WRULD Claims heard in England, Scotland and Wales

References to and/or interpretations of HSE Guidance Documents - Wilkes - v - Areva T & D Ltd

Safe use of work equipment: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. L22 Approved Code of Practice and Guidance: 1998
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While not referred to in the Judgment by its title, at paragraphs 33 & 34, Mr Recorder Cliff refers to the HSE's Approved Code of Practice and Guidance on the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998:

I have been very helpfully referred [by Counsel for the Claimant] to a guidance regulation entitled, "How risk-assessment of the management regulations link with the provision of work equipment regulations 1993." "The selection of suitable work equipment for a particular task and process makes it possible to reduce or eliminate many risks of the health and safety of people at work." Paragraph 94, 'The risk-assessment carried out under regulation 3(1) of the management regulations will help to select work equipment and assess its suitability for particular tasks." Paragraph 95, "Most duty-holders will be capable of making the risk-assessment themselves using expertise in their own organisation to identify the measures which need to be taken regarding their work equipment." 99, "One of the factors to be considered is ergonomics," and 101, "Operation of the equipment should not place undue strain on the user. Operators should not be expected to exert undue force, or stretch, or reach beyond their normal strength or physical limitations to carry out tasks," and 103, under regulation 4(1), "Equipment must be suitable by design, construction or adaption to the actual work it is provided to do."

So that is the guidance. In this particular case, of course, the defendant company did none of that. They performed no risk-assessment and they did not take into account the complaints that had been made about the difficulty of operating this particular tool on the 4mm yellow wire.

V2.02

Last updated: 14/05/2013