Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503
Comply at Work Upcoming Courses
P2-3
Competent Advice
P4
That Useful Space in the Attic
P5
Involving Staff in Health and Safety
P7
How Resilient is Your Business In the Spotlight
P8-9 P10
May 2016
P2 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work OUR UPCOMING TRAINING COURSES…. Ask us about our special offers: Pick n mix sessions, free seminars and discounts for retained clients. May 20 – pm Manual Handling and Asbestos Awareness (half day pick and mix) Fire Warden Training June 22 & 23 – Paediatric First Aid (2 days) June 24 – Emergency First Aid CIEH level 2 Award in Health and Safety July 20 & 21 - Paediatric First Aid (2 days) July 22 – Emergency First Aid at Work CIEH and Fire warden - Date TBC Please register your interest in any of the above courses as soon as possible to ensure a place.
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P3
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
Competent Advice
Q&A - must we take a five-year deal? Q. As it is a legal requirement to have a competent resource for Health and Safety in a business, we’re looking to appoint a consultancy firm as our health and safety advisor. However, we’re being put off by the fact that the company is insisting on tying us to a five-year deal. Should we sign up to this or are we better off looking elsewhere?
P4 | Safety Snippets
A. We would suggest that you look for another provider. Five years is a long time - especially if you find that the advisors don’t fit in with your needs. Comply at Work offers advice, guidance and ongoing support on a simple retained annual agreement at reasonable cost. Please contact us on 01204 772977 or email info@complyatwork.co.uk for further information on this service and our costings.
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
That useful space in the attic… If, like many other businesses, you have loft space you might be tempted to put it into use as a store. What health and safety issues should you take into account before doing so? ACCESS The main consideration is how staff will get into the space. When identifying access equipment you need to take into account the use you intend to put the space to. If it will be for storage there’s the complication of transporting your items safely. Tip 1. If you’re planning to use the area as a store consider installing a small staircase. You may think this is extreme but temporary stairways are now used routinely to overcome precisely this problem, so you shouldn’t discount the idea. Tip 2. If a loft ladder is all that’s necessary, make sure that it’s of commercial or industrial standard and that there’s space to install it at the angle intended by its designer. Look for ladders with a maximum static load of 150kg or greater. Tip 3. Ensure that the route into the attic space is safe. This includes an accessible hand hold approximately one metre above the floor level (or the ladder can overshoot to provide this handhold). Tip 4. Also make sure that the loft hatch can be safely lifted and that if necessary it is secured to prevent it falling back on anyone. If a loft hatch is heavy, consider counter-weighting it to provide a smooth movement. PREVENTING FALLS Install measures to prevent falls back down a loft hatch. For example, fit railings around the hatch within the attic space with a spring-loaded gate so that it closes automatically behind staff as they enter. Note. Do not use chains as a substitute for rails or a gate as these won’t arrest a fall.
Most ceilings are fragile and therefore you need to ensure that no one can fall through it. This can be achieved through firmly secured boarding. If areas are left unboarded, e.g. to allow access to services, provide railings or a barrier and display a sign to show that access is not permitted without special permission. Don’t forget to provide sufficient lighting, including emergency lighting. FIRE SAFETY Keep combustible materials clear of any plant, don’t allow your storage to obstruct control panels, switches and isolation points, and maintain a clear passageway through the space at all times. Most attic spaces in modern buildings will already be equipped with automatic fire detection. If yours isn’t speak to your fire alarm maintenance company about extending your system into this area. Also ensure there’s an alarm call point, a sounder (if the alarm cannot be clearly heard) and an accessible fire extinguisher. What else? Tip 1. Identify and control any health hazards present in your attic such as insulation materials, asbestos and birds. Tip 2. Also take advice on a sensible loading limit and monitor that it’s adhered to. If you require any further advice dependant on your particular circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us. Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P5
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts P6 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Involving staff in health and safety If you’re planning an overhaul of your safety arrangements, you’ll need your staff on board. But it’s not regarded as the most exciting of topics and many have a negative view of it. So, how can you overcome this? Although it might seem hard to involve staff in a health and safety review, eventually it will pay dividends. If they have been included from the beginning they’re more likely to be sympathetic to changes you wish to make later on. However, that’s only true if you don’t put them off at the start. An informal, short session with a group of representative staff is a good way of getting employees on board and gathering basic information about hazards and risks. Tip 1. Begin by explaining your objectives, e.g. “ to review our health and safety arrangements so that they are better suited to our needs” . Tip 2. Describe specific tasks which are already on your list such as: (1) reviewing risk assessments; (2) checking procedures for the production of safety documents such as method statements; (3) revamping your policy; and (4) review current training, e.g. its effectiveness, whether it covers what’s required, whether the right staff attend. Inform your group that you will be adding to and refining your objectives based on the outcome of the meeting. Next, you need to tell the group about the expectations of your discussion. This might be to: (1) comprehend what staff do in practice; (2) understand different job roles and responsibilities; (3) highlight key risks; and (4) review some of the existing health and safety arrangements. Health and safety has its own language, using phrases such as “risk assessment” and “risk control
measures”. These terms have little meaning to staff unless they’ve been trained. However, by clever use of normal everyday language you can gain the information you need. With luck they’ll forget their reservations and contribute freely to the discussion. Tip 1. Use a board or flip chart to write down responses to some simple questions. Try these: What activities or things are dangerous to you or others nearby? Is there anything you do which could harm your health? Where do you think the next accident will come from? If you had a new starter, what would you warn them about to keep them safe? Are there aspects of the way your work is managed which creates a risk? Can you think of any improvements which would make your workplace safer? Note. You might add in questions on specific issues which affect your particular group, e.g. driver safety, machinery guarding, lone working, slips and trips, work at height etc. Tip 2. Keep a record of all the information gleaned and refer back to it when you write or revise policies, procedures and risk assessments. This should help to ensure that your documents are meaningful and cover the risks of the job. Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P7
Bu By sin te ess s
The PPP Workplace Model When employees are treated more as numbers than people, personal issues and human needs are ignored. It weakens employee morale and commitment. It divides people within the organisation against each other, and misdirects their energy into conflict or competition with each other instead of vision achievement. We believe that organisations succeed by realising and investing in the potential of their people. This involves looking at three key areas:
When you consider the cost of absenteeism and presenteeism it really does make business sense to hold on to your staff. For more information on this topic, please visit: www.pppworkplace.co.uk
P8 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
How resilient is your business? Are you an SME or a larger business? How resilient are you? How resilient is your business? Would you like to “boost” your attitude, mindset and focus so that you react to change positively and make your business grow? According to a recent report the average cost to employers of replacing a single member of staff is more than £30,000. Oxford Economics found that by far the greatest expense, more than £25,000, comes from loss of productivity caused by the time it takes - 28 weeks on average - for a new recruit to get up to speed. The remaining costs arise from the logistics of finding a replacement, it said. This includes agency fees, advertising costs, HR and management time, and the possibility of hiring temps before the new role started. These findings were based upon figures drawn from five different sectors: retail, accountancy, legal, IT and Technology and advertising. In spite of these staggering costs, many organisations still view an investment in staff training, health and wellbeing as a ‘expense’ without considering the huge benefits of the high return on investment.
If you would like to know more about improving productivity in your business, be it large or small, then come along to our Workshop/Seminar at our Training Centre in Horwich, Bolton on Monday 20 June at 3 - 5 pm. This workshop is FREE to all our retained clients Please contact us now for further details on 01204 772977 or info@complyatwork.co.uk and to book, as places are strictly limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis.
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P9
Comply at Work
in the spotlight Well done to our retained clients, HCS Cleaning Services Ltd, Stuart Frazer Kitchens Ltd and Mowitt Ltd have successfully acquired CHAS accreditation for another year with our assistance. Well done. Welcome also to our new retained clients this month: DBG Property Developments Ltd, Bolton Bara-Mix Ltd, Chorley DK Plumbing Ltd, Trafford Pure Vent Group, Bolton Ultra Cleaning Ltd, Bolton K B Plasterers, Bolton Wheatley Plastics Ltd, Stockport Advance Satellite Services Ltd MA Brickworks, Wigan
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