Under the new regulations exposure limits have been reduced by 5dB, which translates into a 60% reduction because the decibel scale is logarithmic. If noise exposure in your workplace is liable to be at or above the lower action limit of 80dB(A), various requirements are placed upon the employer to reduce or control exposure.

Bear in mind that this legislation applies to all workplaces, not just to ones traditionally thought of as “noisy”. If you have to raise your voice when speaking with colleagues at a fairly close range – you may have a problem. A first step would be to conduct a noise risk assessment, including measurement of noise levels.

After consultation, the proposed replacement legislation for the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 has been put off until April 2007.

The new Statutory Instrument will also replace the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. To allow more time for interested parties to prepare for the changes, the Health and Safety Executive has undertaken to publish details of a new Approved Code of Practice and guidance three months beforehand.

OHSAS 18001 is an occupational health and safety management systems specification against which third party assessment bodies can assess and certify.  Unlike HSG 65 the OHSAS 18001 specification is compatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and can be used together to create an integrated management system.

External certification, e.g. from BSI, is currently being offered to this specification. It is expected to be accredited by UKAS and become an official standard later this year.

Some of our clients are already working to this standard; we can assist others who want to become accredited by developing a management system that will achieve accreditation or audit against your current systems.
           
It is worth noting that a number of insurance companies are already offering discounts to organisations that can demonstrate they have an effective management system in place, and are including the OHSAS standard as evidence.

HSE has just announced that the validity of first-aid certificates, which presently expire after three years if requalification does not take place, can be extended for up to 28 days. This is to allow those who narrowly miss the deadline to avoid having to take the full four-day course again.

A subsidiary of Anglian Water, Morrison Facilities Services, were fined £40,000 at Warwick Crown Court after releasing asbestos fibres around the Solihull area.

Neighbours had complained that workers stripping tiles from a residential property were causing dust to blow into their gardens. It was subsequently discovered that the dust was an asbestos coating from the tiles. Morrison did have a procedure for the identification of asbestos but failed to make this know to the workers concerned, and they were not licensed to remove the material.

A self-employed bogus gas fitter from Lincolnshire was been sentenced to 200 hours of community service by Magistrates for illegally fitting a gas boiler, and pretending to be qualified to do so. He must also pay £1,575 compensation to an elderly couple where he had carried out the faulty work during August 2005, and also must meet HSE costs. Examination found the appliance he fitted was dangerous to use.

HSE commented on this case: "It is extremely important that gas appliances are checked every year by a CORGI-registered gas installer. Insist on seeing the CORGI fitter's registration card before you allow work to be carried out.” Installers who are registered are required to carry a photo ID containing their registration number, trading title and expiry date. Their ID card also provides details of what gas work the installer is competent to do.

In an unrelated initiative, the Health and Safety Executive is undertaking a major review of the domestic gas safety regime. They want to ensure the gas safety regime is based on the most sensible approach to managing the risks and commands credibility amongst those involved and affected. The review is also aimed at reducing bureaucracy, simplifying the law, strengthening business participation and ensuring the best use of resources

A carpenter, Dermot Power, fell five metres down a fixed ladder when working on the roof of London’s Royal Court Theatre.

West London Magistrates heard that the theatre had failed to assess the risk of roof work, failed to install enough harness access points, and did not follow a permit-to-work procedure. Fines and costs totalling £32,000 were levied, and the theatre has installed railings at roof level since the accident.

The Health and Safety Executive successfully defended an appeal by Menzies Aviation (UK) Ltd against an Improvement Notice relating to the manual handling of baggage at Manchester Airport. The Notice was served in May 2005 following a visit by an HSE inspector, who was concerned that the system of work used to load luggage on and off Boeing 737 aircraft did not adequately control risks.

HSE required Menzies Aviation to provide conveyors, or any other equally effective method, to assist in the loading and unloading of luggage to and from the carts used to take the luggage to and from the aircraft.

Southampton Crown Court has fined lift company Otis a total of £400,000 following a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The incident, in 2001, resulted in the deaths of Michael Dawson, 27, and Daniel Digby, 25, who fell down a lift shaft at a block of flats in Southampton.

The men fell against the lift doors, which swung open in the style of a cat flap due to inadequate fixings on the lower rail of the opening. Both men plunged about 30 metres and are believed to have died instantly.