HSE will conduct spot-checks in Lancashire

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is launching an initiative it hopes will reduce the number of industry-related deaths in the Lancashire area.

It will be conducting unannounced spot-checks it which will allow it to identify factors which have most frequently led to injuries or deaths in the workplace.

The scheme is being piloted at the Poulton Industrial Estate but may be extended across the region as a whole.

Among the factors the inspectors will be looking for are issues affecting workplace transport, working at height and the risks presented by asbestos.

Dorothy Shaw, enforcement liaison officer for the Lancashire area, says half a dozen inspections will be conducted over the next two months.

"We'll be knocking on doors and keeping our eyes peeled for potential hazards in the workplace," she warns.

She adds: "Our hope is that we can prevent some of the serious and yet completely unnecessary incidents."

A similar scheme was recently announced for businesses in the High Peak region of Derbyshire, in which the HSE says it will be conducting spot-checks on construction sites.