www.hsl.gov.uk
Solutions from HSE
Vomiting Larry has been developed by Catherine Makison-Booth of the Health and Safety Laboratory. He is a simulated, humanoid vomiting system whose purpose is to help with research into Norovirus and other infections involving projectile vomiting.
www.hsl.gov.uk
www.hsl.gov.uk
updated 11 years ago
www.hsl.gov.uk
Our 5 minute 'Turbo Talks' video features HSE scientists talking about the ways our science and evidence is being used to help everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
Topics include their work featured in this year's Annual Science Review:
This year’s focus is on the role played by our scientist and engineers in delivering forensic incident investigation activities and providing expert evidence used by courts to secure justice.
For more information download the 2024 Annual Science Review here: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2024.pdf
Hear HSE scientists talking about the ways our science and evidence is being used to help everyone lead safer and healthier lives. Topics include:
FlyZero: enabling industry to innovate safely in the move to net zero: supporting the safe potential introduction of liquefied hydrogen fuel for net zero commercial flights
Silica: reducing work-related ill health: improving workplace exposure measurements for respirable crystalline silica
Higher-risk buildings: increasing and maintaining trust to ensure people feel safe where they live, where they work and in their environment: the science and evidence supporting the Building Safety Regulator, focusing on higher-risk buildings
For more information on these case studies download the Annual Science Review: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2023.pdf
To find out more about our scientist, engineers and analysts see the articles and case studies in our 2024 Annual Science Review.
hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2024.pdf
From fostering innovation to supporting the move towards Net Zero, our work spans diverse areas, including pioneering research on multi-fuel activities like hydrogen integration.
For more information on how HSE’s science and evidence is ensuring safety, trust, and innovation thrive in every workplace and community, download our 2024 Annual Science Review: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2024.pdf
For more information on the robust scientific evidence that underpins HSE's regulatory activities have a look at the case studies in our 2024 Annual Science Review.
hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2024.pdf
Around 1 in 5 of British workers are exposed to noise that could damage hearing.
We know little about the current prevalence of occupational noise induced hearing loss in Britain.
Much has changed in British workplaces since the late 1990s, particularly in relation to better noise control measures in workplaces and more extensive use of hearing protectors by workers. However, there are also new sources of noise, including the use of telephone headsets in call centers and other situations and in-ear devices used by the police.
HSE approached WHEC to help identify sources of data that could inform future actions. HSE would like to have a better understanding of the likely prevalence (both current and future) of occupational NIHL across British industry.
Read the report: The likely prevalence of occupational noise induced hearing loss across British industry - WHEC-19 (2023) (PDF): hse.gov.uk/research/assets/docs/whec/whec-19.pdf
Speakers:
John Cherrie is Emeritus Professor of Human Health at Heriot Watt University and former Research Director at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. He has been an exposure scientist since 1979, in a wide range of research and teaching. John is a member of the WHEC and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council. He has carried out several research projects to estimate the prevalence of workplace morbidity and mortality.
Dr Paul Litchfield is Independent Chief Medical Adviser to ITV & Compass Group and visiting Professor to Coventry University.
IARC reviewed the data on the carcinogenicity of welding fume. HSE requested the opinion of WHEC on the strength of the evidence, particularly on whether a distinction should be made between fumes from different types of metal or different processes.
WHEC concluded that all welding fumes cause lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer, and that it is not possible to identify specific welding processes or base metals that give rise to this risk.
Read the full WHEC evidence review paper on the dedicated webpage: hse.gov.uk/research/workplace-health-expert-committee.htm
The course covers how to collect data around known precursors of accidents and how to feed it into a structured analytic process.
Find out more: solutions.hse.gov.uk/health-and-safety-training-courses/data-driven-health-and-safety-management
Using a human cough simulator and high speed back-lit video to visualise the aerosol dispersion, scientists and photographers at HSE’s Science and Research Centre determined if cough related interventions reduce environmental contamination.
Find out more:
Simulating the Environmental Spread of SARS-CoV-2 via Cough and the Effect of Personal Mitigations journal article: mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2241
HSE Annual Science Review 2022 case study: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2022.pdf#page=25
Using a human cough simulator and high speed back-lit video to visualise the aerosol dispersion, scientists and photographers at HSE’s Science and Research Centre determined if cough related interventions reduce environmental contamination.
Find out more:
Simulating the Environmental Spread of SARS-CoV-2 via Cough and the Effect of Personal Mitigations journal article: mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2241
HSE Annual Science Review 2022 case study: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2022.pdf#page=25
Using a human cough simulator and high speed back-lit video to visualise the aerosol dispersion, scientists and photographers at HSE’s Science and Research Centre determined if cough related interventions reduce environmental contamination.
Find out more:
Simulating the Environmental Spread of SARS-CoV-2 via Cough and the Effect of Personal Mitigations journal article: mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2241
HSE Annual Science Review 2022 case study: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2022.pdf#page=25
Using a human cough simulator and high speed back-lit video to visualise the aerosol dispersion, scientists and photographers at HSE’s Science and Research Centre determined if cough related interventions reduce environmental contamination.
Find out more:
Simulating the Environmental Spread of SARS-CoV-2 via Cough and the Effect of Personal Mitigations journal article: mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2241
HSE Annual Science Review 2022 case study: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2022.pdf#page=25
Using data can help this vision become reality.
Discovering Safety works with partners to improve global health and safety performance using HSE data supplemented with data from industry stakeholders, including an annual 175,000 HSE inspection and investigation reports. This data can be used to inform and protect industry.
Discovering Safety started in 2018 and has 18 key partners, over 86,000 followers and has published 30 scientific reports across 6 key workstreams. The programme has 250 key stakeholders across 21 countries and is working with industry to improve global health and safety performance.
Find out how to get involved at www.discoveringsafety.com
Enable industry to innovate safely to prevent major incidents, supporting the move to net zero:
Enabling safe deployment of lithium-ion batteries for storage and use of net zero energy. Speaker: Jonathan Buston
Developing the evidence base to underpin the safety of hydrogen vehicles in tunnels: HyTunnel-CS. Speaker: Wayne Rattigan
Reducing work-related ill health:
The PROTECT COVID-19 National Core Study research, legacy, preparedness Speaker: Yiqun Chen.
Modern decontamination interventions may help to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission Speaker Claire Bailey
Protecting angle grinder users from ill health caused by noise and vibration Speaker: Antonia Hawker
Increase and maintain trust to ensure people feel safe where they live, where they work and in their environment:
Authorisation of first UK application of a pesticide using a drone. Speaker: Bryn Bircher
Maintaining GB’s record as one of the safest countries to work in:
The robust scientific evidence that underpins HSE's regulatory activities. Speaker: Michael Hemingway
Download the Annual Science Review here: hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-review-2023.pdf
solutions.hse.gov.uk/resources/hse-science-and-research-publications
The video shows how to set up a seat in a work vehicle to reduce the risk of whole body vibration; whole body vibration can lead to back pain. Making sure your seat is set up so you reduce vibration from the vehicle to your body is an important task each time you start using a new vehicle.
Travelling over uneven roads, particularly at speed, can increase your exposure to whole body vibration.
The video also explains how vibration can be transferred from the vehicle to your body.
solutions.hse.gov.uk
Evaluating the effectiveness of interventions is essential to enable confidence that they have had the desired effect, to understand any benefits gained and whether they have caused any unintended harm.
Interventions and their evaluation are more straightforward where a single agent (e.g. asbestos) is responsible for one or more clearly defined outcomes (e.g. mesothelioma or lung cancer), but are more complex in circumstances where ill health is the outcome of multiple possible environmental factors in and outside work.
This seminar outlines intervention principles to address such complexity and the research that underpins it.
Read the full evidence review paper:
hse.gov.uk/research/assets/docs/whec/whec-17.pdf
But, what can reduce the performance of your hearing protection?
Noise Level at the ear (approximately):
No Hearing Protection – 87dB(A)
Effective Hearing Protection – 70dB(A)
Hearing Protection with a stretched head band – 83dB(A)
Hearing Protection with damaged seals – 83dB(A)
Hearing Protection worn with safety glasses not designed to be used with hearing protection – 83dB(A)
Hearing Protection worn with safety goggles not designed to be used with hearing protection – 82dB(A)
Hearing Protection worn with a ‘face mask’ – 76dB(A)
Hearing Protection worn with a woolly hat – 82dB(A)
solutions.hse.gov.uk
Promoting Good Mental Health in the Workplace: Using risk management resources from HSE including a new qualification and training offer developed with NEBOSH.
solutions.hse.gov.uk/health-and-safety-training-courses/promoting-good-mental-health-in-the-workplace-using-risk-management-resources-from-hse-including-a-new-qualification-and-training-offer-developed-with-nebosh?cg=30455
The course aims to identify and reduce workplace stressors in order to create a positive, healthier workplace.
Find out more: solutions.hse.gov.uk/health-and-safety-training-courses/nebosh-hse-certificate-in-managing-stress-at-work
Register here solutions.hse.gov.uk/health-and-safety-training-courses/promoting-good-mental-health-in-the-workplace-using-risk-management-resources-from-hse-including-a-new-qualification-and-training-offer-developed-with-nebosh?cg=30455
Visit our course information page to find out more: solutions.hse.gov.uk/hse-health-and-safety-training-courses/fundamentals-of-hydrogen
HSE's 2022 Annual Science Review uses real life work cases, and focuses on the science and evidence being used to protect people and places, helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
View and download the review here: hse.gov.uk/research/review.htm
Poor manual handling is a major cause of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This course will equip you with the knowledge to recognise, assess and reduce manual handling risks in your organisation.
As one of the leading causes of occupational ill health, preventing new MSDs is a key priority for HSE.
Find out more here: solutions.hse.gov.uk/health-and-safety-training-courses/manual-handling-for-assessors-(including-nebosh-hse-certificate-in-manual-handling-risk-assessment)?cg=25923
HSE scientists and policy makers work together to explore new ground; understand what works; why it works; the possible consequences; what will
work best; and provide assurance and continuity.
For more information and to view the HSE Annual Science Review 2022 please go to: hse.gov.uk/research
New! Free webinar from HSE! Register here
Hosted by Health and Safety Matters, 22 June 2022 at 10:30am
The world of work is constantly changing and adapting but the pandemic has made adaption necessary for many organisations. In this new normal, organisations must remain mindful of MSD risks and take ongoing action to monitor and manage them. This strong focus on worker health and safety, in turn, benefits organisational performance.
To help to inform employers, we are proud to announce a free webinar on how to effectively manage the risk of MSDs in your workplace and protect your home workers. This hour-long event will feature experts from HSE including HM Health and Safety Inspectors and our Principal Ergonomist to discuss current guidance and principles and give some practical examples of where the right, proportionate approach has worked well. We'll be taking questions during the webinar and NEBOSH and TSO will join us to highlight official resources, products and services that can help you to identify and reduce risk of injury.
Register here:
https://events.streamgo.live/musculoskeletal-disorders-managing-the-risk-of-manual-handling-and-display-screen-equipment-for-workers-on-site-or-working-from-home/register
By intelligently estimating the population of any Great Britain location at any time of day or night the NPD can help to minimise risks to your employees, assets and the general public. For example, the NPD can be used to minimise the risk associated with major building works by construction or utilities companies; to enable telecoms providers to optimally position mobile communications masts; to provide transport companies with traffic management modelling capabilities; or to give businesses confidence in emergency resilience or disaster recovery planning.
HSE Research and Consultancy is hosting another webinar in its series on hydrogen safety, this time looking at the role of engineering materials.
For over 20 years we’ve been researching the safety of both gaseous and liquid hydrogen and we advise government and industry on how to manage hydrogen risk safely.
The Buncefield explosion and fires in 2005 resulted from a Loss of Containment (LoC) due to the overfilling of a fuel storage tank. Fortunately, in this case there were no fatalities, but the incident caused an estimated £1Bn of damage to the economy.
Smaller LoC events and those where no harm occurred are considered precursor events to major accidents. We investigate and record a wide range of LoC events together with their causation and circumstances to extract knowledge and learning.
One of our aims is to provide the process industry with better intelligence with which to improve standards. The approach has been to examine HSE’s own regulatory data and at the same time consult in detail with industry stakeholders. Read more at: discoveringsafety.com/works/loss-containment-insights-project
When looking at data-driven health and safety in smart organisations, our view is that the easy wins have probably been made and if we want to deliver further improvements using data intelligently, then it's a case of looking to do things a bit differently.
In this video Steve Naylor, Senior Scientist in HSE’s Science Division, Data Analytics team, takes us through some of the portfolio of projects in the Discovering Safety data innovations workstream. How we see the challenge facing us, what we're looking to achieve, some of the ways in which we see health and safety as a practice changing, then a deeper dive into some of the individual project work, both completed and planned.
https://www.discoveringsafety.com/get...
Using routine health and safety datasets in new ways has a role to play in delivering continuous improvements in health and safety performance.
This presentation by Steve Naylor, Scientific Lead in Discovering Safety, explores some of the ways in which the programme is looking to achieve this with reference to its innovations work stream.
discoveringsafety.com/get-involved
It's a true national asset and is the main home of HSE's Science Division - 380 scientists, engineers, occupational health and hygiene specialists and support professionals working together to provide the research and evidence that HSE requires to underpin its regulatory activities, protect people and places and make Great Britain one of the safest places in the world to work and do business.
Not only does the science and research we perform support HSE in its role as an evidence-based, world-class regulator, our combination of scientific expertise, real-world experience and knowledge of the regulatory landscape also helps wider government and industry to solve the health, safety and wellbeing challenges of their everyday work, as well as in times of crisis.
It also makes us unrivalled in our ability to assist both public and private sector organisations to research and safely enable the products, processes and innovative technologies of the future.
Find out more: solutions.hse.gov.uk/about-us
This year as well as showcasing our scientists, engineers and analysts and the work they do to support HSE and our commercial stakeholders, we are also featuring the work we have done to support the UK Government’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full review here: www.hsl.gov.uk/news_items/hse's-annual-science-review-2021