Penalty pressure
David Kennedy, Director of the Water Jetting Association, says cleaning contractors put their businesses as well as their staff at risk if they ignore tougher penalties for health and safety breaches.
The vast majority of businesses will state, as a mantra, that safety is a main priority. They will point to efforts they make, in terms of policies, procedures, and training, to avoid harm to employees and the public.
Yet, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is still kept very busy investigating and prosecuting organisations for breaching health and safety legislation.
Since 1 February 2016, the stakes have been raised with the introduction of new health and safety sentencing guidelines which have dramatically increased penalties faced by organisations found guilty of offences.
The new guidelines introduce a new focus on ‘likelihood of harm’ as well as actual harm caused. This means organisations face much larger fines even if no one has been injured or made ill.
The number of people exposed to the risk, plus the level of culpability of the organisation and individuals involved, are factored in. Finally, the scale of the financial penalty is based on business turnover.
Health and safety organisations have welcomed the changes. The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) says courts are now taking safety as seriously as data breaches and financial irregularities.
Fines fines fines
A study published by IOSH, with law firm Osborne Clarke, found that within a year of new sentencing guidelines being introduced, health and safety fines had risen dramatically. The largest fine in 2016 was two-and-a-half times the size of the largest fine in 2015, and almost 10 times larger than the largest fine in 2014.
Total income from the highest 20 fines in 2016 (£38.58 million) was higher than the total fine income for the 660 prosecutions successfully brought by the HSE in 2015/2016 (£38.3 million). 19 companies received fines of £1m or more in 2016 (the largest being £5m), compared to just three in 2015 and none in 2014.
Such high financial penalties, combined with the reputational damage caused by being prosecuted by the HSE, is likely to be devastating to most businesses. Many organisations taken to court by the HSE often never recover.
50 | TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Safety implications
As the UK’s leading provider of high pressure water jetting training, and a member organisation representing contractors and suppliers, the Water Jetting Association (WJA) also welcomes the new guidelines.
This is not least because high-pressure water jetting is a potentially hazardous cleaning processes widely used in UK industry. High pressure cleaning is increasingly used across many sectors, to clean and de-foul pavements, machinery, ducting, pipework, vehicles, boats, and buildings.
Our members recognise these risks and can draw on the WJA’s services, resources and expertise to mitigate them. However, hazards associated with pressurised water are often not fully realised by all who use it.
Even tap water is delivered under pressure. If a thumb is placed under a tap, a jet of water can be directed into a face at 40 pounds per square inch (PSI), which is enough to pierce an eye, causing blindness.
A standard pressure washer, bought in a DIY store, can deliver a jet of water at 100 PSI, which is powerful enough to puncture skin.
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