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
Building Safety Consultations Launched
As the new Building Safety Regulator the HSE have recently launched a couple of consultations seeking views from industry professionals. The first consultation is seeking comments on the HSE’s guidance document “Competence information for managing building safety on higher-risk buildings” which summarises British Standard PAS 8673:2022 Built Environment. Competence requirements for safety management – Specification” and is aimed at those … Read More
Updated Stone Dust Exposure Guidance
The HSE recently published an updated edition of their guidance document ‘HSG201: Controlling exposure to stone dust’ this updates the previous edition published in 2001. The guide aims to help employees and employers understand the health risks associated with exposure to stone dust and how these risks can be managed through processes and control measures. The guide employers should be … Read More
Managing Trees Safely
Two employers recently received significant fines after children were killed or seriously injured by falling trees on their property. In the first case Newcastle City Council were fined £280,000 after an incident on 25th September 2020 in which a tree in poor condition in a school playground, fell causing the death of a six year old girl. In the second … Read More
Consultation Launched on Mandatory Sprinklers in Care Homes and Second Staircases in Residential Buildings
The Government has launched an open consultation on proposed amendments to Approved Document B: Fire Safety of the building regulations as they apply in England. The main topics of the consultation include requiring sprinklers to be installed in all new care homes regardless of building height and to require new residential buildings above a specified height to be built with … Read More
New Guidance For Installing Tower Crane Camera Systems
The Tower Crane Interest Group of the Construction Plant Hire Association (CPA) recently published a new technical information note regarding the installation of camera systems on tower cranes. In recent times camera systems have become increasingly installed on tower cranes to assist the crane operator with the safe lifting of loads. The camera provides extra visibility for the operator however … Read More
New Fire Safety Guidance for Residential Premises in England
With the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 due to come into force on 23rd January 2023, the Home Office has published new guidance regarding the responsibilities of individuals under the regulations. While the regulations are mainly focused on high-rise buildings, there are also regulations regarding providing information to residents and fire doors in relation to all building which contain two … Read More