January 2011 - Reported to the HSE by their inspection company
It is not unknown for a company to be told that their statutory inspection company has reported them to the Health & Safety Executive and, as a result of the report, they receive formal correspondence from the HSE or, even worse, a visit by an inspector.
How does this happen and what can you do to prevent it?
It is a legal requirement that certain items of work equipment are inspected by an impartial “competent person” on a regular basis. Most of the items which require inspection fall under either the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), e.g. power presses, or the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), e.g. forklift trucks, overhead cranes, etc.
More often than not the “competent person” is an independent inspection company rather than an in-house person.
Whilst the vast majority of inspections are completed without incident and every year hundreds of thousands of items are deemed to be safe and in good order, now and again defects in items of work equipment are noted. These defects fall into three categories:
Defects which require action before further use or before a specified date.
Defects requiring corrective action as soon as reasonably practicable.
Other observations, normally wear and tear items which are not considered safety critical.
The problem arises when a Category A defect is identified. As it stands, the law demands that the “competent person”, whether in-house or independent, reports the problem to the HSE. For example, LOLER states: “Where there is in his opinion a defect in the lifting equipment involving an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, send a copy of the report as soon as is practicable to the relevant enforcing authority.” Further, if they fail to do so the “competent person” is personally liable.
So what can be done to manage this
process?
In theory and practice, the “competent
person” completing the inspection
should tell you, the employer, forthwith
of any defect which, in his opinion, is
or could become a danger to persons
and also that they need to report the
defect to the HSE. However, the
reality is that sometimes the last part
does not happen. Therefore if you are
informed that an item has a serious
defect, ask whether it is serious enough
to be reported to the HSE or another
authority.
Although you cannot stop the report
from being made, a very friendly
“competent person” may think twice if
you can demonstrate that the item has
been taken out of service, a company
has been commissioned to complete
the remedial work and systems
have been put in place to prevent it
happening again - although you will
have to do this anyway if you want to
continue to lawfully use the equipment
at some future point. So, if you do it
without being told to, you will reduce
the chances of enforcement action
being taken. You could also save your
business the pleasure of a full site
inspection and any action against you
as an individual.
However, prevention is better than
cure and, to some extent, the best way
to avoid a serious problem is to ensure
all items of work equipment are
regularly maintained and serviced, as
per manufacturers’ recommendations
and guidelines.
Further, when an item of equipment
or machine comes to the end of its
natural working life do not, if it can
be avoided, leave it in any state that
an observer, especially the HSE or a
“competent person”, may conclude
it is available for use; ideally, get rid
of it. If it cannot be disposed of, at a
minimum, the equipment or machine
should be disabled with a sign placed
on it declaring it is out of use.
For more information or if you have any questions surrounding the information in this article please contact Crown House on 01777 861 861 or e-mail Jacky Millard
Motor Trade