HSfB Articles - Health and Safety for Beginners

HSfB Blog Finds a New Home

2010-07-08T21:09:00.001Z

Our blog has moved! After you have read below, please head on over to our new location here -

Ever since 6 September 2005 we have been blogging our HSfB Site News and HSfB Articles over at www.blogger.com.

The time has now come for us to move on from hosting our blogs on third party servers, so we have taken the plunge and have created this brand new blog on our own servers right here at http://www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/blog/.

We will still bring you all of our usual site updates including prize winners, new downloads, new articles and significant site news, but everything will be in one handy place. We will also bring you health and safety news articles that we think you might find interesting and useful.

So, if you subscribe to our RSS feeds on our old blogs, you should update your RSS feed to our new one here - New RSS Feed.

You can also register with the blog and add comments to any post you like.

Hopefully you like the new layout, which may change as we learn more about the blog software, but in the meantime please let us know your feedback to help us improve – contact us.

HSfB Blog Finds a New Home

2010-07-08T21:06:00.003Z

Our blog has moved! After you have read below, please head on over to our new location here -

Health and Safety for Beginners - Blog

Ever since 6 September 2005 we have been blogging our HSfB Site News and HSfB Articles over at www.blogger.com.

So, if you subscribe to our RSS feeds on our old blogs, you should update your RSS feed to our new one here - New RSS Feed.

You can also register with the blog and add comments to any post you like.

Hopefully you like the new layout, which may change as we learn more about the blog software, but in the meantime please let us know your feedback to help us improve – contact us.

manual handling train the trainer courses – why they could save you money!

2010-06-28T14:22:00.000Z

Virtually all companies have manual handling – the use of people to shift things. Under health and safety legislation, there is a duty to identify where this shifting could lead to a significant risk of injury and then to take common sense measures to reduce the risk. Avoidance of the shifting is always the best option, typically followed by the use of machinery. However, for most businesses, physical handling by people will always be required for some tasks – as will manual handling training, to ensure that they do it as safely as possible.

There are plenty of external suppliers of manual handing training, but since the recession started, an increasing number of companies are looking to bring such training in-house. According to Dr Alistair Bromhead, who specialises in manual handling instructor training, “companies recognise that in-house trainers generate a quick financial payback as well as being more convenient. You can run the training when it suits, for a duration which is convenient, with a trainer who knows your business intimately”.

To give an idea of payback, the cost of bringing a manual handling trainer onto your site for a day will vary from £300 to £1000. The cost of a manual handling trainer training course is likely to be £400 to £600 and if the right course is chosen, you should end up with a certified competent person to conduct your manual handling training for many years to come.

However, when looking at the manual handling train the trainer course options, you need to be sure of exactly what you are getting. At the lower end of the food chain are some very cheap courses and some very short duration ones – reflecting the fact that anyone can potentially set up such a course. Similarly, some courses will include everything a trainer needs to get going, others will charge an extra few hundred pounds for an instructor pack with suggested presentations, lesson plans and notes etc.

So what should you look for in a course if you are considering becoming a manual handling instructor? The first thing to check is that it is a recognised qualification – which will help to attest to your competence if it is ever challenged. One example of a nationally recognised course is the City & Guilds Manual Handling Train the Trainer course. There are few better known certification bodies – so you know that the course has a good pedigree.

Another consideration is the length of course – which varies from 1 to 5 days. Experience shows that a minimum of 2 days is required to cover the technical knowledge plus the training preparation and delivery issues. 4 or 5 days are unnecessary for inanimate load handling, typically containing lots of repetitive exercises. However, a 4 day course would be appropriate for the more technical areas of patient and people handling.

Finally, the individual trainer that you have on the day is a vital contributor to the success of the course. A skilled trainer will make the sessions enjoyable, interactive, productive and varied (in terms of learning methods). A less skilled individual can turn the shortest of training sessions into a painful experience. Therefore, don’t forget to check up on exactly who would deliver the course and what gives them the qualifications to do so.

Further information

Alistair Bromhead Ltd

http://www.abromhead.co.uk

Tel: 07932 674707

City & Guilds course code 5618 201-203 offered through the approved centre – FFINTO 028538. City & Guilds and the City & Guilds logo are trade marks of The City and Guilds of London Institute and used under licence.

manual handling in the workplace

2010-03-28T19:22:00.001Z

No matter what market sector or type of organisation they work in, many employees face manual handling tasks on a daily basis, as do people going about their ordinary lives. If manual handling tasks are performed incorrectly, they lead to a huge amount of distress and pain to individuals and can result in massive disruption to both the workplace and home life, sometimes on a lifelong basis.

While not necessarily responsible for all manual handling injuries, the workplace is likely to be directly affected by them in terms of employee sickness, absence from work, time off for the treatment of injuries, and staff working below their optimal level of competency. Employers may also face possible fines and court cases, with a potential detrimental effect on their reputation.

Outside of work, simple chores such as wrongly lifting heavy luggage when going on holiday, or laying paving stones in the garden, can lead to injury and pain, but tasks such as these are often performed without forethought even though they can impact home life in a big way, such as people being unable to drive, do the shopping or take the kids to school.

Manual handling is not simply lifting and carrying – pushing, pulling, moving, lowering or restraining objects or persons, using bodily force to pull a lever, and operating power tools, are all covered by the term, which can also include simple walking up and down stairs carrying something.

Facts and figures

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common cause of occupational ill-health, affecting one million people per year and costing society £5.7 billion a year, according to the TUC. Lower back injuries are the most frequent, suffered by 300,000 people a year, but other muscle groups, limbs, tendons and joints are involved in manual handling and may also be affected. In fact, more than a third of injuries of over three days’ duration reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) involve manual handling. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as many more injuries go unreported, including those that occur outside of working hours, such as from DIY, responsible for over 200,000 injuries a year, bad posture, perhaps resulting from incorrect chair height in front of the home computer, gardening, and sports injuries such as from playing rugby, football, golf or tennis.

Importance of training

Despite these appalling statistics, a third of companies do not provide manual handling training to their employees when they start their employment, according to Julian Roberts, managing director of Safety Media, a company that launched a dedicated manual handling website in October last year. Since its launch, the site has received over 6,700 visitors and has clocked up 20,450 page views, demonstrating the level of concern over the safety of manual handling. “We recommend that training should be undertaken at the start of the role, so that incidents don’t happen in the early stages of employment, and that the training should be reviewed regularly,” says Roberts.

Legislation and duties

A plethora of legislation governs manual handling, chiefly the Manual Handling Regulations 1992, but it is also covered by the HSWA 1974, the Management Regulations 1999, PUWER 1998, RIDDOR 1995, and the Workplace Regulations 1992. The employer should steer clear of the need for manual handling wherever possible to minimise the risk of injury to workers. If manual handling activities are unavoidable, they should conduct risk assessments to identify potential hazards, looking at the task, who is doing it, how often it is done, the type of load and the environment it is undertaken in.

Employees for their part should help themselves to avoid manual handling injuries by using good lifting techniques, following safe systems of work, using any safety equipment provided, and informing their employer of any identified hazards. They should avoid putting others at risk and also try to avoid injuries outside of work.

Risk assessments

Safety Media’s website offers a free online audit of current manual handling procedures, the results of which show that employees had to undertake tasks which required repetitive twisting, stooping or reaching by in 78 per cent of companies, yet only 65 per cent completed risk assessments for all manual handling activities. “It is a legal requirement to assess the risks of manual handling tasks,” says Roberts, “and the results should then be communicated to your employees so they can act accordingly.”

Prevention

So what should employers be doing to improve the prevention of manual handling injuries? Careful thought should be given before undertaking any manual handling activity, wherever it takes place. Training in correct manual handling procedures is vital, and relevant for both work and home life – any training received in the workplace should be applied at home too, where equipment instructions should always be followed, and good practice followed.

E-learning is an excellent, cost-effective way of training large numbers of staff in correct manual handling, and this can be augmented by the use of targeted DVDs, interactive CDROMS, and relevant software.

The use of forethought is also important, in considering whether moving something is really necessary. Could some tasks be automated? Could handling aids be used? These need to be thought about before manual handling of any kind is attempted.

“According to our audit, 31 per cent of employees were at significant risk of injury from carrying out manual handling activities. Controls must be put in place to reduce the risk of injury,” Roberts urges. “Ninety per cent of those who took the audit said they did have lifting aids available to assist staff when manually lifting loads, although only 82 per cent had provided their employees with training on how to use them, but there is no point in having lifting aids if they are not used,” he adds.

Conclusion

The importance of correct manual handling, both at home and at work, cannot be underestimated, and simple steps can be taken to review arrangements to avoid the suffering caused by manual handling injuries. The law is very clear and there is much guidance, help and information available, so there is no excuse for ignoring manual handling issues. This is even more important in the current economic downturn, where cutbacks could lead to more inadequately risk-assessed maintenance tasks being carried out by untrained employees.

Roberts concludes: “Organisations must provide a safe working environment for their employees to undertake manual handling activities. They should provide suitable training and encourage their employees to openly discuss with management any issues they may have with tasks they have to perform.”

Further information:

www.safetymedia.co.uk

www.safetylearning.co.uk

0845 345 1703

the importance of maintaining training through the credit crunch

2010-03-28T19:19:00.000Z

The current financial climate is causing headaches for many UK and global organisations, and it looks as though the UK economy could be in for a rough ride for the foreseeable future. The credit crunch appears to be tightening its grip, inflation is rising sharply, fuel and other costs are spiralling, and business confidence faltering.

In order to tackle this uncertain situation, budgets are likely to be squeezed, and it is tempting to see training as an easy target for cutbacks, not least the health and safety training budget. However, this is a false economy. If an employee were injured or even killed through lack of training, this could result in prosecution, a large fine or even imprisonment under the recent Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

According to HSE statistics, 228 people were killed at work in 2007/08, 34 of them in manufacturing, and nearly half a million people were injured while at work. Thirty-six million working days were lost, 30 million due to work-related ill health and 6 million due to workplace injury.

Legislation

The HSE states that employers have a duty to provide information, instruction, training and supervision and make sure all their workers can understand it. This, coupled with the ever-increasing burden of UK and EU health and safety legislation, means there is an escalating need for training rather than the reverse, to ensure compliance and avoid penalty.

The implications of the Corporate Manslaughter Act, under which organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care, are not yet always well understood by employers, making health and safety awareness training even more vital for business.

Providing health and safety information is essential to maintain a good safety culture within an organisation, so that safety is upmost in the minds of workers, and they feel well cared for by their employer. And ultimately, giving successful training can save the employer money.

Delivery

When weighing up the training needs of the organisation, factors such as the expected outcome from the training, the people who need to be trained, the effectiveness of the training currently provided, the available training budget and the types of training needed, all need to be examined.

Employers should consider the most appropriate method of training delivery. Should you opt for traditional, or more cutting-edge, training? How does it fit with the organisation and how are you going to get the message across in the timeline you want? Traditional health and safety training delivery may encompass in-house or off-site training, on a one-to-one basis or in groups or seminars. This type of training can be very expensive, but things have moved on, and newer methods offer an attractive alternative.

According to Safety Media, traditional training in each health and safety subject costs the employer at least £50 per person, but it can cost as little as 50 pence per person if e-learning, or online training, is used. However, even though it costs less, the quality of the training is not compromised.

E-learning has developed enormously in recent years after a relatively slow start ten years ago, and is an increasingly important method of training, owing to almost universal access to the internet. Incorporating many interactive features and deliverable in any number of different languages, e-learning is now widely regarded as a mainstream training method, integrated into the training strategy of an increasing number of organisations.

E-learning is becoming more and more necessary because of the growing mobility of busy workers and geographic diversity of organisations' sites. The benefits of online training include speed, efficiency, cost, convenience and interactivity. Employees find it flexible and engaging, and enjoy the control it gives them over their own learning programmes.

Employers, for their part, discover e-learning delivers sizeable cost and time savings, as well as effective staff training. The software can be installed on the organisation's intranet, or it can be hosted by the supplier on its own web portal. This means training can be provided not only to end users who have direct access to a PC, but also those who do not have use of a PC at work, such as warehouse, factory, and sales staff. Group training sessions can be organised for these users, using handsets that interact with the trainer. Because modules can be accessed when travelling or at home, as well as at work, e-learning therefore reduces employee down-time.

Conclusion

Health and safety training should never be overlooked during financial downturns, as doing this could have disastrous consequences and make matters worse. Health and safety training by e-learning can not only save money compared with traditional training, but it can provide high-quality and effective instruction to ensure that all employees are fully up to speed with this vital issue.

Further information:

www.safetymedia.co.uk

www.safetylearning.co.uk

0845 345 1703

Health and Safety at Work: Who’s responsible…?

2010-01-17T19:48:00.000Z

Health and Safety at Work: Who’s responsible…?

When most of us hear of workplace accidents and injuries, we look on from the sidelines with a general ‘it will never happen to me’ attitude, turning up to work comfortable in the knowledge that our health and safety is being well cared for by the organisation in which we work.

Aside from the fact that many companies have poor safety records and your health and safety may well not be in a ‘safe pair of hands’, it is also not just the responsibility of your employer or those in charge of health and safety to look after you.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) imposes general duties on employers, the self-employed, controllers of premises, and manufacturers to ensure health, safety and welfare but the final group that makes up this list and the one which many of us do not realise exists is - employees

From the many convictions and cases that are brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it seems reasonably understood, if not carried through, that the HSWA imposes general duties on all employers and the self-employed to ensure the health and safety of those who may be affected by their business activities. Employers may also be liable for negligent acts committed by fellow employees acting in the course of their employment.

However, the HSWA also imposes a duty on employees to look after their own safety.

Section 7 of the Act clearly states that, while at work, all employees have a duty not to endanger themselves or others through their acts or omissions; and to cooperate with their employer, e.g. by wearing protective equipment.

7. It shall be the duty of every employee while at work-

(a) to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work; and

(b) as regards any duty or requirement imposed on his employer or any other person by or under any of the relevant statutory provisions, to co-operate with him so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with.

Section 8 also states that no person (whether an employee or not) shall misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare.

Where an offence is committed due to an act or default of some other person (not being an employee), that person shall be guilty of the offence and may be charged and convicted of it whether or not the employer is also charged. This means that an individual employee can be charged with a health and safety offence without the company being charged of that offence.

An employer may be responsible for the negligent acts or omissions of employees committed in the course of their employment. A claimant can sue an employer on the basis of vicarious liability, provided he can show that the employee was negligent and this caused his injury. However, an employer will escape liability if it can show the employee was acting 'on a frolic of his own' outside the course of his employment.

Breaches of health and safety legislation in the workplace can give rise to criminal liability. In addition, the reality is that a workplace accident may also give rise to a civil, personal injury claim. Whilst a breach of the HSWA does not give an automatic right to a civil claim, in many cases the evidence used against a company in a criminal prosecution may similarly be used against a company in a civil claim.

Successful prosecutions can lead to six months’ imprisonment and a £20,000 fine, or if the case is escalated to the Crown Court, two years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine can be imposed.

The message should be clear then, that we are all responsible for health and safety in our workplaces and the HSWA imposes duties on us all alike – employers, the self-employed and employees. As an employee it is your duty to look after your own welfare and that of the colleagues around you. In reality this should take no more than some common sense and knowledge of the systems in the area in which you work. If a task requires PPE then use it. If it is faulty then make someone aware. If you are unsure then check with someone first. There are plenty of experts inside and outside the workplace to make sure accidents don’t happen.

Some employees take on training courses, such as IOSH Working Safely, to help them improve their awareness.

Either way, make sure you stay safe!

Article by the Workplace Law Network

Corporate Manslaughter: The First Case by Workplace Law Network

2010-01-12T20:14:00.001Z

The first trial to be brought under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 will open in Bristol Crown Court on February 23 2010 and is expected to last six weeks.

In June 2009 the Crown Prosecution Service authorised a charge of corporate manslaughter against Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd, in relation to the death of Alexander Wright on 5 September 2008.

Mr Wright, who was employed by Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings as a junior geologist, was taking soil samples from inside a pit which had been excavated as part of a site survey when the sides of the pit collapsed, crushing him.

Peter Eaton, a Director of the company, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and with an offence contrary to Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd has also been charged with failing to discharge a duty contrary to Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The Act

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into effect on 6 April 2008. Until then there was a common law offence only, which, in order for a company to be found guilty of it, required the conviction of an individual person for gross negligence manslaughter and for that person to be so senior within the company that he or she represented its 'directing mind'. Whilst attempts were made to prosecute big companies under the old law these attempts were all unsuccessful.

The new Act is an offence-creating statute rather than a duty-setting one and itself imposes no new health and safety duties. In other words, the Act is solely designed to make it easier to prosecute organisations where their gross negligence leads to death.

The wording of the Act is that an organisation is guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised: causes a person’s death, and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased. An organisation is only guilty if the way in which its activities are managed or organised by its senior management is a substantial element in the breach.

Under this new law it is no longer necessary to convict one individual alone. The aggregated failures of a number of senior managers, who form the senior management, are sufficient.

In addition, the second part of the definition of senior management within the law catches people lower in the management chain than those who represented the ‘directing mind’ under the old law, meaning that a much wider part of the workforce could be considered by the prosecuting authorities when looking at whether the offence has been committed.

Having said that, the new offence continues to have a number of safeguards ensuring that the offence is likely to be restricted for the worst cases. In particular, in big companies the requirements for senior management involvement and for any breach to be gross.

The result of this is that to date the Act has not had the fearsome effect that some predicted and the safeguards that the Act provides is likely to mean that the floodgates will not open in terms of the number of prosecutions brought.

Convictions

Under the Act a conviction for gross negligence manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while a conviction for corporate manslaughter attracts an unlimited fine. Along with this goes the stigma of being a ‘corporate killer’.

The Home Office paper that went with the original Bill stated that the offence would be targeted at the worst cases of management failure causing death. If this is so, it is likely that fines for conviction will be set at a very high level and probably significantly in excess of record fines under HSWA.

A consultation guideline published in October 2009 by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, proposed that c ompanies and organisations that cause death through gross breaches of care could face fines of more than £500,000 and be forced to make a statement about offences on their website.

The publicity of a statement is designed to ensure that the conviction becomes known to shareholders and customers in the case of companies, and to local people in the case of public bodies, such as local authorities, hospital trusts and police forces.

The fines proposed in the consultation are not linked to turnover and some critics have claimed that this is a gross undermining of the Act and that the opportunity for a clear message to employers which might prevent deaths has been lost. The main reason for criticism of a minimum fine is that it may lead to the closures of smaller companies whilst being a drop in the ocean for much larger organisations.

Responses to the consultation should have been received by 5 January 2010, at which point the Council will consider any responses received and then issue a definitive guideline.

Conclusion

The outcome of the first case, while unlikely to be known for several months, will shed some light for employers on how this critical new legislation is likely to be interpreted by the courts. However, as the company is relatively small in size, many experts believe that the real test for the legislation will be when a substantial corporate body faces prosecution and that those expecting that this first case may provide some guidance on how the legislation will be interpreted will be somewhat disappointed.

Large or small, however, this is a timely reminder that companies that fail to keep their workers safe are liable to prosecution on a grand scale. Directors and senior executives need to act now if they want to avoid the heavy penalties and bad publicity that come from cases like this.

Although the Act has brought no new duties, it poses a natural reason and opportunity for organisations to review their safety management approach, their organisational framework and the systems underpinning them.

Guidance published by the HSE / IOD, defining what private and public sector directors should do to lead and promote heath and safety should be examined against organisations' existing safety management procedures to establish how they measure up and also to identify any weaknesses.

Bearing in mind the reach of the Act beyond the boardroom, organisations should not think that the principles set out in the guidance do not apply lower down the management chain.

It would also be prudent for organisations, particularly those in high-hazard industries, to review their liability insurance cover to ensure the legal defence costs for the new offence are covered. Many employers and Public Liability policies will provide such cover but some may not. Dependant on makeup and size the organisation may wish to explore the possibility of purchasing additional Directors' and Officers' cover or another form of management liability cover.

Experienced advice is important in the immediate aftermath of a workplace fatality, particularly as decisions made at this early stage can set the tone for the criminal investigation and can prejudice an organisation’s position and that of its directors and employees. In the circumstances, it is sensible to factor this in to the pre-planning of a major accident response.

If you are in any doubt about your responsibilities and how you should implement safe working practices then you should contact health and safety consultants.

Article by the Workplace Law Network

The Commitment to Health and Safety

2009-12-03T21:18:00.000Z

In a year that has seen the 35th birthday of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) and the 30th anniversary of NEBOSH, health and safety in the workplace still remains a highly sensitive issue but one that is crucial to the wellbeing of Britain’s workforce.

The HSWA has remained the framework for all health and safety legislation and has also managed to adapt to change since its implementation in 1974. In a society which has moved from a largely manufacturing-based industry to a service driven economy and with a more transient and diverse workforce, it remains crucial that employers and health and safety professionals also adapt to changes in working environments and employment patterns.

The HSWA has clearly contributed to saving many lives, with the number of deaths from workplace accidents falling from 651 when it came into force to 180 between 2008/9. This record low is also a significant drop from the previous year where there were 233 fatal injuries. There has also been a reduction of more than 7,000 in the number of workplace injuries classified as serious or incurring more than three days absence from work. This, however, is for all involved in health and safety still too many and more must still be done to reduce the average of over 200 workers dying each year in Britain’s workplaces. The HSWA and bodies such as the HSE can only do this with the support of those actually within the workplace.

One of the biggest challenges in recent times is the media perception of ‘elf and safety’. The myths which perpetuate this perception often arise through a misunderstanding of health and safety requirements, failing to get proper advice and because sometimes it appears easier to ban something than to find a way to make it work safely with the proper precautions.

This lack of understanding of the principles and regulations of health and safety is dangerous and threatens the safety of workers because it can directly create unsafe working conditions and also undermine the importance of regulations by creating a feeling that they are a hindrance rather than a help. This increasingly popular view that the ‘health and safety brigade’ are to blame for almost all of modern Britain’s ills is acknowledged by health and safety professionals as one of the biggest threats to their ability to effectively tackle real issues that endanger life.

In addition to this, the impact of the economic downturn has created the potential issue of health and safety being given lower priority and corners cut in order to save money. Apart from the obvious consequences from failing to follow a health and safety policy it can actually be financially damaging if an injury or fatality takes place and you are then liable to pay compensation through neglect.

The key responsibilities of any employer, facilities manager, director or health and safety professional, therefore, is to make sure they fully understand the requirements of health and safety, support its aims by communicating issues in the workplace clearly and thus challenge poor misconceptions. Employees must be encouraged to take the issues seriously as it only takes one person who does not, to result in an unnecessary accident.

Remember that the key phrase of the HSWA is “so far as reasonably practicable” and so this allows you to take a risk based approach to health and safety in your workplace. Blanket bans are never popular and normally not necessary. Instead, by fully assessing risk, you should be able to take a balanced view between sensible protective measures and cost. Health and safety is based on the key conviction that no one involved in the profession wants to see someone hurt or made ill, particularly when this is avoidable. With good practice and common sense you can help dispel those tabloid myths and help keep Britain’s workers safe from harm.

If you are responsible for health and safety in your workplace or simply have an interest in it and you don’t know where to begin there are plenty of people who can help you. As well as professional consultants who can take the ‘burden’ from you, there is also plenty of useful information to be found from organisations such as the HSE. An example of one of their useful tools is the Health and safety leadership checklist which is designed to help you check your status as a leader on health and safety.

Health and safety leadership checklist

How do you demonstrate the board's commitment to health and safety?
What do you do to ensure appropriate board-level review of health and safety?
What have you done to ensure your organisation, at all levels including the board, receives competent health and safety advice?
How are you ensuring all staff – including the board – is sufficiently trained and competent in their health and safety responsibilities?
How confident are you that your workforces, particularly safety representatives, are consulted properly on health and safety matters, and that their concerns are reaching the appropriate level including, as necessary, the board?
What systems are in place to ensure your organisation’s risks are assessed, and that sensible control measures are established and maintained?
How well do you know what is happening on the ground, and what audits or assessments are undertaken to inform you about what your organisation and contractors actually do?
What information does the board receive regularly about health and safety – e.g. performance data and reports on injuries and work-related ill health?
What targets have you set to improve health and safety and do you benchmark your performance against others in your sector or beyond?
Where changes in working arrangements have significant implications for health and safety, how are these brought to the attention of the board?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/checklist.htm

A recent survey, ‘The Value of Safety and Health’ published by Safety and Health Practitioner magazine and IOSH found that nine out of ten health and safety professionals would recommend a career in health and safety to others. For anyone that wishes to follow this career path there are recognised qualifications, such as the NEBOSH general certificate, which can be attained to increase your knowledge and ability.

On the topic of working in the industry, Rob Castledine, Associate Director at Workplace Law, said:

"Having spent over 20 years in the industry, I've met an awful lot of Health and Safety Practitioners and those that stick out to me are those that have a 'can do' attitude. Of course, any form of advice or guidance that a Health and Safety Advisor gives out needs to be balanced between risk, legal compliance and the practicalities of any control measures. But managers and organisations, as a whole, welcome sensible risk management which provides a solution to an issue, rather than another excuse not to do it.

"In particular, it's essential for those just starting out on their safety career to ensure they fully develop their qualifications, be it a NEBOSH Certificate or an NVQ, with lots of sound and real life work experiences, which will help them to make more informed judgements concerning managing health and safety risks in the workplace."

Article by the Workplace Law Network

New Articles Added by Leading Law Firm - McGrigors LLP

2009-10-17T15:28:00.000Z

HSfB has been given permission to publish the following articles and e-bulletins from the leading law firm McGrigors LLP.

We would like to thank McGrigors LLP for this fantastic contribution and we hope you will find the articles both helpful and interesting.

17 October 2009

New articles added to Your Articles by McGrigors LLP.

Our guide to health and safety in the kitchen

2009-06-08T20:24:00.001Z

The kitchen is the focal point of the British home; the social hub of a party; the place where culinary delights are created; and the location for families to exchange dinnertime stories. It is a well known fact that the majority of accidents happen in the home, and it is no surprise that most of these occur in the kitchen. The elderly and children are particularly susceptible when navigating around the various surfaces, often greeted with unstable objects and protruding corners.

Whichever relates to you, health and safety in the kitchen applies to everyone. If you have a kitchen at work, you are constantly reminded of the potential hazards with the help of animated signs, reinforced by the HR manager. Unfortunately, these guidelines do not exist in the average home, so we all have to be more vigilant of the dangers that can happen in the kitchen in order to enjoy our time in it.

Your kitchen should be ergonomically designed to reduce unnecessary movement and awkward manoeuvres. This applies particularly to the hob and oven area. Burns and scalding usually occur as a consequence of distraction, but there is some further protection if you use triple-glazed or cooling system ovens. These have a low surface temperature as they operate, and so prevent burning through accidental touches or leaning by children.

Hob areas are the most potentially dangerous, though they should all now have an automatic cut off installed so that the gas stops if the flame accidentally goes out. The hob should never be placed in front of a window precisely to prevent this from happening, and also to prevent curtains or blinds flapping dangerously near naked flames. When cooking, ensure that pan handles are not receiving heat from another hob or ring, and that you do not leave the handle hanging over the edge.

Always allocate sufficient space around the cooking surface. You will need an amount of worktop by the oven and hob so that hot and heavy items can be put down quickly. Fit plug sockets on either side of the hob so that appliances and their leads won't need to be pulled across the hot surface. Lastly, always position the hob near to the sink so that it won't be necessary to carry full pans very far and never put the units either side of a door. You do not want to collide with someone coming in whilst you are carrying boiling water.

Store your kitchen items wisely to minimise the risk of accidents. Heavy items and awkward pots and pans should be stored in the lower cupboards, while glassware and other lighter goods can be stored in wall cupboards. If items are exposed, they musty be positioned on a level worktop and so it cannot be dislodged.

Kitchens can easily become the dirtiest room in the house, but it is vitally important that they are also one of the most hygienic. Using certain materials in your fittings can make the kitchen easier to clean; granite and quartz worktops for example, are smooth, seamless and stain resistant. A well designed kitchen will try to avoid the common dirt and grime traps such as the joins around the sink and between worktops.

Changing your kitchen work surfaces is not only a good way to improve overall heath and safety, but one of the simplest methods of upgrading without being a major upheaval. John Porter worktops and kitchens understand the significance of health and safety, and offer a comprehensive range of quality kitchen worktops that guarantee peace of mind for their customers.

“Health and safety in the kitchen can and does get forgotten, particularly when rushing in back from work, or preparing a stressful dinner for the family, so we try to ensure that our worktops are fitted to the highest standard,” says John Porter. “This is why we recruit expert fitters, use the finest materials and adhere to the rigorous safety standards that are set. If all of this is achieved, then we know our customers are receiving the best possible service.”

So remember, the kitchen can be safe place to inhabit, we just need to be aware that accidents can and do happen. That reminds me, I have a dinner party next weekend….

Matthew Crick

Your Guide to Smoke Detectors and Fire Alarms

2009-06-08T20:23:00.000Z

Smoke detectors and fire alarms give you vital extra time to escape from a building if a fire breaks out. Most businesses and institutions have a combination of smoke and fire alarms to alert people of a fire. Whether you run a business from a tiny office or if you’re responsible for the safety of an entire school, you need to be sure that you have the correct smoke detectors and fire alarms fitted in the building. Below is a quick guide to smoke detectors and commercial fire alarms.

What types of smoke detectors are available?

The type of smoke detector you require will largely depend on the size and type of your premises. The cheapest type of smoke detectors are ionisation detectors which can detect small particles of smoke before the smoke gets too dense. Ionisation smoke detectors are not ideal at detecting substances which are slow to burn but are quick to detect high flaming fires such as liquid fires so they are a good choice for workshops, garages and kitchens.

Optical smoke detectors are better for detecting slow burning fires which produce larger smoke particles. Optical smoke detectors are a good choice for rooms or buildings which have a lot of wiring such as server rooms or computer suites as these substances can create a lot of smoke during a fire. Combined smoke detectors will be triggered by slow burning and high flaming fires so are a good all round choice.

What types of fire alarms are available?

There are many different types of commercial fire alarms available which means you will be able to find the right system for your building, whether you are upgrading or installing a system for the first time. A conventional fire alarm system would be suitable for smaller premises such as shops, small offices and bed and breakfasts. These conventional systems have detection zones which are connected to a number of fire alarm smoke detectors and break glass units.

Addressable fire alarm systems transmit data to a panel which allows you to see exactly where the fire is in the building which makes them a good choice for larger premises. Wireless commercial fire alarms offer the most flexibility and are ideal for premises which are spread out over a number of buildings such as schools or university campuses. Wireless commercial fire alarms can be fitted without any disruption and are installed without wires so they are also a good choice for busy offices, stately homes and public buildings such as libraries and museums.

Make sure you have the correct smoke detectors and commercial fire alarms fitted in your workplace so that you know the people who use the building will have enough time to escape in an emergency.

This article was written by Assured Fire & Security for Health and Safety for Beginners.

Common causes of an office fire

2009-05-09T19:16:00.000Z

The acute “beep, beep, beep, beep...” of the office fire alarm resonates around the room and a momentarily look of concern presents itself on every face that has risen in unison. This, for the incalculable time, is a test alarm and one that arrives each week with wonderment. We are all aware, however, that this scheduled blast has a serious agenda; a job that we can’t resent and a role that could save our lives. The fire alarm is possibly the most understated colleague in any office.

For anyone who’s experienced the horror of a real-live, raging fire – whether in the office or at home – it is something I’m sure they will not want to experience again. Businesses across the UK have introduced additional safety equipment, upgraded facilities and implemented more coherent training for their personnel to prevent such incidents meaning fire safety in the work place has never been more prominent, with more vigorous checks being recommended by fire officials to make properties impervious to fire.

The First Statistics Monitor, which is published quarterly by Communities and Local Government, encompasses provisional figures on fires, fire fatalities, injuries and false alarms. During 2007/08, The UK Fire and Rescue Services attended 799,000 fire and false alarm incidents (at both domestic and commercial properties) – noting an 8 per cent decrease on the previous 12 months. The total number of UK fires fell by 11 per cent to 382,000 and are at their lowest since 1988. The figure for UK fire deaths, however, increased by 8 per cent to 500, and embedded within this statistic, 373 deaths occurred in England; the latter being contrary to the long term downward trend.

In July 2003, over 100 fire fighters spent hours contending with a fire that broke out in a prodigious office block behind Paddington Station. Resilient fire crew tackled the blaze continuously for two days, and five were treated in hospital for injuries. It later emerged that the building had recognised electrical problems and insufficient fire safety appliances, mainly fire extinguishers and blankets. Five floors of the structure were lost that day, but fortunately no lives.

In May 2007, Council headquarters in Leicestershire were obliterated by a fire which was caused by an electrical fault on a light fitting. The building hosted over 150 staff, and although every staff member was safely evacuated successfully, over three quarters of office space was lost. Local emergencies praised the speed in which everyone left the building and the manner and organisation they did so. After a rigorous post-mortem check of the buildings smouldering carcass, fire officials applauded the overall safety equipment that was in place at the time. Malise Graham, Leader of Melton Borough Council, made the irrefutable point: “We may have lost most of the office, but we still have all our staff in one piece. I’m glad that we can plan for a new building and not for human loses.”

The office is a perfect breeding ground for a fire. Electrical equipment such as fax machines and photocopiers are both potential heat-generating threats, and although there are constant warnings about monitoring and upgrading fire safety devices, often old or defective machines like the humble photocopier can be fire hazards. Even a kettle or fridge should be considered and documented.

“Appropriate fire training for all staff is essential to ensure that the correct action is taken in the event of a fire,” says Active Fire Management, who provide a professional fire consultancy service for all aspects of fire safety and training requirements. “ The Fire Safety Order 2005 requires timely and effective training for all personnel. Any training provided should also be repeated at regular intervals. Organisations should ensure that details of training and names of those who have received it is recorded in the fire log book.”

Combustible objects such as books, magazines and bags of materials waiting to be recycled act like fire lighters on a log fire, and should be stored properly and not piled up around the office. All storage areas should be adequately located away from heat sources, for example; servers, computers and plugs. Be extra conscious of having excessive electrical outlets and try to reduce the amount of extension cables that weave across the floor.

“Effective management of electrical cables in the workplace is essential in order to avoid trip hazards to staff, but also to reduce the possibility of an unwanted fire,” continues Active Fire. “Ensure that all electrical equipment undergoes a regular PAT test and maintain appropriate records.”

If you are sat at your desk as you finish reading this, take a few minutes out of your busy day to distinguish who is one of the most undervalued team mates in the office. The fire alarm? And let’s not forget your other assistants: fire safety equipment. All of you are in the same team and one day may really depend on each other.

For more information visit www.activefiremanagement.co.uk

Words by Matthew Crick

HSfB in the Beginning...

2009-01-04T18:07:00.001Z

After suffering a back injury at work in 2002 where I slipped two discs lifting heavy machinery parts, I spent the next 2 ½ years virtually housebound living on Incapacity Benefit. Naturally this placed incredible strain on home life for my wife and young daughter (two years old at the time), not only in monetary terms, but simple things like going shopping, visiting friends and family, pulling up socks, or even lifting a full kettle. All the things many people take for granted. The hardest part of these years was not being able to lift, carry or play properly with my young daughter who had no concept of why her mum could and I couldn’t. Kids are amazing creatures though; she was OK with the limited physical activities we could do together.

Over time and after being diagnosed with having ‘the back of an old man’, I then realised I could no longer have a career which involved any sort of manual labour; I would need to put my brain to good use to pay the bills! With time on my hands during these years, I began asking questions as to why I was allowed to go to work perfectly healthy one day, then the next day how my work could have been allowed to place such a dark cloud over my life. Armed with these questions, I sought careers advice and self funded my way through the NEBOSH General Certificate at the Falkirk College and the Diploma in Health and Safety Management at Glasgow’s Caledonian University. My passion for keeping people safe and healthy at work had been ignited.

After completing the NEBOSH General Certificate, I attempted to share a single electronic file with a student friend. Sharing files was all very new to me, especially when the file was too large for email! I had to learn how to use the free web space allocated as part of my internet service provider’s package. My learning started with two websites – www.google.co.uk and www.boogiejack.com. In the process over a few weeks, more and more files found their way onto my web space and I accidentally created a website called Health and Safety for Beginners (HSfB). The sole purpose of the website was originally to provide a completely free resource where students could easily find and share study materials using one large central point. I personally found information like this scarce on the internet and was convinced that there was a gap ready to be filled.

Discussion Forums

Not long after the birth of HSfB and whilst using an H&S discussion forum (which stopped operating some months later), I began chatting online to a user of that particular forum called ‘Ippy’. One comment to me that Ippy made changed HSfB forever….”why don’t you start a discussion forum of your own?” The rest as they say is history. Our discussion forums are an incredibly welcoming and friendly place to be, where everybody is treated with respect and where every single question is also treated with respect, hence the reason our tag line became - There is no such thing as a "stupid" or "daft" health and safety question!. After all, everybody in our profession is simply working towards keeping people at work safe and healthy.

Since those early months, the website has grown into a valuable practical resource for students and professionals alike. The website allows the sharing of information, resources and discussions to take place between likeminded people with realistic and practical solutions for day to day challenges.

Not Just for Beginners

Although the name of the website suggests it is a tool for beginners, the site equally caters for experienced professionals at the same time. In fact, many of the beginners who have used the site in the past are now actively participating in the site daily as experienced professionals and offering their experience as advice. This is basically the HSfB circle of life where beginners gain so much from the site, they then want to put something back through their own learning and experience.

Another objective for HSfB is to assist beginners and professionals with their personal development, whether that is by providing the resources on the site or by providing subsidised learning in partnership with a variety of training providers through prize draw competitions. This particular concept resulted in the site winning the prestigious Lord Cullen Award for Safety Innovation and the Fife Regional Council Shield in 2007. In total, over 350 hours of training were subsidised for winners of the free prize draw and the total value of prizes given away was worth over £7,250.

The prize draw competitions have now become a permanent fixture on HSfB and in late 2008, a dedicated prize draw website was created – www.prizedraw.healthandsafetytips.co.uk. Now, instead of a one-off competition, people registered to receive our monthly newsletter are automatically entered into our monthly prize draws.

It all Falls into Place

Looking back on my H&S career, my passion grows from the first hand experience of being injured at work and the belief that injuries like these, or worse, are completely preventable.

As with many others starting out with their H&S career, it was a catch-22 situation. I had the qualifications (NEBOSH Certificate), but without experience employers were reluctant to take me on. Even after I started the Diploma in Health and Safety Management at Glasgow’s Caledonian University getting my foot on that first rung of the ladder was difficult, and very frustrating!

It took over a year to finally find an employer who would give me the start I needed, and even that was not 100% dedicated to H&S. I secured a job with a small disability access consultancy which lasted one year until the consultancy was forced to close due to late payments from large organisations (something many small business have to contend with regularly).

Amazingly, my second break came from one of our discussion forum’s members! He read about my job with the consultancy coming to an end and to cut a long story short, he persuaded (and helped) me to start my own H&S and disability access consultancy giving me my first paying job. I handed in my completed disability access reports to him on a Friday and during our close-out meeting, he offered me a full-time H&S advisors position working for him in a large oil and gas manufacturing firm in Dunfermline. I started the following Tuesday (it was my daughter’s seventh birthday on the Monday) and my consultancy ended almost exactly one month after its launch.

The amazing thing that stands out for me is that without my injury, I would not have began asking questions as to why people get injured at work, I would not have chosen a career in H&S and HSfB would never have started. My injury and the people I have met through HSfB have changed my life forever, and I know for a fact that I am not the only one.

John Johnston MIIRSM GradIOSH

www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk

www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/forums

Learn Your Germs

2008-12-31T21:23:00.000Z

So, I’m at work and starting to resemble an extra for Night of the Living Dead. I’ve just completed my routine self-diagnosis and scanning the office I see, thanks to me perhaps, an assortment of my colleagues sniffling and coughing. My desk is gradually sinking between dripping drifts of used tissues and I can’t answer the phone for fear of permanently alienating a vital business contact with my erratic nasal sounds.

I am only half ill, and although I have been doing a decent impression of a person with an impending cold, I have a friend who currently has an unspeakable substance pouring from his head – a cold that has turned into what a trained medical professional would describe as “one hell of an ear infection”. Let’s forget, just for a second, hosing down hospitals; if you want to fight infection then the battle commences in the office.

The average office hosts hundreds of times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Yes, I said a toilet seat. As we all sit here, stewing in our own putrescence while the army of microbes have us at their mercy, they are also throwing meet-and-greet parties all over our office. Parties that we’re not invited to and are monumental in size.

To put their banquet in perspective, around 21,000 germs per square inch are found on work desks. A population that is hard to quantify when you consider the size of a desk. We are constantly and unintentionally adding to this community with the 1,500 germs per square centimetre that congregate on our hands.

Dr. Chuck Gerba, a renowned microbiologist from the University of Arizona, is a leading expert on home and work hygiene. “Clutter doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of germs,” he says. “To a large degree it’s the amount of activity and the number of people that occupy an office.”

Here’s the controversial bit: women spread more germs in the work place than men, according to Gerba. But, before there is unanimous uproar, the higher germ concentration is proof that women have healthier diets than men. “Women tend to store apples, bananas and other biodegradable, healthy food at their desk,” he continues. “Men appear to opt for less nutritious provisions at work, such as gum and crisps.”

Over the last two years, Gerba and his team placed a normal office environment under their microscope and the results were astonishing to say the least. The office, in Arizona, consisted of 15 employees, each with their own desk, a communal kitchen and two separate toilets. Gerba found hundreds of thousands of bacteria on ‘hot spots’ such as a printer button, a mouse and, in even larger amounts, keyboards.

“Among the bacteria we found coliform – intestinal bacteria generally found in human waste – on bathroom handles, in the kitchen sink and on several keyboards,” says Gerba. “This indicated that people were not washing their hands after leaving the bathroom. But, surprisingly, the desks that were cluttered hosted the least bacteria. The proud, office clean freaks generally had a filthy keyboard.”

Elizabeth Scott, a professor at the Simmons Centre for Hygiene and Health in Boston, adds: “Office workers touch their hands to their faces on average 18 times an hour. When we touch our faces, we bring all the collected gunk of our desktop or keyboard directly to our respiratory and digestive system every three and half minutes. Bacteria and viruses couldn’t ask for a better transportation network.”

So, germs could be regarded as the consummate commuter. Unlike most humans, they enjoy travelling in dense crowds, over long distances and once they get to their destination they live is complete harmony; celebrating their arrival with a veritable feast – our office.

We do make their trip easy for them though. Around 71% of office workers believe their workspace makes them regularly ill, with ‘hot desking’ being a major culprit for spreading bacteria and bugs. What’s more, 80% admitted to sharing their workstations, including telephone and computer, while being ill. The migration of the germ has just been upgraded to a free, first class ticket to paradise.

While most of the bacteria that lurks and thrives at our workplace aren’t life-threatening, it does explain why we can feel, well, under the weather sometimes. We can disinfect our desks and office equipment as frequently as time allows us to. The battle to conquer germ domination may be ending, but the war is just beginning.

One way to guarantee the office remains a defiant ‘no germ zone’ is to contact a commercial cleaning company. Albany Facilities is one of the leading office hygiene specialists in the UK who know how to tackle our office organisms.

“Most people have heard of ‘sick building syndrome’, but don’t realise the impact it can have on a business,” says Albany’s Managing Director, Mike Burton. “The term describes a range of symptoms that office workers suffer from, including; headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and respiratory problems. High levels of bacteria and funghi in air ventilation systems could be to blame so companies should ensure that air ducts are regularly deep cleaned.”

The next time you’re sat in front of your desk, devouring your lunch that you’ve been looking forward to all morning, remember one thing: you are the oblivious host to the biggest dinner party of your life!

Matthew Crick

Albany Deep Clean Services

Your Articles - 5 September 2008

2008-09-05T14:58:00.000Z

A week in the life of...

This feature gives you the opportunity to write a short diary of your typical week as an health, safety or environmental professional and have it published here and in our Newsletter. Your diary articles will give a great insight into the world of HS&E, allowing professionals and beginners alike the chance to see how others operate.

If you would like to take part in this feature simply download the template and return the completed form to us - Contact Us. Further information on the feature can be found on our Discussion Forums

Click the link to download our latest addition...

A Week in the Life...Self-Employed Health and Safety Consultant

Your Articles - A Week in the Life of...

2008-08-09T14:01:00.000Z

Your Articles

A week in the life of...

If you would like to take part in this feature simply download the template and return the completed form to us - Contact Us. Further information on the feature can be found on our Discussion Forums.

Exam Tip – Take Your Personal Advisors with You!

2008-07-06T19:33:00.000Z

Do nerves get the better of you under exam conditions and your mind goes blank?

Do you dread your mind going blank and worry about it for days, even weeks or months before your exams?

Has anybody ever told you that you will know the answer and all you need to do is to simply dig deep into your mind and unlock it?

This article will give you the tools to unlock those answers, but only if you let it work for you. If you don’t have an open mind for trying something new, this article really isn’t for you and you shouldn’t waste your time reading any more. Carry on to our home page if you don’t wish to try this out – www.hsfb.co.uk. Otherwise, read on…

This article was created using a technique learned from Jack Black after one of his MindStore for Business courses - https://www.mindstore.com/index.php

Design Your Board Room

Imagine yourself sitting in a large senior executive Board Room. The Board Room is on the top floor of a large office block overlooking the most fantastic view you have ever seen, peaceful and whatever you want it to be. The Board Room is furnished to the highest specification possible with leather executive chairs, modern art décor, plenty of natural light, the temperature is just right and there are plenty of indoor plants and flowers giving off a pleasant calming scent. No expense spared.

You are sitting at the head of the table with a dozen executive places around the plush solid Oak Board Room table and you are in complete control of who enters your Board Room to become your personal advisors.

Call Upon Your Personal Advisors

The trick to successfully answering exam questions using this technique is quite simply to have the right people sitting at your Board Room table advising you. For example, if you were asked a question on health and safety law and you weren’t quite sure of the answer, who would you turn to for the answer if you had the chance? Would it be a previous lecturer from your NEBOSH General Certificate? Would it be a colleague from a local IOSH branch group? Would it be one of HSfB’s discussion forum members? Would it be your mentor or boss? It doesn’t matter who it is. Just make sure you think of the person you feel can answer you instantly on the particular topic and place them in your Board Room sitting in one of the plush leather executive chairs.

Then, when the question comes up under exam conditions (or during every day life), simply ask your health and safety advisor and let them give you the answer. They will give you the correct answer every single time, without fail (as long as you have studied the subject that is).

Use this technique to fill your Board Room with people you trust to give you good solid advice on any topic you like, from COSHH, fire, construction, occupational health, work at heights, confined spaces or even the NEBOSH action verbs! It’s your Board Room and you are in control of who enters it to become your personal advisors.

Use Your Imagination

If you feel your Board Room is beginning to bulge at the seams with advisors, that’s just fantastic. The more the merrier! Simply make your Board Room bigger!

This technique doesn’t just work under exam conditions, it can work in your every day lives if you are simply looking for advice on a decision that lies ahead of you. It’s a simple case of asking yourself - “what would ______ have said in this situation?”

The technique works because psychologically even if you make yourself believe you can’t remember, or if you are unsure of how to decide on something, you will simply have faith in your advisors not to forget and to say the right thing, then you will get your answer.

Tell yourself often enough that you can’t remember and guess what? You won’t remember!

Tell yourself you will remember, or your advisors will help you to remember, and guess what? You will remember!

It only works!

John Johnston MIIRSM Grad IOSH - HSfB

One Day...

2008-03-29T19:13:00.000Z

One Day...

I work for one of the country’s leading waste management, recycling and energy- from waste-companies. We operate across the country, providing expert services in the collection, recycling and disposal of waste as well as municipal cleansing. Our businesses stretch from Kent and London to as far north as Merseyside and as far south as Cornwall. Our transfer stations are based in London and Cirencester. In all we have thirty three sites.

I am based in the Essex office and work for Compliance also known as Health & Safety. I am a compliance officer and work in a team of 10 people. We carry out Compliance work on the behalf of our businesses .We assist and guide the staff and management with their health, safety and environmental issues.

Cory Environmental is the only company that transfers waste on the River Thames, keeping over 100,000 HGVs off the capital’s already congested roads each year. The rubbish is compacted on our transfer stations then collected and transferred down the river by container barges to our landfill site which is appropriately named Mucking down in Essex.

The full article, including photos of the waste transfer operation, can be downloaded in pdf format by clicking the following link.

One Day...

Rochelle of Cory Environmental

HSfB Owner Runs the Edinburgh Marathon for CHAS - 16 March 2008

2008-03-16T19:46:00.001Z

Site News

John Johnston, the owner of Health and Safety for Beginners and employee of FMC Technologies, will run the full Edinburgh Marathon on 25 May 2008 with two other colleagues from FMC Technologies - Alan and Sheena - in aid of The Children's Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS). The team building event, which is being backed by FMC Technologies, began in November 2007.

Alan, Sheena and John form the HSE Group at FMC Technologies and are aiming to help raise awareness for healthy living for the 600 strong workforce as well as raise money for a worthy cause.

CHAS is a Scottish charity established to provide hospice services in Scotland for children with life-limiting conditions. The hospice offers professional care, practical help and emotional support to the whole family from the day they are referred until the death of their child and beyond.

A blog has been set up to keep track of the event called First Time Marathon - http://www.firsttimemarathon.blog.co.uk/

The target for fundraising has been set at £3,000. If you would like to make a donation to help meet the target, you can donate securely online using the dedicated fundraising page at JustGiving - http://www.justgiving.com/firsttimemarathon

The First Time Marathon team would like to thank you for your support.

Health and Safety for Beginners Time Management Tool

2008-03-07T21:17:00.000Z

Health and Safety for Beginners Time Management Tool

Published on HSfB 7 March 2008

If like me you try to juggle 101 things in the air at the same time, it won’t be too long before you begin to forget important things at your work or in your studies. Your stress levels begin to build up and you start to get overwhelmed with tasks, even small incidentals. Then one day something undoubtedly gives way or you simply plod along aimlessly trying to cope and never really get anywhere.

Sound familiar?

This time management tool is one of many methods you can use to help take control of your daily and weekly tasks, both at work and in study. It will help you to prioritise and arrange tasks in a logical manner and will also help you to become much more productive as a direct result. All you need to do is simply follow these three easy steps using the planning sheets provided.

Download the time management planning sheets and guide here - HSfB Time Management Tool

Step 1

First, use the Time Management Journal – Step 1 document for the first full week. Use a separate sheet for work and home life.

The journal in this step is an honest and accurate account of your use of time each day. When you start a task, fill in the start time, end time, a description of the task and any interruptions you have during the task. Interruptions can be your boss asking you to do something for him/her, or it could be an accident investigation, or even a toilet break/ciggie break etc. Write them all in the interruptions column and analyse the results at the end of the week.

By the end of the week, you will see the common interruptions and obviously the interruptions you have no control over, which will happen every week and that's ok. Deal with those interruptions! If the interruptions are people just having a chat, then have a chat with them, but be ready to explain to them that you need to get on with your work and they should leave you in peace! Be nice though ;) You may also uncover various patterns of your work colleagues where they could perhaps improve their own productivity at work.

Step 2

Next is to use the Time Management – Task Planning – Step 2 document.

There are three key priorities to use in this document –

A – Jobs that must be done.
B – Jobs that ought to be done but can be delayed if necessary.
C – Jobs that are easy/enjoyable but don’t directly achieve objectives.

You should complete this sheet on a weekly basis and update it as the week progresses and tasks are completed or progressed.

Add in your task description, give it a priority, update the status and add in a time you think you will need to complete the task. This helps to focus your mind on the task and is your living document that helps you psychologically.

All these things are in your head all at once, which makes your stress levels increase as you feel you never get near the end of the list. But, if you write them down and show your progress, even minor progress, you begin to see and feel the positive effects of your efforts, which is an amazing feeling.

Step 3

Next is to use the Time Management – Daily Plan – Step 3 document. This is your daily plan for your tasks. First thing in the morning, set your plan of action for the day and try to stick to it as best you can. Don't try to fill each slot of time with something to do, give yourself some floating time in there as things rarely go to plan, but again it helps you focus. Each day, start a new sheet and refer back to the previous day's sheet to see what jobs still need attention.

Refer to the task planning document from step 2 and allocate time to your top priority tasks (and lower priority jobs if you can). For example, if you need to do risk assessments on four machines and you think it will take you about 5 hours in total, allocate 1 or 2 hours to the task for that day, then move on to something else of high priority. Unless of course the task needs to be carried out until complete. Only you can decide how much time to give each priority, but remember there are only so many hours in a day for work/study and you can only do so much. You are only human!

Hints and Tips

The biggest challenge to start with is to find the time to populate your time management sheets! Once you do start and you see the benefits, you will be amazed at how much it helps and how much you will rely on the sheets to help you focus.

Archive all of your sheets when finished with them and look back now and again to see how they have helped you manage your time. It helps keep you focused.

I have attached another sheet which is a study planning sheet and is used purely for study time. Wherever you can steal time for studying, at work or home, fill in your study sheet and stick to it as best you can using the principles explained in this guide.

Be realistic.

When using the tool for study, work out what time you have available for study and don’t forget to make time for sleeping, eating, recreation, etc. You still have a life.

Try to plan ahead - do not leave everything to the last minute, remember assignments and reports need research time, so start early.

Prioritise - do not do the easiest task first, but the one that really needs to be done first.

Set objectives which are reasonable, and make sure that they are somewhere you can see them. You could keep a wall planner chart if you have a spare wall.

Break large tasks into manageable sub-tasks and set target dates against each sub-task i.e. for an assignment: research; research evaluation; draft copy; and final copy.

Try doing the most difficult things when you feel at your best.

Remember the unexpected always happens, so be flexible and don't get angry when plans have to change. Just change them ;)

REMEMBER YOU ARE IN CONTROL!

Download the time management planning sheets and guide here - HSfB Time Management Tool

HSfB - Important Site News 6 January 2008

2008-01-06T20:53:00.000Z

6 January 2008

New Health and Safety Discussion Forums Launched

We are proud to announce that on Thursday 20 December 2007, HSfB launched its new look health, safety and environmental discussion forums which you can view here - Health and Safety Discussion Forums

The new discussion forums are based on the phpBB style which has been vastly improved in many ways by the phpBB team. Both security and functionality have been improved giving our members and visitors an excellent online experience.

A list of new features can be found on the phpBB website here - phpBB3 Gold Features

Here is just a sample of some of the new features and options now available to our members -

User preferences offering a wide range of user defined customisations.
Private messaging system which can be fully managed by users, including creating new folders and moving saved messages.
Various anti-spam techniques have been added to allow administrators to keep our forums a nice place to be, including; CAPTCHA Visual Confirmation; blacklists; banning; warnings; user logging and many more.
Users can now report individual posts to the moderator team at the touch of a button.
Users can now attach multiple files to their posts.
Users can save a draft of their posts allowing the post to be completed at a later time.
More advanced search facility.
Unread post flags are not lost after closing browser or logging off.
Users can bookmark individual topics for future reference.
Print topic functionality added.
Email topic to a friend functionality added.
Add friends/foes to user control panel.
Users can manage private message and draft posts.
And many more...

One side effect of the new upgrade is that members may have some difficulty in logging on to the new forums for the first time due to incorrect passwords. This is a known bug with the conversion/upgrade software. If you are affected by this unavoidable side effect, please Contact Us to have your account manually reactivated. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Another side effect is that our discussion forums RSS feed is temporarily unavailable for the time being.

All that remains for us to say is thank you for your continued support and we hope you enjoy your new health, safety and environmental discussion forums.

HSfB - Site News 30 September 2007

2007-09-30T13:45:00.000Z

Site News

Health & Safety for Beginners had entries to be posted on their website forum www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk that cans of Evo-Stik Expanding Foam, produced by Bostik Limited, are bursting for no reason or when shaken. Bostik has informed Health & Safety for Beginners that their product does not burst for any reason and therefore the forum discussion may wrongly give the impression that this was the cause of a fatal accident.

Health & Safety for Beginners are not responsible for the forum entries and do not endorse their content.

Health & Safety for Beginners has been subsequently informed by Bostik that the product is safe to use when the user follows the instructions on both the pack and the accompanying safety data sheets. The cans do not just burst of their own volition.

The fatal accident is currently being investigated by HSE who have not released a statement. Any safety alerts that you may have seen have not been endorsed by the HSE.

Hearth & Safety for Beginners acknowledge Bostik's assertion that Evo-Stik Expanding Foam is not a faulty product. The manufacturers have asked us to take this opportunity to remind all members to ensure full compliance with the instructions and guidance booklets contained in any products before use. Members should be highlighting to all employees and contractors the importance of reading fully the instructions for use, if they fail to do so there may be serious potential consequences if these instructions are not adhered which could include personal injury and or even a fatality.

Fake HSfB Email Alert - Press Release

2007-09-05T21:18:00.000Z

Fake HSfB Email Alert - Press Release

Fake HSfB Email Alert

It has come to our attention that fake emails are circulating the internet claiming to be from healthandsafetytips.co.uk. These emails appear to come from our website, but we can assure you that they do not. The fraudulent spammers are using a technique which allows their email to disguise itself as another domain name, i.e. healthandsafetytips.co.uk.

Examples of the email will include the following (there may be more we are not aware of).......

Possible subject headings of - 'awels' or '*DETECTED* Online User Violation' or 'Warning Message: Your services near to be closed' or 'You have successfully updated your password' or 'WARNING MESSAGE: YOUR SERVICES NEAR TO BE CLOSED' or 'SECURITY MEASURES' or 'Important Notification' or a series of random letters.

The message content of the emails will be similar to the following:

Dear user andrew,

You have successfully updated the password of your Healthandsafetytips account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance with your account, please contact Healthandsafetytips customer service at: support@healthandsafetytips.co.uk

Thank you for using Healthandsafetytips!
The Healthandsafetytips Support Team

+++ Attachment: No Virus (Clean)
+++ Healthandsafetytips Antivirus - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk

The emails will contain a zipped attachment which contains the virus - W32.Mytob.EA@mm and when opened it will infect your pc.

Please delete these emails.

HSfB will never send you emails with attachments unless we have prior consent from you first. Only open emails from HSfB containing attachments when you expect us to send you an attachment.

On the plus side, if you have your anti virus software up to date and set to scan incoming emails, then this virus should get picked up and deleted straight away.

NEBOSH General Exam Tips by Phil

2007-07-09T19:20:00.000Z

General Exam Tips

ARRIVE ON TIME AND RELAXED

Don’t rush into the exam room with minutes to spare. Make sure you have had a good nights rest, eaten well and don’t have a hangover.

BE PREPARED

The old scouts motto. Don’t turn up with one dodgy biro. It WILL run out before you get your name on the paper.

GET A GOOD POSITION IN THE EXAM ROOM

Don’t grab a seat too close to the heaters, halfway through the exam you will wish you had picked somewhere cooler. Similarly seats by the window can be too hot or cause glare in the summer, too cold in the winter and cause distractions. Get a comfortable table with good lighting.

READ THE QUESTIONS

Read the questions carefully. Pay particular attention to the action verbs …

Define, Describe, Explain, Give, Identify, List, Outline, Sketch and State.

… learn what they mean. These will identify the depth you should go into with your answer. There are no extra points for providing an in-depth essay answer to a request for a list.

BE AWARE OF HOW MANY POINTS ARE AVAILABLE

Don’t give an in-depth answer to a 2 point section of the question and skim over the part with 6 points on offer.

READ THE QUESTION AGAIN

Make sure you answer the question they ask, not what you would like it to ask.

Some questions will give you a scenario. These scenarios may or may not be relevant to the question asked. Make sure you know which.

If the question asks for mechanical hazards providing information on other types of hazards will not get points

If a question starts with ‘Other than’ it means other than. Don’t include anything in your answer that is excluded in the question.

READ THE WHOLE QUESTION

If it is a two-part question read all of it. There have been questions where the first part asks you to simply list something while the second part asks you to go into more depth on the items you have just listed. If you listed something you don’t know a lot about you will have to go back and change your answer to the first part.

DON’T ANSWER ANY MORE THAN THE QUESTION ASKS

If the question is on Sanitary and washing facilities write about toilets, sinks and soap etc. They don’t want information on drinking water, lockers or first aid kits.

ALL WORDS ARE THERE FOR A REASON

If the question mentions ‘storage and handling of small containers of flammable solvents‘ you can be pretty sure that an essay on manual handling is not what they are looking for. If the question refers to precautions don’t just list the hazards.

Don’t confuse similar words like employee’s and employer.

DON’T USE VAGUE TERMS

One of the diseases caused by asbestos is Lung Cancer. You would not get a mark for simply putting Cancer. Similarly do not refer to airborne pollutants simply as pollution. Try and use the correct terminology.

MANAGE YOUR TIME

Be aware of how many marks are available for each question and plan your time around it. Don’t spend too much time trying to squeeze every last mark out of a question.

Answer the questions you know first. Don’t sit and ponder a question for ten minutes then realise that the answer isn’t going to come to you. Go to one you can answer and come back to the original later.

If you have 100 marks available in the 2 hour exam and spend the 30 minutes recommended on the long question (20 marks) you are left with nine minutes each for the other ten questions.

ATTEMPT ALL THE QUESTIONS

If time allows try and get an answer down for all the questions. Every mark counts. If you are very short of time get the main points down. There are no marks for things you knew but didn’t write.

WRITE LEGIBLY

Nobody is expecting illuminated manuscripts but you could provide perfect answers to all the questions and it would come to nothing if your handwriting cannot be deciphered.

USE ALL THE TIME AVAILABLE

If by some miracle you find you have finished the exam with time to spare don’t flee the exam room. Go over your answers and see if there are any you could improve or anything that you have missed (If you do finish before time you have probably missed about three questions).

DON’T PANIC

You do know the answers. It’s just a question of getting them out of your head and onto the paper in a form the examiner will recognise.

Phil

Passing NEBOSH Diploma Exams

2007-06-02T22:14:00.000Z

Introduction

There is a certain degree of stigma attached to NEBOSH exams, which is certainly not helped by the notoriously low pass rates. It cannot be denied that they are very demanding, but would the qualifications be worth obtaining if assessment were via a simple multiple-choice exam? Whatever the merits of other health & safety qualifications, it cannot be argued that NEBOSH awards are still the number one choice of most prospective employers.

Despite what some say, it is not possible to learn the course material parrot fashion for the final exam. However, with hard work and an understanding of key concepts and basic principles, there is no need for any exam paper to be the cause of nightmares. Everyone studies in their own way, but the following are some general guidelines that just may make the difference between a referral and a pass with flying colours.

The “Blue Book” (Guide to the NEBOSH Diploma)

The “Blue Book” is vitally important as it details the syllabus of the NEBOSH Diploma. It should be used to guide your studies AND revision. Your ultimate aim should be to be able to talk a little about every section of the contents. Note that we said “talk about”, not write an essay on!

Exam questions are based on the expected learning outcomes detailed in the blue book, so if it’s in the book, it could be in the exam.

Making Notes

When working through the course notes, you should ideally (time permitting) be making your own notes as well. Do not rewrite the course notes in full! This makes your studies become a chore to be dreaded and page after page of unbroken text will be next to useless as a revision tool. Try and make your notes light-hearted, easy to read and brief - use as many diagrams, pictures and real life examples as you can think of.

You should be using the blue book as a guide to note making – remember it details what you are expected to learn from each study unit.

Revision

If you have made good quality notes when working through the course notes, they will be invaluable when you are revising for your exams. Don’t worry if the notes you made are too brief – if there’s a section you don’t understand, just reach for the course notes and re-read the relevant parts.

It will help things sink in if you do some “active” studying rather than just reading. Try talking things through with colleagues, making Powerpoint presentations (see picture) or making your own databases e.g. case law, disasters or legislation.

Identifying Weaknesses

Although it may be a painful exercise, work your way through the blue book and try to identify all your weak areas. If you know a subject well, you will still know it when the exams come. When you know what you’re weak areas are, you can start working on improving them, so should the worst happen and an exam question appears, you’ll at least be confident enough to have a go.

Exam Question Practice

The best way of preparing for what you will have to face on exam day is by practising exam questions. You can work under exam conditions if you wish, but it will be of great help to just get to know what the examiners are looking for and how to go about structuring your exam questions.

NEBOSH produce examiners reports for many exam sittings, which detail exam questions, expected answers and where many candidates went wrong. It is fair to say that certain questions (and types of question) often reappear in exams – good preparation may give you a vital head start.

If you want to have a go at some exam questions, but don’t have suggested answers, many tutors will be prepared to have a look at them and give you some feedback – contact your tutor for advice.

A word of warning – don’t let exam day be the first time you attempt an exam question!
.

Exam Technique

Finally, onto exam techniques itself. All NEBOSH questions have an “action verb” and this provides a tip to how much detail should be included in the answer:

Questions starting with “Outline”, “Identify” or “List” indicate that little depth is required. Even so, there is a difference between the instructions. If you provide a simple list when an outline was asked for, you will be unable to pick up maximum marks.
Questions starting with “Describe” or “Explain” require much greater depth – a “bullet-point” answer will probably not be detailed enough to gain full marks.
Occasionally, exam questions will give you a specific instruction e.g. draft a management brief. In this case, marks would be available for explaining and justifying your arguments so that a person unfamiliar with health & safety would be able to understand.

For the longer questions (20 marks and above), it is important to start your answer with some sort of plan – this might be a table, flow chart, mind-map etc. It will help you make sure you cover all the points in your answer. When you are ready to start your answer, just draw a line under your plan and carry on. Don’t cross the plan out – you may get some marks for it if you miss something out of your answer.

Depending on the exam you are taking, you will be allowed a certain time limit. Before you sit the exam, work out how much time this allows you for each question and STICK TO IT. Don’t be tempted to keep writing and writing because you know a subject well – there are no marks for “star quality”, like knowing when Lord Robens’ birthday is. The majority of the marks you pick up will be in the first few sentences. Similarly, if you don’t know a question, don’t leave it blank. Give yourself the time you have allowed, think through it and try to structure an attempt at an answer – those 2 or 3 marks you manage to grab here might just make the difference.

Phoenix Health & Safety
T: 0845 500 8811 E: info@phoenixhsc.co.uk
www.phoenixhsc.co.uk

Nick Higginson MSc CMIOSH Dip2.OSH SpDipEM MIIRSM

HSfB Wins Fife Regional Council Shield - Press Release

2007-05-30T19:44:00.000Z

HSfB Wins Fife Regional Council Shield - Press Release

HSfB Wins Fife Regional Council Shield

John Johnston, creator of the website Health and Safety for Beginners (HSfB) - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk, has had his commitment and passion for health and safety recognised after being awarded the Fife Regional Council Shield for his safety innovation. The award was presented by Dr Karen McDonnel from RoSPA at a ceremony held at the Dunfermline Building Society, during the annual general meeting of the Fife Chamber of Safety (now known as Safety Group - Fife) on Monday 14 May. The trophy was awarded to John for his web site initiative which provides many free tools for health and safety professionals and learning materials for students across the UK and internationally through downloads, discussion forums and a unique prize draw.

Speaking of the award, John said: “This is the second award in as many months and I am absolutely delighted to have won the Fife Shield. Safety Group - Fife is a big part of my life now and I am extremely proud to have been recognised by the group for this award."

Other awards at the AGM went to:

UDV Shield - Exxon Mobil
Raithian Quaich - Dryburgh Associates
Nairn Trophy - Fife Council Intervention Team
A special award was made to Sam Dimeck in recognition of his long service and recognition to the Chamber over the last 20 years.

John added: “after suffering a serious back injury in 2000 and knowing how difficult it was to fund my own NEBOSH general certificate training, I wanted to find a way in which I could help others develop a career in health and safety. Thanks to the website, and the generosity of the training providers and professionals who donated the prizes, this has been achieved.”

The training materials were given away as part of a free prize draw which featured on John’s website Health and Safety for Beginners (HSfB) - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk The winners were announced at the Leicester-based headquarters of the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health; NEBOSH in February 2007.

View our press release on the prize draw here - Health and Safety for Beginners Prize Draw Results

View our press release on John's first award here - HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation

Donations for the prize draw came from health and safety training providers after they found out about an initiative John launched in November 2006, which saw him personally fund a prize (using money gained from selling advertising space on his website www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk) for a site user to undertake a NVQ level 4.

Hugely impressed with John’s commitment and dedication to improving health and safety in the workplace, training providers soon stepped forward and offered a variety of different prizes to add to the draw including a range of NEBOSH e-learning training courses, residential training courses, guided tours of high performing organisations as well as reference materials so that more people could benefit.

The prizes and donating organisations were:

NEBOSH National General Certificate – e-learning - RRC Training
NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management - e-Learning - RRC Training
NVQ Level 4 OR NVQ Level 5 - She Knows Health & Safety
IOSH Working Safely for up to ten people in Manchester - Smart Training Solutions
Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS) Training Course (2-day residential) - Ionactive Consulting
Guided Tour of a large multi-national organisation - Express Park
The Handbook of Health and Safety Practice by Jeremy Stranks - HSfB
The Principles of Health and Safety at Work by Allan St John Holt - Safetyphoto

HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation - Press Release

2007-05-09T22:13:00.000Z

HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation - Press Release

HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation

John Johnston, Health and Safety Advisor at FMC Technologies, Dunfermline and a member of the Fife Chamber of Safety has had his commitment and passion for Health and Safety recognised after being awarded the Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Performance. The award was presented by Lord Cullen, president of the Scottish Chamber of Safety (S.C.O.S), at a ceremony held in Dunblane, by the S.C.O.S on Wednesday 4th April. The trophy was awarded to John for an initiative which will see health and safety professionals from across the UK benefit from free health and safety training and learning materials.

Speaking of the award, John said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the Lord Cullen trophy for safety innovation. It was something that had never crossed my mind when I first started my website – www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk. I am also very proud to bring the trophy back to the Fife Chamber of Safety for another year.

“After suffering a serious back injury in 2000 and knowing how difficult it was to fund my own NEBOSH general certificate training, I wanted to find a way in which I could help others develop a career in health and safety. Thanks to the website, and the generosity of the training providers and professionals who donated the prizes, this has been achieved.”

Speaking of John’s work, David Currie, Managing Director of FMC Technologies said: “John is absolutely deserving of this award and I, on behalf of FMC congratulate him. Health and Safety is at the core of everything we do and we fully appreciate John’s expertise and contribution in this area. His personal commitment is an example to us all.”

The training materials were given away as part of a free prize draw which featured on John’s website Health and Safety for Beginners - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk The winners were announced at the Leicester-based headquarters of the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health; NEBOSH in February 2007.

View our press release on the prize draw here - Health and Safety for Beginners Prize Draw Results

Donations for the prize draw came from health and safety training providers after they found out about an initiative John launched in November 2006, which saw him personally fund a prize (using money gained from selling advertising space on his website www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk) for a site user to undertake a NVQ level 4.

Hugely impressed with John’s commitment and dedication to improving health and safety in the workplace, training providers soon stepped forward and offered a variety of different prizes to add to the draw including a range of NEBOSH e-learning training courses, residential training courses, guided tours of high performing organisations as well as reference materials so that more people could benefit.

The prizes and donating organisations were:

NEBOSH National General Certificate – e-learning - RRC Training
NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management - e-Learning - RRC Training
NVQ Level 4 OR NVQ Level 5 - She Knows Health & Safety
IOSH Working Safely for up to ten people in Manchester - Smart Training Solutions
Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS) Training Course (2-day residential) - Ionactive Consulting
Guided Tour of a large multi-national organisation - Express Park
The Handbook of Health and Safety Practice by Jeremy Stranks - HSfB
The Principles of Health and Safety at Work by Allan St John Holt - Safetyphoto

In total, John managed to raise over £7250 worth of training and learning resources, and over 350 training hours (not including the NVQ) which had the potential for 17 lucky health and safety professionals to take their career to the next level.

Asked about what he is going to do next, John said: “More of the same next year, if my nerves can stand it”.

Pictured above – John Johnston holding
the Lord Cullen Trophy at FMC Technologies, Dunfermline

The Regulatory Reform Order 2005

2006-10-07T14:03:00.000Z

The Regulatory Reform Order 2005

The Regulatory Reform Order 2005

Created October 2006, published 2 October 2006

The Regulatory Reform Order 2005

Now that fire legislation has changed and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is now in force, the responsible person for a building (all non domestic) will have to conduct a fire risk assessment.

All existing fire legislation has now been repealed or revoked, which includes the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the amended 1997 Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations plus 100 other pieces of fire related legislation. Fire certificates are no longer valid.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is a fire risk assessment based approach where the responsible person(s) for the premises or area where they have control must decide how to address the risks identified, while meeting certain requirements.

By adopting a fire risk assessment, the responsible person(s) will need to look at how to prevent fire from occurring in the first place, by removing or reducing hazards and risks (ignition sources) and then at the precautions to ensure that people are adequately protected if a fire were still to occur. Therefore the main emphases of the changes are to move towards fire prevention.

The fire risk assessment must also take into consideration the effect a fire may have on anyone in or around your premises plus neighbouring property. The building fire risk assessment will also need to be kept under regular review (it is a living document).

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 will apply to all non-domestic properties, including voluntary organisations and will be subject to monitoring and, where appropriate, enforcement by the Local Authority Fire Service (LAFS).

Summary of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

All existing fire legislation has now been repealed or revoked, which includes the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the amended 1997 Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations plus 100 other pieces of fire related legislation.
Fire certificates have been abolished and are no longer issued or in force.
Responsible person(s) will be responsible for fire safety. They must conduct a fire risk assessment regardless of the size of the risk.
The identified responsible person(s) would take full corporate liability.
Extended scope of consideration now to include property safety, fire fighter safety and the environment around the site. The responsible person(s) would have a duty to protect all risks.
Unlike the amended 1997 Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places emphasis on business continuity and containing and preventing the spread of small fires.
Protection is explicitly extended to all occupants, which would include employees, visitors, contractors and passers-by who would all have to be considered in the fire risk assessment.

Who is the responsible person(s)?

Employer with control of a workplace

Failing that or in addition;

Person with overall management of a building,
Occupier of premises,
Owner of premises (i.e. empty buildings),
Landlords (multi occupied buildings).

Question?

What is the difference between a fire risk assessment and a health & safety risk assessment?

Answer!

Absolutely nothing.

Why?

Because the aim of both is to:

Identify hazards,
Reduce the risk of those hazards identified,
To decide what physical precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure the safety of people.

So with any fire risk assessment you will always:

Identify the hazard,
Identify who is at risk,
Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from risk,
Record, plan, inform, instruct and train,
Review.

It is important, if you carry out your fire risk assessment yourself, that you do it in a practical and systematic way. It must take the whole area of your responsibility into account, including outdoor locations and any rooms and areas that are rarely used.

If your responsible area in a building is shared with others, you and all the other occupiers and any other person(s) who have control of any other part of the premises will need to discuss yours and theirs fire risk assessment.

In a shared building it is imperative and a requirement that all responsible persons;

Communicate, Co-operate and Co-ordinate their findings with their fire risk assessments.

When you conduct your fire risk assessment you must:

Identify who is at risk,
Eliminate or reduce potential ignition sources,
Ensure there are suitable means of detecting & raising the alarm in the event of fire,
Ensure there are adequate emergency escape routes & exits,
Ensure there are appropriate type & sufficient quantities of fire fighting equipment,
Ensure there are the correct type & sufficient quantities of fire signs & notices,
Ensure there are provisions for the correct maintenance of installed fire equipment,
Ensure that there are suitable provisions for the protection of Fire Service personnel,
Ensure that building occupants receive the appropriate instruction / training in, e.g. actions to be taken in the event of fire and fire evacuation drills,

Please note, that if your organisation employs five or more people or the premise are licensed or an alterations notice is in force, you must record any significant findings and the actions you have taken.

In addition to the above, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order stipulates that:

¹You must appoint one or more competent persons, depending on the size and use of your premises, to carry out any of the preventive and protective measures required (you can nominate yourself for this purpose). A competent person is someone with enough training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to be able to implement these measures properly.

You must provide your employees with clear and relevant information on the risks to them identified by the fire risk assessment, about the measure you have taken to prevent fires, and how these measures will protect them if a fire breaks out.

You must consult your employees (or their elected representatives) about nominating people to carry out particular roles in connection with fire safety and about proposals for improving the fire precautions.

You must, before you employ a child, provide a parent with clear and relevant information on the risks to that child identified by the risk assessment, the measures you have put in place to prevent/protect them from fire and inform any other responsible person of any risks to that child arising from their undertaking.

You must inform non-employees, such as temporary or contract workers, of the relevant risks to them, and provide them with information about who the nominated competent persons are, and about the fire safety procedures for the premises.

You must co-operate and co-ordinate with other responsible persons who also have premises in the building, inform them of any significant risks you find and how you will seek to reduce/control those risks which might affect the safety of their employees.

You must provide the employer of any person from an outside organisation who is working in your premises (e.g. an agency providing temporary staff) with clear and relevant information on the risks to those employees and the preventive and protective measures taken. You must also provide those employees with appropriate instructions and relevant information about the risks to them.

If you are not the employer but have any control of premises which contain more than one workplace, you are also responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the Order are complied with in those parts over which you have control.

You must consider the presence of any dangerous substances and the risk this presents to relevant persons from fire.

You must establish a suitable means of contacting the emergency services and provide them with any relevant information about dangerous substances.

You must provide appropriate information, instruction and training to your employees, during their normal working hours, about the fire precautions in your workplace, when they start working for you, and from time to time throughout the period they work for you.

You must ensure that the premises and any equipment provided in connection with firefighting, fire detection and warning, or emergency routes and exits are covered by a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained by a competent person in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.

Your employees must co-operate with you to ensure the workplace is safe from fire and its effects, and must not do anything that will place themselves or other people at risk.”

Note. If you were already complying with the revoked amended 1997 Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulation and the 1971 Fire Precautions Act (fire certificate if issued), you will only have to make adjustments to your existing fire risks assessments. If, however, you have not conducted a fire risk assessment of your area of responsibility you must do so now.

The Government have produced 11 guides to assist the responsible person(s) with their responsibilities, to view these guides visit www.communities.gov.uk. These guides have been written to assist you to carry out a fire risk assessment within your area of responsibility. If you read the guides and decide that you are unable to apply the guidance, then you should seek expert advice from a competent person. More complex premises will probably need to be assessed by a person who has comprehensive training or experience in fire risk assessment.

If required, Fire Safety Service can assist you in the implementation and management of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. For further details contact us at www.firesafetyadvisor.co.uk/ or telephone 01865 890085.

¹ Extract from Government guidance document’s to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Asbestos – for the Health and Safety Beginner.

2006-07-16T19:28:00.000Z

Asbestos – for the Health and Safety Beginner.

Asbestos is one of those words H & S professionals don’t like to hear. To most people it means Lung Cancer, Compensation or Expensive removal work.
In the maze of H & S regulations, this one often gets forgotten….or worse…some people really believe their building has NO Asbestos, so why bother…even though their building was built pre 1999 (when Asbestos use in building materials was finally banned ). What needs to be realised is that asbestos was incorporated into over 3000 products, including floor tiles, artex, pipe insulation, cement, cavity wall insulation, …..heck they even put it into toilet seats….

The fact is …you have a duty in LAW under the ‘Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (CAWR 2002) Regulaton 4 The Duty to Manage’, to produce an Asbestos Management Plan and Asbestos Register detailing the locations of any Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM’s) and to continue to manage any positive areas.

Why?

The object of the register is to provide information relating to the building and the whereabouts of ACM’s. This allows tradesmen to plan and carry out any remedial or improvement works safely. Would you want to be sitting in your office while the maintenance man drills into a wall to put up a shelf ….only for you to hear him say… “hey, I’m sure this wall is Asbestos Board”? or for your boss to say “someone is suing us for exposure to asbestos, where’s the register, I’ll prove it wasn’t” and your answer is “what register?”

So what do you do?

Firstly don’t panic…..if you have had an asbestos register done previously, check it to establish when it was last updated, you may need another survey. Registers should be updated on a yearly basis or earlier if damage is reported, along with the measures taken as a result of this report.

Things change over time, sometimes these changes are not recorded and no one has any idea who did what or when!.

A Competent person will need to do a visual re-inspection to establish that areas found to contain Asbestos are damage free and still in good condition, and will need to document the findings, Its no use going around the building checking if you have no proof you have done it! Or get an Asbestos Surveyor to do the re-inspection, many companies choose this route because Asbestos Surveyors are qualified and insured to do this specific type of work.

If you have not had a register done previously, you need to assess the probability of your building containing Asbestos.

All buildings must have a register, if your building was built after 2000 a letter from the architect detailing that materials were sourced which do not contain Asbestos will suffice, file it and relax.

If your building was built before 2000 you need to survey. For many this is done through a surveying company.

Most importantly you need to sit down and plan how you will survey, what type of survey you need, who needs access to the survey results and how will they will be accessed ( hard copy, electronic database) and also how you will manage the survey results in the future.

Most dutyholders use asbestos surveying companies to produce their asbestos report.

Surveying costs vary with the size of site and the type of survey required and can be expensive, however it doesn’t always pay to go with the cheapest company, whoever you decide to employ, remember the following.

Asbestos survey companies have qualified surveyors. Asbestos qualifications are specific, a surveyor must hold a minimum qualification of BOHS P402, a senior surveyor S301 and a consultant will hold a Certificate of Competence in Asbestos (CCP) this is the highest qualification you can get in the Asbestos industry. Ask to see copies of your surveyor’s qualifications.

Check that the surveying company you use has adequate insurance cover, some surveying companies are not insured for type 3 surveys.

The main thing is communication with the surveyor, tell the surveyor what you want the survey to achieve, and any areas you specifically want surveyed. If the building is to be demolished or undergo major refurbishment your needs will be different to a building that isn’t, a good surveyor will tell you what is and isn’t possible during a survey and what areas you need to take into consideration.

Ask to see a copy report, a survey report is no good if it is written or presented in such a way that you or your tradesmen don’t understand it!

Ask for references…and check them, ask the customer if they were happy with the service…and the after sales service.

Does the company have a database system that allows your results to be accessed on line by authorised personnel? This is a particularly useful management tool for companies who manage more that one site eg housing authorities.

There are 3 different survey types, which one do you need

Type one: Location and assessment survey (presumptive)

Type 1 surveys are designed to locate, as far as reasonably practical, any ACMs and assess the risk and are used when sampling is not a suitable option. All areas of a building are accessed but as materials are only presumed to contain asbestos they rely heavily on the experience and knowledge of surveyor. Samples would have to be taken before maintenance work started to confirm the presence or absence of Asbestos.

Type two: Standard Sampling, identification and assessment survey (sampling survey)

The purpose and procedures of a type 2 survey are as for a type 1 survey but includes the sampling of suspect ACMs to confirm the surveyors’ judgment. The samples are analysed by an accredited laboratory and the resulting report informs exactly which materials in the building are or are not asbestos containing. This is the most commonly utilised survey for asbestos management plans.

Type three: Full access sampling and identification survey (pre-demolition/major refurbishment survey)

Type 3 surveys are used to locate all ACMs, as far as reasonably practicable within a building and its structure and may involve destructive inspection techniques. These surveys are designed to estimate quantity of asbestos rather than condition to allow tendering of asbestos removal prior to demolition or refurbishment.
On some larger sites a mixture of the above survey types can be used if different parts of the site have varying requirements.

How will you manage the survey in the future?

Once the survey is completed you need ongoing management of the data. Put procedures in place for responsibility and timescales to make sure the information is updated and re-inspections are carried out.

Finally……. train all employees on Asbestos Awareness and put in place a contingency plan in case asbestos is found or accidentally damaged.

A good effective asbestos management plan will satisfy the HSE and your insurers.

Remember, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) take the enforcement of asbestos legislation very seriously – ignorance it not a defence! http://www.hse-databases.co.uk/prosecutions/

The HSE website www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos and www.etonservices.co.uk - Eton Environmental Services Ltd. Eton, Windsor, Berkshire | Asbestos Consultancy Service are a great place to start to get free information on asbestos.

Risk Assessments and Health and Safety

2006-07-16T19:26:00.000Z

Risk Assessments and Health and Safety

One area that really needs to be enforced in schools is risk assessments. Not just by the caretaker, but by every member of staff. Everyone working in a school has a responsibility to those they work with and teacher to ensure they work in a safe and healthy environment.

TeachersTV has recently made a film about the importance of completing risk assessments and Health and Safety. The film highlights some of the main points that you need to address.

Proper Storage

Schools are busy places. Equipment left out can be a cause of accidents. As part of the risk assessment, you should identify areas where there is a need for correct storage. This can be cupboards for equipment or lockers for pupils. Busy corridors and fire exits are places that equipment should never be stored.

Manual Handling

Many staff will attempt to place items for storage above head height or try to work on noticeboards or display boards above head height. These areas of risk should be identified within the risk assessment. Staff should be given clear instructions and told not to use chairs, tables or even pupils to gain that extra height. Step ladders should be provided. Within the instructions, staff should be aware that when using step ladders, another member of staff should be present to steady the steps and you should not carry items up the steps yourself, but have them passed to you when you are at the correct height.

Employers have a duty to provide you the correct equipment.

Lifting and Carrying

All staff should be aware of the techniques for lifting and carrying. Within the risk assessment, items like Briefcases, books, Over Head Projectors (OHPs) and laptops should be highlighted. It's often these small but bulky items that get overlooked.

Always bend at the knees keeping your back straight. When you finish the lift, straighten your knees, always keeping your back straight.

Keeping corridors safe

All school should have strict rules of conduct in corridors. Pupils should be aware of the dangers of pushing, shoving or running in corridors. Pupils should be aware of the reporting process if they find spillages or loose tiles in corridors. Corridors should be kept clear at all times, this includes pupils. Do not let pupils hang around in corridors (eg breaktimes). Do not place chairs or tables in corridors. Corridors are also the main fire exit within schools. If a panic was to happen during a fire, a chair or table could cause a serious problems.

These are just some of the issues the 15 minute film covers.

To watch the film provided by TeachersTV now, CLICK HERE to be taken to the Caretakers' Website hosting the film. You will need a broadband connection to stream this (35mb) media and Windows Media Player.

Written by thecaretaker of The Caretakers' Website

Changes to the Rule for Training of Drivers of Vehicles carrying Dangerous Goods

2006-07-16T19:23:00.000Z

Changes to the Rule for Training of Drivers of Vehicles carrying Dangerous Goods

Currently drivers of vehicles with a permissible maximum mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes have to posses an ADR training certificate.

From 1st January 2007 the exemption for drivers of vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes expires. From that date drivers of all vehicles that carry dangerous goods will be required to hold a vocational training certificate (ADR).

General Training Requirements

Since 1999 all persons (not only drivers) such as consignors, carriers, packers and container operators, whose duties concern the carriage of dangerous goods require some form of training. They have to receive training appropriate to their responsibilities and duties. This training is usually an awareness course.

The awareness course must cover the following subjects:

General Awareness Training
Function-specific Training &
Safety Training

Driver Training from 1st Jan 2007

When would a driver require an ADR certificate?

There will be some exemptions that can still be claimed for the driver to have an ADR. These can be found in section 1.1.3.1 – 1.1.3.6.4 of ADR. Some examples are:

1) If the vehicle is being used for private use

2) Carriage of machinery or equipment

3) If package meet the requirement of Limited Quantities

There is an additional exemption where the quantity of dangerous goods carried does not exceed the values set out in table 1.1.3.6. of ADR. To know if this exemption can be claimed, you first need to establish what transport category the goods belong to. This information should be available from the consignor. The second piece of information required would be the quantity of dangerous goods on the vehicle.

If the quantity of dangerous goods carried does not exceed the value indicated for the given transport category the carrier can then claim exemption for the requirement of the driver for having an ADR certificate.

For example:

For Transport Category 0 there are no exemptions

For Transport Category 1. The exemption applies until the quantity carried exceeds 20 (kilograms or litres)

For Transport Category 2. The exemption applies until the quantity transported exceeds 333 (kilograms or litres)

For Transport Category 3. The exemption applies until the quantity transported exceeds 1,000 (kilograms or litres)

Although the driver is exempt from an ADR certificate he would still be required to have awareness training. Where these values (or values for mixed loading in 1.1.3.6.4) are exceeded then the driver would be required to have an ADR.

How the changes came about

August 2002

The Government of Liechtenstein proposed mandatory training for drivers carrying dangerous goods regardless of the permissible maximum weight of their vehicle.

November 2002

Opinions at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe were divided on the proposal. Some delegates noted that these vehicles were regularly able to carry goods in quantities greater than the exemption limits of 1.1.3.6 and those vehicles were increasingly being used to carry dangerous goods since they were subject neither to the same speed limits as heavy vehicles nor to weekend travel restrictions (for certain countries).

Others considered that in view of the number of drivers concerned, a measure of this nature would have considerable economic consequences and that the cost for carriers should be carefully evaluated with a view to the benefits in terms of safety, which needed to be supported by accident statistics. It was also noted that the drivers of these vehicles were in any case subject to the general company training requirements of Chapter 1.3.

The representative of Liechtenstein was asked to submit a new proposal for the next session, which would take into account the necessary consequential amendments.

May 2003

Liechtenstein resubmits it proposal but this time with support from other countries: Austria, Norway, Poland and most notably Germany

Some delegations said that the proposed obligation concerning the training of drivers of vehicles with a permissible maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes would involve a very large number of drivers and would therefore have considerable economic repercussions.

Other delegations stressed that training requirements had caused a significant increase in the production cost of the transport of dangerous goods, and that in order to avoid it, the industry was more and more resorting to using vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes, which were increasingly effective in power and speed but fell short of numerous safety requirements.

The representative of Italy proposed that the decision on this proposal should be deferred, so as to give Governments time to collect accident statistics and assess safety advantages in relation to cost. After a vote resulting in equal numbers for and against, the proposal was not accepted.

The Working Party finally decided to adopt the proposal by Liechtenstein to the effect that all drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods, irrespective of the permissible maximum mass of the vehicle, subject to the exemptions set out in 1.1.3, must be trained in accordance with 8.2.1. This measure would take effect on 1 January 2007 at the latest (see annex).

So industry has not only had the usual six month introductory period but it has had over 2 years to get ready.

It is unlikely that there will be any extension or exemption as the view is that industry has already had two years to adapt. If they have not adapted by now then they have only themselves to blame.

Although spot checks will not be carried out on January1st 2007, I have been assured that enforcement will be taking place as of the 2nd of January.

Are you ready?

www.ritchiestraining.com

Further information on the exemptions that can be made can be found in the following Microsoft Publisher file:

Exemption Book A4 Size (PDF 296KB)

Hospital Equipment and Supplies

2006-05-01T22:49:00.000Z

Hospital Equipment and Supplies

Clinical Waste Discussion Forum – a new resource

Clinical wastes are notoriously variable in composition. They comprise potentially infectious used swabs and dressings, syringes and needles, blades and other “sharps”, laboratory and pharmaceutical wastes, and many sanitary wastes. Disposal is a complex undertaking, and is inevitably costly. The complexity of regulations governing disposal present can be overwhelming, while the risks to health & safety, hospital hygiene, and to infection control present an often profound challenge.

Public, political and professional concerns about environmental protection, and the rising infection rates and standards of hygiene in hospitals, drive improvement in the management of clinical wastes. Deficiencies undoubtedly exist. Waste segregation in hospitals is often inadequate, in breach of the Hazardous Wastes Regulation 2005, and incurring additional cost in disposal. Bulk waste carts are located in insecure areas accessible to the public. Waste carts obstruct fire exits. Though official guidance is available, this generally lacks the detail necessary to ensure an adequate standard of performance. An impending revision of clinical waste management procedures across the NHS proposes considerable change to the segregation, packaging and processing of wastes, and the introduction of additional colour schemes for the identification of “new” waste streams. These proposals, if accepted, will dramatically increase costs. Waste containers and their holders will require replacement to support new colour coding schemes; additional signage will be essential, as part of a comprehensive retraining process to ensure change is managed effectively. But how might this be managed? What are the wider ramifications for waste contractors and the manufacturers of key equipment and supplies? And what about the often critical space constraints in clinical areas that may have to accommodate additional coded waste containers? Of the greatest concern is the possibility that the NHS proposals, and the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005, may undermine the CDC Universal Precautions since this will have profound Health & Safety implications and increase the risks to all those handling clinical wastes.

Though considerable expertise exists throughout the disposal chain, there is a tendency for professional groups to work largely in isolation. In the commercial sector, issues of confidentiality and market sensitivity have a negative impact and impede development at the expense of market sector advantage. Customer representation is almost unknown, and waste producers have neither a voice to express their concerns, nor an opportunity to learn from the experience of the commercial sector. As regulatory bodies, the Environment Agency and the Health & Safety Executive, together with the Department of Health and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), sit largely apart from waste producers and waste disposal contractors, having their own agendas that impact on or dictate policy, though not always in conformity with essential waste management practice. Clearly, there is need for more effective information interchange, to share knowledge and opinion, news and views, among sometimes disparate groups, and this has prompted the creation of the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum. Accessible at http://www.ianblenkharn.com, the Forum is free, independent and non-commercial, with a fully open editorial policy. Participation is invited from all those involved in the management of clinical wastes, the designers, manufacturers and suppliers of waste disposal equipment and consumables, and from the legislators and representatives of regulatory bodies. Of equal importance are the patients’ organisations, and those who feel they are affected by clinical waste issues in their community since these individuals have almost no voice at all.

Funded by a generous development grant from Cliniserve Limited, a specialist clinical waste management company operating across the UK (Cliniserve Limited, Chichester PO20 6QH, http://www.cliniserve.co.uk), the Forum seeks to bring together a range of views, concerns, opinions and expertise not available within any one discipline or professional organisation. This should become a key resource for those who share our aims, to ensure the widest possible exchange of information, and bring together people from many different disciplines in order to develop and promote best practice. Though in its infancy, items posted to the Forum include issues of waste security in hospital premises, clinical waste composition and the suitability of different disposal technologies, and the application of new packaging technologies to replace the ubiquitous yellow waste sack. It is, intentionally, a multi-disciplinary forum that seeks to bring together producers, contractors, legislators and others. We invite everyone to take part in discussions, to share information, use the Forum as a sounding board for new ideas, ask a question, or offer answers to assist others. Visit the Forum, bookmark the site, and come back regularly to share thoughts and experiences with others.

Ian Blenkharn is an independent healthcare and environmental microbiologist specialising in clinical wastes management, bio-safety, hospital hygiene and the prevention of healthcare-associated infection. He is moderator of the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum, which is accessible at http://www.ianblenkharn.com

Ian Blenkharn MSc CBiol MIBiol CSci FIBMS GradMCIWM AIIRSM

Everything You Need to Know to Pass the NEBOSH A1 Management Paper

2006-03-18T16:34:00.000Z

Everything You Need to Know to Pass the NEBOSH A1 Management Paper

Everything You Need to Know to Pass the A1 Management Paper

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ETC ACT 1974

Part 1 relates to HW&W at the workplace
Part 2 relates to EMAS
Part 3 relates to Building Regs
Part 4 contains misc. & general provisions

PRACTICABLE – capable of being carried out or feasible (given current knowledge, finance, information etc.)

REASONABLY PRACTICABLE – must be technically possible, and the risk assessed against the cost. Where cost is disproportionately high, can be deemed not to be reasonably practical.

H&S Inspectorate powers include: Investigation, Advisory, Enforcement (Imp. Not, Pro. Not, Seize/destroy substances/articles, Prosecute)

PART 1 HSWA

DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS
Section 2(1)
Employer must protect the HS&W at work of all their employees
Section 2(2)a
Provide & maintain plant & systems of work that are safe & without risk to health
Section 2(2)b
Ensure safety and absence of risks in the use, handling, storage and transportation of articles and substances
Section 2(2)c
Provide information, supervision & training to ensure the H&S of employees
Section 2(2)d
Provide safe place of work, safe access/egress, safe working environment
Section 2(2)e
Provide adequate welfare facilities and arrangements
Section 2(3)
Produce written H&S policy where 5 or more persons employed
Section 3(1) & 3(2)
Ensure that activities do not endanger persons NOT in their employment who may be affected by their operations
Section 2(4), (6) & (7)
Consult union safety reps & establish safety committee when requested by 2 reps
Section 9 Do not levy charge for anything provided in pursuance of the statutory provisions

DUTIES OF SELF-EMPLOYED
Section 3(2) & (3)
Same general duties as Employers through a general duty to ensure as far as reasonably practical that they and other persons are not exposed to risks to H&S

DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES
Section 7(a)
Exercise reasonable care for the H&S of themselves and others who their actions may affect
Section 7(b)
Co-operate with the employer
Section 8
Not to interfere with anything provided in the interests of HS&W

DUTIES OF MANUFACTURERS, DESIGNERS, IMPORTERS AND SUPPLIERS
Section 6(1)
Articles to be safe and without risk to H&S
Section 6(2)
Carry out tests, research etc. to provide adequate info on conditions to ensure its safety when in use
Section 6(3)
Similar as above but for installers and erectors
Section 6 (General)
Info on noise levels

SECTION 2 – Duties of employers to employees
SECTION 3 – Duties of employers to others
SECTION 4 – Duties of persons concerned with premises to others
SECTION 5 – Duties to control harmful emissions into the atmosphere
SECTION 6 – Duties of those producing articles for use at work
SECTIONS 7-9 – Duties that affect employees

Breaches of HSWA can lead to:
Max. £20K fine and/or 6 months imprisonment (Summary Conviction – Magistrates Court)
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment (Indictable Offence –Crown Court)

Civil Law – Prosecution on Balance of Probabilities (Civil Law established by case precedence)

Criminal Law – Prosecution beyond all reasonable doubt (Statute & legislation)

THE SIX PACK REGULATIONS
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regs 1999 (MHSWR)
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regs 1992 (WHSWR)
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (DSE Regs)
Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (PPE Regs)
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR)
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK REGS 1999
Regulation 3 Risk assessment (significant risks to be recorded)
Regulation 4 Implementation of protective or preventive measures:
1. Avoid risk
2. Evaluate risk
3. Combat risk at source
4. Adapt the work of an individual
5. Adapt to technical advances
6. Replace dangerous with non/less dangerous
7. Develop policy which influences the factors relating to working environment
8. Give collective measures priority
9. Give appropriate instructions to employees

Regulation 5 Make proper arrangements for all aspects of H&S
Regulation 6 Health surveillance (where appropriate)
Regulation 7 Appointment of competent persons
Regulation 8 Procedures to be developed for particular dangers which may arise (ie: fire)
Regulation 9 Information for employees
Regulation 10 Information to be provided to employees for:·
Identified risks·
Preventive/protective measures·
Procedures and name of nominated responsible person as required under Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regs 1997
Regulation 11 Where more than one employer, they must co-operate over H&S matters
Regulation 12 Working on other peoples premises – must provide them with info and details of risks etc.
Regulation 13 Employers to take into account employees capabilities
Regulation 14 Employees responsibilities to use tools and equipment etc safely
Regulation 16-18 New & expectant mothers
Regulation 19 Young persons

MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS REGULATIONS 1992
Injury
Includes muscoskeletal, cuts, bruises, broken toes etc.
Load
Anything to be moved (except tool when in use)
Manual Handling
Transporting, lifting, supporting, pushing, pulling, carrying, loading by hand or bodily force

Regulation 4 Requires employers to avoid manual handling and to undertake risk assessment
Regulation 5 Duty on employees to make full and proper use of all equipment provided

PROVISION AND USE OF WORK EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS 1998
Regulation 4 Equip to be suitable
Regulation 5 Properly and effectively maintained
Regulation 6 Inspections and recording of inspections
Regulation 7 Identified specific risks
Regulation 8 Information & instruction
Regulation 9 Training
Regulation 11-20 Deal with machine guarding – basically requires all dangerous parts of any machine or piece of equipment to be effectively and properly guarded at all times
Regulation 21 Suitable and sufficient lighting
Regulation 22 Must be Safe to maintain
Regulation 23 & 24 Markings an warnings
Regulation 25 to 30 Deal with plant and plant safety

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AT WORK REGULATIONS 1992
Regulation 4 Provision of PPE (Employers to ensure it is available and is suitable)
Regulation 5 Compatibility
Regulation 6 Assessment/Suitability – with regards to the nature of the task
Regulation 7 Properly maintained, cleaned or replaced; and that
Regulation 8 Suitable accommodation is provided
Regulation 9 Employees are provided with all necessary information, instruction and training
Regulation 10 Employees to use in accordance with training provided
Regulation 11 To report any loss or defects

THE HEALTH & SAFETY (DISPLAY SCREEN EQUIPMENT) REGS 1992
Regulation 1 Definitions (user – someone who habitually uses DSE)
Regulation 2 Risk Assessment of workstations
Regulation 3 Specific workstation requirements (ie: adjustable chairs, screens etc)
Regulation 4 Rest breaks
Regulation 5 Eyes and eye tests
Regulation 6 Training
Regulation 7 Provision of information

THE WORKPLACE (HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE) REGS 1992
Regulation 5 Maintenance of the workplace
Regulation 6 Ventilation
Regulation 7 Temperature
Regulation 8 Lighting
Regulation 9 Cleanliness
Regulation 10 Room dimensions and space (11m3 per person excluding area above 3m)
Regulation 11 Workstations and seating
Regulation 12 Condition of floors and traffic routes
Regulation 13 Falls or falling objects
Regulation 14 Windows and translucent surfaces
Regulation 15 Windows, skylights and ventilators
Regulation 16 Ability to clean windows etc safely
Regulation 17 Organisation of traffic routes
Regulation 18 Doors and gates
Regulation 19 Escalators and moving walkways
Regulation 20 Sanitary conveniences
Regulation 21 Washing facilities
Regulation 22 Drinking water
Regulation 23 Accommodation for clothing
Regulation 24 Facilities for changing clothes
Regulation 25 Facilities to rest and eat meals

AFR = No of lost time accidents x 100,000/No of man hours worked

AIR = No of work related injuries x 1000/Average No of persons employed

Severity Rate = No of Days lost x 1,000/Total No. of man hours worked

Mean Duration Rate = Total No of Days Lost/Total No of Accidents

Duration Rate = No of Man hours worked/Total No of accidents

4 C’s
Competence
Control
Co-operation
Communication

5 Steps to Successful Safety Management: (HSG65)
1. Policy
2. Organisation
3. Planning and implementation
4. Measure performance
5. Audit and Review

Risk Assessment (5 Steps)
1. Identify Hazards
2. Identify Persons Exposed (particular attention to high risk groups – young persons, pregnant workers, disabled)
3. Evaluate Risks (Consider likelihood and severity) & Controls
4. Record the findings
5. Review and Revise

TYPES OF HAZARDS: CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL, ERGONOMIC, PSYCHO-SOCIAL

Job Safety Analysis (JSA) SREDIM

Process of identifying hazards in each component part of a job in order to assess the risk and decide on control measures for a SSW.

Stages are:
1. Select the job/task to be reviewed
2. Record – Identify and record the sequence of steps and/or
components in the process
3. Examine each component part of the job to identify the hazards/risks
4. Develop control measures
5. Install SSW/Control measures
6. Maintain. Carry out regular reviews.

LEGAL ECONOMIC MORAL
Planned Preventative Maintenance:
Frequency of maintenance
Statutory requirements
Manufacturers Recommendations
Operating Environment
Age and Condition of Machinery
Breakdown history
Frequency of use/operation
Critical components (effects of component failure)
Effect of failure
Timing of the works (ie: during shutdown periods)
Disruption
Maintenance staff competence
Cost benefit

Negligence:
It is a common law tort
Summarised as Careless Conduct/Breach of Duty of Care

Tests to be satisfied:
That a duty of care was owed
That there was a breach of that duty
That the breach led directly to the harm

Mechanical Hazards: Crushing, Shearing, Cutting/Severing, Entanglement, Drawing In, Ejection of Material, Abrasion, Stabbing/Puncturing

Non Mechanical Hazards: Noise, Temperature, Vibration, Electricity, Radiation, Hazardous Substances, Ergonomic Factors (inc. Manual Handling), Psycho-Social (Bullying, assault)

Noise at Work Regulations 1989
Leq – Continuous Daily Equivalent Noise Level (8hrs)
Lep,d – Daily Personal Exposure
A Weighting Scale –
Most commonly used, recognises that the human ear is less sensitive to low frequencies
Gives greater importance to frequencies sensitive to the Human Ear

Regulation 4 Assess Noise
Regulation 5 Competent person to complete the assessment
Regulation 6 Employer to reduce risk of hearing damage to lowest reasonably practical level
Regulation 7 Take steps to reduce noise exposure as far as reasonably practicable
Regulation 8 Provide suitable protective equipment
Regulation 9 Identify hearing protection zones and erect appropriate signage
Regulation 10 PPE to be repaired and maintained & PPE provided to be used
Regulation 11 Information, Instruction and Training
Regulation 12 Specifies action levels

COSHH Assessments:
Type of substance (Toxic/Harmful/Sensitiser/Irritant)
Chronic (prolonged exposure, long term effects)
Acute (Short term exposure, immediate effect)
Routes of entry into body (Absorbtion/indegstion/inhalation)
Concentration in relation to exposure limits
No of persons exposed (identify vulnerable persons)
Duration of exposure
Adequacy of control measures
Compliance with control measures

Hierarchy of Control:
Elimination by design
Substitution with less hazardous substance
Automation of process
Reducing exposure by process change
Engineering controls (ie: LEV)
Minimising exposure
PPE
Monitoring/Health surveillance

Permit to Work:
Permit title
Reference No.
Job location
Plant/Task identification
Description of work and any limitations
Identified hazards
Necessary precautions
Protective equipment
Authorisation
Acceptance
Extension
Hand back/completion
Cancellation

Risk Assessment: PEME
People, Equipment, Material, Environment

Develop a system: ERIC PD
Eliminate, Reduce (by Monitoring Substitution), Isolate, Control, PPE, Discipline

Human Factors: SPAME
Skill Personality Attitude Motivation Experience

Machine Hazards: ENTICCE
Entanglement Nips Traps Impact Contact Cutting Ejection

Manual Handling: TILE
Task Individual Load Environment

Machine Guarding: FIAT
Fixed or fixed distance Interlocks (elect, air, mech, hydr) Automatic Trip

Training: IITS
Instruction Information Training Supervision

Accident Factors: relate to Domino Theory
Attitude Fault Unsafe Accident Injury

Safety Management Systems (SMS) – HSG65

1. Policy – written statement of policy, procedures and commitment to HSW. Assigns responsibilities and explains duties etc.

2. Organising – structures to assist in:
- Control
- Co-operation
- Communication
- Co-ordination
- Competence

3. Planning and Implementation – establish, operate and maintain systems that:
- Identify objectives and targets
- Set performance standards
- Consider and control risks
- Document performance
- React to change
- Sustain positive safety culture

4. Monitoring – Active and Reactive systems:
Active: Measuring achievements against specified standards before things go wrong. Ensures controls are working correctly.
Reactive: Collection of information about failures. Involves learning from mistakes.

5. Review and Audit – Ensures policy is being carried out and is having the desired effect.

HAZARD PREVENTION
1. Eliminate the hazard
2. Substitution
3. Use of barriers (Isolation/segregation)
4. Procedures (SSW/Dilution)
5. Warning systems (Instruction/Training/Signs/Markings)
6. PPE

5 STEPS IN DEVISING A SSW (AIDIM)
1. Assess the task
2. Identify the Hazards and assess the risks
3. Definition of the Safe Method
4. Implementation of the SSW
5. Monitoring the System

MAINTENANCE ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY:
1. Poor Design
2. Poor perception of risk
3. No SSW
4. Poor communications
5. Failure to brief and supervise contractors

MAINTENANCE ACCIDENTS CAN BE PREVENTED BY:
1. Planning
2. Evaluation
3. Controls
4. Monitoring

Audit – looks at systems and the way they function in practice
Inspection – looks at physical conditions

6 PART STRATEGY TO CONTROLLING CONTRACTORS
1. Identify suitable contractors
2. Identification of hazards within specification
3. Contractor competence & selection
4. Contractor acceptance of H&S Rules
5. Control of contractors on site
6. Completion checks

SAFETY CULTURE (KEY ELEMENTS):
Good communications between and with employees and management
Ensuring a real and visible commitment to high standards by senior management
Maintaining good training standards to achieve competence
Achievement of good working conditions

WORKPLACE ISSUES
Ventilation: / 5l/s/person for mechanical systems
Temperature: 16-30oC (13oC for physical work)
Windows: Glass below shoulder height – safety glass
Cleanliness:
Working Space: 11m3
Seating: Ergonomic and adjustable
Slips/Trips/Falls:
Traffic Routes:
Welfare Facilities:
Toilets – Privacy/Ventilation/lighting/cleanliness/location/quantity
Washing facilities
Drinking water
Accommodation for clothing
Rest Facilities

WORK EQUIPMENT
1. Suitable for the purpose
2. Installed, located and used so as to reduce the risk to operators & others
3. Substances – safe supply and/or removal
4. Maintained
5. Inspected by competent persons
6. Information, instruction and training

TYPES OF GUARDS
Fixed
Interlocked
Control
Automatic
Distance guard
Adjustable
Self adjusting
Trip devices
Two handed devices

GUARD MATERIAL DEPENDS ON:
Strength/stiffness/durability
Effects on reliability (eg: closed guard causing M/C to overheat)
Visibility
Need to control secondary hazards (ie: Noise)

Hope this is of some use to all you NEBOSHers out there
Enjoy

Otto.

The Control of Noise at Work

2006-03-18T16:32:00.000Z

The Control of Noise at Work

The new Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 come in to force in April 2006.

The forthcoming regulations require significant reductions in workers exposure to noise. Employers will be required to take action (risk assessment and risk control) to prevent employees suffering noise induced hearing loss.

Exposure to noise (unwanted sound) can lead to permanent hearing loss either by repetitive exposures e.g.: daily use of percussion drills, or by a single exposure to a loud noise e.g.: from a cartridge gun. On the 6 April 2006 the lower exposure action level will be reduced to 80dB(A) (previously 85dB(A)) and the upper exposure action level will drop to 85dB(A) (previously 90dB(A)). Currently it is estimated that over 2.2million workers are exposed to noise levels above 80dbA including over 1 million exposed to levels above 85dbA and 450,000 at levels above 90dbA. Many of these workers are employed in or associated with the construction and house building industries. You may have little knowledge of how noise is measured and a reduction of 5 from a figure of 85 may seem insignificant. However nothing could be further from the truth as this equates in real terms to a reduction of approx. 75% which may be the difference between hearing damage or not.

The regulations require all employers to assess the risks to their employees from noise at work. This does not necessarily mean carrying out noise surveys and measuring noise. Wherever possible employers are being encouraged to make use of pre-existing noise data available from manufacturers, industry bodies or from earlier noise surveys. Many employers carried out noise surveys in compliance with the 1989 Noise at Work Regulations. As long as they are considered relevant, they are appropriate for compliance with the new regulations. The HSE has prepared guidance for employers on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 that gives practical guide lines to employers on determining whether a noise problem exist at all. For example

Do employees have to raise their voices to carryout a normal conversation at 2 metres apart?
Do employees use noisy power tools or machinery for more that half an hour per day?
Is the noise intrusive for most of the day e.g. continuously running compressors?
Are there noises due to impact e.g. pile driving, cartridge tools, impact tools?

Have you answered yes to one or more of the above? Depending on the complexity of the operation e.g. where it’s performed, how many are exposed, frequency, when the operation is performed and by who control measures will need to be introduced.

The risk assessment process is more than just taking noise measurements or looking up noise data. The main purpose of the process is to help the employer decide what needs to be done to eliminate or reduce, to a reasonably practicable level, the exposure of the workforce to noise. Hence the risk assessment should:

identify where exposure exists and who is affected
have a reliable estimate of noise level to enable a comparison with the regulations exposure action and limit values
identify the measures to be taken to comply with the legal requirements; controls at source and appropriate hearing protection or both
identify those employees who will require health surveillance

The estimate of ‘employee exposure’ in the risk assessment must take into consideration the work presently done and due to be done that day. This may prove particularly difficult with general operatives due to the way the work is performed and how it may vary from one day to the next.

Whilst recording and reviewing this information is important, the key area for effort is in the selection of appropriate controls. The following list offers suggestions for reducing high level of noise on site:
Look for alternative construction processes, perhaps by manufacturing component off site – it is easier to control noise exposure in a factory setting therefore where possible make use of components that have been prefabricated off site where noisy operations such as cutting, drilling, welding can be carried out under controlled conditions.

Look to purchase/hire alternative quieter equipment in order to reduce noise at source. The manufacturers and hire companies are continually introducing new quieter low vibration models. Request information about noise levels when looking for new equipment. Remember noisy equipment is less efficient than quiet equipment and therefore cost more to run. When purchasing consumables and accessories for plant and equipment look for noise data a recent study carried out by Hewden Plant Hire demonstrated a 6dB(A) (200% difference) between the noise levels of different diamond blades being used on the same Stihl saw.

Look to see whether alternative methods of work may have a benefit in reducing noise exposure, whereby the workplace becomes quieter or workers have shorter exposure times. Halving the time spent in a noisy area reduces the exposure by 3dB(A). This may be achieved by reviewing and introducing engineering controls such as lining debris chutes or reducing drop heights. Increasing the frequency of basic maintenance of plant and equipment to reduce the amount of vibration. Isolate the location of noise sources by screens of sound absorbent/damping materials or locate at a distance from the remainder of the workforce. Consider noise within the design of the site traffic management plan.

Wherever possible increase the distance between noisy operations and other workers. Doubling the distance between the source of the noise and the ear reduces noise by 6dB(A). Reduce the amount of time that workers are exposed to noise; where possible manage exposure by moving workers between operations during the course of a day.

Selecting hearing protection is not, the first and only option in the hierarchy of appropriate noise control. Hearing protection should only be issued where extra protection is required above that achieved by engineering; or where its use is intended short term whilst other measures are being developed.

Hearing protection must be:

Available on request where the noise exposure is between the lower and upper action values (daily or weekly exposures of 80dB(A) – 85dB(A))

Compulsory where the noise exposure exceeds the upper action level of 85dB(A). Above 85dB(A) the wearing of appropriate hearing protection must be enforced and should be backed up, where possible, by identifying those areas (Signage) where hearing protection is compulsory.

Where employees are going to be regularly exposed to noise at or above the upper action level (85dB(A)) and where particular employees are vulnerable to the effects of noise, the employer must provide health surveillance i.e. regular hearing tests. Regular checks will provide the employer with early warning signs of damage to hearing gives the employer an opportunity to prevent any damage from getting worse and provides a regular check to ensure that noise control measures are effective.

Finally employers must ensure that they provide their employees and others who may be exposed, with information to explain the risks and the controls that are in place. In particular where employee will need to make use of hearing protection the employer must ensure that employees know how to use and fit the appropriate protection.

The involvement of the employees is critical in ensuring that compliance with the controls is achieved on site. They need to be informed of: -

Their likely exposure to noise and the resulting risk to hearing
What the employer is doing to reduce noise levels
Where and how they can obtain hearing protection
What constitutes a defect and how to have it replaced or rectified
What their duties are under the Regulations, and where appropriate
Information on the Health Surveillance regime.

In summary

Employers must:

Assess and identify appropriate measures to either eliminate or reduce the risks of hearing loss to their employees. Where the risks are low, simple and inexpensive actions will meet the reasonably practicable standard. Where they are high a noise control action plan must be in place.
Where required provide hearing protection and enforce its use together with enforcing the use of technical or engineering controls.
Provide information, training and, if required, health surveillance.

Action Levels and Limit Values.

Lower exposure action values (measured without PPE)

Daily or Weekly exposure of 80dB(A)
Peak sound pressure level 135dB(C )

Upper exposure action values (measured without PPE)

Daily or weekly exposure of 85dB(A)
Peak sound pressure of 137dB(C )

Exposure limit values (measured WITH PPE)

Daily or weekly exposure of 87 dB(A)
Peak sound pressure of 140dB(C )

NHBC provides a range of services designed to improve health and safety both on site and in the office. Our Services can be tailored to fit any size of business throughout the UK, from producing a basic policy statement through to a full audit of your health and safety management systems. For further information please call 0870 241 4319 or visit www.nhbcbuilder.co.uk

A Potted Guide to Taking NEBOSH Exams

2006-03-05T19:02:00.000Z

A Potted Guide to Taking NEBOSH Exams

Created March 2006, published 5 March 2006

Introduction

It’s a well-known fact in health & safety that NEBOSH exams are tough, but that’s not to say they are impossible. The guidance that follows is intended to give you some final key pointers for the big day, and coupled with a comprehensive study and revision programme, should get you through just fine.

Action Verbs

Take note of the “action verb” at the start of each question. As a general rule, if a question asks you to “Identify”, “state” or “list” then a simple list will do. If however, the question asks for “outline”, “describe” or “explain”, then your answer should be in sentences, preferably with an example to illustrate.

Read the Question

The clue is in the question! However simple it may seem, make sure you read the question properly, maybe even underlining key points (you can write on your question papers). It is imperative that you answer the question that has been set, not the one you wish had been set.

Keep it Brief

We have already said that you must comply with the action verb, but do not be tempted to waffle on or give long introductions to your answer – this is not required. If a question asks for control measures for working at height, that is what will be on the marking scheme. There will be no marks available for introducing your answer with statistics on numbers injured falling from height.

There are no marks for “star quality” or knowing Lord Roben’s birthday – just answer the question.

Structure

Certain questions allow you to give your answers in a certain structure. Sometimes there will be marks available for just using the structure, but even if they are not, the structure will help you think a little more laterally.

As an example, if the question relates to risk assessment, it is helpful to go through the 5 steps of risk assessment. This applies whether the question relates to a specific situation or type of risk assessment e.g. manual handling, fire, COSHH etc.
If the question is about human factors, then split your answer into Organisation, Job and Individual factors.

For questions about management systems or strategies, split the answer into the elements of HSG65.

If the question relates to reasons for improving safety, structure the answer into moral, economic and legal factors.

Plan Ahead

For the longer questions (20 markers or case studies), then an answer plan should be prepared. This is a simple outline of what you will cover in your answer. It might be bullet points, or a mind-map – whatever suits you.

When you’re done, draw a line under it and start putting your plan into proper sentences.

"Bankers"

This is important. There are certain answers which will be relevant time and time again, for example: risk assessment, training, supervision, PPE etc. Put reproducing this list without relating it to the specific question will not gain marks – let’s look at some examples to illustrate the point:

“Outline the precautions to be taken when a minor repair is to be carried out on a fragile roof” (NEBOSH Diploma Part One, June 1998).

Carry out a risk assessment – 0 marks
Carry out an initial risk assessment to identify the hazards from roof work and decide on the necessary precautions – 1 mark

Provide adequate information, instruction and training – 0 marks
Provide information, instruction and training on the hazards and associated precautions involved in roof work – 1 mark

Provide suitable PPE – 0 marks
Provide PPE for groups at risk, e.g. hard hats for people below – 1 mark

Provide adequate levels supervision – 0 marks
Provide adequate supervision to ensure that the method statement/safe system of work is followed – 1 mark

Timing

Question timing is vital to success. You cannot afford to spend too long on some questions, to the detriment of others. The approximate timings you should try to stick to are as follows:

Diploma 1 Paper 1

Action Timing
Read through exam paper 5 minutes
15 Short answer questions (10 marks) 9 minutes each
Check answers 10 minutes

Diploma 1 Paper 2

Action Timing
Read through exam paper 10 minutes
5 Long answer questions (20 marks) 25 minutes each
Check answers 15 minutes

Diploma 2 Paper 1

Action Timing
Read through exam paper 5 minutes
10 Short answer questions (10 marks) 8 minutes each
Case study (100 marks) 1 hr 20 minutes
Check answers 15 minutes

Diploma 2 Paper 2

Action Timing
Read through exam paper 10 minutes
5 Long answer questions (20 marks) 30 minutes each
Check answers 20 minutes

For Cert, on a 2 hour paper 120 minutes

100 marks (20 x 1, 8 x 10)

Approx 1 mark a minute

5 minutes, read paper,
20-25 minutes 20 pointer
10 x 8 minutes short questions
10 minutes, check paper

Of course these are not precise, but are useful as a general guide. Even if you are an expert on a particular subject, there is no benefit on writing reams and reams on the answer – use your allocated time and move on. Similarly, if you get a question where you have no idea, try not to leave it blank and move on – use your allocated time and try to get something down. Maybe a couple of “bankers” might be relevant? Those couple of points may just make the difference.

Legislation/Case Law

Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be a law expert or have a photographic memory to pass NEBOSH exams. What you do need though, is a grasp of fundamental principles of legislation and case law, and be able to relate them to different scenarios. It is not important to remember the precise years of legislation or case law (although if you forget the year of the Health & Safety at Work Act, do you expect to pass????). Neither is it a requirement to learn regulation numbers off by heart – if you could say, for example, that the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regs require all employers to carry out risk assessments, or the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regs require all work equipment to be maintained, that will suffice.

Abbreviations are fine, but give their title in full to start with e.g. The Personal Protective Equipment Regs (PPE) require employers to provide PPE to employees where required.

Check your Answers

As with any exam, leave yourself some time at the end to go through your answers. Make sure you have answered the question that was asked and add any extra points that have occurred to you – it can’t hurt, and they may just make the difference!

At the end of the day it's a numbers game. You need 45% to pass, anything else is just icing on the cake. Answer half the twenty pointer well, along with three good answers from the 8 pointers (like lists or identify) and you're at 35 marks already. Only 10 marks to go from 7 other 8 pointers and you're there.....

The majority of the questions will be outline, a couple of explain/describe and 2-3 list identify. The list/identifys are the easy money. The outlines should be too.
I'll start a new post with a worked example to help you along.

You can read the worked example to help you along by clicking the following link, or by browsing the articles section:

NEBOSH Exam Worked Example

Above all don't panic.

Good luck

Nick Higginson MSc CMIOSH Dip2.OSH SpDipEM MIIRSM of Phoenix Health and Safety Consultancy

NEBOSH Exam Worked Example

2006-03-05T19:01:00.000Z

NEBOSH Exam Worked Example

Created March 2006, published 5 March 2006

OK we’ve talked about all the theory – now let’s put it all together and try to give a perfect answer to a recent exam question:

“Volunteers are involved in collecting bags of books, clothes and other donated goods from householders. The bags are loaded into vans for delivery to a chain of charity shops. Explain how the charity should assess the risks to the charity workers, identifying the particular issues that would need to be considered at each stage of the assessment” (NEBOSH Diploma Part One, June 2003)

First things first – look at the action verbs. You are being asked to explain how the problem should be assessed and identify the particular issues at key stages.
Re-read the question now, and underline your key signposts:

“Volunteers (unskilled, no selection criteria?) are involved in collecting bags (manual handling – size, weight, shape etc.) of books, clothes and other donated goods from householders (violence, dogs etc.). The bags are loaded into vans (driven by who? Vehicle hazards) for delivery to a chain of charity shops. Explain how the charity should assess the risks (assess the risks, not control them) to the charity workers, identifying the particular issues that would need to be considered at each stage of the assessment” (NEBOSH Diploma Part One, June 2003).

As this question is essentially about how to carry out a risk assessment, the 5 steps approach would be a good structure to follow. This question was worth 20 marks, so a plan would be in order:

PLAN

1. Identify hazards
Manual Handling
Violence
Animals
Contents of bags
Vehicles

2. Decide who can be harmed
Volunteers – old, untrained, health problems, how many?

3. Evaluate risks
Probability/severity
Frequency/duration
Evaluate existing controls
Legal requirements

4. Record

5. Review

ANSWER

No need for a flowery intro about how many injuries are cause by manual handling or where risk assessment comes from – just get on with it!!

IDENTIFY THE HAZARDS

The first stage of a risk assessment is concerned with identifying hazards, which in this case may be as follows:

Violent assault by members of the public or being attacked by dangerous dogs
Musculoskeletal disorders caused by lifting bags or constraints on posture when working inside the vans

Injuries caused by the contents of the bags e.g. sharps or chemicals

Slips, trips and falls due to uneven surfaces, kerbs, steps etc.

Traffic accidents involving the vans, especially if they were poorly maintained or the bags caused an obstruction inside

Vans being struck by other road vehicles

Poor lighting due to work in the evenings or in autumn/winter

Weather conditions could be a problem especially if particularly hot, wet, cold or windy

Lone working which may result in a lack of communication between volunteers and their supervisors

Manual handling would be the major hazard due to a variety of factors: The bags may have to be carried for long distances and there will be a large amount of repetitive handling. Lots of stooping and twisting may also be required inside the van. The bags themselves may be heavy or bulky, and as their contents are unknown, may be unstable or unpredictable.

PEOPLE AT RISK

The next stage is to consider how many people are affected by the risk, and who they are.

Volunteers may well be elderly and are likely to be retired. This means that they may have existing health problems and may not be as strong as they once were. Pregnant women or young people would also be at increased risk.

EVALUATE THE RISKS

To come up with a level of risk, there are several factors which need to be considered:

The likely severity of injury if an accident were to happen, for example a slipped disc might be an outcome of a manual handling injury

The probability that an accident was going to occur

The duration and frequency of exposure to the hazards

Existing control measures should be evaluated to assess their effectiveness. These may be things such as manual handling training, supervision, mechanical aids etc.
The law should be considered to see if more needs to be done. The relevant law here are the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regs (Risk Assessment) and the Manual Handling Regs

RECORD FINDINGS

The significant findings of the risk assessment should be recorded and information on these findings should be provided to employees

REVIEW

The risk assessment should be reviewed when there is reason to believe that it is no longer valid. This may be for a variety of reasons, e.g.:

Lapse of time

Enforcement action

An accident has occurred

There you go - 20 marks to start you off with! Too many students didn’t use the 5 steps approach so didn’t think widely enough to get good marks. Lots also gave long lists of how to control hazards, which was not asked for and so attracted no marks.

You can read the potted guide to taking NEBOSH exams to help you along by clicking the following link, or by browsing the articles section:

A Potted Guide to Taking NEBOSH Exams

Well that’s about all the help I can give you, so it just remains to say:

Good Luck!

Nick Higginson MSc CMIOSH Dip2.OSH SpDipEM MIIRSM of Phoenix Health and Safety Consultancy

A Tragic Lesson

2006-01-08T18:36:00.000Z

A Tragic Lesson

This article has been created from an incident report sent to us here at HSfB where a visitor to the site thought it could perhaps help prevent similar tragic events from happening in the future.

Incident Description

At 10.25 a.m. on 11 November, 2005 a plater fell to his death whilst replacing stair treads on the Clipper PW platform. The fall was not witnessed.

Outcome

The Injured Party sustained severe head injuries from which he died.

Main Findings from Investigation

* The Injured Party died as a result of falling through an opening in the stair tower created when two stair treads were removed.
* The team found all the associated permitry to be in place for the work being carried out. The work was prescribed to be undertaken on a ‘one stair tread out, one stair tread in’ basis.
* For whatever reason the Injured Party, in a change to the permitted work method, chose to remove a second tread. This change created a large opening through which he subsequently fell.
* The primary cause of death was the result of a severe head injury caused by a fall from height.

Immediate Causes

The Injured Party died as a result of falling through an opening in a stair tower created when two stair treads were removed.

Immediate Actions

Conduct a risk assessment to cover the specific case of stair tread replacement on the Clipper in order to clear the intent of the Prohibition Notice served by the Health and Safety Executive on 12 November 2005.

Contributory Factors

* The work permit stated that the work should be undertaken on a ‘one stair tread out, one stair tread in’ basis.
* For reasons that can never be established, a second stair tread was removed in a change to the permitted work method.
* This change was never subject to further risk assessment which might have identified additional controls.

Read the complete article and see the incident photgraphs here: http://www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/Articles/A_Tragic_Lesson.htm

Noise at Work

2005-12-12T20:12:00.000Z

Noise at Work

What is noise?

When speaking of noise in relation to sound, Wikipedia has subjectively defined it as ‘meaningless sound of greater than usual volume’. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 defines noise simply as ‘any audible sound’.

There are several alternative definitions of noise, three of which have been produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within their research report - Non-Auditory effects of noise at work a review of the literature crr91030 (1991) as follows:

A sound varying randomly and aperiodically in intensity and frequency.
A sound which interferes with the reception of another (for example it masks it).
A sound which we do not want to hear.

To some people the roar of an engine is satisfying or thrilling; to others it is more of an annoyance. Furthermore, loud music may be an enjoyable experience or a torment, depending on the individual listener and the particular circumstances at the time.

Legislation

In 1993 a European Union (EU) proposal for a Physical Agents Directive was made, which looked to establish a framework for the regulation of physical agents at work, which included noise. In January 2001, the Swedish Presidency introduced a proposal for a Noise Directive to repeal the existing 1986 Noise Directive (86/188/EEC) which was implemented in the UK by the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 and in the other European Union Countries around the same time.

The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 will therefore be replaced on 6 April 2006 by the more stringent Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. A comparison of the changes to the 1989 Regulations and the forthcoming 2005 Regulations are highlighted in bullet form below.

Changes from Previous Noise Regulations

The Regulations impose duties on employers and on self-employed persons to protect both employees who may be exposed to risk from exposure to noise at work and other persons at work who might be affected by that work.

Reduced threshold for hearing protection and training.
Reduced threshold for introducing noise control.
Introduce daily exposure limit value.
Permit weekly average.
Emphasis on consultation between employers, employees and reps.
Requirements for health surveillance and hearing testing (at 85dB).

Lower exposure action level = 80dB(A)
- Limit value = 135dB(A)
Upper exposure action level = 85dB(A)
- Limit value = 137dB(A)
Peak value = 87dB(A)
- Limit value = 140dB(A)

Assessment of risk.
Risk from exposure to noise to be eliminated or reduced.
If one of lower values is likely to be exceeded, a risk assessment is required: level; type and duration; effects of exposure; interaction with ototoxic substances and vibration.

At and above a lower exposure action value

Suitable hearing protection must be made available to any employee who requests it (1st levels)
Information and training in:
- Nature of risks from exposure to noise
- Organisational and technical control measures
- Exposure limit values and action values
- Findings of risk assessment
- Availability of personal hearing protection and current use
- Why and how to report signs of hearing loss
- Entitlement to health surveillance
- Safe working practices
- Results of health surveillance

Noise samples can be taken with personal protective equipment (PPE) on at ‘point of ear’.

At and above an upper exposure action value

Reduce exposure to as low a level as possible by organisational and technical measures, excluding provision of hearing protectors.
Other working methods which reduce exposure.
Choice of appropriate work equipment.
Design and layout of workstations.
Suitable and sufficient information and training.
Reduction of noise by technical means.
Appropriate maintenance programme.
Limit duration and intensity of exposure.
Appropriate work schedules and adequate rest periods.

At and above an upper exposure value

Provision of hearing protectors is a last resort. Hearing protection zones must be marked and protection provided must be worn in zones. Health surveillance including hearing tests should be provided even if hearing protection is worn.

At or above an exposure limit value

Must never be exceeded.
These values can be taken when wearing hearing protection.

John Johnston AIIRSM - HSfB

Further Information:

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051643.htm

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - Noise Webpages - http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/index.htm

Accident in work ... bad makes worse

2005-10-08T14:22:00.000Z

This article was originally a post in our discussion forums, but it was thought to be a valuable lesson learned and has now been published in the hope it can help others. This article may be updated in time with the most recent findings, so check back soon in case there are any new developments.

Accident in work ... bad makes worse

Today I was witness to the aftermath of an accident in work. A team of us went to do some maintenance and part of the job was lowering a column using a winch. A job we do almost daily. All staff are trained on use of the winches. All winches are tested and tagged.

So what went wrong? Apparently they were winding the column down as they have done on many occasions when a bit of slack in the cable on the winch drum allowed the column to slip slightly. This is not unusual but allows the column to drop an inch or so, but on this occasion the slack managed to allow the cable to slip between off the pulley and jam "down the side". As they were in the process of winding the pole down this caused a bit of slack on the pulley side as the cable was now jammed.

This was an unusual occurrence that had not occurred before. So they were looking for a way to un-jam the cable. I am not sure what happened then but apparently, while they were investigating the jam, the cable slipped dragging the victims hand into the pulley. The full weight of the column was now on his hand and he could not free it. I was actually doing another job when I heard a commotion. I ran to the site and found the situation described above. The other two staff working with the victim were at odds as to what to do to say the least. I first had to release the trapped hand. To do this I had to relieve the pressure on the cable. The only way to achieve this was to manually force the column down. I got the other two workers to assist and we got enough slack for the victim to withdraw his hand. His injuries looked horrendous. One finger had a deep gash on both sides and another had a deep gash on one side. First aid consisted of cleaning the wounds with alcohol free wipes and applying a bandage then I sent him off to casualty with one of the other members of staff who had local knowledge of how to get to the local hospital. I reported the accident to our accident reporting line and the well oiled procedures kicked into place. Within minutes I was contacted by my line manager and the union H&S rep. Tomorrow I have to go to base to file a report and return the winch for testing. The line manager has arranged for photographs to be taken at the scene to aid with the investigation. We were lucky. Though the injuries looked horrendous there was no damage to bones, tendons or nerves. The victim was driven home, though protesting that he was OK to drive, and will probably be off for at least a week. He could easily have lost his fingers. After the victim had gone to hospital I was left with a column jammed half up and half down. The same situation they had before the accident. This required an additional winch to take the tension off the existing cable to allow it to be freed safely. Obviously something went wrong with the safe system of work. Now we have to find out how to stop this happening in future. This is a classic example of an unusual occurrence escalating into injury. In an attempt to put right something that had gone wrong the situation compounded from an incident to an accident.

The Investigation
Things moved pretty fast this morning. I had to go to the depot and fill out a witness report. Both winches, the original one and the one used to un-jam the column, have been taken in for inspection as required by LOLER. Then there was a site meeting attended by myself and another who was present at the time, our line manager, his manager and a senior member of the Health and Safety team during which photographs and measurements were made to assist in the investigation and some concerns highlighted. It was stressed throughout the meeting that there would be no blame attached to anybody and the purpose was to ensure that we were not being told to do something that was dangerous. The victim has been signed off by his doctor for at least a week which makes the accident reportable under RIDDOR.

What went wrong?

Quick update. The investigation is ongoing. Not being part of the H&S team I am not privy to all actions but I have been made aware of a few. Both winches involved have been inspected. The original winch involved has no damage. However, as the winch I used to recover from the situation could not be mounted correctly (there was another winch on the mounting point) it now has to have a new cable fitted, the old cable being kinked where it was fastened around the pole. The main issue raised is that, although the winches are regularly tested by an outside firm, the pulley wheels we use were not. The pulley wheel in use at the time of the accident had a slightly elongated hole which allowed it to tilt on the spindle increasing the chances that the cable would run off and jam.. Initial action is to replace ALL pulley wheels in the field and ensure that they are renewed every time the winches are tested. Another issue raised was a result of the investigation but not relevant to the accident. During the site visit I lowered the pole. The H&S manager noted that as I was winding the cable back onto the winch after securing the pole I allowed the cable to slip between my fingers to keep tension on it. Doing this put me at risk of hand injury should there be any frayed ends on the cable. So I have been informed that in future I must wear gloves and hold the cable by the thimble at the end.

Three weeks on...
The injured member of staff is still off work. I spoke to him yesterday and he is still on painkillers and just getting movement back in his fingers. He will be attending his GP's surgery again this week to ascertain whether he needs more time off and/or physiotherapy.

All staff involved in using these winches are to attend retraining at the manufacturers premises later this month. This will entail a 400 mile round trip on top of the training effectively taking all staff out of action for a day as well as travelling costs.

Phil

Driving: A Cause for Concern?? - The Hidden Dangers

2005-09-24T14:33:00.000Z

Most, if not all, Safety Reps in the Region will be aware of the ongoing HSE and the Northern TUC coordinated ‘Backs 2005’campaign to improve the health and safety of all workers particularly in regard back injury and associated injuries.
Therefore the report below, compiled by a member of the Northern TUC Health & Safety Forum Working Party arrived in my email tray at a very opportune time highlighting an area of concern that does not seem to have been addressed in this way before.

George Partridge Chair Northern TUC Health & Safety Forum.

We are all aware of the substantial advances in safety that have been developed to help reduce the risks of injury or fatalities when driving, such as Seatbelts, Airbags, Abs Brakes, etc. However there are number of hidden dangers that professional drivers face on a daily basis, these are Musculoskeletal Disorders, Wruld’s, & Possibly Dvt’s.

Having worked in the Public Transport Industry for over 17 Years I have seen a lot of changes within the Industry. New Technology means that Buses are able to be designed to be faster, smoother and more Passenger friendly allowing access for wheelchairs and Prams, however when it comes to cab design it seems that it is almost an after thought and last on the list for overall improvement of the vehicle.

On average Drivers spend in excess of 8 hours in the driving seat per day. This means that there is significant pressure placed on their joints and spine arising from working in a cramped position and from twisting their backs and shoulders.

Also poorly maintained roads and potholes lead to shocks sent up into their hips and spines.

Part of the problem is the fact that large companies buy their Buses in large orders and do not actually take on board the suggestions on the layout and design of the cabs from the people who actually drive them.

This means that by the time the drivers get to drive them in service the cab has already been fitted out and this invariably means the layout is disorganised and cramped and not ‘user friendly’ with poorly placed ticket machines and dispenser trays that force the Driver to twist round to use and also blind spots from security screens that mean that they must stretch or twist just to see around them.

And of course there is also the pedal layout, switches and the many other controls that are contained within the cab area.

Or to put it another way fitting the driver to their workstation and not the workstation to the driver, which as everyone knows is ‘best practice’ in health safety & welfare.

It is inconceivable to me that any Organisation fails to take on board suggestions on cab design from the very staff that will be using these vehicles when it is obvious that if they did so this would inevitably mean that the layout of the cab would be of a better design with the ‘knock on’ effect helping to reduce the amount of time that staff had to take off on the sick and also any injury claims they may face leading to a reduction in the Organisations sickness levels, leading to a more cost effective workforce and a raising of staff morale leading to a happier workforce and the ‘knock on’ effect of an overall increase in customer satisfaction.

As part of my final assignment for my TUC Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety I looked at the problems that my members faced whilst Driving and I was unable to find a Body Map that showed a person in a Driving position, I decided to design my own Body Map that Drivers and people working in the Transport Industry could relate to and use to identify any problems within their Organisation.

This Body Map is only one element designed to help identify how many members are suffering from the above mentioned problems and to help identify the action needed by senior managers to reduce the risks.

It is clear that there is a great amount of work needed to be done before these risks are reduced but hopefully this Body Map will go some way towards reducing these risks.

The body map can also be used by all professional drivers, HGV, Driving Instructors in fact anyone who spends a large proportion of their working day behind the wheel of a vehicle.

You have to question the wisdom of having a set of health & safety regulations, quite rightly, for workers, that includes the layout of their workstation, seat design, and a number of other aids for their health & safety and wellbeing, entitled the DSE Regs, but not a set of regulations for a PSV driver’s workstation, namely the drivers cab.

Please feel free to utilise/adapt the Body Map in any way you wish all we ask is that you identify the source.

Best of luck and Good Mapping

The Body Mapping tool can be downloaded here: Body Map

The Interactive Body Mapping tool can be downloaded here: Body Map Interactive 66.7KB, just place the cursor on the appropriate coloured square then click and it will place either a tick for constant or a star for occasional.

From a member of the Northern TUC Health & Safety Forum

Driver Tiredness

2005-09-24T14:28:00.000Z

Driver tiredness is the biggest killer on our roads, particularly on motorways and other monotonous roads. One in five crashes on these roads is estimated to have been caused by drivers nodding off at the wheel and the ratio of serious injuries is even higher because a sleeping driver doesn’t brake before an accident. Driving at night or during the afternoon dip are the most dangerous times.

Some of the things people do when they are feeling tired whilst driving are opening a window, turning up the volume of the radio or just trying to fight sleep off. They don’t prevent sleep, especially the “microsleeps” of just a few seconds.

The Government’s recommendations if you feel tired while driving are:

Drink two cups of coffee or, ideally, a high-caffeine drink.
Take a ten minute snooze to give the caffeine time to kick in.
If you are still tired don’t drive any further

The advice adds that the effect of the caffeine only last 60 – 90 minutes and the only real solution is not to be tired in the first place.

Some of the things that can be done are:

Get enough sleep – Obvious enough but it is impossible to stop yourself eventually falling asleep if you are shattered.
Let people know if you are having trouble sleeping and take it into account when planning journeys.
Make sure that any medication you take doesn’t cause drowsiness.
Drive carefully and calmly and think about any possible hazards (like the nutter who is swapping lanes and cutting up cars in front of you to get wherever they are going a minute quicker, if they are lucky). It helps prevent boredom if nothing else.
Be especially alert on long monotonous roads. Cruise control is a nice technological advance but can make it even easier to fall asleep.
Be especially careful and if possible avoid driving at the most dangerous times, between midnight and 6am and 2pm to 4pm.

Ian Paton

Ian has also sent us various documents relating to driving sensibly and can be downloaded here:

Disability Rights Commission launches ‘The Disability Debate’

2005-09-24T14:24:00.000Z

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has launched a major national debate on the future of disabled people’s equality in Britain with its discussion paper, ‘Shaping the Future of Equality’.

The debate asks how we can ensure that by the year 2020, Britain can be a place where all disabled people are equal citizens – living active lives that are fulfilling and rewarding for themselves and valued by others.

Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC said ‘While massive progress has been made since the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) first came onto the statute book in 1995, there is still a long way to go to reaching this goal".

The Disability Debate seeks to identify and articulate the big priorities for a new disability agenda and provide a roadmap for both the organisation which will replace the DRC, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) and for Government over the next 10-15 years.

Questions that will form part of the Disability Debate include:

how can we ensure disabled people are safe and feel like they fully belong in their communities?
how can disabled people be equipped with the skills to play an active role in society?
how can we ensure that disabled people are in control of their own lives?
how can we reform the welfare state so that it supports independence rather than creating dependence?

People can read the papers and take part in the debate on-line at http://www.disabilitydebate.org/, listen to a summary of the paper and leave comments on a local rate phone line 0845 333 0303, or order a copy of the paper from the DRC Helpline on:

Tel: 08457 622 633

Textphone: 08457 622 644

Quoting reference number: DRC35

History of Asbestos

2005-09-24T14:19:00.000Z

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral which has been used in a variety of useful products for hundreds of years since Roman times. It is found throughout the world including Africa, Australia, Canada, Russia, the United States of America and China.

Between the 1950’s and 1980’s, asbestos was used in substantial amounts of building projects, products and materials. In addition, most buildings constructed or refurbished within this time period are extremely likely to include asbestos containing materials (ACM’s), particularly in buildings constructed using steel frames. Steel frames were often coated with asbestos spray for fire protection.

One of the main reasons why asbestos was so popular and widely used was its versatility and cheap production/importation. Asbestos has various useful properties including the following:

Resistance to electricity, heat and fire giving asbestos ideal fire-proofing capabilities and insulating properties.
Fibres can be mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats.
Asbestos will not rot or burn and is relatively impervious to any weather effects, some acids and to vermin.
Asbestos has a desirable high tensile strength and flexibility.

There are three main types of commercially used asbestos as shown in the following images:

Crocidolite Asbestos (Blue), Raw and Processed

Amosite Asbestos (Brown)

(please click the link for the image)

http://www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/Articles/Images/amosite2(brown%20asbestos).jpg

Chrysotile Asbestos (White)

(please click the link for the image)

http://www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/Articles/Images/chrysotile1(white%20asbestos).jpg

The Risks and Dangers Associated with Asbestos

All forms of asbestos are dangerous and can cause fatal illnesses to which there is no cure, however, blue and brown asbestos products are known to be more dangerous than white asbestos.

Entry into the body is through inhalation into lower parts of the lung and can lay there for years, or can even work their way into the lining of the lung. Any fibres that may be ingested into the body will be removed naturally by the body; moreover, entry via absorption through the skin is not possible.

Asbestos is made up of tiny fibres that can only be seen under a microscope, which can penetrate deep into the lung and stay there causing respiratory disease or some types of cancer. The principal asbestos related diseases are that of: asbestosis (fibrosis) scarring of the lungs; mesothelioma - a cancer of the inner lining of the chest wall or abdominal cavity; lung cancer; and diffuse pleural thickening - a non-malignant disease in which the lining of the lung (pleura) becomes scarred.

Present statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) indicate that there are 3500 asbestos related diseases in the United Kingdom per year which is expected to increase dramatically by the end of the decade. This is mainly attributable to the fact that there is usually a substantial delay between the first exposures of asbestos to the first symptoms of any asbestos related disease, varying from between 10 to 60 years.

Asbestos is safe if left undisturbed, nevertheless, where any project involving asbestos and the removal of asbestos is undertaken, complete awareness and precise controls are required at all times throughout the project, and work should be carried out under the assumption that asbestos will be present unless established otherwise.

John Johnston AIIRSM - HSfB

Disability Access to Historic Buildings

2005-09-24T13:50:00.000Z

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA)

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA) now makes it unlawful for businesses and organisations providing services to treat disabled people less favourably than other people for a reason related to their disability. Service providers, now including private members' clubs with 25 or more members, have to consider making changes to physical features that make it difficult for disabled people to use their services. You can remove the physical feature, alter it, find a way of avoiding it or provide the service another way. This may prove difficult for various historic buildings as they may be listed, however, reasonable adjustments must be assessed. Although historic buildings are protected in order to retain their original character, imaginative and inventive solutions to provide an acceptable level of access to an historic building can be achieved successfully. Liaison with the planning authorities, environmental authorities and fire authorities from the beginning is essential for a thorough and acceptable solution of easy access for all.

There is legal requirement to preserve the character of an historic listed building; however, it may mean that on rare occasions not all of these objectives can be achieved. For example, the interventions necessary to permit every part of a ruined medieval castle to be fully accessible would be so harmful to its character as to destroy the pleasure of visiting the building for all.

It may be appropriate for a disabled person to have less favourable access to a building only if the alternative is to have no access at all. For example, providing an alternative route through the building rather than the main thoroughfare might be justified if the modifications required to adapt the main route would be too damaging to the historic building. Similarly, directing disabled people to another fully accessible entrance might be justified if, for example, the arrangements necessary to gain access to the principal entrance would compromise the architectural merit of the historic building. Thought could be given to making this accessible entrance into the principal entrance, thus avoiding discrimination and benefiting all visitors.

What is reasonable?

The following factors from the DDA Code of Practice might be taken into account when considering whether the adjustment is reasonable:

whether taking any particular steps would be effective in overcoming the difficulty that disabled people face in accessing the services in question
the extent to which it is practicable for the service provider to take steps
the financial and other costs of making the adjustment
the extent of any disruption which taking the steps would cause
the extent of the service provider's financial and other resources
the amount of any resources already spent on making adjustments
the availability of financial or other assistance i.e. grants or other funds

As a first instance during the initial stages of any accessibility project, an access audit should be carried out by a competent specialist access consultant preferably one registered with the National Register of Access Consultants. Alternatively, the access audit could be carried out by building professionals experienced in historic buildings, or owners confident in their knowledge of the building and potential barriers to access.

However the access audit is carried out, it will require careful thought to explore all possible solutions to allow access for all into the building. The DDA proposes four ways in which access for disabled people can be incorporated:

Remove the obstacle
Alter it so it no longer has that effect
Provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature
Provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service in question available to disabled people. (This aspect has been in force since October 1999)

John Johnston AIIRSM - HSfB

Article references:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/20050013.htm - The Disability Discrimination Act 2005

http://www.drc-gb.org/thelaw/practice.asp - Disability Rights Commission

National Register of Access Consultants NRAC

Personal Risk Assessment - Running the Risk by Duncan Abbott

2005-09-24T13:42:00.000Z

Reprinted with the kind permission of the publisher of Health and Safety atWork magazine, LexisNexis Butterworths.
Published on HSfB - 14 April 2005, updated 9 July 2005

Running the Risk by Duncan Abbott

Duncan Abbott has kindly provided us with his article explaining how to undertake a personal risk assessment for workers with a disabling condition.

Many thanks to Duncan Abbott of enricoSmog - ergonomic practitioners for this excellent and informative article.

You can download the article in pdf by clicking the following link.

Personal Risk Assessment - Running the Risk by Duncan Abbott

Training by enricosmog

enricosmog ergonomic practitioners is the only company in the UK offering occupational health and safety risk assessors, training in 'how to undertake personal risk assessments for disabled workers'. Delegates learn how to avoid H&S/DDA conflicts and how to make reasonable adjustments for workers with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities.

Tel: 01747 871868
email da@enricosmog.com

Question Time

2005-09-24T13:37:00.000Z

Originally published in the Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) magazine and on the SHP website - www.shponline.co.uk in August 2005
Published on HSfB with the kind permission of SHP which remains copyright of SHP

6 September 2005

With the average time spent in each job decreasing and career changes becoming more frequent, making a good impression at interview is not just a skill for those starting out in the world of work. Paul Smith sets out some tips to help make the most of the opportunity that an interview offers.

There are many different styles of job interview, ranging from an informal chat to a full assessment centre held over a number of days. However, there are some basic guidelines that are valid in most situations, and these we ignore at our peril.

Preparation

If you don’t prepare fully for the interview, you might as well not bother going. Take some time to research the organisation and the role. Remember, the more you come across as understanding the job and seeing yourself in it, the more likely you are to be successful. So check out the organisation’s website, read its annual report, get whatever information you can on the role and make sure you understand it, and try to find out in advance what the recruiter will be looking for. A very common interview technique is to ask candidates what they understand the role to be, and then to ask them what they personally bring to it – you really do need to have thought about this beforehand. Read though your CV again and be ready for questions about anything you’ve included.

Presentation

Do your interviewers the courtesy of arriving on time and of being appropriately dressed for the interview. Good interviewers will be on their guard against the "horns or halo" effect – the danger of making snap judgements about people the moment they walk into the room. However, it is a fact of business life that first impressions are very important and once a poor start has been made, it is hard to regain lost ground.

Often, candidates are asked to come to the interview ready to make a short presentation on a topic they have chosen from a number of headings provided by the interviewer. This provides an opportunity to see you "in action", and also says a lot about how you work and your ability to influence people. They key thing here is to see it as an opportunity to show how good you are. Remember, you are in competition with others and being competent is not good enough – you need to shine so you stand out in relation to the others.

If you are using PowerPoint, or similar be careful not to fall into the various traps for the unwary. In particular: * Check out in advance that you will be able to use your chosen medium (CD ROM, memory stick, etc.); * Avoid the use of unconventional backgrounds and don’t overdo the special effects – what is interesting once quickly becomes tedious when used several times; * Be careful with your use of colour – less is more; *Avoid "death by bullet point" by using the many other features that these packages have.

Dealing with questions

A lot has been written about the use of ‘catch’ questions in interviews and again the key to success is to understand why they are used and be prepared for them. An example would be: "What has been your biggest mistake?" The pitfalls here are to lose credibility by denying ever having made any, or at the other extreme, to spend a lot of time saying how terrible you are! The interviewers are just looking for an honest appraisal of what went wrong and evidence that you were resilient enough to learn from what happened and move on. They also want to see how you respond to being put under a bit of pressure.
Conversely, if asked about your achievements, strike a balance between the need to sell yourself and the danger of appearing immodest or arrogant. The key here is to relate your perceived strengths to the job role and to give credit where it is due. This is fundamental as, at the end of the process, the person who most closely matches what is being sought is the one who will be selected. Also, how you talk about successes and achievements will say a great deal about your qualities as a leader and team player.

Like auditors, interviewers will often seek to validate what you are telling them by reference to evidence. Obviously the nature of the interview will limit what can be covered, but it is good practice to have examples to back up what you say. Be ready for the "can you give us an example of how you dealt with a problem issue?" and "xyz has happened, what would you do next?" types of question.

Many interviews will also have an element of technical assessment to them, so don’t just rely on any qualifications you have – be ready to be grilled and to come up with practical solutions. You have got to come over as someone who has both taken the trouble to stay up to date in the field and who can relate theory to practice. It’s no use (for example) regurgitating the DSE Regulations as the complete answer to a threatened strike in a major call centre, where the staff are complaining about their uncomfortable workstations, although having the salient points at your fingertips will obviously help.

Motivation

Part of your preparation should be to think about why you want the job, and indeed this question may be put specifically to you during the interview. You may be unhappy in your present role, or your present role may be due to disappear. However, interviewers, sympathetic as they may be, are mainly interested in why you want to take on their role, and what you bring to it, not why you want to leave the one you’ve got. I have interviewed many people who gave the impression that they wanted a job rather than this job. However understandable this may be, it is not the approach most likely to bring success. If you can’t find anything about the proposed role to be enthusiastic about, why have you gone to the trouble of applying for it?

Bringing things to a close

Most interviews will have some time for you to ask questions, so make sure you have anticipated this in your preparation. The interview will normally end with some statement about what the next step might be, and when you might expect to hear further.

Second interviews

To get a second interview is obviously great, as it shows you have been short-listed and therefore stand a good chance of getting the job. To have got this far, you have survived at least two "culls" – at the CV and first interview stages. Remember that you may well now meet new people who have not been involved so far, so it is important to make a favourable impression on them too. They may well be senior to those who did the first interview, and you may have to go over some of the same ground again.

Whatever you do, beware of complacency – you’re not there yet. Final decisions are rarely made by just one person, and the views of everyone you’ve seen so far could well be canvassed. Often, the emphasis shifts at second interview: anyone reaching this stage is already considered capable of doing the job, so the issue now is "who will fit best with our team?" Personal chemistry is therefore just as important as technical competence. Remember to show your enthusiasm for the role and tactfully restate the benefits of employing you to do it. If the discussion moves on to salary and benefits, it is a strong sign you are close to getting an offer.

Conclusion

Whatever the outcome, do conduct yourself professionally at every stage. The safety world in the UK is comparatively small – word does get around if you claim things that are not true, or if you do things like confirming you are coming for an interview and then don’t turn up. If you are made an offer, that’s great. If not, it hurts but it’s not the end of the world. Many organisations now give feedback on how you did, which may help you next time. If that’s the case, make the most of the opportunity to find out where and how you can improve so that next time you will be the chosen one.

DO:

* Prepare yourself fully;
* Think yourself into the role and be ready to speak persuasively about what you could bring to it;
* Sell the benefits of hiring you;
* Think about likely questions and how you will respond;
* Look the part and make a positive first impression.

DON'T:

* Be late;
* Disparage your current employer;
* Say anything you can’t substantiate;
* Assume that only the interviewers have input into the decision;
* Go into denial when asked about weaknesses.

WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMME

2005-09-24T13:26:00.000Z

One of the hardest challenges health and safety professionals face when starting on their career in occupational safety and health is getting initial experience after qualification.

Taking that first step can be problematic, often because employers are looking for more experienced personnel to take up a crucial full-time role. This can leave many newly qualified professionals asking 'just how do I get my break, then?'

To tackle this problem, IOSH is exploring the possibility of setting up a health and safety work experience programme. The scheme would offer graduates or students needing vital operational experience a fast-track approach to designated organisations offering placements.

A pilot scheme is planned for this year, but to make it a success we need an extensive range of employers willing to commit their resources to support would-be professionals. If your organisation is interested in offering work experience placements, please contact Hazel Harvey, at hazel.harvey@iosh.co.uk, or IOSH, The Grange, Highfield Drive, Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 1NN, UK.

President elect, Neil Budworth, said: "We should be looking to help new practitioners get a foot on the ladder by sharing our knowledge with them."

Article reference: Safety and Health Practitioner (http://www.shponline.co.uk/), March 2005. The official magazine of www.iosh.co.uk

The Use of Laptop Computers

2005-09-24T12:59:00.000Z

1. Introduction

The use of laptop or notebook computers is widespread and many people use them regularly as part of the work process.Regulation 1(4)(d) of the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 states that the regulations do not apply to or in relation to portable systems not in prolonged use. However, where a laptop is used regularly by people as a significant part of their day-to-day work, then these regulations will apply. In many cases employers will use the “one-hour” rule i.e. if a laptop is used continually for one hour or more then the employee will be classified as a user.Employers therefore, should give consideration as to the use of laptops, particularly if there is a realistic alternative i.e. Use of a desktop system for personal use or “Hot desking” for intermittent use where no permanent workstation is available.

2. Risks relating to the use of Laptop computers.

There are three main categories of risk associated with laptop use:

a) Equipment design

b) The environment that they are to be used in.

c) Physical demands upon the user.

a) The equipment is designed for portable use and as a result compromises have had to be made. This leads to smaller keyboards and screens, differing pointer devices or mouse, as well as lack of adjustability. As a result, laptops tend to be uncomfortable in prolonged use.

b) The work environment where laptops are used tends to be less “user friendly” than the office environment. Areas are often constricted, such as on trains, in cars, at home etc, which does not allow the user to work comfortably for any lengthy period of time.

c) The arrangement of the keyboard and screen usually leads to the user working with their head and shoulders bent forward, adopting an awkward arm, wrist and hand position in order to key information in or to read the screen. Wherever possible the good practices adopted with the use of desktop computers should be utilised when using a laptop computer. The human body is not designed to be static for long periods of time and it is important that the laptop user varies their work position on a regular basis as well as taking frequent breaks.

3. Best Practice – The Equipment.

Sitting.

With the use of a laptop computer there will always be a trade off between achieving a comfortable keying position and placing the screen at a viewing distance that is comfortable to the user. Posture is important and the user should not sit forward in a hunched up position for either keying or viewing operations.
Seating should preferably be such that a good position can be achieved which will prevent aches and pains in the small of the back or legs. Wherever possible an adjustable chair should be used such that it will allow the user to sit far enough back so that the lower part of the back is supported by the backrest. Where this is not possible i.e. a non-adjustable chair is being used, then a cushion or pillow can be used to support the back of the user.
Chair height is important and when seated the user’s forearms should be roughly horizontal when the hands are on the keyboard. If using a non-adjustable chair then again, seat height can be varied by the use of cushions.

Use of the Laptop Keyboard.

When using the keyboard the user should avoid any awkward bending of the wrists. Sitting too high or too low will lead to the wrists being in a bent position. Chairs should be positioned so that a neutral keying position is obtained i.e. that the forearms, wrists and hand are in a straight line.
It is important for the user to sit upright as this will reduce stress on the head and the neck. Pushing the keyboard back a little can help in this situation. It is preferable to use the laptop on a desk or table so that with the arms resting on the work surface it should be possible to keep the wrists in a relaxed, neutral position.

Using a Laptop Mouse.

Although laptops come equipped with an integral mouse, for prolonged usage it is best practice to use a separate mouse. If the laptop mouse is to be used then it is advisable not to screw up the fingers into a claw position or hold them in the air. Hands should be kept flat and the fingers relaxed when using a trackball, glide pad or nipple operated mouse.

The Laptop Screen.

Glare and reflections on a computer screen should be avoided wherever possible.A laptop should be positioned such that these do not occur.
Where a window is causing reflections then the laptop should be re-positioned.If there are curtains or blinds to the window these should be used.
The angle of the screen can affect the amount of glare and reflection that can be picked up. A compromise may have to be made between glare, reflections and the most comfortable viewing angle. If a free standing monitor can be used either with or without a docking station then this can be much better.
The laptop screen should be kept clean at all times.

4. Best Practice – The Environment.

The laptop computer, because of its portability, will be used in many differing environments.
If using it at home then it is important to find a suitable place to work that has both a comfortable chair and a desk/table to place the laptop on.
Sitting on the edge of a sofa or armchair is not suitable because of the posture problems that this can cause. If the chair will not support your back then use a cushion to assist. Again, use a cushion to give more height if the chair will not adjust.
It is not considered to be good practice to use a laptop when lying on a bed or couch.
If you are lying on your back then your neck will be in an awkward position as you try to see the screen. Equally, if you lie on your front then you will be putting strain on the lower part of the back as your body bends at the waist.

If you use your laptop whilst in a car then under no circumstances should you use it whilst driving. Wherever possible you should sit upright in the passenger seat with the seat pushed well back. You can then rest the laptop on a flat surface such as a briefcase, which helps to raise the laptop height as well as giving an improved keying position for the wrists and hands.

The use of a laptop on trains and planes has become more prevalent. However, the risks here to the user are usually increased due to lack of space. In most cases the laptop will have to be positioned close to the user and the poor posture that results may well lead to the onset of aches and pains in the back, neck and forearm. In this situation the laptop should be used as little as possible.

5. Manual Handling.

Laptop computers vary in size and weight. In many instances these are accompanied by the use of peripherals such as portable printers. Manual handling becomes an issue because of the portability of both the computer equipment and any associated manuscript documentation. Whilst the laptop and any associated printer will usually have a carrying case of some description, the overall weight and methods of transportation need to be considered. Carrying cases of the type with single shoulder straps can put strain on the back muscles if equipment is carried for any distance or for any long period of time. If a briefcase is also carried then the overall weight plus the awkwardness of the resulting load can be a problem. The use of a backpack is more advantageous. Consideration should be given to the use of a hand trolley as a means of making transportation easier.

6. Security.

The security of personnel who carry laptops is of prime importance.Laptop computers are expensive and there is always a risk of theft or mugging in some circumstances. This can be tackled by a combination of user training and task design, for example:

(a) Do not design tasks in such a way that lone users are expected to carry or use portable equipment in circumstances where theft is likely.

(b) Train all users to take sensible precautions such as not carrying portables in luggage with a computer manufacturer’s branding on it; not leaving equipment where it is visible in a parked car, taking extra care in public places or in other situations (or at times) where the risk of theft may be greater.

7. User/Risk Assessment.

People who use a laptop computer as a significant part of their day-to-day work are subject to the requirements of the DSE Regulations.
In this instance it is important to determine which people who use a laptop can be considered to be “Users” and thus come under the regulations.

A questionnaire of the type at Appendix A can help in reaching a decision.

Any subsequent risk assessment should consider how much time an individual spends using the laptop and what kind of environment it is to be used in. Attempts should be made to reduce the amount of use by allowing the tasks to be carried out in alternative ways. If this is not possible then methods of reducing or controlling any risks associated with the use should be examined.
It must also be remembered that laptop users who use them significantly as part of their day to day activities should be offered eye tests etc in the same way as for desktop users.
Issues to consider when conducting a risk assessment should include:

How often the laptop is used.
Where it is used.
Manual Handling i.e. the carriage of the equipment plus any peripherals etc.
Personal security.

You can download the DSE user questionnaire that supports this article here: DSE USER QUESTIONNAIRE - APPENDIX “A” - Word Document

You can also download a generic risk assessment for laptop use here: Laptop Computers - Generic Risk Assessment - Word Document

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

What the Trade Unions have to say about Health & Safety

2005-09-24T12:42:00.000Z

Anyone who has a direct involvement with health and safety in their workplace will come into contact with trade unions, whether it is through attendance at Safety Committee meetings, involvement with Union Safety Representatives or possibly as a result of accident investigations etc. Whilst all Safety Representatives are entitled to receive relevant health and safety training (Safety Representatives & Safety Committees Regulations 1977), additional information is also available to them, normally directly from their particular trade union.

In the current era most trade unions have developed a website to provide information to their members on a variety of health and safety topics and these sites can also be useful to the safety practitioner.

What follows is a list of some of the most common trade unions and their website addresses, with notes telling you what to expect to find on each particular site.

AEEU – this is now Amicus which represents manufacturing, technical and skilled persons. The website address is: www.amicustheunion.org/ This site contains a key word search engine and if you enter “Health & Safety” it will open up a page allowing you to access at least 30 displayable items with a general safety theme.

CWU – this is the Communication Workers Union site. The website address is: www.cwu.org/ Here health and safety information can be obtained by looking at “CWU Services” on the opening page and you will find that Health and Safety is one of the items on the drop down list. Clicking on this will take you to the health and safety home page that has a list of 21 subject headings all of which can be opened to give further information on the chosen subject.

GMB – this is the General, Municipal and Boilermakers site. The main website address is: http://www.gmb.org.uk/homepage.asp?NodeID=89643This opens the Home Page and the site has a search engine. By typing in “Health & Safety” you will open up a page with general health and safety information.

NUT – this is the site for the National Union of Teachers and the website address is:www.teachers.org.uk/index.php There is a list of subjects on the opening page and health and safety is listed amongst these. Clicking on this subject brings up the health and safety home page that has four sections devoted to health and safety topics, mainly relevant to the school environment.

TGWU – this the Transport and General Workers Union and the website address is:http://www.tgwu.org.uk/homepage.asp?NodeID=88397This site has a search engine and if you key in “Health & Safety” it will bring up an opening page that contains news items of relevance as well as giving the reader the opportunity to see “H&S Update” the union health and safety publication.

UNISON – this is the union for public sector workers and the website address is:www.unison.org.uk/safety/index.asp This should take you directly to the health and safety opening page that gives access to H&S Information sheets and guides, Branch H&S Bulletins etc. You can also gain access to Safety Representative guides and information on current news items.

USDAW – This is the union for shop, distributive and allied workers and the website is: www.usdaw.org.uk/ The opening page has a keyword search facility and entering “Health and Safety” will open up a results page listing a number of document headings (258 at the time I accessed it). It is worth noting that not all of these deal directly with workplace safety.

And finally, the TUC – The Trades Union Congress, the federation which represents over 70 trade unions and who’s website is: http://www.tuc.org.uk/ On the opening page is a search engine with a drop down menu. Health & Safety is one of the items in the menu and clicking on it will bring up the health and safety home page. This gives a scroll down feature giving access to the latest issues of “Risks” the TUC health and safety publication and shows the publication content, latest news items and a list of associated health and safety website links. Also on the opening page is displayed a list of subject headings which can prove to be useful.

So there you have it, if you want to find out where your local Safety Representative or Branch Secretary, Shop Steward etc gets all of his/her safety information from take a look at the relevant website. There are, as I have mentioned, many more sites. If I have not included your trade union here use one of the search engines such as “Google” or “Ask Jeeves“ etc and just key in the union name and go from there. Good surfing!

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

Stress in the Workplace

2005-09-24T12:39:00.000Z

There are a number of sites that deal with stress, although just by keying in this word will bring up a lot of sites that just advertise pills and potions to deal with it! However, the best place to start for information on the subject is the HSE site athttp://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/ This site gives a definition of stress and includes a list of resources that are all accessible just by clicking on them. These cover seven separate subjects such as the HSE’s Management Standards for Stress and how to use them, details of the HSE’s published guidance on tackling work-related stress, through to advice for individuals and managers of individuals suffering from work-related ill-health.

Following on from this is one of the HSE’s guidance booklets entitled “Work Related Stress – a Short Guide” and this is accessible from:http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg281.pdf#search This is available as a pdf document and contains some useful advice on the subject. It is also available as a free booklet obtainable from the HSE Books website.

For an example of a company stress policy document, again published by the HSE, take a look at http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/pdfs/examplepolicy.pdf Whilst this policy is recommended for small firms and those with a workforce up to 750 employees it is only a “broad-brush” policy but it does contain all of the necessary ingredients to be developed and tailored to meet individual employers needs.

The Trade Unions, of course, also have something to say about stress in the workplace and a good starting point is the TUC site at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/index.cfm?mins=37 The opening page directs you to other links which contain additional information and which describe the TUC’s approach to stress in the workplace and is well worth a look.

Not to be outdone, Channel 4 also has some information on the subject that can be viewed at http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/0-9/4health/stress/index.html This is a useful site that contains information on all kinds of stress, not just in the workplace. The left hand side of the opening page shows a drop down menu that gives various headings under the title of stress. Again, well worth a look to get the bigger picture.

There are, of course, many more sites but I think to quote you any more would be too stressful! Happy surfing!

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

Building Regulations Part P

2005-09-24T12:37:00.000Z

A new requirement has been added to Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations. This requirement, ‘Requirement P', has been limited to fixed electrical installations in dwellings, with minor works not needing to be notified.
A new Approved Document P has been published, giving guidance on ways of complying that are based on the fundamental principles set out in Chapter 13 of BS 7671: 200.

These regulations came into effect from January 1st 2005.

The NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) website contains some useful information on the new regulations, how they apply to domestic installations and details of the exemptions.Have a look at Householders - electrical safety and further details can be had by clicking on the link for Part P at the bottom of the opening page.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s website at www.odpm.gov.uk/ also contains information.

Use the search engines on both of these sites for more detailed information as well as answers to FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) on the subject.A free leaflet entitled “New rules for electrical safety in the home” will be available from local authorities and competent person scheme operators in the New Year.

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

The Working at Height Regulations 2005

2005-09-20T18:53:00.000Z

The Working at Height Regulations 2005

NEW legislation regarding working at height became law in April 2005, the Working at Height Regulations 2005. Falls from height account for almost 25% of deaths at work each year. In 2003/04 falls from height at work resulted in 67 deaths and nearly 4000 major injuries.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person who controls the work of others (e.g. facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height) to the extent they control the work. The Regulations came into force on the 6th April 2005.

The Regulations themselves are available from the HSE and can be accessed by clicking on: http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050735.htm This is a complete copy of the Regulations as issued by HMSO.

The HSE have issued a Guidance Note dealing with the subject and this is available by clicking on: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.pdf This guidance note gives an introduction to the Regulations themselves and also contains a lot of very useful, easy to read information.

Answers to some of the questions you might have regarding the subject are available from the HSE Construction Division by clicking on: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/pdf/fallsqa.pdf This 17-page document contains a lot of practical advice on how the Regulations should be applied in the workplace and deals with 25 different aspects of working at height.

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

Accident/Ill-Health Statistics & Road Transport Statistics

2005-09-20T17:51:00.000Z

Accident/Ill-Health Statistics & Road Transport Statistics

Accident & Ill Health Statistics

Accident/ill-health statistics can paint a picture that can be a useful tool for the H&S practitioner. Such information can be used to identify specific trends and this can be useful in targeting a safety campaign etc.

Whilst most companies prepare accident statistics for their own purposes, sometimes it is useful to view the bigger picture. Since before the introduction of RIDDOR (Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) the HSE has been producing UK-wide statistics on an annual basis. The current statistics are for the year 2003/2004 with information obtained from a variety of sources. The tables for 2004/2005 will not be available until later this year after the “number-crunching” exercise has been completed.

The HSE website for this information is: www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh0304.pdf
You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view this information as it is in the pdf format. There is a wealth (40 pages) of statistical information displayed on the site. This covers everything from fatal and non-fatal injuries, the targets for Revitalising Health and Safety through to information on various kinds of ill-health at work.

This is a useful site and whilst the information is sufficiently detailed, it is easy to access and to read.

Road Transport Accident Statistics
The best site for this information is the Department for Transport website which can be found at:
Department for Transport

This site contains a raft of useful information but is a little complicated to manoeuvre when trying to find a definitive information category. However, all the information on road transport accidents is there. On the opening page a drop down menu on the RHS contains a heading “Transport Statistics” and by clicking on this it will open up a page with a choice of available information. Just clicking on “Route to Data” will open a page, again with choices. Click on “Transport Statistics for Great Britain” and you will find plenty of information all in different categories.

These two sites should give sufficient information on national statistics for the safety professional. Other sites, usually owned by insurance companies, will also provide information but be wary, a lot of this is claim based and does not necessarily give a true overall picture!

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

Safety Passport Schemes by Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

2005-09-18T15:01:00.000Z

Safety Passport schemes under various guises have been around since the mid-80’s. Some have been successful and still exist whilst others have long since disappeared.

Most of these passports were aimed at contractors and were designed to demonstrate an acceptable level of health and safety knowledge associated with the workforce. Many companies have insisted that for contractor works all contractors’ employees on their sites must hold a relevant safety passport.

But what kind of passport? Issued by whom? Exactly how many different kinds are there and what is their status?

A good starting point is the review that the HSE undertook in 2003 and which can be viewed at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/hsl_pdf/2003/hsl03-10.pdf
This review (although dated) covers the many types of passports that were available in the UK and Europe at that time. The HSE review shows in its appendix a list of passport providers and their associated industries as well as stating for how long the passports are valid for.

The HSE also has a free guidance leaflet describing passport schemes at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg381.pdf and although the HSE and Environmental bodies do not endorse any particular scheme, the leaflet does provide some sound advice on schemes in general and the suggested content of the associated training.

There is not room here to explore all of the existing schemes but two of the main ones are worthy of mention. First of all there is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (usually known as the CSCS scheme) that is aimed at construction industry operatives. Details of this scheme can be found at: http://www.cscs.uk.com/ Here nine different versions of the passport card are available and full details of these and the scheme in general is available in the scheme booklet that can be viewed by navigating on the site.

One other major scheme is the one run by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (the ECITB) and is the Client –Contractor National Safety Group scheme (usually known as the CCNSG scheme). This scheme is aimed at operatives who work in the power generation, chemical, mining and petro-chemical industries.

Details of this scheme can be found at: http://www.ecitb.org.uk/learning_&_development/adult_learning/safety_passport.cfm
Both of the above schemes involve employee training and accreditation and each of the sites offer details of approved training providers.

For those of you that remember IOSH being participants in such a scheme may be interested to know that they withdrew their involvement in September 2004 (this was the IOSH-SPA scheme) – see the official letter at: http://www.iosh.co.uk/index.cfm?go=news.item&id=459
By using a search engine and typing in Safety Passport you can obtain details of many of the other schemes. However, I warn you, most of the sites belong to training providers and there are a lot of them to work your way through!

Happy surfing,

Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP

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