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 &
Is your joinery workshop putting workers at risk? Inspections by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have found many small metalworking businesses are failing to protect their workers from dangers associated with metalworking fluids, sometimes referred to as ‘white water’, which are produced as a by-product. Machinists, particularly those regularly using computer numerical control (CNC) machines, are at risk of breathing in fine mists containing coolants and other chemicals associated with occupational asthma and occupational hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The HSE has launched a ‘Working with Metalworking Fluid’ campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of inhaling mist generated by machinery. They list the following three criteria as the biggest stumbling blocks in failing to protect workers: 1. not having local exhaust ventilation; 2. not completing regular fluid quality checks; and 3. failing to provide regular health lung and skin condition checks. HSE will conduct unannounced safety inspections at sites using metalworking machinery between now and March 2024. The regulator has reminded firms that it is a legal requirement to carry out health surveillance practices for employees exposed to metalworking fluids, even if protective measures are in place. For more information on the HSE’s campaign, visit tinyurl.com/MB-metalwork
The FMB’s long-term charity partner, the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, has launched a free-to- access online support portal for construction industry professionals as part of the industry-wide initiative known as Make It Visible. Working with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and The Samaritans, the campaign makes welfare and wellbeing support visible and available on construction sites, with the portal providing resources for emotional, physical and financial wellbeing. There is guidance to help workers identify when they are struggling in any of these areas, with advice and contacts to help them act before it’s too late. Free welfare and wellbeing portal launched
The campaign is also supported by a dedicated taskforce that has been visiting construction companies and builders’ merchants across the country since May and has spoken to over 30,000 people at hundreds of sites about workplace wellbeing. To access the portal and
join the ‘World’s Biggest Mental Health Check-In’, visit tinyurl.com/MB- makeitvisible
CITB launches free Fire Safety Course
Once enrolled,
students gain access to the course materials for
The CITB has launched a free online course designed to teach key aspects of fire safety to those working in the design, construction, or maintenance of buildings, with a specific focus on educating installers. Developed with the help of fire industry experts, the course is a direct response to recommendations made by Working Group 2 WG2, part of the Competence Steering Group (CSG) set up to support the work of the Grenfell Inquiry.
12 months and receive a certificate on completion, which is valid for 5 years. Students will require roughly an hour to complete the course. Progress can be saved and retrieved as many times as required. To enrol, prospective students need only a basic understanding of fire safety. To find out more and register for the course, visit the CITB website: tinyurl.com/MB-CITB-fire
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