Accidents at Work - new statistics

We were running a forklift training course the other day and the accident figures used came up for discussion. The casualty/mortality figures in the skills guide issued on these courses are for guidance only.

A quick phone call to my HSE contact and I was pointed at a recent HSE press release.

First the Figures for 2007:

HSE statistics highlight transport as the second biggest cause of work-related deaths, after falls from height. Every year, around 70 people are killed in transport-related accidents in the workplace and around eight of those involve Fork Lift Trucks. Of 2,249 reported accidents in one year, involving Fork Lift Trucks, 626 caused major injuries, including amputations and broken bones.

Next the reason for the press release, which involved a £1,750 fine for the employee - warning for everyone to drive carefully.

HSE’s investigating inspector Anne Robinson said:

“It is important that individuals are aware that they, as well as their employer, have duties under the law to take reasonable care of the health and safety of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work. Mr Wyatt’s employer had employed an in-house forklift truck trainer and Mr Wyatt had received regular refresher training and re-testing.

“In this case his forward visibility was significantly obscured by the load and he could not see his colleague. The injuries inflicted could have been significantly worse, or even fatal. Operators of lift trucks must ensure that they operate them in accordance with the training they have been given to prevent such tragedies.”

So a quick reminder at this busy time of year to just take a few seconds to think.

What Summer Means

Sounds like a childrens "What I did in the holidays" title doesn't it? But actually it is quite important.

While many of our customers in land based industries are at their busiest time of year we at CA Training are as well but in a different way.

August is a time when we must plan for winter training programmes. We have to anticipate 6 months in advance what will be new requirements, what new courses are being offered to us and who will benefit from them. Part of the problem is that our customers are busy with their core business and don't want us interupting that. The weather is enough of a nuisance without us compounding the problem!

So what will be new and what will we repeat this season? The standards are still there: Emergency Aid, Fire Risk Assessments, Brushcutters, Abrasive Wheels, Forklifts, Tesecopic Handlers, Pesticide updates, PA1,2, 4, 6, 11 et al preparation, H&S at various levels, Food Hygiene and the rest.

New for this coming year? Well we have access to a mobile IT training suite - one of the topics we are including electronic time management, e-mails how to be in control. Traditional courses have had an overhaul with new materials for Forklift and Manual Handling.

We are also asking the question: What do YOU want from training? Competence or Certificate, they are not always the same thing and we would like to hear your views.

Students Receive Health and Safety Awards

We have been asked to attend the presentation of Health and Safety Awards at the Royal Show on 3rd July. This is because of our involvement with Lantra Awards in this qualification and because we provided the instruction to the Level 2 Award winner Scott Melton, providing the training course through TTA (West). For the full press release from Lantra Awards click on the link here:

Students Receive Health and Safety Awards