WOBO recognises the activities of the UK Health and Safety Executive and their potential use within the global setting
1) Rough sleepers in bins
Serious and potentially fatal risks are posed by rough sleepers who seek shelter in large commercial or communal waste bins and may be inadvertently tipped into waste-collection trucks.
Simple control measures for businesses who manage large commercial bins and storage areas, and those who collect the waste, are set out in HSE’s guidance on preventing people getting into large waste and recycling bins.
The guidance includes:
- increased risk factors, such as unsafe storage areas and bins being too accessible
- duties of waste producers and/or businesses managing bin storage areas
- what waste collectors need to do
- what you should do if people are found in bins
Businesses should focus on reducing the likelihood of people getting inside the bins in the first place. Equally, collection services should check that nobody is inside the bin before it is emptied.
It is strongly recommended that organisations:
- review their waste-storage arrangements
- confirm that contractors have appropriate checking procedures
- incorporate bin inspection into their health and safety risk assessments – especially during colder months when rough sleepers are more likely to seek shelter
You can find more details in the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH) guidance on managing access to large waste and recycling bins (scroll down to ref no WASTE 25).
HSE is also supporting industry awareness campaigns on this topic, including the following video: Situational Awareness: People in Bins.
A tragic reminder of the seriousness of the situation can be found from this incident: Man died after bin he was in tipped into a recycling lorry (BBC News)
2) New videos launched on monitoring and controlling exposure to metalworking fluids
Exposure to metalworking fluids (MWF) can cause harm to lungs and skin, while breathing in the mist generated by machining can lead to lung diseases.
Our series of 4 short videos aims to help you control worker exposure to MWF mist when Computer numerical control (CNC) machining. In addition, they show how you can use monitoring methods to assess control of MWF mist and check local exhaust ventilation (LEV) is working effectively.
The videos cover:
- LEV to control worker exposure to MWF mist
- Monitoring methods for MWF mist
- Assessing control of MWF mist during CNC machining using monitoring methods
- Monitoring methods to check LEV for MWF mist
3) Commission your LEV system
LEV helps control exposure to gas, vapour, dust, fume and mist in workplace air by extracting the clouds of contaminant at source before people breathe them in.
‘Commissioning’ is proving that the LEV system is capable of providing adequate control. As an employer, you should commission your LEV system to make sure it adequately protects people from breathing in harmful substances.
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, 2002 (COSHH) dutyholders must adequately control exposure to substances in the workplace that cause ill-health.
In Great Britain, occupational lung disease accounts for around 12,000 annual deaths, estimated to be linked to past exposures at work. A crucial part of our 10-year strategy ‘The HSE Strategy – protecting people and places’ is to reduce work-related ill-health, with a priority of tackling occupational lung disease.
Read our webpage: Commission your LEV system.
4) Updated hearing protection calculator: improved usability and accuracy
HSE’s noise exposure calculator has been updated to enhance its effectiveness in helping employers assess hearing protection in noisy environments.
The new version features mobile compatibility and more precise calculations for hearing protection.
Key updates include:
- mobile compatibility: now optimised for smartphones, allowing easy access via Microsoft Excel
- enhanced protection calculation: includes the HML (High, Medium, Low) method for improved accuracy
Recent HSE inspections revealed that many employers failed to ensure that workers wearing hearing protection could still hear safety alarms.
The updated calculator helps identify over and under-protection, ensuring safety alarms remain audible where necessary.
Visit our website to access the updated noise exposure calculator.
5) Safe use of ladders and stepladders at work
Falls when working at height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality.
Ladders and stepladders are not banned under health and safety law. They can be a sensible and practical option for low-risk, short-duration tasks, although they should not automatically be your first choice.
To help you make sure you use the right type of ladder, and that you know how to use it safely, our website has guidance on safe use of ladders and stepladders at work. It includes:
- more detail on competency, and what that means for ladder users and those managing ladder use on site
- safety advice for using telescopic ladders
- practical tips for using combination and multi-purpose ladders
- good practice for securing ladders
For more information and guidance visit our working at height website) Latest enforcement prosecutions
6) Two recent cases highlight the the importance of good site design and implementation of control measures:
Waste company fined £2.5 million after worker fatally crushed by a skip wagon
The worker was killed from the injuries sustained when he was run over by a reversing skip wagon at a waste transfer station.
HSE’s investigation found the waste company failed to properly review its control measures. These measures were designed to keep pedestrians separate from moving vehicles.
Waste and recycling company fined after worker injured cleaning machinery
The fine was issued after a worker was injured while cleaning a waste picking line, suffering a fractured shoulder, torn ligaments, and a broken finger.
HSE’s investigation found the company failed to ensure an isolation procedure was correctly implemented while workers were cleaning machinery.
7) Remediation Action Plans for higher-risk buildings
From January, Principal Accountable Persons (PAPs) of registered residential higher-risk buildings may be contacted by the Building Safety Regulator’s new Remediation Enforcement Unit (REU).
The REU aims to understand external fire safety risks in higher-risk buildings and investigate the buildings’ dutyholders where remediation work is not progressing sufficiently.
PAPs may need to show their:
- remediation action plan
- relevant part of the FRAEW assessment
- any other relevant information
More information to support PAPs will be available in the new year on our Building Safety campaign website and in future ebulletins. To find out more: