A new partnership initiative between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Cardiff local Working Well Together (WWT) group, and the Cardiff County Council Building Control Officers has been set up to improve the health and safety performance of small building contractors in Cardiff.
Cardiff County Council Building Control Officers will be carrying out routine visits during June, July and August where they will be recommending various small building firms to attend free half day health and safety training workshops.
From Wednesday 19 July and every Wednesday thereafter for eight weeks, the free health and safety workshops will be held in the mornings at the Council's training premises at Bessemer Close.
The training is being delivered by trainers from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) National Construction College and will cover the following topics:
- avoiding slips and trips
- ill health
- working at height
- safe manual handling
- control of substances hazardous to health
- safe site-traffic management
- identifying and working safely with asbestos
Those who attend will also be given the opportunity to take on further free training in the preparation of risk assessments and method statements, as well as undertaking free CHAS (Contractors' Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) assessments which could lead to CHAS registration.
Chantal Nicholls, HSE Principal Inspector for Construction Wales commented:
"It is vital that construction companies take ownership of their health and safety by taking advantage of the free training being offered during this pilot. Small firms often miss out on training opportunities, as many events require them to miss out on paid work. The training being offered here, is only four hours, enabling delegates to go back to work later. I am also pleased to see a partnership initiative working so well. Cardiff Building Control Officers are working with HSE's Working Well Together Campaign to directly improve the health and safety of the industry."
County Councillor Judith Woodman, Chair of the Council's Health and Safety Forum and the Executive member with responsibility for health and safety also commented:
"I would encourage all local contractors to take this training. Sensible health and safety recognises that not all risks can be eliminated. Where they can they should be, but in other cases it is is about managing risks, controlling and minimising them to an acceptable level. Ask yourself, how would my business cope if I lost a skilled worker for a few days?"
HSE construction inspectors undertook a "mini-blitz" on Monday 3 July 2006 where inspectors visited 28 duty holders at small projects across Cardiff. Six prohibition notices were issued and three voluntary cessations of work, mostly relating to work at height and scaffolding issues.
Chantal Nicholls commented on the results by saying:
"Many builders visited during the exercise were unaware of their legal duties. Those who were aware clearly decided to ignore the law, putting themselves, their workers and others at risk. Sensible health and safety was promoted during the exercise. The majority of builders were keen to attend the training to gain the knowledge and skills they needed to manage risks sensibly. I expect demand for training to increase. HSE and Cardiff County Council are providing training for those who genuinely want to meet their legal and moral obligations. Those who continue to flout the law will find inspectors will use the full extent of their powers on future visits."
The free training is open to sole traders, and owner/ managers of construction companies with fewer than 15 employees. Further information can be found by calling 0870 4166222.
