Category: Health and Safety

Health & Safety news from the HSE …

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) came into force in Great Britain on 6 April 2015. They set out what people involved in construction work need to do to protect themselves from harm and anyone the work affects.

Whatever your role in construction, CDM aims to improve health and safety in the industry by helping you to:

• Sensibly plan the work so the risks involved are managed from start to finish

• Have the right people for the right job at the right time

• Cooperate and coordinate your work with others

• Have the right information about the risks and how they are being managed

• Communicate this information effectively to those who need to know

• Consult and engage with workers about the risks and how they are being managed

CDM 2015 is subject to certain transitional arrangements, for construction projects that began before 6 April 2015 and continue beyond that date.

HSE has published Legal Series guidance that supports CDM 2015 and explains it in more detail. HSE will seek views later in 2015 on whether to replace this guidance with an Approved Code of Practice, which many in the industry indicated they would prefer in the 2014 public consultation.

Information on the legal requirements and a timeline of how the changes came about is also available.

Lifesavers – Andy Wall and Russell Rowley receive awards from Andy Jeynes

A trio of workers from a train maintenance firm have been praised for saving the life of a colleague.

Andy Wall, Barry Parkes and Russell Rowley, who all work at Alston, off Jones Road in Wolverhampton, came to to the rescue of an unnamed contractor who suffered a cardiac arrest.

Mr Wall, a senior production manager, said: “We were sitting in the office when one of our staff members ran in to tell us that a colleague had collapsed.

I went round and saw him on the floor gasping for breath. Russell and Barry quickly joined me and as they assessed him, I went to call 999.”

Mr Parkes, 49, is one of the members of the train maintenance teams and has worked for Alstom for 14 years.

Like many other staff, he is a trained First Aider.

Mr Rowley, 42 and a health and safety manager, had only worked at the firm’s Traincare centre for a week.

He said: “Being my first week at the company I didn’t really know many people and didn’t know Barry, Andy or the gentleman who had collapsed very well.

But nevertheless, whilst Barry stayed with him, I ran to get the defibrillator from the office.

When I came back, he had stopped breathing.

As he’d collapsed in an awkward position by a table and some chairs, Barry and I had to quickly pull him clear so that I could start CPR. Whilst I did CPR Barry opened up the defibrillator to get it ready. No sooner had we started CPR than we were joined by a paramedic who told us to keep doing resuscitation whilst he got his medical equipment out.”

The paramedic shocked the man’s heart on scene and, thanks to the efforts of the trio, the man started to breathe for himself.

He was taken to New Cross Hospital for emergency treatment and has since made a full recovery.

Andy Jeynes, a community response manager from West Midlands Ambulance Service, recently visited Alstom to present commendations to recognise the staff members fantastic achievement.

“The actions of Andy, Russell and Barry are extremely commendable as saving a life is the best gift you can give,” he said.

This case just shows how important early CPR is when someone is in cardiac arrest. If it hadn’t been for their decisive actions, the outcome would’ve almost certainly been less positive.

The quicker you start CPR and shock a patient in cardiac arrest with a defibrillator, the better the chances they have of surviving.”

Editorial and photograph courtesy of West Midlands Express & Star

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.

It explains the definition of a confined space in the Regulations and gives examples. It will help you assess the risk of working within a particular confined space and put precautions in place for work to be carried out safely.

This edition brings the document up to date with regulatory and other changes. The guidance has been simplified to make the understanding and use of the document easier, particularly with clarifying the definition of a confined space.

Download the HSE document to read more: Safe work in confined spaces

Other changes include:

• a flowchart to help in the decision-making process

• additional examples including new workplace risks such as specifically created hypoxic environments, fire suppression systems etc

• amendments relating to the need to check, examine and test equipment