HSE Refurbishment Initiative: Act now or risk prosecution

HSE’s annual refurbishment initiative is now underway, bringing the importance of high standards of health and safety to the fore.

Between 14 September and 9 October, HSE inspectors will be targeting visits to sites where refurbishment work is being carried out to identify any unsafe working practices.

If any breaches in legislation are found during inspections, HSE will take immediate enforcement action which may lead to prosecution.

At Aegis, we’re urging businesses to act now and ensure stringent health and safety processes are in place and being followed by staff and subcontractors.

Even businesses which believe they have a good health and safety culture may find that processes are not being followed or are out of date.

It’s therefore imperative that dutyholders check, understand and fulfil all health and safety responsibilities, particularly in relation to CDM 2015, which was introduced in April and comes into full effect from 6 October this year.

The HSE inspections will focus on the main causes of accidents and ill-health in construction, which include:

• Work at height
• Site good order
• Welfare
• Exposure to carcinogens (such as silica and asbestos)
• Manual handling
• Noise
• Vibration
• Exposure to other hazardous substances

Construction is one of Britain’s most high-risk sectors, accounting for 31 per cent of all workplace fatalities in 2015/15 and 76,000 cases of reported ill health. Refurbishment sites make up more than half of all deaths, injuries and cases of ill health in the construction industry.

At Aegis, we can work with you to identify and resolve health and safety issues which will reduce risk, protect your workforce and diminish the likelihood of breaches of health and safety laws being identified by HSE Inspectors.

For more information, contact us on 01772 736522 or email admin@aegis-services-ltd.co.uk