Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Electricity
This page provides basic information on target accident reductions and current initiatives to reduce risks arising from electricity.
The Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) and the Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA) launched a competency initiative at their Annual Health and Safety Conference on the 26th September 2006, which will assist member contractors in meeting health and safety competences. The initiative has involved the production of an ECA/HVCA’s Core Criteria for assessing Contractor Safety' leaflet.
There is currently a proliferation of contractor pre-qualification health and safety schemes which are designed to assess health and safety competency ahead of awarding a contract. The schemes work to different standards, and sometimes contractors have to repeat assessments to satisfy their different clients. This was creating unnecessary financial and administrative burdens on businesses, small to medium sized businesses in particular.
HSE commissioned John Carpenter to produce a report examining this issue, ‘Developing guidelines for the selection of designers and contractors under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, Research Report 422.’ Following the report’s recommendation of a standardised approach, HSE has worked closely with industry to develop a set of health and safety core criteria which are based on the key requirements within the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
The criteria, which are listed in the ECA/HVCA’s leaflet, clearly outline what contractors should be doing to satisfy their clients’ requirements. They should also aid recognition between the various pre-qualification schemes, help contractors comply with legislation and improve the cost effectiveness of assessing and delivering good health and safety performance.
The Revitalising Health and Safety (RHS) Strategy is a Government and HSC/E initiative to raise the profile of health and safety in the workplace. The Government and HSC/E are committed to improving standards and reducing the toll of occupational injury and ill health in British industry.
The Energy Networks Association has developed a project called SAFELEC 2010 that describes how the electricity industry plans to improve health and safety and aims to meet the revitalising targets.