黑洞社区

黑洞社区 control officers will be used to bolster the health and safety executive鈥檚 dwindling site inspection resources under a trial scheme that could be rolled out nationwide.

Under the joint inspection regime, which will target smaller sites, building control officers will report dangerous working practices to the HSE as part of their normal site visits.

The scheme is being trialled by the HSE鈥檚 Luton office, and will cover Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Steve Evans, the chief building control surveyor at Milton Keynes, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping this will have a real impact as we have 200 to 300 people across those councils visiting small sites. The HSE only has five inspectors in this area.鈥�

The Hazards Campaign claims each workplace regulated by the HSE is inspected on average every 14.5 years.

There are 124 inspectors in the HSE鈥檚 construction division, although it is recruiting 10 more. In contrast, there are about 4,000 building control officers in the public and private sectors in England and Wales.

A reporting protocol for the scheme is in development, but details of safety breaches and the addresses of the sites will be passed to the HSE. Officers will also take photographs that can be used by the HSE to take action without a site visit.

Peter Galsworthy, the HSE鈥檚 principal inspector in the Luton office, said the initiative would focus on high-risk activities such as falls from height. He said: 鈥淎sbestos and workplace transport are also areas of significant concern.鈥�

The scheme will be monitored for six months to see if health and safety on small sites improve, and could be rolled out nationally if it is a success. Galsworthy said: 鈥淚鈥檓 in close contact with my colleagues in London who are keen to see how this works out.鈥�

The HSE鈥檚 London office was unavailable for comment.