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The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has warned that 12 of its inspectors will turn up at various sites in Manchester city centre tomorrow (Tuesday 21^st October).

They are likely to appear without warning and will be particularly focused on five issues that are more related to health than safety, namely:

• asbestos
• musculoskeletal disorders (manual handling causing back ache, for example)
• noise
• health surveillance
• dust.

These inspections in Manchester are part of 14,000 that HSE expects to carry out across Britain during the current financial year, with around 8,000 of those focusing on health.

HSE principal inspector Kevin Jones, one of those leading the team, said: “We’ll be checking that businesses have the right measures in place to ensure health risks are being managed and that workers are being kept safe.

“Manchester is home to some of the biggest construction projects in the country, however all sizes of sites will be inspected. By its nature, construction is a high hazard industry. It can be noisy and dusty, with people often working at height and around heavy machinery and vehicles.”

The construction industry has higher-than-average rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and injury rates. Previous HSE inspections around Great Britain have also found that three-quarters of noisy workplaces lacked essential knowledge on maintaining hearing protection equipment. Workers in skilled trades are also at particular risk of discovering and disturbing asbestos when working on properties built before 2000.

“These inspections are really important in HSE’s mission to protect people at work,” Jones added. “As well as checking on companies, we want to work with them, explaining what they should be doing to get everything right.

“We hope that our presence in the city next week will reassure both the public and those working in the industry, that we will do all we can to ensure people go home safely at the end of the day.

“We need to see that there are good control measures in place and that the health and safety of workers is at the top of the agenda for everyone. We look forward to working with site managers and employers to ensure they are doing what’s required.”

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