Access Key	Description
1	Home Page

South Downs

Branch News

March 2012

WWT Seminar being held: Friday 20th April 2012 at Ardingly College, Ardingly, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH17 6SQ

Designer Awareness Days are run by the industry for the industry. Working Well Together (WWT) is the cross-industry partnership with the aim of improving standards of health and safety in our industry. The goal is meaningful and sustained reduction in injury and ill-health. The benefit is not only a reduction in the pain and suffering caused to our fellow workers. There are also real gains to be made in productivity, pride and professionalism. Read More

October 2011

IOSH Policy and Technical Update – August 2011

Southdown's Website Statistics

September 2011

Formula 1 Grand Prix Safety & Our World "An Observation" By Malcolm Pink

On the television last week was an excellent programme on the merits of Health & Safety in the early days of Formula 1 and the struggle Jackie Stuart and others had of getting the car and track, builders/designer/owners but chiefly fellow drivers to accept responsibility for the safety of drivers participating in what was after all a sport.

In those days, I think seventies and eighties, it was not unusual to kill four or five top drivers per season and it was getting worse.

May 2011

Company director sentenced after employee's death fall.

Richard James, 37, sole director of Southern Property Maintenance, was today, Friday 6 May, sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to six months imprisonment suspended for two years, 150 hours community service and a fine of £120,000, with costs of £21,000.

February 2011

Vic Lander 1941-2011

We are sad to announce that one of our dear friends has passed away. Vic was one of the founding members of the South Downs Branch and over the years not only has he contributed to the success of the branch but along the way made a lot of very good friends.

Vic died peacefully in his sleep at home on January 29th 2011 and his funeral took place on Thursday 17th February 2011 at Worthing Crematorium, Findon in the Kingswood Chapel.

Donations to the Motor Neurone Society and ST. Barnabas Hospice via the Undertakers.

October 2010

COSTLY health and safety rules have pulled the plug on Southborough's cherished Christmas lights display.

Town councillors are desperately trying to find a way to abide by the rules, but the future is looking bleak.

And the regulations, which would cost thousands to implement, have been ridiculed by Councillor Jacqueline Jedrzejewski.

Sussex Health and Safety Inspectors are on the CASE

In 2008/09, 180 employees were killed at work in Great Britain. 29.3 million working days were lost overall due to work-related ill health and workplace injury. In many cases, simple health and safety measures could have prevented the deaths, injury and ill health that cause significant personal and economic loss.

Eastbourne will be part of a new initiative between local Councils and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), when inspectors visit around 150 workplaces on industrial estates in Eastbourne, Wealden and Hastings.

September 2010

Report No 3 - IOSH South Downs Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre (AMHC) Steering Group Report August 2010

Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre is an open air venue with purpose built and renovated museum buildings to preserve and present industrial artefacts and processes. It has a steam locomotive railway,....

Accreditation scheme for safety consultants

The new accreditation scheme for safety consultants will be announced officially in the next few weeks by the HSE, who will be running it in the early stages.

You can find the latest information from IOSH on this page. This confirms that IOSH members working as consultants will have to be Chartered to join the scheme.

European campaign on safe maintenance

Working alongside the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the HSE is supporting the Safe Maintenance Campaign. Many of these activities are focused around the European Week for Safety and Health at Work (starting Monday 25th October 2010) and the theme of the two year 2010-11 healthy workplaces campaign is Safe Maintenance.

The campaign is based on employers, employees and their health and safety representatives working together.

The UK campaign includes the HSE’s “safe maintenance healthcheck” which challenges maintenance procedures actually in place.

As part of this campaign, there is the chance to get involved in Good Practice Awards : these recognise organisations that have found innovative ways to make maintenance a consistent part of their workplace management.

One million men must get off their sofas to cut early deaths

IOSH supports National Men’s Health Week, which is part of the MHF’s ongoing work on promoting male health. MHF was founded by the Royal College of Nursing in 1994 and became an independent charity in 2001. The Forum works across a number of health and related issues, including: physical activity; cancer; workplace health; mental health; access to primary care.

Mini manuals from the MHF cover a variety of subjects - recent publications include “Surviving cancer” - this mini-manual is designed for men who have survived cancer and can be downloaded free from the MHF.

The popular “Question of Health” mini manual is a practical step-by-step guide for men to get them moving and playing sport. It includes sections on :

The first big question - Are you and your mates up for it?
The male body as a machine
So what’s in it for you?
So you want to get fit?
How much? How often? How hard?
What to eat
Exercise basics
Some exercise ideas
Getting used to the idea
Setting goals
Disabled?

Details on costs and how to order this booklet are at this link.

The MHF also runs the website MaleHealth which includes advice and other resources.

June 2010

IOSH South Downs Branch and the Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre (AMHC) - Volunteers welcomed

December 10

SouthEast firms reminded – secure your site before wrapping up for Christmas
December 17, 2009

Construction managers in the South East area are being reminded to secure their sites to reduce the risks of accidents during the Christmas shut-down.

Vizard Wyeth Solicitors - Health & Safety Monthly Update
December 11, 2009

Vizards Wyeth produce a range of newsletters and topical articles covering different business areas and issues.

London accident
December 10, 2009

A man was seriously injured yesterday on a scissor lift on the Westfield Shopping centre project in Stratford East London.

North London company fined £150,000 over major chemical fire
December 09, 2009

A North London-based international waste management company has been fined £150,000 for health and safety breaches following a major chemical fire in Preston which closed two motorways.

Company fined following death of worker
December 08, 2009

A company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after an employee was hit and killed by a reversing telehandler at a construction site in Aylesbury.

Boat safety campaign holds water across the South East
December 01, 2009

Boat yard owners use the cold weather and darker evenings as the main opportunity to carry out annual maintenance checks of vessels onshore, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging them to take care.

£50,000 fine after man crushed to death by scrapyard claw
November 30, 2009

The death of a man crushed by a scrapyard grab claw has prompted a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a £50,000 fine.

Hazards special report - HSE knows the UK lead exposure standard can kill but refuses to act
November 17, 2009

Thousands of UK workers are being exposed to levels of lead that can cause serious chronic health problems. Hazards editor Rory O’Neill says the Health and Safety Executive knows it, but admits it has “no intention” of doing anything about it.

Hazards special report - Conservatives promise to use inspection opt-outs to ‘tame’ HSE
November 17, 2009

Fewer than 1 in every 15 major injuries at work now result in a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. Justice suffers too, with absolutely no HSE enforcement action in almost 98 per cent of cases. But Tory plans to give firms a get-out-of-jail card could make a bad situation much, much worse, Hazards editor Rory O’Neill warns.

HSE - Employer without compulsory insurance fined
November 13, 2009

A Cambridgeshire retailer has been fined £1,000 for failing to have compulsory insurance to protect his employees.

London property developer fined £10k for safety breaches
November 13, 2009

A London property developer and landlord has been fined £10,000 at City of London Magistrates Court after workers on two of his developments were put at risk.

Vizard Wyeth Solicitors - Health & Safety Monthly Update
November 12, 2009

Vizards Wyeth produce a range of newsletters and topical articles covering different business areas and issues.

Fine after driver’s arm amputated during Kent delivery
November 5, 2009

A stone company has been fined after a delivery driver had to have his left arm amputated when slabs, weighing 220 kilograms each, fell on him.

Lucky escape
November 5, 2009

A man appears to have had a miraculous escape after a four metre fall from a van mounted aerial lift today in Worthing England.

Hidden Killer warning for tradesmen in East Sussex
November 2, 2009

Tradesmen across East Sussex are the target of a new campaign warning them to beware a hidden killer − asbestos.

Not so seasonal lights
October 29, 2009

Caught in the act in Wrexham, UK, two men using a truck mounted lift to put up lights in a less than ideal manner.

New statistics see fall in South East fatalities but major injuries on the rise
October 28, 2009

Statistics released today by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that fewer people died from workplace injuries in 2008/09 in the South East compared with the previous year.

Not enough equipment
October 26, 2009

Spotted by a German visitor to the UK, one man using a platform another having to make do on the same site.