It goes without saying that this specialist team will work to the same high standards of service that Sanatio is known for, as well as endeavouring to identify and target the best candidates for each individual requirement.

We are already working with some outstanding candidates as well as developing the relationships that we have with all of the major Construction companies.  So whether you’re interested in finding out what jobs are available to you, or you are looking for candidates to work in your team, give Sanatio a call today to find out what we can offer!

0870 770 4870
construction@sanatio.co.uk

HSC Open Meetings

The Health and Safety Commission is committed to being open about what it does. It wants people to have the opportunity to see how the Commission works and reaches its decisions.

So it decided that from April 2005 its meetings would be open to observers.
The Health and Safety Commission's first open meeting took place on 5 April 2005 at Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. For future meeting dates please see below.

Meetings will begin at 10.00am and finish around 1.30pm. There will be a short coffee break during the meeting. To register for the Commission meeting please complete the Registration form. Only people who have registered before hand will be allowed into the meeting. Seats are limited in number.

The full agenda and papers for future meetings will, as far as possible, be available here 4 working days before each meeting.

New Offshore regulations become Law 7th April 06

The Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 become law today. They replace the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992.

The 2005 Regulations reflect the experience and changes in the offshore oil and gas industry since 1993. They will cut bureaucracy for industry and allow Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors to carry out more planned interventions.

Ian Whewell, acting head of HSE’s Offshore Division, said today: “The Safety Case Regulations continue to be the foundation of a safe and sustainable UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The new regulations will build on the successes of the previous version and ensure that the post-Piper Alpha safety regime remains relevant and proportionate to the changing nature of the UK offshore industry. The industry, including workforce representatives, has played an invaluable role in developing the new regulations. HSE believes that they will provide real benefits in terms of reduced bureaucracy, enabling us to increase offshore inspection visits, and extend the role of safety representatives. Guidance on the regulations will be published in April and I would urge duty holders to engage with the new requirements.”

Key changes introduced by the 2005 Regulations include:

• The requirement for duty holders to send an early design notification, instead of a design safety case, to HSE when establishing a new production installation;
  
  
• Duty holders are required to carry out a thorough and fundamental review of their safety cases at least every five years, or as directed by HSE;
  
  
• The present requirement to re-submit safety cases every three years has been removed (inspectors will be checking to see that safety cases are being kept up to date through inspection);
  
  
• New duties require licensees to ensure anyone they appoint as an operator is capable of fulfilling their legal responsibilities for safety;
  
  
• Combined operations safety cases have been replaced by notifications, which do not need HSE acceptance; and
  
• The Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations have been amended to extend consultation with safety representatives to reviewing and revising a safety case, as well as preparing one.

New Noise Regulations now inforce

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is reminding employers that they will need to turn the noise down from April 06 as new noise regulations come into force.
The new regulations aim to protect the hearing of up to two million workers and will see action taken at a much lower level than is currently the case. One million workers in Great Britain are exposed to noise levels that could damage their hearing and there are 170,000 cases of deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions from excessive noise at work.

Many job sectors are likely to be affected by the new regulations including agriculture, construction, quarrying and mining, transport, forestry, drinks and packaging, textiles, potteries, glass, rubber, printing, metal / woodwork, steel, entertainment and the armed forces. Although, the music and entertainment industry officially has until April 2008 to comply while still meeting the ‘old’ requirements, Mr Budworth said he strongly suggested they took action now.

Health & Safety Event in Dublin (August 06)

How two major London construction projects were made safe places to work will be revealed at an event in Dublin in August 06.

InterConstruct 06, which takes place at the Burlington Hotel in the Irish capital on 23-24 August, features case studies on the Wembley Stadium and Heathrow Terminal Five projects that will reveal what health and safety professionals have done to keep these multi-million pound projects safe.

Of course, in such massive projects there will be lessons to be learned, and Kevin Lennon, Health and Safety Advisor to Multiplex Constructions (UK), the builders of Wembley, and John Milford, Head of Building at T5, will share these.

The event also includes case studies on two other major construction projects, the Dublin Port Tunnel and the Hong Kong Sky Rail.

The event has been organised by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH’s) Construction Specialist Group, in partnership with other health and safety bodies in America, Canada and Australia.

Thinking about health and safety

This handy reference booklet, written especially for MPs, gives clear health and safety guidance in an easy-to-use format with practical checklists of issues to consider and how to address them.

As well as covering MPs’ health and safety needs at Westminster and at constituency offices and surgeries, the booklet also offers tips for improving personal safety and managing travel and visits.

To show how the ideas in Think about health and safety can be put easily into practice, we have included a case study of the constituency offices of Edward Garnier, MP for Market Harborough.
IOSH has worked with the Parliamentary Estate to produce this advice, which gives details of the health and safety services at Westminster, and links to other sources of help and information.

HSE is seeking revisions to its Safety Assessment Principles for nuclear installations.

Comments are invited by the end of May 2006. The safety of a nuclear plant is the responsibility of the licensee, who is required to submit to HSE a written demonstration of safety, or safety case, which is periodically updated to reflect changing conditions.

Involving workers is a key theme of HSC's strategy and both the Commission and the Executive are committed to improving the quantity and quality of workers' participation in managing health and safety at work.

To encourage as many people as possible to participate in the consultation, HSE is also publishing a summary document to introduce the issues involved, as well as organising a number of regional meetings to encourage people to share and discuss their views.
The consultation is open to 8th September 2006

Responsibility for railway health and safety regulation is transferring from the Health and Safety Commission and Executive (HSC/E) to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) on 1 April 2006.

Lord Hunt, Minister for health and safety, said: 'The challenge for this new rail safety regulator will be not only continuing to work with industry in driving down injuries on the railway network, but also to tackle the incidence of occupational ill health in the rail industry. ORR now has an important contribution to make in improving the health, safety and welfare of rail workers and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 provides the perfect framework with which to do this

And new government initiatives such as Health, Work and Well-being will help sharpen the focus on to health issues arising from rail workplace activities, so we will not lose sight of this important and - as recent events have shown - often vulnerable group of workers.