We are proud to be a Schools North East Commercial Supporter – a self-funded school network which represents all 1,150 schools in the north-east region.
Formed by a group of headteachers in 2007, Schools North East provides networking, consultations, events and more for over 3,500 school officials in the north-east every year; and we are very pleased to be adding our support going forward.
The HSE have released the annual health and safety figures for the year 2023/2024, and here are the 5 key takeaways.
Since last year, musculoskeletal disorders have gone up by 14%, which is 67,000 cases more than last year – the largest single year increase in 10 years. After hitting its lowest rate on record last year, almost 2 in every 100 workers has suffered from a musculoskeletal disorder this year. This is the highest rate since 2015/2016.
Illnesses mainly affecting the back (18%), illnesses mainly affecting the lower limbs (33%), and breathing or lung problems (30%) have also increased significantly.
After a record amount of cases in 2021/22 (914,000), and a similarly high 910,000 cases last year, this year has seen 134,000 (14%) fewer stress, depression or anxiety cases than last year. This has produced the lowest rate per 100,000 workers (2.3%) since 2018/19.
However, stress, depression or anxiety cases now make up more than half (55%) of all work-related illness cases – their largest proportion on record. These cases affect an estimated 2.3% of all workers, which is significantly higher than 20 years ago, where the rate was an estimated 1.6% of all workers.
Total illnesses have fallen by 141,000 cases (8%) from last year – the first year-by-year decrease since 2018/19 after going up for 4 straight years.
This is mainly due to the large fall in stress, depression or anxiety cases, as well as 51,000 (48%) fewer infectious disease cases this year when compared to last year. ‘Other’ types of illnesses have also fallen by 48,000 cases (25%), contributing to the overall decrease.
On the other hand, workplace injuries have gone up for the fourth straight year, rising by 28,000 cases (5%) since last year. Overall however, the injury rate per 100,000 workers remains on the downward trend, with a 3.5% rate 20 years ago, a 2.1% rate 10 years ago, and a 1.9% rate this year:
| Year | Rate per 100,000 workers |
|---|---|
| 2003/04 | 3,480 |
| 2013/14 | 2,130 |
| 2023/24 | 1,890 |
This year, a third (45) of workers killed in work-related accidents were aged 60 and over, even though only around 11% of workers in the UK are aged 60 and over. This is also up significantly from 25% last year and 24% the year before – a worrying development.
Overall, worker deaths (138) are similar to last year (136) with an almost identical rate per 100,000 workers (0.42%). Promisingly however, work-related deaths continue to trend downwards. The latest 5-year average of 131 deaths is the lowest since RIDDOR began collecting records in 1974, with three of the five lowest annual numbers on record occurring during this period.
The most common cause of fatal injuries to workers continues to be falls from height (50), which make up more than a third of all fatalities (36%). This is followed by being struck by a moving vehicle (25), struck by a moving/flying/falling object (20), and then being trapped by something collapsing/overturning (15).
Other recent trends continue, with construction remaining the industry with the most work-related fatalities (51), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (23), and manufacturing (16).
Bibliography
HSE (2024) ‘Health and safety statistics’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ (accessed: 16/12/2024)
HSE (2024) ‘Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm (accessed: 16/12/2024)
HSE (2024) ‘Index of data tables’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/tables/index.htm (accessed: 16/12/2024)
ONS (2023) ‘The occupations most dependent on older and younger workers’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/theoccupationsmostdependentonolderandyoungerworkers/2023-05-31 (accessed: 16/12/2024)
We are pleased to announce the release of a new staff sign-in and visitor management facility ‘Onsite Register‘ in Smartlog®.
Signing in visitors and staff into your premises can now be done through Smartlog. By using a simple sign-in display or placing QR codes in different areas, visitors and staff can effortlessly clock in and out of any setting or area of your premises.
You also have the ability to access the complete premises visiting history, or when conducting an investigation, you can see who was clocked into an area at a specific time.
The new module features the following:
Employee Sign-in
Easily and quickly sign in/out both visitors and employees, and keep a digital time-stamped track of everybody within your building premises for both safety and security purposes.
In real-time, accurately account for everybody in the event of an emergency evacuation, and conduct your Smartlog Fire Register with an up-to-date visitor list.
Scan a QR code
Signing in and out can also be contactless, with the ability to use a generated QR code. Simply print and display the QR code in your reception area, and visitors can scan in and out using their personal smartphones.
Individual registers for your different buildings, departments, or rooms can also be set up — each with their own unique QR code.
Employees can also sign in and out using the Smartlog App.
Receive Visitor Notifications
When a visitor signs in, an instant email notification is immediately sent to the person they are visiting to let them know that their guest has arrived.
Access Visitor History
You have instant access to the complete visiting history of visitors or staff members in any selected time period, including multiple visits. This is especially useful when you are carrying out an audit or investigation and would like to know who was on-site at a specific time.
This module is completely free to all our customers who use the full version of Smartlog. and is
immediately available for Company Admins to use.
To book a demo of Onsite Register for your organisation or to request more information about Smartlog, visit our contact page or send us your query to info@safesmart.co.uk
We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with eLearning specialists iHasco, and their extensive library of 200+ training courses are now available to purchase, assign and complete within Smartlog®.
Alongside Smartlog’s training course library and our recently released Training Course Creator, this new partnership with iHasco provides our clients with even more options for employee mandatory training.
Over 200 training courses
With video presenters, different language options and numerous interactive features, iHasco’s eLearning offers 200+ courses across the following main subjects:
Manage everything within Smartlog
From assigning training to tracking learners’ progress, all courses and credits can be managed within Smartlog. System alerts and email reminders are sent out exactly the same as regular Smartlog eLearning.
Additionally, all applicable course certifications and accreditations will be printed on users’ pass certificates, including:
Wish to purchase course credits?
If you want to learn more about our new partnership, or wish to purchase course credits for your organisation, please contact your Smartlog Account Manager or email us on: info@safesmart.co.uk
We are pleased to announce the release of a new Help Desk facility in Smartlog®.
The new help desk module allows your users to raise tickets regarding any premises issues in your
organisation. Live tickets can be tracked, updated and then resolved within Smartlog and through
immediate email notifications – including all related costs and time spent fixing the issue.
Help Desk provides you with the following abilities:
Create custom ticket categories
Any user can raise a ticket, and custom categories can be created. All created tickets are
automatically categorised and can be immediately assigned to the responsible user to resolve.
Set time-bound priority levels
You can set custom priority levels for your tickets, determining exactly the length of time the ticket requires to be resolved. This enables your SLAs with your contractors to be automatically built-in,
for example.
Keep a track of all costs
You can input and track all costs related to a ticket, and you can also track the exact time spent
resolving the ticket. Also, anyone working on the ticket can update it anytime with their detailed
costs.
Live email updates
From the raising of a ticket, during its resolution, and to its closing, email notifications are sent to
all users involved in the ticket to keep everyone updated on exactly what is going on.
This module is completely free to all our customers who use the full version of Smartlog. and is
immediately available for Company Admins to use.
To book a demo of ‘Help Desk’ for your organisation or to request more information about Smartlog, visit our contact page or send us your query to info@safesmart.co.uk
We are very pleased to announce that Safesmart has achieved ISO 27001 certification, which is the international gold standard for information security.
This new certification adds to our existing ISO 9001 certification for Quality Management Systems.
What is ISO 27001?
ISO 27001: 2022 is the international standard for Information Security Management. It is meant to demonstrate that an organisation effectively manages their cyber security, data privacy, and protects the integrity of their information and systems on a continuous basis.
What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001: 2015 is the international standard for Quality Management Systems. It provides a framework that drives continuous improvement in an organisation to a globally recognised standard.
How does Smartlog help?
Smartlog uniquely and effectively enables us to achieve both certifications, with many of its functions being integral to our operations as a company:
These two certifications have added to the solid foundation upon which we operate. They allow us to continually improve our products and services, whilst also providing our customers with the assurance that we continue to seek the highest possible standards across our entire company.
We have now released a Safeguarding & Prevent (Basic Awareness) course on Smartlog® which is completely free for all current Smartlog customers to assign and use.
Schools and colleges have a legal obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (anyone under the age of 18 years old) when carrying out their duties.
Safeguarding training is therefore a legal requirement and often a primary focus of agencies that inspect the standards of schools and colleges, e.g. Ofsted, Estyn, and Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI).
To add to our existing Safeguarding training course suite, we have now released a more condensed Safeguarding & Prevent (Basic Awareness) course, which is suitable and sufficient for any staff members who do not engage in ‘regulated activity’ with children as part of their duties.
For any employees carrying out regulated activities with a child or children, they can complete our standard Safeguarding & Prevent course.
We have now released a Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 course on Smartlog® which is completely free for all current Smartlog customers to assign and use.
From 1 October 2023, changes to the fire safety legislation in England and Wales will come into force.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, applicable to all non-domestic premises including the non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings (e.g. communal corridors, staircases and plant rooms), is being amended in accordance with Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 – this means that the duties imposed on the ‘responsible person’ are changing.
In response, we have created an e-learning course to provide an overview of the changes, which is useful for anyone who is involved in fire safety.
Safesmart is pleased to announce two-time European Challenge Cup champions Gloucester Rugby as a Smartlog® client.
Competing in the Gallagher Premiership and four-time runners-up of the top division, Gloucester are also five-time Anglo-Welsh cup winners, and will be utilising the cloud-based health and safety software Smartlog to manage risk, compliance, training and safety processes among both personnel and premises.
Safesmart’s Managing Director Sam Secker said:
“We are extremely pleased to have an organisation of Gloucester Rugby’s stature onboard as a client, integrating Smartlog into their health and safety processes as well as tapping into our knowledge and expertise in this field.
We are positive this will be a great relationship going forward for the both of us.”
Gloucester Rugby kick off their 2023-24 season with a Premiership Rugby Cup match against Nottingham on 9 September at 3pm.
A total of 135 workers were killed at work in Great Britain in 2022/23, which is an increase of 12 deaths (9%) from the previous year, newly released Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show.
Although this is a significant increase compared to last year, this year’s figure is only slightly above the previous 5-year average of 134 deaths between 2017 and 2022. Overall however, this represents a downward trend in workplace fatalities, with 150 workplace deaths 10 years ago in 2012/13 and a significantly higher 227 deaths in 2002/03.
In this year’s figures, the most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from height (40), followed by being struck by a moving object (29) and being struck by a moving vehicle (20), which all together make up two-thirds (66%) of the figures.
The construction industry continues to account for the greatest number of workers killed in fatal accidents, with 45 deaths (33%). This is some way higher than the second highest industry, agriculture, forestry and fishing (21 fatalities).
In fact, 82% of fatal injuries occurred in only five industry sectors:
There continues to be a disproportionate risk to older workers, with around 25% (33) of fatal injuries involving workers aged 60+, even though they only make up around 11% of the workforce.
Similar to last year, a third (33%) of fatal injuries were to self-employed workers even though they only make up 13% of workers. This is also in line with the 5-year average of 33% of fatal injuries to self-employed workers between 2018/19 and 2022/23.
A more positive finding saw a 23% decrease in workplace fatal injuries to members of the public as a result of a work-related incident, from 88 fatalities in 2021/22 to 68 in 2022/23.
This is also significantly below the previous 5-year-average of 93 from 2017/18 – 2021/22.
Sources
HSE (2023) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2021’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm (accessed: 17/07/2023)
HSE (2023) ‘HSE releases annual workplace fatality figures for 2022/23’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 17/07/2023)
ONS (Office for National Statistics) ‘Understanding changes in self-employment in the UK: January 2019 to March 2022’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/ (accessed: 17/07/2023)
