HSE targets tools and materials handling on site

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) will blitz construction sites in London, the South East and the East in March, checking for the safe handling handling of tools and materials.

The initiative is titled Healthy Handling and the HSE wants clients, designers, planning supervisors and contractors to be prepared.

Handling and using tools, materials and substances can result in fractures, strains, musculo-skeletal disorders (MSD), dermatitis, cement burns, hearing loss, hand arm vibration syndrome and consequent long-term disability.

It is estimated that each year 90,000 construction workers sustain MSDs and 3,000 new cases of vibration white finger are diagnosed.

During the blitz, HSE inspectors will focus on site order and organisation, lifting and carrying, wet cement and handheld vibrating equipment and tools.

The HSE has issued a free five-page guide on the Healthy Handling initiative, which can be accessed at www.hse.gov.uk/construction.