VEHICLE DISMANTLERS COMING UNDER SCRUTINY FOR HEALTH & SAFETY?

Earlier this year we were contacted by the HSE with a general query about H&S at vehicle dismantling yards. They said that they had identified these premises as a potential area for attention in 2016 & 2017. They did not disclose the reasons for this.

 

Separately we were also contacted by Environmental Health departments at a number of local Councils with queries about dismantling yards. These seem to be general... queries, because they don’t understand how the industry works or what is ‘best practice’ & so didn’t want to go onto site unprepared. This is similar to what we saw in 2014-5 with local authority & Police enforcing SMDA13.

 

As you know there has been a lot of attention about fires at waste sites. This may partly be the cause of these enquiries, but they appear to be unrelated to SMDA13.

 

We passed on to the councils the contact details for Phil Wass, as an independent H&S consultant with experience in this industry.

 

On Monday 21st March, MVDA attended as an observer a training session for Environmental Health Officers organised by Phil.

 

Phil gave a good presentation about how the industry works & what to expect. He ran through vehicle recovery, storage, depollution, crushing, FLTs, scrap handlers, vehicle movements, manual handling, TCM etc.

 

Sadly, council EHO attendees appeared not to have been liaising with their colleagues & Police responsible for enforcing SMDA13 or with the local EA.

 

MVDA members are advised that the HSE & local councils appear to be showing an increasing amount of interest in our industry & to make sure they’re prepared. We will let you know if we hear of anything in particular.

 

If you need H&S advice contact:

Phil Wass
WASS MANAGEMENT LIMITED
Phone - 01773 541441
Fax - 01773 541464
E-Mail - wassmanagement@aol.com
Mobile - 07970 166298http://wass-safety.co.uk/