Reversing the trends

The new Dust Kills campaign is the latest intervention initiative of the Health & Safety Executive to stamp out the threat of silica and wood dust in the building trade.

A fresh wave of site inspections running through from Monday 15th May to Friday 14th July aims to

1. increase awareness of the health issues and debilitating diseases resulting from exposure to dust on site
2. highlight the importance of effective control measures to improve long-term health

A legal duty of care lies on employers to reverse the trends, protect workers and provide safe working conditions. Over many years, many thousands of construction workers have suffered chronically or died as a result of poor education in personal health and dust management.

Our Managing Dust Safely initiative is a simple and effective means of putting into place the effective controls necessary to protect workers from exposure to dust on site. Education is key. You can have as many dust extractors and barrier screens and filter units and face masks as you like but unless there is a) the desire to use them and b) the understanding how to use them effectively, you are wasting time and money.

Reversing the trends begins with the end in mind. Educate, educate, educate.

Our Part 1 training is a basic understanding in dust management on site. It is common sense explained simply and realistically in an interactive environment with practical demonstrations.

Our Part 2 training is an introduction to COSHH and how it affects your work on site. It explores the practical application of the regulations, working through the hierarchy of controls, and where to go for information to keep yourself up to date with the latest changes.

Our Part 3 training looks at your site and the HSE, and effective dust control from the site manager's perspective. It goes deeper into the regulations and how you can use the resources of the HSE to your best advantage.

The HSE have released some useful information which can be found below

1. Visit the campaign website Construction Dust – Work Right to keep Britain safe
2. Download dust fact sheets to plan your work, stop dust getting into the air and use the right controls: 1. Construction Dust Information Sheet (CIS 36) (.pdf) and 2. Construction Dust Busy Builder Sheet (CIS 78)

For further information about the campaign and to keep in touch

1. read the recent HSE press release
2. follow the campaign on the HSE social media channels
3. join the conversation at #WorkRight

Without leaving anything to chance, safety programmes and compliance mechanisms are all there for our safety and not only our safety but the continuing safety and wellbeing of the world around us and the generations to follow.

There's more information on all of this which I'll gladly share if you would like it.

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