Safety, Health and Wellbeing Calendar 2025
Quarter 3 (July – Sept) – Look Up, Down and Around

July 2025 – Mobile Plant & Machinery

As outlined in a toolbox talk shared by Sinead Shinkins (EHS Manager, John Cradock Ltd), incident triggers such as being struck by vehicles/vehicle collisions continue to be one of the leading causes of work-related fatalities across all sectors of employment in Ireland.  When sharing a workspace with mobile plant and machinery, please take precautions and ensure adequate distancing/segregation. Make sure you are visible to the operator/driver and do not approach them without receiving an acknowledgment that it is safe to do so.  The HSA advises that traffic management plans need to be an integral part of construction site safety – see: Vehicles in Construction – Health and Safety Authority.

During the month of July, we recognise National Diversity & Inclusion Day. As outlined by the Irish Centre for Diversity, an inclusive culture is fundamental to achieving a diverse and successful team working environment.  The 25^th of July marks World Drowning Prevention Day – according recent figures, 48 drownings have occurred in Ireland from Jan to mid-July 2025; consider wearing or utilising the colour blue to bring attention to the Water Safety Ireland campaign and use #DrowningPrevention for any social media posts.

August 2025 – Lifting & Loading

Safe lifting requires a high level of pre-planning, coordination and competency. At a site level, the role of the Appointed Person (AP) in lifting operations is critical for ensuring the safety, compliance, and operational efficiency. The AP is responsible for the planning, coordination, and supervision of lifting activities, playing a pivotal role in mitigating risks and upholding regulatory standards and industry best practice.

Clare Kelly (Group EHS Manager, Designer Group), has kindly facilitated a toolbox talk on the key considerations for safe lifting and loading of electrical instrumentation. Safe lifting also entails load preparation, load securing and transportation. Load securing for road transport is covered specifically by Road Traffic legislation, which requires that loads carried by vehicles must be properly secured at all times.

On 31-August, we mark International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) 2025. Freephone the Helpline on 1800 459 459 or email: [email protected].

The HSE National Social Inclusion Office are hosting a free webinar on 29-August from 11:00 – 12:30 – Register Here!

September 2025 – Work at Height

In September, we again focus on safe working at height, including the selection and proper use of ladders, scaffolding and other supports, and utilisation by persons with adequate training/ instruction/ supervision.

Any fall from a height has the potential to cause serious life changing injuries – even from a relatively short distance of 2-3 metres. The HSA’s Work at Height Campaign 2024 observed scaffolding with no weekly inspection GA3 forms and inadequate training of erectors.  To ensure safe working at height – undertake risk assessments, follow the ‘General Principles of Prevention’ (taking steps to avoid, prevent or reduce risks), plan and organise work, choose appropriate work equipment and prioritise collective measures to prevent falls (such as guard rails and working platforms) before other measures which may only reduce the distance and consequences of a fall (such as nets or airbags) or may only provide fall-arrest (personal protection equipment).

Damien O’Connor, (Irish Country Manager, IPAF) has kindly provided a toolbox talk on safe working with MEWPs, which is available to view/download. Dates of note for the month of September include the International Day of Clean Air on 7^th, World Suicide Prevention Day on 10^th and World Heart Day on 29^th.