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Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 208
16 September 2010
HSE FOCUSES ON SAFE MAINTENANCE
Safe maintenance is at the heart of a new European wide campaign – Healthy
Workplaces.
The European Healthy Workplaces Campaign on Safe Maintenance will run for two
years and take place across 30 European countries. It is coordinated centrally by the
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EYOSHA) – and is being
administered in the UK by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The campaign is designed to help raise awareness of potential risks when carrying out
maintenance activities, as well as improving employees’ understanding of their
responsibilities according to the law. Ultimately, it is hoped that the campaign will
reduce the number of people killed or injured during maintenance work across Europe.
According to the HSE, it is estimated that up to 30 per cent of manufacturing industry
deaths in the UK can be linked to maintenance activity.
The HSE has also produced a safe maintenance checklist for employees. Staff are
encouraged to rate their workplace’s attitude to maintenance.
Safe maintenance is crucial. It is imperative to ensure that petrol pumps, lighting and
electrical equipment are all isolated and switched off before maintenance work is
undertaken. If you are unsure on any aspect of safety whilst carrying out maintenance
tasks please inform your supervisor or call the office.
Visit the HSE website if you would like further information on the Healthy Workplaces
campaign at http://www.hse.gov.uk/safemaintenance/checklist.htm
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