HSE works closely with key stakeholders in the rubber and tyre industries to progress health and safety initiatives including:

• Revitalising Health and Safety

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.

As part of the ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’ agenda HSC has identified a number of priority topics for action. These are:

• Musculoskeletal disorders (manual handling)
• Slips and trips
• Falls from height
• Workplace transport
• Occupational stress

In the rubber industries machinery safety, including safe interventions at dangerous machines, is also a live issue. Serious and fatal accidents continue to occur in the rubber and tyre industries while clearing blockages and/or carrying out running repairs inside dangerous machines. Operational inspectors aim to achieve major reductions in the risk of serious or fatal injuries in specific industries, including the rubber and tyre industries, by carrying out an enforcement led initiative to check that:

• the risks associated with these activities have been properly assessed
• effective control measures including robust isolation and lock off procedures are in place
• employers implement sound risk control systems to manage those procedures

Progress

RUBIAC continues to promote partnership, involvement and openness with all stakeholders. Work in support of accident reduction initiatives has provided the main focus for the health and safety activities of all the RUBIAC partners.