Meet the RRC Tutors at Safety & Health Expo, Birmingham NEC

9-11 May 2006 - Hall 9, Stand G40

May is the time in the calendar when we all prepare for the Safety and Health Expo at the Birmingham NEC. Europe's leading annual health and safety event has a reputation for providing a one-stop shop for all those with an interest in health and safety and has become an unmissable event in the diaries of many health and safety professionals.

As usual, representatives of the RRC Health and Safety Tutor Team will be on the RRC stand for the duration of Expo to talk to both existing students and health and safety professionals interested in RRC's NEBOSH and IOSH courses, including our exciting new range of block release programmes.

We will be holding free Revision Classes each day on a range of topics and tutors will be on hand to provide any last minute help or give you guidance on what steps to take next.

Our FREE Revision Classes will be taking place at 11am, 12 noon and 2pm each day and will cover the following topics:

Diploma Double Success Story for RRC Training

Two of RRC Training's NEBOSH Diploma students have been singled out for special commendation, reinforcing RRC's position as a leading provider of health and safety training in the UK.

Martin Speirs was awarded a distinction in the Diploma Part 2 - one of only five of the 137 students who took the qualification in the UK this year to be given a distinction. In addition, RRC Training's Diploma Part 1 student, Paul Moore, has been named best candidate for the Diploma Part 1 for the whole of 2005.

Both Martin Speirs and Paul Moore will be named as award winners at the NEBOSH graduation ceremony on 9th May at the University of Warwick.

The similarity between Paul Moore and Martin Speirs extends beyond them both being award-winning students with RRC Training, to their reasons for deciding to study for a NEBOSH Diploma.

Both wanted to enhance their career prospects and believe the NEBOSH Diploma to be the gold standard for health and safety qualifications, a belief backed up by the fact that 525 students sat exams in 2005.

Tutor Viewpoint - Arson and Education

Dr N J A Gutteridge PhD, MIOSH, RSP

The School

The total loss of a school building by fire can be a traumatic and devastating experience. Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurrence and leaves a trail of educational programme disruption. There is the loss of children's coursework, teachers' curriculum plans and teaching notes, and other irreplaceable documents, reports and records. Damage often results in computerised documentation losses with valuable IT systems and equipment left unusable.

The list of physical damage and related problems can easily go on but of more concern is the effect on people. Depending on the particular circumstances such as a fire during school hours, there can always be injuries or worse arising from a fire and its products of combustion. There are additional pressures for those who have school management responsibilities. One immediate priority is to resurrect the children's schooling in another suitable location. The stress issues for school administration personnel are not the only problem. Parents and guardians face challenges to domestic and work arrangements and their children face an uncertain time particularly when close to examination dates. The impact of the loss of the facilities affects other existing community arrangements, i.e. evening adult education and business groups meetings. The impact of the loss of the facilities affects other existing community arrangements, i.e. evening adult education and business groups meetings.

Figures Prove Benefits of Health and Safety Training

It's official - quality training can dramatically improve a company's health and safety performance and reduce workplace injuries. Figures just released by ALSTOM Power Turbo-Systems - Power Plant Construction Business provide demonstrable proof that a bespoke corporate health and safety training programme, designed and delivered by RRC Training, has significantly contributed to the reduction in the number of lost time injuries suffered by ALSTOM employees and its contractors.

Data which shows the combined Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) for the employees and contractors of ALSTOM Power Turbo-Systems Power Plant Construction Business over two years shows that in the last twelve months the number of lost time injuries has fallen by almost half, from over seventy in the previous period to under forty since the RRC/ALSTOM EHS Elevator Training programme was launched in March 2004. The LTIFR has also dropped from 3.1 to 1.75 lost time injuries/1,000,000 hours worked. This makes the LTIFR now well below the HSE's National UK All Construction rate and the LTI rate of the Engineering Construction Industry Association.

News

• A traffic warden suffered a broken leg when an angry motorist drove his car into her twice, after she caught him parking on a double-yellow line. At Gloucester Crown Court in January 2006, the motorist was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay compensation of £1,000.

• A saleswoman died in August 2005 while demonstrating ear defenders. She had revved a forklift truck by pushing her hands on the pedals, to show that the protectors drowned out noise, when the truck shot back and ran over her, crushing her to death.

• According to figures released in January 2006, 250,000 police working days were lost in 2004/05 due to stress-related illness. An average of 1,086 officers a day were off work through stress out of a total force of 160,000 officers. The cost is estimated at between £20 million and £60 million a year.

• A teacher supervising a mock examination at a school in Colchester, Essex, in January 2006 was attacked by youths. He suffered facial injuries and a suspected broken arm. Two 16-year-old boys, not pupils at the school, were subsequently charged - one with causing actual bodily harm and the other with disorderly conduct.

• The Court of Appeal has reversed an earlier ruling by the High Court that allowed people suffering from pleural plaques to claim compensation. As a result, many workers at risk of developing lung disease through exposure to asbestos will be unable to claim damages.

• A teacher at a special school in King's Norton, Birmingham, received £300,000 in compensation at the beginning of February 2006 following an incident in 2001 when an intruder entered the school and threatened her. The figure was agreed in an out-of-court settlement with Birmingham City Council.

• In early February 2006 a recycling worker lost both his arms when he fell into an industrial shredding machine. The incident occurred at the Associated Polymer Resources unit in Romsey, Hampshire. Despite emergency surgery, his limbs could not be saved.

• Workers employed by a contractor in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, were banned from fixing streetlights in February 2006 as to do so would have meant climbing a ladder. The contractor, Amey, introduced the rule on finding that ladders were too dangerous for the job.

• A survey has found Liverpool to be the "sickie capital". Workers there take 13 days off sick a year, as opposed to the three taken by workers in London.

• A scientist carrying out a routine survey assignment died after falling into the ice-cold waters of Mallaig harbour on the west coast of Scotland in February 2006. She was employed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

• Metropolitan police officers of all ranks can now be tested for drugs including cannabis, heroin and Ecstasy. The new policy allows tests to be carried out when there is a reasonable suspicion of drug misuse or to disprove allegations of misuse. Other police forces are expected to adopt a similar policy.

• An EU directive making employers responsible for protecting workers from radiation threatened to force building workers to cover up on sunny days. The directive has now been amended to exclude "natural radiation" such as sunlight, enabling builders to continue to work without shirts.

• MPs voted in mid-February 2006 to ban smoking in all workplaces in England, including pubs and clubs, from the summer of 2007. The details will be contained in regulations, after a three-month consultation period.

• An international survey by Grant Thornton, the accountants, showed that one in five owners of small businesses in Britain had suffered a significant increase in stress levels in the past year, while 43% had experienced some increase in stress. The British levels compared with 89% higher stress levels in Taiwan and 87% higher stress levels in China.

• A two-year-old girl attending a pre-school in Southampton left and walked half a mile back to her home in February 2006 without being missed. She had crossed a busy road before reaching her garden and finding her parents.

• According to a report by the TUC, there may be hidden asbestos in 1.5 million shops, factories and offices across the UK. Some employers are unaware of their legal obligation to record asbestos in their premises. A fresh warning was issued to workers to make sure they were not being exposed to asbestos.

• Two security guards were hurt in a shooting incident at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham at the beginning of March 2006. Both were taken to hospital after being shot by an enraged fan, who had failed to acquire a ticket for a rap concert. They had prevented him from sneaking in during the performance.

• Proceedings of the Scottish Parliament were halted in early March 2006 when a 12 ft oak beam broke free from a steel support in the debating chamber of the £431 million Parliament building. It swung 20 ft above MSPs as they discussed the importance of modern architecture to Scotland.

• A Private Member's Bill seeks to bring in tougher measures to combat the growing number of attacks on fire-fighters and other emergency workers. The proposals, backed by the Government, would introduce a fine of up to £5,000 or nine months in jail for assaulting or impeding emergency staff.

• BT introduced no-smoking rules in late March 2006 under which its employees will no longer be permitted to smoke on company premises, in vans bearing the company logo or in company cars. The ban covers 100,000 employees worldwide, including 85,000 in Britain.

• The Law Society of England and Wales believes that the police are being "cavalier" with the safety of solicitors, leaving them at risk of attack when they are locked in interview rooms with violent suspects. The practice is said to be common in 16 police stations and the Law Society has complained to the HSE.

• Local councils were told at the end of March 2006 to stop the practice of laying down gravestones in cemeteries on the grounds of safety. The local government ombudsman has described this practice as "official vandalism" and found it to be inappropriate and generally to be avoided.

• A council worker was killed in late March 2006 when horses pulling a glass-sided Victorian hearse bolted from a funeral in Ponteland, Northumberland. Three other people were injured in the accident.

• A telephone engineer fell to her death from the top of a telegraph pole while repairing a damaged cable. The 28 ft pole snapped in three places when a lorry snagged a line hanging "dangerously low" over the road and she was thrown to the ground, suffering severe head injuries. BT and Scottish and Southern Energy are said to have failed to heed warnings about an unsafe cable and have been charged with failing to ensure the safety of employees.

• The new Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff sprung a leak only a week after it was opened. Expanding and cracking of the roof after a prolonged sunny period was blamed for puddles forming in the public gallery and in the corridors. Rain dripped through the timber ceiling onto the slate floor near the entrance and trickled into a steel and glass staircase. Buckets and "Caution - Wet Floor" notices were required until repairs could be made.

• A six-year-old girl riding her bicycle was killed when she was hit by the swinging arm of a crane on the back of a moving lorry. Her five-year-old brother, walking behind her, was left critically injured. The crane was known to be in a dangerous condition and had been secured only with a length of old rope.

• The London Hazards Centre reports that 70-90% of people who work at a computer screen for more than six hours a day have experienced problems such as blurred or double vision, headaches or a sore neck due to straining to see the screen. This is being called computer vision syndrome (CVS). Fewer than one in five employees entitled to free eye tests have asked their employer for them.

• An inquest jury in Stratford-upon-Avon found that a two-year-old girl died in a garden pond due to neglect by the Reddy Teddy Go nursery in Lower Brailes, Warwickshire. She had wandered off through a gate that staff thought was bolted and was found in the pond some distance away an hour later. A civil action is being brought against the nursery.

• A Sonic Teen Deterrent that emits a high-pitched sound and deters youths from congregating outside shops and on street corners has been banned in Newport, South Wales, until human rights and safety issues have been fully resolved. There is concern that it could cause a young passer-by to have an accident.

• A worker at the Land Food Products factory in Hull stabbed his shift manager to death in August 2005 in a dispute over timekeeping. The man had a history of using knives violently and was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2006.

• A survey of civil servants carried out by an outside research company shows that one in ten claim to be being bullied at work. At the Foreign and Commonwealth Office the figure is one in three, with black and Chinese employees suffering the worst harassment. Around 150,000 civil servants from 21 departments took part in the research.

• Otis Investments and Otis Ltd were fined £400,000 at Southampton Crown Court in April 2006 following the deaths of two men who fell through ill-fitting lift doors. The accident occurred in 2001 at Shirley Towers in Southampton.

• The owner of a nursery where a seven-month-old baby died from asphyxiation when his head became wedged between the hood and the seat of a bouncer was fined £12,500 in April 2006. She was charged under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 with failing to ensure that persons not in her employment were not exposed to risks to their health and safety. She and two staff had earlier been cleared of manslaughter charges (see the Winter 2005 E-Newsletter).

• The case against Network Rail and Amey following the Southall rail crash in 2002 has been transferred by City of London Magistrates' Court to the Old Bailey. Both companies have pleaded guilty to safety offences and the maximum penalty is an unlimited fine.

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