Page 945 - Xmo Strata - Bulletin Archive

Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 347

14 March 2013

HSE Fee For Intervention

Please see enclosed self-explanatory bulletin that was shared with us by Artelia.

As discussed in bulletin 334, the HSE are now charging for their time under the new Fee For Intervention (FFI)
scheme. Under this scheme the HSE will charge the company for any intervention, site visits, phone calls, letters
or assistance they provide.

Small safety breaches may incur costs in the same way that larger ones do (the picture in the bulletin shows a
very obvious safety risk). For example, if you are unable to prove that the sign you are working on is locked off,
or a mobile scaffold tower is not fully complete, the HSE will take action and charge for their time.

The inspector will record the time they have spent identifying the material breach, helping you put it right,
investigation and taking enforcement action.

This will include:-

• Time spent carrying out the visit (including all the time on site during which the material breach was
identified).

• Writing notifications of contravention, improvement or prohibition notices and reports.

• Taking statements

• Getting specialist support or guidance in the case of complex issues

The time taken will be calculated and charged at a rate of £124.00 per hour or part thereof.

If a prohibition notice (where the HSE suspend work immediately) is served on a company, this information is
publicly available and is usually requested and must be declared as part of tenders for large contracts; as a result,
the work being quoted for may not be awarded as a direct result.

We are aware that the HSE are raising their profile in the construction sector, so please make sure you take time
to prepare for your job, read the safe systems of work and follow them in line with the training you’ve received.
If you don’t understand anything, or are unsure, please contact your line manager.

The routine decisions we make on a daily basis are often more as a force of habit than something we spend time
thinking about – looking before we cross the road, moving out of the way of falling objects etc. But what about
decisions that are just as important as these that we may think about, but choose to ignore – like seeing
someone doing something unsafe, or not eliminating a simple hazard when we spot it? These decisions are just
as important, and we want these to become just as instinctive as crossing the road. Please visit YouTube and
type ‘Xmo Strata reverse thinking’ into the search box – let’s make each decision count this year!