HEALTH RISKS AND HAZARDS ARE NOW GETTING THE ATTENTION THAT THEY DESERVE
BSA Hi Viz has often reported that the number of people suffering or dying prematurely due to health issues exceeds the number affected by accidents in the construction industry. As a consequence, it is expected to see far more attention paid to health risks and issues rather than safety risks and instances.
Health risks are often harder to detect than safety risks and it is important to have robust management processes and where appropriate, health surveillance in place.
This week it was reported on the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) website, that a major company has been fined £500,000 because they had not properly controlled the risks due to Hand Arm Vibration (HAV).
HAV Syndrome (HAVS) is preventable but once contracted, is a permanent condition affecting the nerves and blood vessels of the hand. It can cause tingling, numbness and even pain making it hard to perform everyday tasks such as gripping objects, fastening buttons and zips and using hand tools. Some report that their fingers feel buzzy like tuning forks and fingers can turn white with lack of blood supply (vibration white finger). So, whilst not normally a headline grabbing condition, it can render a worker disabled, affecting their chances of employment. An estimated (HSE) two million people are at risk in the UK.
The HSE offer specific advice to employers about vibration – the symptoms, likely sources and mitigation of risk. The objective of the Control of Vibration at Work Regs 2005 was to eliminate new cases of HAVS by 2015.
Vibration can be measured and is expressed as an acceleration in metres per second per second calculated on a Root Mean Square (RMS) basis rather like AC electrical supplies (e.g. 240 Volts AC is ‘RMS’). Exposure is the Vibration level multiplied by time. An exposure calculator is available on the HSE website. There is a threshold for taking action and a limit which should not be exceeded.
Workers at the major company’s sites were regularly exposed to hand-arm vibration while operating hand-held power tools such as hydraulic breakers and floor saws. An investigation carried out by HSE found that the company failed in its legal duty to ensure the risks to workers who used these tools was kept to as low a level as reasonably practicable. This would include restricting the time using particular tools, ensuring that the vibration levels of the equipment were minimised and simply not using old tools or those that exceed the exposure limit.
In addition, the company failed to report known instances of HAVS. They also did not have a suitable system to review the risk control measures or a system of health surveillance. Where the health issues had been identified, they failed to act.
Other obligations to control risk
The Control of Vibration at Work Regs and Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regs are not the only regulations that need to be taken into account for controlling health risks: Others regs include Display Screen Equipment, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) which covers exposure to a huge range of substances from cement and tarmac to cleaning fluids and legionella, control of Noise, Asbestos and Lead.
For more information about auditing your management arrangements for health risks, training and for specific risk assessments, just phone BSA on 01483 467270 for a no-obligation chat.