News
Man dies after fall from ladder
A Barnet-based wholesaler has been fined after a man died of injuries sustained when he fell from a stepladder.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Ovenpride Wholesale Ltd and manager Amjad Mahmood for failing to provide a safe system of work which, led to the death of handyman Rocco Carofalo.
The City of London Magistrates' Court heard on the morning of 22 April 2009 Mr Carofalo, who was employed as a casual handyman at Ovenpride's Finchley Rd Bakery, was asked to build shelving in the storeroom by the site manager.
During the morning Mr Carofalo had been seen standing on a stepladder while working on the shelving using tools and materials provided by Ovenpride.
At around midday he was found lying on the floor bleeding from a severe head wound, with the stepladder beside him. He died as a result of his injuries on 23 June.
Two HSE Inspectors visited the scene after the incident and issued a Prohibition Notice stopping any work at height because of the unsuitability of all access equipment. A stepladder deemed to be in very poor condition, was taken from the bakery by HSE inspectors.
After the hearing, HSE's Inspector Charles Linfoot said:
"The consequences of this tragic incident will be felt by Mr Carofalo's family for ever but it was so easily preventable. As the risk of a fall was foreseeable, Ovenpride and its manager should have carried out a full site-specific risk assessment and planned and organised the work to be carried out in a safe manner.
"Where access to heights is required, even for relatively short term work, they are ultimately responsible for assessing and planning the work and ensuring that it is carried out in a safe manner using suitable access equipment."
Ovenpride Wholesale Ltd, of Empire Way, Brent pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £1.
Amjad Mahmood of Donnington Road, Brent pleaded guilty to also breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined a total of £300 and ordered to pay costs of £200.
HSE Bulletin No: COISE/2017(Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence)
It would appear that the cause of the accident in this incident may be down to the state of the stepladder being used which was "deemed to be in very poor condition". Stepladders should be checked before use to ensure they are fit for purpose and any potential problems identified. This is a relatively straight forward inspection that a competent person could carry out quickly and easily. Sign Supply's product, Good to Go Safety can provide you with a simple solution to help avoid incidents like this from happening.
A tag is attached to the ladder which clearly displays a 'Do Not Use' message until such time that a checklist has been completed and inserted inside the tag to indicate it has been checked and found to be 'Good to Go'. A duplicate record of all completed checklists is retained for management records and as proof of an adequate ladder log and/or maintenance schedule.
Wed 14 September 2011
Sign Supply's catalogue goes Digital
In June this year Sign Supply launched it's digital catalogue.
This is the culmination of much consultation with our customers about how they want to buy.
We understand that, for many companies, it is now a matter of environmental policy that they minimise the use of paper catalogues. In our increasingly digital world, it is a natural step to move into flipping through online catalogues as a matter of preference.
The digi-catalogue has the additional benefit of being an instant quoting tool! When selecting your choice of signs, they are added to a pop-up 'quotation' which will constantly update your total as you proceed.
If you wish to convert the quotation into an order, you simply click the 'Send order' button and it comes straight into our sales office. Simple!
All orders placed this way will be invoiced once they have been verified and accepted by Sign Supply.
Have a look at the digital catalogue today!
http://www.easyflip.co.uk/Signsupply/book.html
Mon 20 June 2011
Are you ready?
We can imminently expect to see the adoption of a new standard for safety signs as ISO 7010 is soon to become Pr EN 7010.
The change will see safety signs in the
workplace move away from being an
‘international standard’ (essentially a
recommendation on best practice), to a
European Norm (meaning the contents of the
standard must be written into UK and EU Law).
ISO 7010 has been developed to provide a
consistency in design across the EU. By using
common pictograms and symbols a universal
recognition of safety signs will be encouraged.
It will mean that a fire exit sign in the UK will look the same as it would in any other
European country.
Many of the new designs are based upon
BS5499 standards (a standard we have
conformed to since its introduction in 2002).
We have been phasing in the new designs
throughout 2010 and you will notice some
significant changes, whereas others have been tweaked to make them technically correct but
look virtually the same as existing versions.
Now is the time to examine your workplace for the changes that required, and to plan your budget for the updates.
If you need any guidance on how to bring your workplace into line with the new law, please contact us and one of our sign specialists will be delighted to help.
Tue 10 May 2011
Do you have property to market?
Sign Supply are doing a lot of work in this sector. Marketing of commercial property is very competitive in the current climate. Our customers are showing great success in letting properties that have been effectivley advertised using our marketing signs. All made to order, to suit the location, our signs can make the difference to your lettings too.
Wed 27 April 2011
It's the Law!
Did you know that on 6th April 2009 the HSE published a new version of its Health and Safety Law poster?
Employers are required by Law to display this poster in a prominent position.
The poster is available here , and we also have a frame to suit it.
Thu 31 March 2011
Sign Supply makes a move
In March 2011 Sign Supply moved into its new premises in Woking. The move is part of the company's long-term growth strategy, and has quickly enabled even more rapid production times. The building is home to Sign Supply's state-of-the-art digital printing equipment and sign fabrication workshop. Our installation teams now also work out of a purpose-built workshop on site.
2011 heralds a new and exciting chapter in the 16 year history of the company.
Mon 28 March 2011
Safety sign standards set to change
ISO 7010 is soon to be adopted as a European norm and will be automatically adopted as the domestic standard within all member states of the European Union. All workplaces will be required to implement and display the new graphical symbols for safety communication. The objective is to ensure that only graphical symbols with the highest comprehension credentials are used.
The use of common graphical symbols across the EU will help establish a common safety sign message, ensuring that a sign can be recognised and understood, regardless of the spoken language in that country.
Wherever possible, all signs shown within our latest catalogue have been amended to display a technically correct ISO 7010 symbol. Where a symbol has yet to be adopted by International Standardisation, but has proven comprehension credentials under BS5499, these signs will continue to be manufactured to BS 5499 standards.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of ISO 7010 can be found in Emergency Escape Route signage which will help ensure that an evacuee is progressed correctly through the escape route to a place of relative safety. As a result the old EC Directive (92/58/EEC) signage will no longer be a valid option within your building and we strongly recommend that you replace signage displaying these symbols for the new ISO 7010 versions at your earliest opportunity.
Unlike ISO 7010, these EC Directive signs have been found to cause some confusion amongst evacuees and have no comprehension credentials to validate their use as part of your safety way guidance system.
Mon 17 January 2011
