The latest statistics from the HSE show that falls from height accounted for 50 work-related fatalities in the year to March 2024 and approximately 8% of all work-related non-fatal injuries annually. Following on from the initial No Falls Week in 2024, the No Falls Foundation has announced that a second No Falls Week campaign will take place in 2025 running … Read More
Latest Work-Related Fatal Injury Statistics Published
The HSE has published the statistics for work-related fatal injuries for the period from April 2023 to March 2024. The total number of work-related fatalities for this period was 138; this is a slight increase of 3 fatalities from the previous period of 2022-2023. Overall, the statistics continue to follow trends from previous years, with the number of fatalities broadly … Read More
New Guidance for Publicly Accessible Electric HGV Charging Points
A new, free-to-view standard detailing recommendation for designing safe and accessible charging sites for electric heavy goods vehicles has been published by the British Standards Institution. The standard, named BSI Flex 2071—Publicly Accessible Charging Sites for Battery Electric HGVs, is aimed at providing those setting up and managing charging sites with safety and security information for the design and layout … Read More
Plans to Tackle Lithium Battery Fires Included in King’s Speech
A new bill that includes proposals to manage the risk of e-bike battery fires has been announced in the King’s Speech in July. The Product Safety and Metrology Bill is intended to support businesses and protect consumers through product regulation. It particularly aims to manage new technologies such as AI and deal with existing challenges associated with new technologies, such … Read More
New Remote Operation of Vehicles Standard
In recent years there has been an increase in interest in the remote operation of vehicles, whether this is in the air, at sea or on land. The British Standards Institution (BSI) recently launched a new technical standard on managing human factors in the remote operation of vehicles. The standard, BSI Flex 1887, is sponsored by the Centre for Connected … Read More
Road Haulage Association Publishes Direct Vision Standard Guidance
The RHA (Road Haulage Association) has published a set of guidelines produced by Loughborough University to help firms operating heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in London understand new Direct Vision Standard (DVS) specifications brought in by Transport for London. HGVs with a gross vehicle weight of over 12 tonnes are required to hold a HGV Safety Permit before entering and operating … Read More
Safety Alert and Updated Guidance Issued for the Waste Industry
The Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH) has issued a safety alert concerning hydraulically operated rear doors, hatches, and body sections on waste sector vehicles. The safety alert follows a fatal accident in 2023 in which an individual was killed when working under the top-hinged hydraulically powered rear door of a road sweeper. The door’s mechanism failed, causing the … Read More
Updated Guidance for Transporting Oxygen Cylinders
The Department for Transport has updated their Guidance Note 9, Transporting Cylinders of Compressed Oxygen. The guidance covers both the private and commercial carriage of compressed oxygen cylinders including carriage by the emergency services. The guidance highlights some key safety considerations and for commercial carriage summarises the requirements of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations / ADR for small loads … Read More
Updated Code of Practice for Oxy-Fuel Gas Equipment
The British Compressed Gases Association’s (BCGA) Code of Practice 7 on the safe use of oxy-fuel gas equipment (individual portable or cylinder supply) has been revised to keep it in line with current best practices. The Code of Practice identifies the key hazards and sets out minimum safety standards required for the assembly, examination, inspection, maintenance, and use of individual … Read More
Updated Chemicals Code of Practice in Ireland
The Health and Safety Authority in the Republic of Ireland has published a new code of practice regarding the use of chemical agents and carcinogens. The new Code of Practice combines the 2001 Carcinogen Regulations with its amendments in 2015 and 2019. The Code of Practice outlines various chemical agents and carcinogens and the Occupational Exposure Limit Values associated with … Read More