Tyneside firms targeted in HSE crackdown

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently inspected more than 100 companies as part of its drive to improve health and safety in the workplace.

During its analysis of the firms, the authority issued 14 official improvement notices, which require bosses to take immediate steps to reduce the risk of danger members of staff are exposed to.

The organisation raised concerns about issues such as working at height, manual handling, a lack of suitable training for forklift truck operators and inadequate ventilation systems designed to control the levels of wood dust in the workplace.

Michael Bone, the HSE inspector, said major health and safety breaches required serious action on the part of the authority.

"When we called in to some premises, we were able to offer advice there and then, but in more serious cases, we had to take the more serious step of issuing an improvement notice where the relevant health and safety requirement had been broken," he stated.

Recently, the HSE inspected visited 24 construction sites in Newcastle and issued four prohibition notices due to poor health and safety standards.