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During Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival 2008 on 25th and 26th October, AB First Response will be collecting old mobile phones to donate for recycling to raise money for its Charity of the Year: Wales Air Ambulance.
Bring your old mobile phones to the rear door of the Cowbridge Town Hall, opposite Pocketful of Presents.
30/1/2008 - HSE reminds employers of their legal duties to employees engaged in manual handling
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding companies of their legal duties relating to manual handling after an employee was injured when a 50kg sack of basmati rice fell on his neck.
East End Foods plc, on 22nd January 2008, pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of employees under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. East End Foods plc was fined £25,000 with £28,000 costs.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that during the course of an investigation in June 2006, into an incident where an employee had been injured by a 50kg sack of rice falling onto the back of his neck, it transpired that large consignments of 50kg sacks of basmati rice were routinely being manually offloaded from containers without the use of any mechanical aids.
Access to containers and retrieval of initial sacks of rice was also being carried out by employees being raised and lowered on a pallet placed on the forks of a forklift truck. The company had not carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for this activity, nor taken appropriate steps to reduce the risk to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable.
HSE had issued an Improvement Notice in December 2002 on East End Foods plc in relation to not carrying out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for manually unloading 45kg sacks from containers, which involves risk of injury, principally back injury, from repeated lifting.
The HSE investigation into the incident highlighted ongoing activities that posed a high risk of musculoskeletal injury to employees, and that a suitable and sufficient risk assessment had not been carried out. In a typical six-month period, from January 2006 to June 2006, 1,700 tonnes or rice had been delivered that required manually offloading; therefore this was not an isolated incident. East End Foods plc had failed to heed advice given by both the HSE in 2002 and the company’s own health and safety consultant in 2005.
Speaking after the case, HSE’s inspector Judith Lloyd said:
“It is important that employers are aware of their legal duties to take reasonable care of the health and safety of employees. In the food and drink industry, 30 per cent of all acute injuries result from bad practice in manual handling.
“Stacking and de-stacking sacks, boxes and crates are amongst the top five causes of manual handling injuries in the food and drink industry. Studies have shown that three quarters of these injuries are preventable – that’s why the HSE is vigilant in ensuring employers follow the rules and regulations set out for their industry.”
AB FIRST RESPONSE JOINS THE SHOW!
2007 Vale of Glamorgan Showground
 Following a successful delivery of event health & safety services to the 2007 Vale of Glamorgan Show, AB First Response are delighted to have been invited to join the committee as their health and safety consultants on an ongoing basis.
Despite mud, the smooth running of this year’s show resulted in an enjoyable and safe experience for attendees. Andy Banks, director of AB First Response commented: “A large event of this kind is always an enjoyable challenge in health & safety terms. When so many different organisations are involved, a lot of negotiation is needed, as well as a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant health & safety legislation”.
AB First Response offers a range of health & safety training and services and fire risk assessments across Wales and beyond.
Meets us on stand D1 Five Counties Exhibition 2007
Wales National Velodrome, Newport
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