23 August 2004 - New HSE Website Provision for Information on Surface Engineering
The Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) website now has pages providing information on
health and safety main causes of injuries and main causes of ill health
within surface engineering.
This sector of the manufacturing industry operates mainly with
sub-contractors, of which the majority employ less than 50 people,
specialising in specific processes, whilst the larger manufacturing
companies have their own "in house" finishing processes. The industry
employs over 10,000 people within the United Kingdom.
The Surface Engineering Association's Health Safety and Environment
Committee has co-ordinated for over 10 years the activities and interests of
the health and safety industry and provides the HSE with any relevant
information required.
Unfortunately, this industry has a much higher accident rate for fatalities,
major accidents and 3-day injuries than the whole of manufacturing.
Between the periods 1996/97, surface engineering incidents have increased,
per 100,000 employees, from 270 to 445 in 2002/03, whilst manufacturing
rates have fallen from 206 to 196 in the same period.
Principal Inspector John Powell from HSE’s Manufacturing Sector commented:
"I am so pleased to launch the surface engineering webpages. Sadly, the industry has seen incident rates increase over the last six years, whilst rates for the manufacturing industry have dropped. By book marking this new site as a ‘favourite’, people who work in the industry will be a ‘click away’ from sensible health and safety advice which will help them protect themselves and their business.”
David Elliott, Chief Executive of the Surface Engineering Association (SEA) representing the industry also commented:
“The HSE and SEA have been working together to publish best practices within the industry. This site will be a prime source of easy to understand and current information. We represent a diverse range of industries many of which are small businesses. Access via the internet enables the health and safety message to be disseminated quickly and effectively.”
The new web site area can be found by clicking this link: Surface Engineering
Article by Alexandra Johnston
