Health and Safety

Arabella Dulcie and Sam Haldane are associates in the business crime and regulation team at law firm JMW Solicitors The construction industry is arguably one of the most high-risk workplaces, susceptible to myriad health and safety concerns. This has been confirmed in the latest statistics published by the Health &…

10. Inside the BSR bottleneck: part two In the second instalment of a two-part series investigating the Building Safety Regulator's progress, Charlotte Banks explored whether change was on the horizon.   9. 10 people to watch in 2025 Chatbots, Tilbury Douglas chief executive Craig Tatton and HS2 chief Mark Wild…

Graham Bramley is managing director at Bramley Engineering The Health and Safety Executive’s recent announcement of a review of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) is a rare chance to improve rules that affect almost every construction project. The call for evidence asks dutyholders and industry bodies to…

Richard Holmes is managing director of RSK Ordnance Management The discovery of potential unexploded ordnance (UXO) on a construction site requires an emergency response and a complete stop to work. When it happens, a thorough investigation – as part of a clear UXO plan – is essential for site safety,…

The mortal danger to construction workers from silica dust is getting worse Stonemason Stuart Johnson would come home from work “absolutely covered in dust”, his wife Carol recalls. “It was just part and parcel of the job.” Stuart was unaware that the dust he was inhaling – silica – could…

Detectives investigating the Didcot Power Station collapse in which four men died have said the probe is entering its “latter stages”, as the ninth anniversary of the tragedy approaches. Coleman & Company employees Ken Cresswell, 57, Chris Huxtable, 34, John Shaw, 61, and Mick Collings, 53, died when the 10-storey…

Fifty years after the Health and Safety Executive was created, is it still fit for purpose today? When a pile of coal waste crashed down a hill onto a school and row of houses killing 116 children and 28 adults at Aberfan in October 1966, no one was prosecuted. Industrial…

While the industry tries to improve women’s PPE, other minority groups’ needs remain overlooked It took several months for Leena Begum to even visit a construction site. The apprentice feared she would have to compromise her Muslim faith by wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided. Islam requires women to…

Lisa Kerford is managing director of Aptus Our industry is an inherently dangerous one, which means adhering to the highest possible health and safety standards is of paramount importance. Every day, organisations across our sector are dealing with sites, schemes and projects that require rigorous protocols to ensure tasks are…

Graeme Fox is technical director of the Building Engineering Services Association  According to data from government agency Public Health Wales, poor air quality is responsible for up to 1,400 excess deaths per 100,000 each year. Compare that with smoking, which annually accounts for 180 deaths per 100,000 of the global…