This February, as part of an initiative to reduce the number of slips and trips on construction sites, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors will be carrying out a nationwide ‘Watch Your Step’ inspection programme.
The construction industry reports in excess of 3,000 slip or trip incidents every year, the true figure could be higher. […]

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have signed a partnership agreement with EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, to promote effective health and safety management across manufacturing industries.
The agreement, the first of its kind between HSE and other organisations, builds on a strong history of co-operation. It recognises EEF’s expertise in the field of health and […]

The European Parliament has amended a Council decision in order to improve access to information and public participation in EU environmental decision making, but it refused to give NGOs the right to take member states to court.
The Aarhus Convention was concluded in 1998 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It foresees access […]

On 31 January 2006 Defra published a statement of forthcoming legislation. The statement sets out when in 2006 new regulations impacting businesses and the public at large will take effect. This statement is part of a cross Whitehall initiative to give businesses more certainty and allow them to plan for changes to regulatory […]

The Climate Change Agreements (Energy–intensive Installations) Regulations 2006 (SI No 59) detail that a reduced rate of climate change levy may apply to supplies of taxable commodities to a facility taken as being covered by a climate change agreement.
These Regulations expand the types of installation that may form such a facility to include installations for—
(a) […]

Under the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 light pollution will find itself on similar footing to noise pollution and residents plagued by intrusive bright lights will be able to ask the authorities for an abatement order if the light is ‘prejudicial to health or a nuisance’.
Fines of up to £5,000 will be meted […]

NQA’s Operations Director, Jim Gracie answers questions about the ISO 13485 revision…..
Q: When was ISO 13485 revised?
A: In 2003 the latest version of ISO 13485 was published for use by companies who design and/or manufacture medical devices. It is typically used by companies who supply the medical devices industry or are active within it. […]

The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) has published a practitioner guide on managing compliance with environmental law. Legal compliance is an issue that few organisations can afford to overlook. With more and more pressure being placed on businesses to mitigate any adverse impact that they might have on the environment, this […]

Early in December 2005, JPD with NQA Training were delighted to welcome the Chief Executive of project engineering consultancy and training company Proenco Brasil, Dr Luis Sans Castro, to our headquarters in Plumley. The Brazilian was on his latest whistle-stop tour of Europe, taking in Portugal, Italy, Austria, Serbia, Croatia and the UK.
Proenco has […]

The automotive industry has been conscious for some time of the need for suppliers to operate quality management systems, hence the need for suppliers to the ‘big three’ (Ford, GM and Daimler-Chrysler) to seek certification against QS 9000. Other automotive companies have adopted a very similar approach.
However, QS 9000 will become obsolete at the […]