Associations Premier Construction

Safety focus: The industry associations looking out for you

Saftey Feature Focus- NFDC
Written by Roma Publications

Saftey Feature Focus- NFDC

NFDC

The National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC) is an industry association dedicated to the continual improvement of the demolition industry in order to benefit its members, customers and the general public. Through hard work and dedication, the NFDC continues to raise the profile of the demolition sector ensuring that training, health & safety and improved working conditions are at the forefront of everything it does.

The NFDC is represented on a number of external committees, which cover areas that include British Standards, training and health & safety. The NFDC is represented regionally, from Scotland and Northern Ireland through to London and the southern counties, with regular meetings being held to provide an important link for members.

Membership with the NFDC presents many opportunities to meet new contacts, whilst at the same time exchanging views with likeminded individuals. The NFDC regularly seeks views from its members and there are often opportunities to participate in the Federation’s many social events, including the Annual Convention.

In addition to its work, the NFDC continues to highlight the importance of the demolition sector through nominations and awards at industry recognised events.

For more information about the NFDC or to become a member, please visit: www.demolition-nfdc.com.

Saftey Feature Focus, IPAF & PASMA

IPAF & PASMA

The International Powered Access Federation, otherwise known as IPAF is an organisation which promotes the safe and effective use of powered access equipment through providing technical advice and information through influencing and interpreting legislation and standards and through its safety initiatives and training programmes.

The not-for-profit organisation is owned entirely by its members; consisting of manufacturers, rental companies, contractors and users worldwide. Since being set up in 1983, IPAF has represented the interests of manufacturers, distributors, users, rental and training companies serving as a forum for all powered access. IPAF has played a key role in promoting many of the design, safety and testing procedures which are now well established in the powered access industry.

IPAF, owned by its members, runs a scheme for members boasting several benefits. The organisation has connections with a plethora of companies working in and around the construction industry. Membership of IPAF is open to users of platforms, manufacturers, distributors, rental and training companies. Currently, the majority of members come from Europe and America; however the organisation does have members in the Middle East, Far East and the Pacific.

Meanwhile, PASMA is the world’s leading trade association for the mobile access tower industry. Representing the interests of manufacturers, suppliers, specifiers and users, it delivers and oversees the industry standard training scheme and is a major publisher of safety-related knowledge, information and guidance.

Liaising closely with all the key regulatory authorities and standards-setting bodies in the work at height sector, PASMA is the voice of the industry and, as such, plays a leading role in promoting best practice. The association advances safety, standards and best practice across a wide range of sectors and represents the interests of manufacturers.

PASMA is a self-financing association, which strives to help, shape and support the future of the industry. PASMA works in collaboration with a number of trade and professional bodies, as well as industry regulators and key decision makers.

PASMA Managing Director, Peter Bennett, said:

“The association is committed to delivering world-class support to all corners of the industry. Providing practical skills and knowledge are central to meeting this objective.”

For more information on IPAF please visit www.ipaf.org and for more information about PASMA, please visit: www.pasma.co.uk.

Saftey Feature Focus, ACRA

Protection against asbestos

Employers of building maintenance and repair workers are required to carry out a risk assessment before undertaking any work which exposes, or is liable to expose, employees to asbestos. They must take the appropriate steps required by the Asbestos Regulations to prevent or reduce these risks.

However, in many cases, the employers and their workers have little or no information about the premises where they will undertake work and are not aware if materials containing asbestos are present. Consequently, it is difficult for them to consider the risks, or decide if precautions may be needed.

A duty to manage the risk from asbestos in non-domestic premises was therefore added to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations in 2002 to address this issue. These requirements have since been brought forward unchanged in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 as Regulation 4.

Those who own, occupy, manage or have responsibilities for premises that may contain asbestos, will either have:

  • A legal duty to manage the risk from asbestos material; or
  • A legal duty to co-operate with whoever manages that risk

They will be required to manage the risk from asbestos by:

  • Finding out if there is asbestos in the premises, its extent and what condition it is in
  • Presuming the materials contain asbestos, unless you have strong evidence that they do not
  • Making and keeping up to date a record of the location and condition of the ACM’s or presumed ACM’s in their premises
  • Assessing the risk from the material
  • Preparing a plan that sets out in detail how they are going to manage the risk from this material
  • Taking the steps needed to put their plan into action
  • Reviewing and monitoring their plan and the arrangements made to put it in place; and
  • Providing information on the location and condition of the material to anyone who is liable to work or disturb it

In the United Kingdom, work on asbestos is by law to be carried out by a contractor who holds a licence under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, although there are exceptions. Normally, non-licensed work includes work on asbestos-containing textured coatings, asbestos cement and certain work of short duration on asbestos insulating board.

The duties imposed by regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 supplement the provisions of some of the duties imposed by other sets of regulations, in particular the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 which require the client to provide designers and contractors who may be bidding for the work or who they intend to engage, with the project’s specific health and safety information needed to identify hazards and risks associated with the design and construction work.

Asbestos awareness training is a legal requirement for most employees and supervisors working in the construction industry. In addition to initial training, the Approved Code of Practice which accompanies the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 also states that refresher training should be given at least every year.  Therefore, there is an ongoing annual legal requirement for refresher training to be carried out for the identified employees.

ARCA is the leading supplier of asbestos awareness training aimed at building and maintenance workers. To find out more or to arrange a no obligation meeting to discuss your employees asbestos awareness training needs,  please contact ARCA on 01283 531126.

 

NASC

The NASC has launched its 2015 Safety Report – documenting accident statistics for all NASC full contracting member companies in 2014, covering 14,988 operatives, which constitutes a major proportion of the UK’s total scaffolding workforce.

NASC is the national trade body for access and scaffolding in the UK – producing industry guidance for scaffolding contractors, their operatives and their clients. All 200+ NASC full contracting members are required to submit a completed annual accident return as a requirement of membership, and the NASC Safety Report is based on data generated by this exercise. It features:

  • Injuries and fatalities to operatives, members of the public and third parties.
  • Accident causes and types.
  • Detailed analysis of accidents.
  • Comparison of HSE/NASC accident statistics.
  • What the NASC does to support safe scaffolding practice.

In line with current HSE reporting procedures, the NASC 2015 Safety Report reports on seven day incidents only (as it is did in 2014). As such, the 2015 report appears to show a marked reduction in incidents, when compared with three day reporting, as detailed in the 2013 Safety Report and in previous years.

The 2015 NASC Safety Report shows another zero for fatal accidents within the membership. However, the total number of accidents reported by NASC members increased by 9% from 96 in 2013 to 105 in 2014. This corresponds to a 9% increase in the total number of member operatives, now up to 14,988.

The report also shows that there were 24 falls from height in 2014, with the highest reported fall being from 6m. Nine reported falls were from scaffolds or working platforms, of which were six from under 4m, with three falls at 4m or above, and seven falls were from ladders.

In 2014 the highest number of accidents occurred in the 21- 30 age group = 43 (41%) followed by the 41- 50 age group = 24 (23%). These two groups accounted for 64% of all accidents.

In age ranges 16 – 40, slips, trips and falls on the same level were the major cause of accidents (23), followed by falls from height (16), manual handling (13) and falls of materials (2).

In the 41+ age groups, slips, trips and falls on the same level (16) were also the major cause of accidents. These accidents follow a very similar pattern to those reported in the 2014 NASC Safety Report.

Slips, trips and falls on the same level totalled 39 incidents during 2014, which accounted for 37% of the total number of accidents recorded. These figures show a decrease of nearly 5% on the corresponding number of incidents reported in 2013.

NASC President, Kevin Ward said: “The annual report continues to demonstrate to the wider industry the continued commitment of NASC members when it comes to dealing with all matters Health and Safety related. It is therefore no surprise that continuous positive performance is evident in this latest set of statistics. These hard facts help to underpin the professional status for NASC regulated member companies.”

NASC Managing Director, Robin James added: “Once again, the annual NASC Safety Report has delivered positive numbers for the confederation membership and has provided engaging analysis, which can be used to raise standards and levels of safety in the scaffolding and access industry. We will be encouraging members to continue to work towards reducing accident figures.

“In addition to the Safety Report, the NASC Health and Safety Committee has asked members about any aspects they would like considered in the current review of its core Health and Safety guidance, SG4. Work is under-way on the update, SG4:15, set to launch in the Autumn. And new Slips Trips and Falls guidance and other new and revised safety publications will launch in 2015.”

To obtain a digital PDF copy of the NASC 2015 Safety Report please visit www.nasc.org.uk/safety_reports or contact NASC directly for a hard copy. And to obtain details about becoming an NASC member and to find out more about the NASC, the scaffolding industry trade body, visit www.nasc.org.uk or email: enquiries@nasc.org.uk.

XSPlatforms

With headquarters in the Netherlands, XSPlatforms specialise in the manufacture of suspended platforms and scaffolding systems for the construction industry. Initially founded as a Dutch company, XSPlatforms has been in operation for 20 years and has offices all around the world, including the UK, Australia, North- & South America, China, Spain, the Philippines, India, Kuwait, Dubai and Doha.

XSPlatforms has been manufacturing scaffolding and suspended platforms for the past five years, whilst it has manufactured façade access equipment and fall arrest systems for 20 years. The company has the knowledge and capabilities to provide safety at any height and does so through an innovative product range, which is backed by product expert training and support.

Product Manager of Scaffolding Systems and Suspended Platforms, Willem Piekaar, said:

“At XSPlatforms we provide our customers with innovation and safety, which has so far enabled us to live up to our vision of becoming the world’s leading provider of services related to working at height. We provide a one-stop shop which is ideal for anyone requiring expert advice or an expert product.”

Willem added:

“We purposely design and build our scaffolding systems to keep our customers safe and happy. And strive to remain the frontrunner of safety at height. The key to our success is word of mouth and we haven’t had a complaint yet. We have a zero accident track record and this is something which we are very proud of.”

For more information about XSPlatforms, please visit: www.xsplatforms.com.

About the author

Roma Publications