Safety issues found at UK hand car washes
Faulty sockets, damaged cabling and defective electrical equipment were among the many shortcomings found at 20 hand car washes in the United Kingdom. “A concern for sometime now”, a spokesman for the health and safety inspection said.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspected hand car washes around the counties as part of an inspection campaign, website Health and Safety Matters reports. In Mid Sussex and Crawley, the inspectors found failings at each site they visited and failings were found at half the sites visited in Kent.
Persistent problems
HSE says businesses are failing to protect their staff and customers. The two-day inspection campaign ran in May and was in response to persistent safety problems with hand car wash businesses across the country. It follows the recent prosecution by HSE of a car valeting company in the North East of England. The inspection campaign will now move on to East Sussex and Surrey.
Electrical safety
The majority of issues identified related to electrical safety such as faulty sockets, damaged cabling, and defective electrical equipment. Inspectors also found some businesses didn’t have Employers Liability (Compulsory) Insurance in place while others lacked basic toilet and other staff welfare facilities.
“Hand car washes have been identified as an area of concern for some time”, principal Inspector Emma Stiles said to HSM. “The fact basic safety issues were found at the majority of the premises we have visited so far have borne this out.”
A number of Prohibition Notices have been served meaning that there was an immediate serious risk of injury to staff and members of the public.
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