Following on from the Building Safety Act 2022 new regulations come into force on 6th April 2023 that require all occupied high-rise residential buildings in England to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator. To do this, the Accountable Person for the building will be required to provide the regulator with key details of the building (including: address, number of … Read More
Could Crumbling Concrete Cause a Collapse?
A new form of lightweight concrete, known as Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), was used in buildings from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. Planks of this material were pre-cast off site and used for flat and pitched roofs, walls, eaves, floors and walls in a wide range of buildings in particular schools and offices. Concerns have been raised about the … Read More
LPG FLT Safety Alert
The UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) recently published a safety alert regarding possible fire risks associated with LPG forklifts. This alert is to raise awareness of problems starting LPG powered trucks from cold due to a build-up of deposits in the ignition system. Unburnt LPG passing through the truck’s engine could cause a fire risk. The safety alert gives advice … Read More
HSE Launch Asbestos and You Campaign
Work Right is a campaign initiative launched by the HSE which aims to help smaller businesses and workers. This provides guidance on a number of work related health and safety matters including mental health, musculoskeletal disorders and conditions that affect the back, joints and limbs and lung disease. As part of this overall campaign the HSE recently launched Asbestos & … Read More
Updated Guidance on Managing Occupational Cancer Risks
IOSH (the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) have updated their No Time to Lose Campaign webpages with new information regarding occupational cancer from asbestos, diesel fumes, silica dust, and sun safety. The webpages provide specific information regarding common causes of occupational cancer (asbestos, diesel fumes, silica dust, and sun safety). They describe what the issue is, where people are … Read More
Updated Scaffolding Guidance Launched
The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) recently released new guidance ‘SG4:22: Preventing falls in scaffolding operations’ to replace the previous SG4:15 of the same name. The new guidance expands on the previous publication in all areas and also includes new information such as instruction on system scaffolding. The guidance is designed to be easily digestible through elements like basic … Read More
Updated Guidance on Construction Site Fire Safety
A tenth edition of the “Joint Code of Practice on the Protection from Fire of Construction Sites and Buildings Undergoing Renovation” has recently been published. The aim of the code is to prevent fires on construction sites and does this by outlining the requirements of fire safety controls on construction sites including topics such as fire prevention in the design … Read More
Updated Guidance on Protecting Buildings from Fire and Sprinkler Maintenance
Updated building fire safety guidance documents have recently been made available from the Fire Protection Association / RISCAuthority, these include: The latest edition of the guide “A to Z of essential principles in the protection of buildings”. This sets out to identify and order aspects of building design and construction that can be strengthened to protect property and business against … Read More
Updated MEWP Safety Guidance
Falls from height are one of the most common types of fatal accidents at work. A key factor in reducing the number of these accidents has been the use of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs). While these can be safer than other means of accessing work at height, there have been serious and fatal accidents where operators became trapped between … Read More
Draft Higher Risk Buildings Regulations Launched
Draft Higher-Risk Buildings (Key Building Information Etc) Regulations have been laid before parliament and are expected to come into force in April 2023. The regulations are part of ongoing government reforms to increase fire safety in residential buildings following the Grenfell fire and subsequent inquiries. The regulations set out what high-level information, known as “key building information”, the principal accountable … Read More