Parcel of rogues

I was talking to an HSE inspector today for background to a prosecution we'll be reporting soon. We were agreeing that the information was unlikely to be practical use to most readers of HSW magazine or this website since, by a process of self-selection, they've shown an interest in protecting their workers. They can benefit from the hard lessons of other reputable companies who let standards slip in some area, but not from the out-and-out knaves.

(This prosecution involves a polish worker on a construction project crushed by a two-tonne floor slab. The client and the contractor - both companies owned by the same man - had no health and safety policies, no risk assessments or method statements no construction plan and didn't give the workers any protective equipment. They never reported the accident and denied it when the HSE found out by other means. The cherry on the cake is that the company didn't even have planning permission to put the building up in the first place - the local council will decide later this month if it should be torn down.)

The inspector suggested that, even if our readers in construction or any other sector are unlikely to learn much from the details of these companies' failings, this sort of case is well worth reporting because (and i agree with this) it's important for companies who are doing the right thing to see that the HSE is not just going after them for small infringements, but is seriousl y interested in getting the rogues out of the sector.