What is brown and yellow and requires a traffic management plan that would put the biggest and busiest construction site in the shade?

Workplace risk assessments will not be subjected to compulsory independent audits, the Government has determined, as part of its response to Lord Gill’s inquiry into the fatal explosion at ICL Plastics’ Glasgow factory in May 2004.

The HSE has announced it is to revise its guidance for the events industry to reflect legislative changes and improvements in industry practices.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has published a report highlighting the importance of taking diversity in the workforce into account via inclusive risk assessment.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) drew its two-year Healthy Workplaces campaign on risk assessment to a close earlier this week at a summit meeting in Bilbao, Spain.

A sheet-metal manufacturing company and its director have appeared in front of magistrates after workers were exposed to high levels of lead at its factory in Norfolk.

A farm worker suffered serious injuries while cutting a tree when the chainsaw he was operating dropped on to his elbow.

In a case that demonstrates that health and safety professionals are not immune to prosecution, a health and safety manager has lost his appeal against safety charges brought against him following a flashover incident.

A 21-year-old man was killed while testing a high-pressure valve, in an incident that led to his employer being fined £150,000.

A waste management company has been fined £210,000 after a lorry driver was crushed to death at a Northamptonshire landfill site.

The imminent publication of ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management – Principles and guidelines on implementation has prompted Chris Peace to trace the history, content and use of the Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand version on which it is based, and suggest what safety and health practitioners can expect from the new international standard.

Decisions made by emergency services personnel about whether or not to take risks in fraught situations have been the subject of much negative media attention recently, so Bill Gough outlines the issues facing ‘first responders’ and suggests ways in which their managers can help them do the right thing – for themselves and those who need their help.

Kevin Bridges discusses three recent cases that highlight how risk must be real, rather than hypothetical, if cases against defendants accused of not managing that risk are to succeed.

In terms of risk assessment the emergency services are not special – they are different, because of the deeply embedded ethos and culture involved in the care and rescue of patients. George Dickson examines this difference as exemplified by the Scottish Ambulance Service and outlines the risk assessment approach taken to address occupational health and safety concerns.

3M is supporting this month’s European Week for Safety and Health at Work by launching an interactive marketing campaign to highlight the importance of risk assessments.

The Government has issued two new Fire and Rescue Service operational guidance documents – the first of 40 such documents to be produced following the most comprehensive review of such guidance for the Service in ten years.

A new international standard has been issued on assessing risk and managing work in cold environments.

Following its launch at the Safety & Health Expo last month, coshhSMART is proving to be a huge success, says developer Sypol.

EssentialSkillz will be demonstrating its new DSE training and risk assessment solution, ErgoWize.

Health and safety eLearning provider Praxis42 says that it has launched a new eLearning course in Fire Safety at Work in conjunction with its team of fire experts and external professional bodies to help organisations meet the training and information requirements of the new Fire Safety Reform Order.