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Construction sites can be dangerous places, which is why health
and safety is of great importance. A poor health and safety
record affects the reputation of your business and could put
your staff at risk. It's also bad for the image of construction
as a whole.
Legislation is an important driver for health and safety, and
sets out the key priority areas for industry to work on. Changes
are expected with regard to legislation that directly impacts
upon the construction industry.
Driven partly by Europe and partly by the Health and Safety
Commission's desire to make some existing legislation more
effective, several new sets of regulations and a Regulatory
Reform Order will be introduced during 2005 and 2006.
For further information on legislation and how it affects you
and your business, contact the
Health and
Safety Executive.
The following are key areas of legislation that you need to be
aware of and take action on to ensure the health, safety and
well being of your employees and for you as employers to comply
with legislation:
Working at Heights
The Work at Height Regulations will come into force early 2005.
This will be accompanied by the revocation of Regulation 6 and
the associated Schedules of the Construction (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1996, all of which deal with safe working
at height.
It is likely that a major thrust of this new legislation will be
a duty to select the most appropriate equipment for gaining
access to and actually working at height.
There has been speculation in some sectors of the construction
industry that the use of ladders is to be banned. This is not so
but it is true that many falls from height are directly
associated with the use of ladders.
Under the new regulations, where a ladder is selected as a means
of access or place of work, a risk assessment must show that,
given all of the circumstances, it is reasonable not to use
other, safer equipment
Working at Heights
FAQ's
Working at Heights 2005 - a brief guide
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Hand Arm Vibration (HAV)
New legislation will be introduced in July 2005, seeking to
protect the occupational health of users of equipment that cause
hand/arm vibration (HAV). This will include many of the rotating
and percussive hand-tools used in the construction industry.
Hand arm vibration is a widespread industrial disease that is a
particular problem in the construction industry. The new
regulations will set;
an ‘Exposure Action Value’ which, if reached, will force an
employer to act to prevent vibration-induced ill health in those
employees who use equipment that cause HAV
an ‘Exposure Limit Value’ which is the maximum level of HAV to
which anyone may exposed.
Measurement of both of the above values will be based upon an 8
hour vibration ‘dose’.
The Humber Training Group will encourage dialogue between member
companies to share best practice and experiences relating to
Health and Safety via the
HCP forum
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