During winter storms in the UK, trees pose significant risks, particularly to commercial properties. High winds and heavy snowfall can weaken branches, potentially leading to breakage or entire tree falls that may damage buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure, as well as pose a risk to life.   According to the Health and Safety Executive, the combination of severe weather and poor … Read More

The Door & Hardware Federation (DHF), together with the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI), has published an updated code of practice for the selection of building hardware for use on fire-resisting and escape door assemblies and door sets.   The term door hardware covers a wide range of door fittings, such as hinges, door-closing devices, locks and latches, door bolts, … Read More

The British Compressed Gases Association (BCGA) recently published an updated edition of their Code of Practice covering “The Safe Use of Individual Portable or Mobile Cylinder Gas Supply Equipment”.   The code covers safe use of gas supplied in either single cylinders or bundles of cylinders, e.g., oxygen, acetylene, helium, nitrogen, LPG, etc. Topics covered include: Cylinder storage, transportation, and … Read More

The Environment Agency recently published updated assessments of the national flood and coastal erosion risks in England. With improvements in data modelling and technology, these represent a significant update from the previous assessments produced in 2018 and 2017, respectively.   The new assessments show that 3,500 properties are expected to be in areas at risk of coastal erosion in the … Read More

On 8th November 2024, Cheshire East Council was fined £500,000 after Christopher Hall was killed by a falling tree limb on 28th August 2020 while walking his dog.   HSE investigations found that another limb had previously fallen from the same tree in September 2019; however, the council had not taken action to assess whether the tree posed future risks … Read More

Statistics recently released by the HSE show that workplace stress, depression, and anxiety continue to be major issues. Despite a drop from an estimated 875,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2022/23 to 776,000 in 2023/24, the rate is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. The HSE estimates that over the past year there were 300,000 new … Read More

Latest figures from the HSE show an increase in the number of work-related musculoskeletal disorders over the past year. In the period 2023/2024, a total of 543,000 workers were reported as suffering from musculoskeletal disorders, up from 473,000 the previous year. 160,000 of these were reported as new cases. All of this led to a massive 7.8 million working days … Read More

The HSE has published the annual work-related ill health and workplace injuries statistics for the period 2023/24.   The key figure highlighted by the HSE is that 1.7 million workers were suffering from work-related ill health through the 2023/24 period, including: 776,000 suffering from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety, down from 875,000 from the year before. 543,000 suffering from work-related … Read More

As part of the Scottish Government’s Road Safety Framework to 2030, a National Speed Management Review (NSMR) has been launched seeking feedback from stakeholders and the public on proposed changes to speed limits across Scotland.   The consultation proposes the following major adjustments to speed limits: Reducing the national speed limit for single carriageway roads to 50 mph. Increasing speed … Read More