Category Archives: News

Introduction to the Seveso III Directive

A new Directive on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances known as Seveso III  was published on 24 July 2012 by the European Commission.  It will amend and subsequently repeal the Seveso II Directive on 1 June 2015.

The Seveso II Directive is implemented in Great Britain through the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations and planning legislation which is the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.

The current Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 1999 will be repealed on 31 May 2015 to be replaced on 1 June 2015 with the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015 that will implement the majority of the Seveso III Directive. You can read how it will affect your business on the HSE website

‘World’s greatest living explorer’ to speak at ExCel London

One of the guest speakers at this year’s Safety and Health Expo is Sir Ranulph Fiennes, believed to be the world’s greatest living explorer.

On 17 June at 2.30pm, Sir Ranulph will be talking about ‘Agility and Ability to Perform Under Extreme Pressure’ at this year’s expo at ExCel London.

Pushing the boundaries of safety, Sir Ranulph was the first person to reach both North and South Poles by foot. He will be discussing how teamwork, persistence, agility and ability under extreme pressure has helped him through the most hazardous of situations.

Sir Ranulph also made it into the record books by completing seven marathons on seven continents in seven days soon after undergoing emergency heart surgery. He also scaled the North Face of the Eiger and at the age of 65, he become the oldest Briton to conquer Everest.

You can get a free ticket for the Expo by clicking the link here

CDM 2015 is now in force

The new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) are now in force from yesterday, 6 April 2015. The final version of the Legal series guidance to support CDM 2015 is available here. What has changed? Principal designer: The replacement of the CDM co-ordinator role (under CDM 2007) by principal designer.

This means that the responsibility for co-ordination of the pre-construction phase – which is crucial to the management of any successful construction project – will rest with an existing member of the design team.

Client: The new Regulations recognise the influence and importance of the client as the head of the supply chain and they are best placed to set standards throughout a project.

Competence: This will be split into its component parts of skills, knowledge, training and experience, and – if it relates to an organisation – organisational capability. This will provide clarity and help the industry to both assess and demonstrate that construction project teams have the right attributes to deliver a healthy and safe project. The technical standards set out in Part 4 of the new Regulations will remain essentially unchanged from those in guidance related to CDM 2007. HSE’s targeting and enforcement policy, as a proportionate and modern regulator, also remains unchanged.

Draft industry guidance There are a series of industry guides for duty holders under CDM 2015, and one for workers. They set out, in practical terms, what actions are required to deliver a safe and healthy construction project. HSE will also be working with stakeholders in the entertainments industry to provide specific guidance for these sectors.

Transitional arrangements

When CDM 2015 comes into force on 6 April 2015, there are transitional arrangements in place that will run for six months from 6 April 2015 to 6 October 2015.

Medicals required for Notifiable Non-Licensed Asbestos removers
From the 30 April 2015, all companies who deal with asbestos notifiable non-licensed works (NNLW) must put their workforce through a medical as stated in The Managing and Working with Asbestos – Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

First of all, employers should check whether they may be exempt from the new requirement against the following regulations (check HSE website):

• 9 – (Notification of Work with Asbestos)
• 18 (1) (a) – (Designated Areas)
• 22 – (Health Records & Medical Surveillance)

The employer also needs to make an assessment of the work to be done and decide if it meets the following conditions:

• Condition 1: the exposure to asbestos of employees is sporadic and of low intensity; and
• Condition 2: it is clear from the risk assessment that the exposure to asbestos of any employee will not exceed the control limit (0.1f/cm3 over a 4hour period); and
• Condition 3: – the work falls into one of the following categories:
– Short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friable materials are handled;
– Removal without deterioration of non-degraded materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix;
– Encapsulation or sealing of ACMs in good condition;
– Air monitoring and control, and collecting and analysing samples to establish whether a specific material contains asbestos.

NNLW
If the work has been identified as non-licensable work, because it meets Conditions 1 and 2, but does not fall within one of the categories listed under Condition 3, then it does not qualify for an exemption and is NNLW. The employer will need to follow the requirements of regulations 9, 18(1)(a) and 22.
This means that, in addition to the other requirements for non-licensable work, the employer will need to:

• Notify the work with asbestos to the relevant enforcing authority;
• Segregate the area where work with asbestos is being done;
• Ensure medical examinations are carried out for workers doing NNLW;
• Maintain health records for employees doing NNLW.

Medicals for NNLW
Employees who carry out any NNLW must have a medical examination on or before 30 April 2015. From 1 May 2015, anyone carrying out NNLW should have been medically examined under the Regulations in the past three years.

After the first medical, an examination should be repeated every three years (or a shorter time if advised by a doctor), but only while the employee continues to do or expects to continue to do NNLW. For NNLW, the examination does not have to be carried out by an HSE-appointed doctor, it may be carried out by a non-HSE-appointed doctor, such as a local general practitioner.

Medical examinations for licensable work and NNLW should:
• Take place in the employee’s normal working time. Employees should co-operate if they are sent for such an examination;
• Be at the employer’s expense, including travel, lost working time and the doctor’s fee;
• Trigger a review of all methods of work, risk assessments, and co-worker health if an employee is diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition.
• The affected worker may need further medical and managerial redeployment assessment if continuing in current tasks might endanger themselves or others.

Regulation 22 of CAR12 requires that medical surveillance is ‘adequate’. In order to comply with this, your examination should consist of:
• Completion of the respiratory symptom questionnaire form
• A clinical examination, with emphasis on the respiratory system, and particular reference to restriction of chest expansion,
• The presence of basal crackles and finger clubbing
• Measurement of lung function.

Record keeping
Where an employee has been examined in accordance with paragraph (1)(c), the relevant doctor must issue a certificate to the employer and employee stating:
• that the employee has been so examined; and
• the date of the examination,
• A copy of the certificate of examination must be kept by employer for at least 4 years from the date on which it was issued.

Health Reports for NNLW, the employer must:
• Enter the employees carrying out the work in a register or record, indicating the nature and duration of the activity and the exposure to which they have been subjected;
• Have a recording and planning system which records the date of the last examination and brings forward the next required medical examination date for each individual.
• Employers must keep a health record for any employee who carries out work notifiable as either licensable or NNLW. The information must be kept for 40 years in a safe place.

For up-to-date advice on the latest legislation call C&C Consulting on 01525 851752.

To make sure you are qualified for Asbestos Awareness or NNLW visit C&C Training’s website for the next-available course. Don’t forget our Leighton Buzzard centre has a purpose-built facility for a hands-on experience during the course.

Changes to Code of Practice
There have been changes to two codes of practice which can be downloaded from the HSE website.
Firstly, Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Approved Code of Practice, Regulations and guidance.
This Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance is for those involved in work within confined spaces, those who employ or train such people and those that represent them.
Also, Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). Approved Code of Practice and guidance.
This Approved Code of Practice and guidance is for those that work with any equipment provided at work or for the use of people at work, those who employ such people, those that represent them and those people who act as a competent person in the examination of lifting equipment.

Be prepared – COMAH Regulations 2015
New Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations will come into force in Great Britain on 1 June 2015. The main COMAH duties will stay the same as now but there are some important changes particularly on how dangerous substances are classified and information that has to be made available to the public. For the first time, lower tier operators will have to provide public information about their site and its hazards. Both top tier (now referred to as upper tier) and lower tier operators will need to provide public information electronically and keep it up to date.
To help you prepare:
• Be involved in the consultation – get a good indication of how you may be affected by looking at the draft new COMAH Regulations 2015. Have your say – the consultation closes on 27 June.
• Check whether your COMAH status is likely to change. Also check whether you will need to convert your inventory from CHIP classification to CLP. Guidance on classification is available online.
• Be aware that all COMAH operators are likely to have to send a new notification to the Competent Authority (CA) by 1 June 2016.
• Consider what new information may need to be included in major accident prevention policies and off-site emergency plans (draft Regulations 7 and 12)
• Start putting plans in place for your summary of public information.
• Review draft Regulation 9 setting out the requirements and timescales for submission of Safety Reports and consider what new information may be required.
• Note that upper tier operators will still have to prepare public information zone (PIZ) information as now (draft Regulation 17).

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
New guidelines for the revised Construction (Design and Management) Regulations will be available to view from today (7 January, 2015), and will come into force on Friday 6 April, 2015. Are you ready?
The revised CDM Regs will affect the roles and responsibilities of companies and clients involved in construction projects across England, Scotland and Wales.
The main six changes, outlined in general by the Health & Safety Executive, are:

1. Structural simplification of the Regulations.
2. Replacement of the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) with guidance.
3. Replacement of the CDMC role with a new role, called Principal Designer.
4. Removal of explicit competence requirements and replacement with a requirement for appropriate skills.
5. Removal of the current exemption enjoyed by domestic clients.
6. Amending the trigger threshold for appointment of Principal Designer & Principal Contractor.

Changes have been put forward by the HSE following research on what the construction industry thinks about the current (2007) CDM Regulations.
Overall, the industry concluded that the regulations were too bureaucratic and had a heavy burdensome approach to the competence issue, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
And the pre-construction phase, in particular the ‘client adviser’ role of the CDM Coordinators, was not working well.
Employers will now need to provide information, instruction, training and supervision, with workers having their training needs assessed against the needs of the job and employers to meet the gap in skills knowledge through appropriate training.
For the first time, the revised CDM Regs will apply to domestic clients (homeowners).
Any enforcement action is unlikely to be taken until 6 April, 2016.
Visit www.hse.gov.uk for the new guidelines. If you need any help in enforcing them, C&C Consulting will be very happy to help. Call Matthew St John on 01525 851752.

“It will never happen to me” from a user’s perspective
When it comes to the use of ladders, the need to be trained in their safe use and inspection is a critical part of ensuring that those that use them do not put themselves or others at risk.

In addition to any formal recording of ladder inspections, the user of this equipment must inspect the equipment before it is used. This should not be a simple, cursory glance, or expectation that it will be ok, but a detailed study of the structure and safety features. It is also expected to consider the environment that it is being used in, as this may also draw your attention to less obvious hazards.

Complacency when using what is perceived by the user as a basic piece of work equipment such as a ladder can result in significant injuries and investigation costs, which was highlighted on a recent accident investigation when an individual fell a distance of 2m from an unsecured ladder causing multiple fractures.

With regard to the ladder, the rubber anti-slip feet were worn and did not provide any stop grip when in contact with the floor surface.

The investigation confirmed that the individual had received training for ladder use and inspection, but, the learning objectives had not been applied. If the individual had inspected the equipment, the condition of the rubber foot stops would have rendered the equipment as unsafe to use in its current condition.

There are training courses available to assist employers in ensuring that the appropriate information and industry practices are effectively communicated to the users of this equipment, unfortunately, this training is often perceived by a small number of attendees as a paper ticking exercise and that there is little value in them being trained in something they already know and have been doing for many years.

However, attendees realise very quickly that there is a great benefit from attending this training often learning previously unknown safe practices and inspection criteria.

Don’t be complacent, get the training and apply the learning objectives EVERY time you use the equipment, the skill YOU learn will protect YOU and anyone that may be affected by what YOU are doing.

(See the Ladder Exchange story)

Builders urged to think ‘health’ as well as ‘safety’
A two-week blitz by HSE inspectors found a third of building sites were not treating danger to the health and welfare of workers seriously.

Of the 560 sites visited, 85 enforcement notices were issued. Plus, provisional figures showed 239 health-related notices of contravention were served at 201 of the sites, prompting a Fee for Intervention bill for the perpetrators.

Dangerous working conditions on certain construction sites saw inspectors stop the workforce on 13 occasions and 107 separate improvement notices were issued requiring remedial action be taken on working conditions by a specific date.

The crack-down is all part of the HSE’s campaign to make the construction industry think ‘health’ as well as ‘safety’.

HSE U-Turn on ACOP removal for CDM Regulations

The HSE has decided not to scrap the Approved Code of Practice supporting CDM Regulations after strong opposition from the industry.

The Construction (Design and Management) 2007 Regulations were up for a revamp, but the plans received so many complaints that a decision was made to maintain the ACOP and introduce a slimmed down version instead. Over 1,400 people took part in the consultation with only a third in favour of withdrawing the ACOP.

However, the majority of other proposed changes will be implemented (possibly by April 2015) despite strong opposition.

Significant reforms include simplification of the regulations, changes to competence requirements and the abolition of the CDM co-ordinator role will proceed if the Government gives the go-ahead.