Health and Safety for Site Supervisors

Construction site supervisors have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, as they are the ones tasked with ensuring that sufficient health and safety practices are not only in place, but are also understood and followed correctly. Failure to do so can result in injury or death to those working on the site. Not only would this be extremely distressing, it could also have serious financial consequences for the construction firm. As well as compensation claims from the victim, governments can also implement heavy fines for breaches of health and safety regulations. In extremely serious cases, managers and supervisors can face jail on manslaughter charges if a worker dies as a result of inadequate health and safety systems.

With such serious potential consequences in the event of an accident on the construction site, it is imperative that site supervisors are sufficiently trained in good health and safety practices to implement on the construction site, and the current legislation affecting their operations and environmental impact. One such course is the Site Supervisors' Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) by the CITB/CSkills. This accredited and well-known course is designed for those with, or about to have, supervisory responsibilities on a construction site. This 2-day course covers topics including the identification of specific construction site issues including COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) and working at height, control of subcontractors, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and relevant regulations.

At Associated Training & Consultancy, we offer the 2-day Supervisors' Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) course, as well as the more comprehensive 5-day Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) course. To find out more information, click on the course titles below to visit the relevant pages on our website. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss which course would be most suitable for you or your company with one of our health and safety experts, call us on 0115 984 9940 or contact us online. We also offer a range of other accredited health and safety training courses, such as the NEBOSH General Certificate and the IOSH Managing Safely course. To see the complete list, visit the health and safety section of our website by clicking here.

Links:

Site Supervisors' Safety Training Scheme

Site Management Safety Training Scheme

All of the entries in this blog provide general advice and should not be interpreted or used as specific health and safety guidance to your organisation – you must always consider your own circumstances and take appropriate action. If in doubt, contact us for professional and specific advice.

An Avoidable Disaster

Many of us in the health and safety profession will remember the tragic events of 11 May 2004 - namely the explosion of the ICL factory at Grovepark Mills, Glasgow. This explosion claimed the lives of nine people, and seriously injured 33 others. It was a completely avoidable tragedy. Factory operators ICL Plastics and ICL Tech were fined £400,000 by the courts after admitting health and safety offences last year.

The explosion was caused by the ignition of an explosive atmosphere that had formed in the basement of the building. A quantity of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) had leaked from a crack in a corroded and unprotected underground pipeline that had been laid 35 years earlier. The LPG then migrated into the building.

The inquiry was told that the damaged pipe work would have cost about £400 to replace.

The public inquiry has now published its final report and the inquiry chair Lord Gill has said there could be no doubt as to the cause of the blast. He said the pipe carrying liquid petroleum gas into the factory was "out of sight and out of mind".

The Health and Safety Executive has also come under some criticism. The families of those affected released a statement to the inquiry stating: "The time has come for the HSE to accept that soft-touch regulation does not work and that workers throughout the UK, whether they work with LPG or not, should have confidence that health and safety regulators have employers quaking in their boots."

The report has identified serious weaknesses not just in the factory but also in health and safety legislation and a lack of effective communication between government agencies, suppliers and users of the gas.

Lord Gill himself has levelled some criticism at the HSE: "Nearly five years after the explosion HSE has not produced a coherent action plan to deal with underground metallic pipework and the risk of a recurrence."

So are there lessons for business? The answer is yes, many. The final report details a number of recommendations in managing LPG installations across the UK. These are now being considered by Government.

But regardless of whether a business has LPG installations or not there are some basic lessons - the necessity for accurate and relevant health and safety risk assessments and access to competent professional advice. The message is clear; all significant hazards need proper assessment and control.

Mathew Joyes is Head of Risk Management at Associated Training and Consultancy, a leading provider of health, safety and environmental solutions.

All of the entries in this blog provide general advice and should not be interpreted or used as specific health and safety guidance to your organisation – you must always consider your own circumstances and take appropriate action. If in doubt, contact us for professional and specific advice.

Developing the Health and Safety Profession

Welcome to my first health and safety blog. Choosing a topic to discuss is actually a difficult task and no more so than this first entry. What makes it more difficult is the choice of topics available - I could have discussed the ICL explosion inquiry, swine flu, the HSE proposals on a tower crane register, or the first prosecution for corporate manslaughter.

Instead I will discuss something that has gone largely unnoticed, yet is vitally important - the push for the accreditation of the health and safety profession. I admit, it isn't the most exciting of topics, but this could have a major impact on the level of professionalism within the industry.

The issue of accreditation has been around for some time - last year a Parliamentary Committee proposed the initiative which as welcomed by the Government. However, the HSE is adamant that it will not run such a scheme, nor control or regulate the professional bodies that do establish it.

IOSH has long advocated some form of official accreditation with their view that the current situation in which anyone can act as a health and safety consultant or advisor is not good for business.

The current ideas being floated include a voluntary scheme, and more detail will be published in coming weeks. That said I don't expect a scheme up and running this side of the next election.

So what does this mean for business? Well, it should mean that business has access to competent professional advice. But just what is competent advice? And isn't there a requirement for this already?

During my time in the profession I have seen it professionalise year on year, backed up by an increasing recognition at senior levels that health and safety is more than just a compliance issue.

These days you would expect to see health and safety professionals with qualifications and experience - such as NEBOSH or NVQ's in Health and Safety. But that isn't always the case. Perhaps this is because the perception of the profession still needs some work to move us away from the killjoy, clipboard carrying stereotype.

If there is a message for business in this issue then it is review your sources of health and safety advice and in IOSH's words - get the best. Would you have an accountant with no qualifications or experience?

Developing the professionalism of the health and safety profession is a passion of mine, and I would look forward to speaking to anyone about how their business, or even themselves, can develop their competency.

Mathew Joyes is Head of Risk Management at Associated Training and Consultancy, a leading provider of health, safety and environmental solutions.

All of the entries in this blog provide general advice and should not be interpreted or used as specific health and safety guidance to your organisation – you must always consider your own circumstances and take appropriate action. If in doubt, contact us for professional and specific advice.