BUSINESS SUPPORT HEALTH & SAFETY
The latest news and updates on health and safety in construction to help you and your workforce stay safe on site HEALTH SAFETY &
Woodwork businesses are not protecting employees As many as 78% of businesses that regularly engage in woodwork practices, including carpenters and joiners, were found by HSE not to be protecting their employees’ health. These employers had not taken adequate steps to reduce workers’ exposure to wood dust, which poses risks of sino-nasal cancer, occupational asthma and dermatitis. The HSE took more than 400 enforcement actions against the guilty businesses, mandating provision of suitable respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and ordering employers to conduct regular reviews of their employees’ health. More than 12,000 deaths occur each year as a result of lung diseases linked to wood dust exposure at work. Additionally, carpenters / joiners are four times more likely to suffer from asthma than the average UK worker. The HSE will inspect woodworking businesses throughout 2023/24 as part of its Dust Kills
Drop in scaffolding accidents
Scaffolding-related accidents are at their lowest rates since records began in 1975, according to the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC). The number of incidents have dropped by more than 25% between 2021 and 2022: 67 incidents in 2022; 90 incidents in 2021; and 81 incidents in 2020.
to miss work for a week or more, and 10 falls from height. ‘Manual handling’ was identified as the leading cause of injury, with ‘slips and trips’ falling to second place for the first time in 18 years. The report can be viewed at tinyurl.com/NASC- scaff old
Of the 67 incidents in 2022, there were 13 major injuries causing workers
campaign. Find out more at: tinyurl.com/MB-dustkills
Beware LPG forklifts Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned of fires in some LPG-powered forklift trucks. Repeated attempts
Risk management skills shortage Key health and safety responsibilities in UK construction risk being overlooked due to a shortage of qualified candidates and an ageing
Safety regs to remain in force The UK Government has scaled back plans to ‘sunset’ thousands of rules pertaining to standards and safety at the end of 2023. The EU Retained Law Bill was due to nullify European laws including those pertaining to Construction Design and Management (CDM), Management of Health and Safety at Work, Work at Height and the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Now, the year’s end will see the scrapping of just 600 specifically named laws, which do not include the aforementioned regulations. More information on the EU Retained Law Bill can be found at tinyurl.com/MB-bills
to get forklifts running can lead to the sudden release of LPG deposits, which can ignite and set fire to the surrounding environment. If you encounter difficulties starting your forklift, do not persist – get off the truck and contact a competent maintenance engineer to investigate the issue. For full guidance visit tinyurl.com/MB- HSE-LPG
workforce, according to a survey by the Association for Project Safety (APS). Whilst some vacancies are filled, they tend to be by those already working in the industry, with little indication of new interest from younger generations. APS warned of “dire” consequences for health and safety if the skills shortage is not addressed. Survey
findings can be viewed at tinyurl.com/MB-APS- shortage
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Master Builder
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