services and how they can help your business, or need advice on any worries which you may be having, please feel free to contact us.
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03.12.2009
Occ Health, Training Courses
Employment Minister, Sir Reg Empey, has urged businesses that now is the time to invest in the skills of their employees.
The Minister was speaking to 41 businesses, schools and voluntary organisations with the prestigious Investors in People (IiP) accreditation. IiP has long been acknowledged as the most successful framework for business improvement through people. It helps organisations of every size, sector and location to compete and succeed through improved people performance.
At the Hillsborough Castle celebration event, Sir Reg said: “Now is the time to invest in people. Experience has shown that companies that invest in the development of their people during times of economic downturn are in the strongest position to gain competitive advantage in recovery. It is those companies that have that all important edge. In fact, research shows that companies that invest in the skills of their staff are two and half times more likely to survive.”
“In a rapidly changing economy it is often easy to forget that businesses realise their ambitions through their people. The importance of local businesses investing in their people is now more relevant than ever, given the downturn we now find ourselves in. The uptake of IiP by businesses in Northern Ireland is extremely encouraging for the local economy, and should serve as an example of the bottom-line business benefits of IiP to all other employers.”
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Source: http://businessfirstonline.co.uk/news/now_is_the_time_to_invest_in_your_peoples_skills_-_empey-n322.html
