The Health and Safety Executive has targeted a reduction in injuries and fatalities to waste workers caused by moving machinery, in its latest plan for the sector.
HSE has published sector plans this week (18 September) for 19 industry sectors covering areas including waste and recycling as well as agriculture and manufacturing.
The prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive
Each plan sets out a series of priority areas for action in the respective sector over the next five years.
The waste and recycling plan identifies that the sector has a high rate of workplace injury and work-related ill health – with a 10 times higher than average fatal injury rate compared to some other sectors.
Figures published in July suggested that there were 14 fatal injuries to waste and recycling workers between April 2016 and March 2017, compared to six deaths recorded in April 2015-March 2016 (see letsrecycle.com story).
“Most common health issues suffered include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and work-related stress, while other conditions include occupational lung disease and skin disease,” stated the publication.
Outcomes
As a result, the HSE stated that it wants to see significant improvements in all areas of health and safety performance, in particular the following outcomes:
• A reduction in the number of people killed by moving vehicles/caught in moving machinery
• A reduction in the cases of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) and occupational lung disease
• Ownership of the challenges by industry and leadership on implementing solutions
In order to do this, the HSE outlined a number of ways it will achieve these outcomes, including securing effective management and control of risk and leading and engaging with businesses.
This will include working closely with other regulators like the Environment Agency, engaging directly with manufacturers to “design out risks to workers’ health and safety”, as well as collaborating with the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum.
CIWM
Responding to the HSE’s sector plan, Dr Colin Church, chief executive of the industry body the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), said: “Improving the industry’s health and safety record is one of CIWM’s top priorities and we are keen to support the priority actions outlined today by the HSE for the waste and recycling sector.
“In addition to hosting the new WISH website, launched earlier this year to provide a one-stop-shop for all WISH guidance, CIWM is working on a number of fronts to change behaviour, improve performance, and share good practice across the sector, including an initiative in 2018 to raise awareness around personal responsibility for health and safety in the workplace.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
