Management

The Symmetry Medical Sheffield employee had one finger amputated and sustained impact damage to another. Sheffield Magistrates’ Court was told that the injured worker was using a pedestrian pallet truck to move a hardness tester – equipment that measures the hardness of metal – when the accident happen on 8 August 2016.The machine was resting on a stand that did not have suitable channels for the truck’s forks. As the worker lifted the stand, the machine toppled and struck the worker’s hand.

The ladder, which was defective, had been consigned to a skip but was returned to use because it wasn’t marked as such, Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told this week.Angelina Lawson had removed droppings from four aviaries using the ladder and was working at 2.5 m up in a fifth enclosure when the steps gave way on 16 July 2016.After landing on a wooden floor, she sustained neck pain, concussion and grazed her elbow.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has suggested changes to RIDDOR 2013 as part of a five-year post-implementation review (PIR) of the regulations (bit.ly/2NJxU94). This found that the regulations were fit for purpose, but recommended some amendments.

The renewable energy company, which fabricates wind turbines and builds wind farms, pleaded guilty to breaching s 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £66,000 and ordered to pay more than £10,100 in costs.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Siemens Gamesa had failed to carry out a sufficient risk assessment and to introduce adequate control measures. The accident happened on 23 April 2017, when the 50 kg coil fell on the worker’s arm, fracturing his wrist, Peterborough Magistrates’ Court was told.

Eddie Ely, a chargehand at Forterra Building Products, and a group of coworkers were cleaning a conveyor when the accident happened on 8 July 2017. The conveyor’s guards had been taken off to help remove a blockage, but the electrical power supply had not been isolated, Burnley Magistrates’ Court was told. Forterra was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £7,530 costs after it admitted breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The company, which maintains aircraft components, pleaded guilty to breaching reg 5 of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations. It was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,297.

Now in his 90th year, Schein is still at the cutting edge of human psychology.This is the fifth book in his “humble” series – co-authored with his son, Peter – and extends the belief Schein has preached tirelessly: that we all need to be more human – whether at work, in consulting others, when asking questions, or when seeking to support. It’s an essential companion for OSH practitioners.

“The use of PPE must not increase the overall level of risk,” says the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance (L25) on the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations, “ie PPE must not be worn if the risk caused by wearing it is greater than the risk against which it is meant to protect.”

Barrie John Henry Birch was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, suspended for two years, and disqualified from being a company director for five years after his firm, BBS Improvements, carried out unsafe and unnecessary building work. Workers were put at risk because there was no scaffolding.The fraudulent activity was uncovered when a member of the public lodged a complaint with Worcestershire Trading Standards about BBS Improvements’ work on the roof of a domestic property in Redditch in May 2017.