This week saw Stone Federation join forces with the Health and Safety Executive to host a Safety and Health Awareness Day (SHAD) as part of the Federation’s ongoing StoneSafe campaign.
Held at the Building Crafts College, London, the event saw over sixty stone workers gather from natural stone firms from across the UK.
The day was specifically aimed at stone work operatives and stonemasons and provided them with practical advice on how to control health and safety risks as well as the opportunity to ask questions about their legal duties.
The theme of the day was stone professionals working together with the HSE, and the audience’s professional expertise was called upon and their opinions asked for at every available opportunity. This resulted in a very useful exchange of information which will be acted upon in the future.
A large number of delegates wanted guidance on which machines or RPE to buy and whilst the HSE were unable to be specific on brand names, their information on how they test the various products proved quite useful in assisting the companies with their future purchases. Stone Federation and HSE are looking to contact various tool and machine manufacturers with a view to getting their assistance on making their products more suitable for meeting the relevant levels covered by health and safety legislation that is in place.
Feedback from delegates was extremely encouraging:
“The collaboration between the HSE and SFGB is an excellent initiative and we would welcome further SHADs…”
“A Very motivating day.”
“A very interesting seminar with good guidance on how businesses should be looking to improve.”
Stone Federation would like to thank The Health & Safety Executive and the Building Crafts College for their help in making the day such a resounding success.
If you would be interested in attending the next SHAD, please email sandra@stonefed.org.uk
