Lone Workers Scrutiny

Jan 27, 2010 Health and safety regulations must be carefully reviewed and enforced by employers in order to protect members of their workforce who primarily work alone, it has been claimed.

The warning comes after defence company BAE Systems was fined £80,000 for the death of one of its workers in a blast at its Chorley site in 2005.

The 47-year-old woman, who had worked for BAE for almost 30 years, was thought to be handling lead styphnate, a sensitive primary explosive, when the explosion happened.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the case against BAE, have not been able to establish exactly what caused the explosion which killed the worker, as she was working alone at the time.

However, an investigation into the incident found that the company allowed unsafe working conditions to develop by not providing enough supervision or monitoring.

BAE Systems pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974, for failing to ensure the safety of its employees.

HSE inspector Colin Hutchison said: “The substance [the worker] was using is known to be extremely sensitive and must be handled carefully. BAE Systems failed to ensure the process was properly supervised and monitored.”

Alastair Hall, Head of Health & Safety at Citation, said: “Employers have a duty of care under the Health & Safety at Work Act to maintain safe working regulations. Employers who have lone workers should carry out a detailed risk assessment of the hazards to which their employee is exposed to and implement any necessary control measures.

"Citation's consultants provide frameworks and tools to assist our clients when completing, recording and storing a permanent record.”

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