Health and Safety in the UK Construction Industry | Construction News

Female asbestos analysts campaign to reduce sexual assault risk

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 11:45:52 +0000

The asbestos removal industry is finally making progress towards protecting female workers from predatory behaviour, campaigners have said. Asbestos analysts, whose job is to independently check the substance has been removed properly from buildings, have warned for years that industry and regulator policies are leaving…

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Call for clarity after product safety bill announced

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 11:45:34 +0000

Industry figures have called for clarity around product-marking regulations after the government signalled it may allow alignment with European standards to continue. This week’s King’s Speech, the first under Sir Keir Starmer's premiership, contained plans to bring forward a Product Safety and Metrology Bill. Background…

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Fit for the job? The PPE challenge for minority groups

Charlotte Banks — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:51:05 +0000

While the industry tries to improve women’s PPE, other minority groups’ needs remain overlooked It took several months for Leena Begum to even visit a construction site. The apprentice feared she would have to compromise her Muslim faith by wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE)…

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Director fined after hitting worker with lorry

Ian Weinfass — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 10:31:00 +0000

The director of a building contractor has been fined after he hit an employee while reversing a lorry. Peter O’Hare, who is both a director and worker at County Down-based Peter O’Hare Ltd, caused an employee to suffer “serious crush injuries” in the incident, which…

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Scottish housebuilder fined after worker death

Will Ing — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:45:17 +0000

Avant Homes (Scotland) Ltd has been fined £333,000 after a man was crushed by falling concrete blocks on a site in South Lanarkshire. Conor Joseph Morgan was an HGV driver delivering materials to Shott Farm in High Blantyre, a site overseen by Avant Homes (Scotland)…

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Construction fatalities 70% worse than five years ago

Ben Vogel — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 15:19:08 +0000

Construction worker fatalities in the UK are 70 per cent higher than before the Covid pandemic, according to the latest annual statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Data for the year to 31 March 2024 showed that 51 construction workers died in accidents…

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Revealed: sharp drop in work at height safety investigations

Ian Weinfass — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:00:53 +0000

The number of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations into falls from height in construction has dropped starkly, Construction News can reveal. Prospect, the union representing HSE inspectors, warned that the organisation has scaled back its investigations across all types and abolished its construction division.…

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Contractor fined after delivery driver electrocuted by powerline

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 14:32:34 +0000

A Reading-based contractor has been fined £30,000 after the death of a delivery driver. Father of four Levi Alleyne, known as Chunky, was electrocuted while delivering crushed concrete to a construction site where BBM Contracts was principal contractor. He died after the crane arm of…

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Death prompts remote control crane warning

Charlotte Banks — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:30:28 +0000

A coroner has warned about the safety of remote-controlled loader cranes after a father of two was crushed to death. Bolton-born driver Michael Harrison died in February 2021, aged 42, after the crane arm he was using to unload scaffolding came down on him. Harrison…

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Contractor fined after teenager exposed to asbestos

Will Ing — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 07:24:40 +0000

A small North East contractor has been fined after a 16-year-old worker was exposed to asbestos. The unnamed teenager was working for P Turnbull Joinery & Building Services Ltd when exposed to the potentially cancer-causing material in June 2021, according to the Health and Safety…

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