Greater Manchester safety scheme piloted next week
The Health and Safety Executive has teamed up with Trafford council to pilot a project aimed at reducing the amount of deaths in the Greater Manchester area as a result of industrial related incidents.
Starting from next Monday, 13 October, a number of on-site spot checks will take place for a week with firms operating within Trafford Park and Poulton.
Inspection teams, consisting of HSE health and safety awareness officers and Trafford council's environmental health officers, will provide advice on diverse issues such as how to carry out a transport risk assessment and the importance of taking damaged ladders out of service.
The most common reasons for deaths within the industry nationally include:
- An average of 45 employees have been killed annually in workplace transport related incidents in the last six years and more than 4,000 (average three day) were injured during 2006 and 2007 alone
- An average of 13 people die each year as a result of falling from a ladder and nearly 1,200 suffer major injuries
- Approximately 4,000 workers are killed every year through exposure to asbestos fibres in the workplace and each week 20 tradesmen die from asbestos related disease
If the pilot scheme proves a success, similar inspections will take place at other industrial parks across the North West.
