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Production, storage, transport and use of steel ....
Production, storage, transport and use of steel - new guidance
The HSE has published Safety in the Storage and Handling of Steel and other Metal Stock, produced by them in consultation with Wolverhampton City Council and the National Association of Steel Stockholders (NASS).
The aim of the guidance is to expose the causes of injury and fatality:
slips and trips;
falls from height;
struck or crushed by moving stock;
struck or crushed by heavy lifting attachments;
struck by moving vehicles; or
cut by sharp edges.
Musculoskeletal injuries also feature prominently, storage and handling of metal stock accounted for 284 injuries according to provisional HSE figures for the reporting year 2003/04.
The guidance explains:
legal requirements;
common hazards;
how to assess and manage the risks from them;
the provision of training and information for employees;
the inspection and maintenance of storage and handling equipment.
The publication, Safety in the storage and handling of steel and other metal stock, HSG246, ISBN 0-7176-1986-9, price £14, available from HSE Books, will prove useful for anyone working, or involved in training staff in organisations such as stock producers, stockholders, stock hauliers or stock users.
"Publishing this guidance is a real achievement and shows what can be accomplished from partnership working. It has been eagerly awaited and I am in no doubt that it will help to improve health and safety standards. It will also act as an invaluable tool for enforcing authorities and assist in the consistency of enforcement, one of the original aims of the Steel Stockholding Lead Authority Partnership. Wolverhampton City Council is proud to have been involved in the project." - Chief Environmental Services Officer at Wolverhampton City Council "Working in partnership with the HSE and Local Authority has enabled us to produce clear and achievable safety standards for our industry, which should help all the businesses within our sector, both large and small. We have worked together to make this guidance easy to understand, thereby assisting all of us to improve our health and safety standards". NASS
"This guidance promotes sensible health and safety, which is about managing risks, not eliminating them. This is a good example of HSE's commitment to being a good partner - working with Wolverhampton City Council as lead authority and NASS to improve safety in a sector of industry with an unacceptable high level of injuries and fatalities." - HSE's Manufacturing Sector
