21 Dec December

In this month’s newsletter we cover the following:

• Free CITB Courses – The CITB offer free online courses on various topics which anyone can register for and complete. These courses can be helpful for a quick refresher on the topic, or for someone that is completely new to the industry.
• Enhancing site safety and security over the festive period – High-cost plant, machinery, tools, and metals make construction sites a prime target for organised crime groups all year round, but the threat of theft increases around the festive period. Several factors contribute to this increased vulnerability. Firstly, the long, dark winter nights create the perfect landscape for criminal activity. Another factor is the bad weather and the issues this creates for those responsible for site security. With everyone on site wrapped in winter clothing and their faces covered, it can be harder to identify suspicious individuals from those who have authorised access. Just because someone is wearing a high-vis, it doesn’t automatically mean they should be on the site.
• Fine for company after HSE inspection failures – A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection of W.S. Barrett and Son Limited’s site at Riverside Industrial estate in Boston, Lincolnshire, found the company’s workers were being potentially exposed to welding fume and dusts from powder coating. Welding fume is carcinogenic and can cause other serious illnesses such as occupational asthma. Exposure to coating powders can also cause occupational asthma and skin irritation. The inspection on 25 March 2022, found that an on-tool extraction system on the welding tools was in a poor state of repair and that Local Exhaust Ventilation systems, provided to capture welding fume and dusts from powder coating in order to protect employees’ health, had not been thoroughly examined and tested.