Information, advice and warnings for buinesses needing Food Safety and Health and Safety Advice.
The following article has been taken from the July edition of Safety and Health Practitioner and really brings home the importance of electrical safety. Have a read through the article and then ask yourself the following questions:
Two engineers were set on fire by an electrical explosion as they tried to seal off a faulty fuse box at a factory in Cumbria.
Carlisle Crown Court heard that, on 12 September 2006, a small electrical fire in a fuse box at global package firm Innovia Films Ltd’s factory in Wigton. Workers put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and then re-routed the power supply so that the cooling equipment, which is used to maintain product quality, could continue to operate.
The following day, engineer Gordon Metcalf, 62, and an apprentice, who does not wish to be named, were asked to plate over the fuse box to prevent it from being accessed until it had been properly inspected. They were removing debris from the box when a fireball shot out of the circuit board, setting their clothes on fire. They ran into an adjacent room where colleagues used a fire hose to put out the flames.
Mr Metcalf suffered burns to 47 per cent of his body in the explosion. He was in a coma for four weeks and remained in hospital for five months. He is still undergoing treatment for his burns and will never be able to return to work. The apprentice suffered 42-per-cent burns to his hands, arms, and torso, and spent nine weeks in hospital.
The HSE’s investigation found that the firm failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment and failed to isolate the power supply to the fuse box before the men started work.
HSE Principal Inspector Mark Dawson told SHP that the factory should have been shut down to identify and rectify the fault. He said: “Two workers have suffered devastating injuries that will impact on them for the rest of their lives. Mr Metcalf has faced a long painful recovery and still requires treatment.
“It was an astonishing decision to allow work to go ahead without the live electricity supply being switched off, and even went against the company’s own work procedures.
“If the factory had been shut down for just a day and a half then neither of the workers would have suffered severe burns.”
Innovia Films appeared in court on 18 July and pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974 and was fined £90,000. It was also ordered to pay £26,790 towards costs.
In mitigation, the firm said it had taken immediate action, in the wake of the incident, to review its risk assessment and operating procedures. It now ensures that all engineering work is properly planned before a permit-to-work is issued. It had no previous convictions and told the court that it had a good safety record.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We are, of course, extremely sorry for the suffering caused to our two injured colleagues, and are pleased that we were able to deal with this matter in a way that saved them from having to give evidence and relive the events of nearly five years ago.
“Innovia Films remains absolutely committed to health and safety. We have worked hard to further improve our safety system to ensure that such an accident does not occur again in the future and that work will continue.”
Following the hearing, Mr Metcalf said: “I still cry at the drop of a hat. If someone asks what’s happened to me, that’s the hardest bit. I wake up in the middle of the night and just can’t get back to sleep once I start thinking about it.
“There’s no way I can return to as an electrician, as I struggle to grip with my hands. I’m also constantly short of breath and my skin flakes off if I knock my hand. I just wish Innovia had cut the electricity supply before asking us to do the work.”
Source: Safety and Health Practitioner - 19 July 2011
A Leicestershire pub has been fined 20,000 after EHOs discovered a ‘substantial amount’ of rotten and rodent-bitten food.
They found decomposing meat, mouldy black pudding and a bag of flour that had been gnawed at by rodents.
Melton BC EHOs were investigating the Fox and Hounds in Somerby Road, Knossington, in February last year after a customer complained about a fly in a bowl of soup.
They found two electric fly traps ‘full to overflowing’, one of which was directly above trays of vegetables.
A freezer was so badly iced up that the door could not be closed, allowing rodents free access to the contents.
Magistrates signed a condemnation order on the unfit food after it was seized. The council was also awarded £1,300 in costs following the action.
The pub was owned by Corby-based Kelly Taverns Ltd at the time of the inspection but it has since sold the premises.
Kelly Taverns admitted at Leicester magistrates court six food hygiene offences, including failing to protect raw materials from contamination and harmful deterioration and failing to control pests.
Last month the company was fined £5,000 for each offence but magistrates took into account the guilty plea and reduced this to a total of £19,998. Costs of £2,161 were awarded to the council.
Nigel Angrave, chair of the rural economic and environmental affairs committee, said the size of the fine was ‘without precedent’ for Melton BC.
Natalie Moore, senior EHO, added: ‘It is a lot of hard work to pursue a prosecution but results such as this vindicate the efforts of my colleagues and sends out a clear message to businesses that we will take whatever action is necessary to enforce the law.’
The pub’s new owners have carried out extensive work since February 2010 and the premises were described by the council as being of a ‘high standard’.
Source: CIEH Environmental Health News
Is your team fully trained in food safety matters? If not, click here to see our range of food safety courses.
Some basic staff health and safety training could have avoided this nasty accident and avoided a pub a hefty fine. The pub was recently served a £6,000 fine and £1,454 costs where a protruding screw on a promotional sign caused a serious eye injury to a customer.*
Shoddy workmanship is one thing, however leaving something dnagerous, even if it was a slim chance of causing an accident was careless.
There are plenty of health and safety courses to choose from to suit all environments and job roles that could make a huge difference to your staff's awareness and significantly reduce the risk to your business.
*Source: Environmental Health News - June 2011
As reported recently in May 2011 Edition of Environmental Health News, a pub was fined £10,500 and £2,032 costs after pleading guilty to six food hygiene offences.
Dirty equipment, inadequate cleaning and disinfection and inadequate measures to prevent contamination by pests featured in the charges. The company has now merged with another pub company and have spent £40,000 on refurbishment.
There are wealth of food safety hygiene courses available and it only takes some basic management practices to be in place to provide your customers a safe clean environment and avoid stinging fines such as those above.
According to recent results published by the HSE, during 2010, 4000 workers suffered injuries as a result of falling whilst working at height with another 12 people losing their lives.
Recently, a Nottinghamshire farm business has been prosecuted for safety failings after an employee suffered serious injuries in a roof fall.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that the company failed to properly plan the dismantling work, which then exposed the workers to unnecessary danger.
Exciting news hot off the press..... Envesca have won the 2010 Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Awards for Best Training Centre and Best Food Safety Trainer for 2010.
We have been invited to attend a CIEH Award presentation at the House of Commons on Wednesday 18th May 2011 to receive the following awards:
It really doesn't pay to ignore good health and safety practice. With good health and safety training and getting in the habit of putting it into practice, you can avoid paying the penalty like the firm below.
HSE inspectors repeatedly found the company failing to ensure their workers were adequately protected when working at height.
An international packing company put the lives of its workers at risk over several years at its West Yorkshire site, a court has been told.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered a long-term and systemic failure to ensure the safety of employees during the construction of wooden packing crates at the Holmfirth base of Neal Brothers Ltd, when it launched an investigation last year.
It resulted from a visit by an HSE Inspector to the site in Bent Ley Road, Meltham, Holmfirth. During the visit, he saw an employee working on the top of a large wooden crate, more than four metres high, with no safety measures to prevent falls.
Huddersfield Magistrates' Court heard that the company had been served with an enforcement notice back in 2004 demanding safety improvements for activities that required working at heights over two metres.
The firm had then introduced harnesses for employees when at high levels but the investigation showed their use had been short lived and the firm reverted to previous unsafe practices.
The HSE Inspector served a further enforcement notice on the company repeating the requirement to improve its system of working at height and began inquiries into its apparent history of safety failings. His evidence, gathered from staff and witnesses, showed harnesses had not been used since at least 2006.
Neal Brothers (Leicester) Ltd of Hastings Road, Leicester, admitted a charge of failing to ensure the safety of employees at its site in Holmfirth, over a four year period from April 2006. The company was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £3,289.20 in costs.
Inspector Geoff Fletcher, who carried out the investigation, said:
"It became clear that employees carried out a range of work activities at heights of up to four metres, yet there was nothing in place to safeguard them from falls.
The company failed to learn the lesson it should have following the enforcement notice back in 2004 and allowed unsafe systems of work to become accepted practice, carrying on for at least four years.
"Of course, it is never acceptable to put people's lives at risk. To do so on a repeated basis and with a blatant disregard for a previous enforcement procedure is appalling. Falls from height are the commonest cause of fatal injuries in the workplace and are also responsible for a large percentage of the most serious occupational injuries."
Article adapted from: Firm ignored risks to workers’ safety for years
Click on the link to watch our latest Health and Safety Services Video with a short Christmas message.
Pass Mark - 100% Merit 75%
Well done to all the Level 3 Food Safety and Health and Safety candidates who attended our public courses during September and October this year. Between them they achieved outstanding results, with an overall pass mark of 100% and 75% of them achieved a Merit pass, which means they scored over 80% in the exam - Congratulations to all of you!
On Friday 1st October 2010, Sue Ellis, Managing Director of Envesca Ltd, attended the Care Skills Partnership Annual Conference, an organisation that supports the care workforce in Wiltshire and Swindon.
The main aim for this years conference was to inform delegates of the changes and focus of the Care Quality Commission. This included information, legislation and the essential standards of quality and safety driving the care sector's registered service provision.
At the end of the day, there were a number of Learning and Development Awards presented. Envesca was delighted to pick up a runner up award in the category of the Best Training Provider, in recognition of achieving excellence in supporting learning and development in the workplace.
This is the third award Envesca has collected in three months. 
Back in July this year Envesca also won:
We are delighted to annouce that we have scooped two prestigious awards at a ceremony held at the Houses of Parliament and hosted by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). The awards recognised excellence in workplace health and safety training.
Envesca won the award for most outstanding CIEH accredited training centre and Operations Director, Simon Ellis, won the best trainer award.
Presenting the awards, CIEH President, Stephen Battersby, said: "I am delighted to be able to present Envesca with these two awards. Envesca is truly an inspiration company that manages to combine a passion for customer service with motivational teaching and brilliant results.
"The CIEH is one of the UK's leading providers of health and safety qualifications and its fourth largest awarding body - so winning these awards involved a very competitive field - this was no mean feat. Congratulations."
Simon Ellis who received an award for best trainer and best training centre Envesca, said: "At Envesca we have been working with businesses for over twenty years to help them achieve their workplace safety goals with effective and cost efficient training.
"Most of the businesses we work with understand the importance of quality training. They know that reducing risk and improving staff morale is essential to their bottom line and organisational performance."
One of our candidates, Rob Scholefield, of Cereform Ltd also won the CIEH BEST CANDIDATE AWARD 2009 for the highest recorded score of all candidates who took the CIEH Level 4 Award in Health and Safety at Work qualification in 2009 - well done
Good Health and Safety Management can add value to your business, save you money, prevent prosecution and win you new customers.
Below is a list of 5 top tips that can help improve the Health and Safety Culture within your business.
