Articles
Health & Safety! By Tony Jenner, Cameron Forecourt Ltd The accompanying recently taken photograph clearly shows the scant regard which, regrettably, some contractors in this industry are paying to Health & Safety!
good, safe practices are maintained! What the photograph does not show is the unprotected mains electrical cables snaking across approximately 10 metres of forecourt before entering
It must be assumed that the engineer in the picture has either had no Health & Safety training or that he has no regard for the safety of himself or that of others. It must be also assumed that the employer does not operate an active Health & Safety management system which would involve carrying out regular audits of his employees to ensure that
the pay kiosk door where it was plugged into a wall socket. Irrespective of the obvious danger of flexible mains electrical cables in the hazard area no attempt had been made to secure the cable so as not to present a trip hazard to the many members of the public using the facilities of the service station. Other than positioning their van beside
the pump no other attempt had been made by the operatives to cordon off and protect the work area. Whilst I can accept that some of the actions shown in the photograph are a result of ignorance and a general disregard for Health & Safety, one further consideration is that these corners were being cut purely on financial grounds! To carry out this work safely it would have been necessary to fence the work area off completely and to use compressed air cutting tools rather than the electrically powered equipment shown in the photograph. Also, the engineer should be wearing personal protective equipment such as a high visibility vest or jacket. As a rough estimate I would say the health & safety cost cutting on this job saved the contractor between £300-£400. In this instance, they got away with it and nobody was hurt, next time they might not be so lucky. It is essential that all of us within this industry strive to uphold the generally good standards of contracting that prevail and prevent the "cowboys" such as those shown in the photograph from behaving in such a cavalier fashion. If we fail to achieve this the next bulletin article may be reporting the tragic consequences of these foolish actions.
Pizza and Fireworks By Roger Marris, Senior Petroleum/Explosives Inspector, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service In late October 2003, a customer waiting for a pizza at a take-away shop witnessed what she thought to be some fireworks being sold to a child from the back door. She reported the incident to the Police and Trading Standards Service. The Police were the first to respond to the complaint and after interviewing the proprietor, seized a quantity of fireworks that were stored in the food preparation room. The seized fireworks were subsequently passed into the custody of the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service so that a full investigation could be carried out into the suspected unlawful storage of 30
fireworks and the sale of fireworks to children. Enquiries by an Explosives Inspector revealed that it was common knowledge in the high street where the take-away was located that fireworks were being sold at ½ price. There was no record of the premises being registered with Fire Service for the storage of fireworks. When Explosives Inspectors interviewed the proprietor, he admitted to selling fireworks to selected customers but at the same time denied selling any fireworks to children. Unfortunately the witness who made
the complaint refused to make a statement in fear of retaliation from certain elements of the local community, which meant that no further action could be taken against this allegation. At a hearing before the Dewsbury Magistrates on 31 March 2004, the proprietor pleaded guilty to an offence of keeping fireworks in an unauthorised place contrary to section 5 of the Explosives Act 1875. He was fined £200 with an order to contribute £200 to the prosecution costs.
