23 Jan January

Happy New Year! In this month’s newsletter we are looking at three articles, covering the topics of Construction Dust, Working at height and the Manual Handling of materials in construction:

• Construction Dust – Inhaling/ingesting dust can be an unnecessary risk in the workplace, leading to significant health problems. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places general duties on employers to ensure that people are not exposed to unnecessary risks to their health or safety arising from the employer’s work activities. In addition, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 Regulations protect workers from exposure to hazardous materials, including dust, whilst Asbestos and Lead are by their own separate regulations. COSHH helps employers control risks by providing a framework underpinned by a risk assessment, ensuring steps to control exposure to dust are proportionate to the actual risk to health.
• Working at Height – When working at height, work needs to be properly planned, supervised, and carried out by competent people with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job; the right type of equipment must be selected for the task, ensuring  a sensible approach when considering precautions. Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks may require less effort when it comes to planning and there may be some low-risk situations where common sense tells you that no particular precautions are necessary. Before working at height, work through these simple steps: avoid work at height where it’s reasonably practicable to do so; where work at height cannot be easily avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment; minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment where the risk cannot be eliminated.
• Moving and handling materials in construction – The law requires employers to prevent the ill health of their workers, which includes injuries to muscles, bones, joints, and nerves that can develop over time, known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Moving and handling risks should be considered and prevented where possible at the design stage. Once on site and before work starts, employers should talk to workers about controlling existing risks to make sure that the right handling aids, equipment, and training are in place to prevent MSD injuries. HSE Inspector Ian Whittles said: “How materials are moved around site and used in the construction process needs to be considered from the design stage right through to the construction stage”.