Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503
Comply at Work Upcoming Courses
P2-3
Encouraging your staff to work safely
P4-5
HSE Sector plans
P6-7
Are your stair barriers safe?
P8-9
Is there a maximum temperature?
P10-11
April 2017
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. Manual Handling and Asbestos Awareness 1.00 pm Tues 25 April and other dates to be confirmed (please register your interest) Emergency First Aid one day £85.00 + Vat pp including Manual, ID card and buffet lunch: Thursday 27 April Thursday 25 May Wednesday 28 June Fire Marshall Training Wednesday 10 May 1.00 pm Half day Includes plentiful handouts and materials plus Certificate of Attendance. £75.00 + VAT pp Friday 2 June CDM Regulations Awareness Half day - £120 +VAT pp Includes plentiful handouts and materials plus Certificate of Attendance. Places are limited on all these courses. Please contact us on 01204 772977 now to register your interest. e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P3
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts Tip. Turn the briefing into a discussion, asking staff to suggest unsafe acts which can lead to accidents. This converts the session from a lecture into a conversation which treats staff as equals, and is much more likely to provide results.
Tip. Round off your briefing with “Key points”, e.g. that unsafe acts cause the majority of accidents and that each employee must help the organisation by behaving responsibly. Remind them that any safety problems must be reported to their supervisor.
P4 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Encouraging your staff to work safely You may find that some staff have pretty unhelpful beliefs, e.g. that accidents are inevitable or that “it won’t happen to me”. To persuade them that they can make a difference, why not use our briefing? If you would like a FREE copy please let us know and we will email you the document over. Objectives
What are unsafe acts?
Negative views in society about health and safety create an obstruction when trying to persuade staff that they have a role to play in your safety improvement plans. Employees may not appreciate that their own actions or omissions can lead to accidents, or that they have the power to prevent accidents and ill health if they speak up. Our safety briefing - accident prevention is intended to break the ice by introducing the subject of health and safety with practical examples which everyone should understand. By starting with this basic concept, you can overcome initial reluctance, allowing you to introduce more detailed training later, such as instruction on your safety rules and procedures.
The second section of the briefing lists many examples of unsafe acts which may lead to accidents. These are written in direct language to ensure clarity. For example, rather than saying that poor manual handling can cause accidents, the same concept is described as “Lifting more than you are capable of”. Other examples are: • ignoring or forgetting instructions and training • not concentrating on, or rushing, the job in hand • storing materials in an unsafe way; or • illegally removing guards or tampering with safety devices.
Introduction The briefing goes straight to the heart of the matter with: “No one wants to be injured or cause harm to their colleagues whilst at work. Yet the majority of accidents are caused by unsafe acts.” The introduction also accepts that the employer plays the primary role in ensuring safety at work, but reminds staff that they also have a responsibility to do what they can to prevent accidents.
Our FREE Safety Briefing illustrates how the unsafe acts of staff are often the cause of accidents, e.g. rushing, removing guards or ignoring instructions. Use the document to encourage a discussion amongst the group about their own role and the actions they can take to improve safety at work. Contact us now on info@complyatwork. co.uk for your free copy.
Consequences The third part of our briefing describes the outcome of accidents including “pain and suffering” and the impact on home and work life for the individual. Staff may be less aware of other effects on the business such as reputational damage and the management time required. Hopefully, staff will now have grasped the idea that there’s a problem and they’ll be ready to help. Our briefing outlines what you need from them from reading risk assessments through to keeping the workplace tidy. We’ve restricted our list to simple, practical actions which all staff should regard as common sense.
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Source: Indicator
Safety Snippets | P5
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts Tip. Although you may have a clean record, others in your sector may not, so that you’re dragged into the inspection net. So, use the HSE’s reports to identify whether you could be in line for some of its “help” in the future.
P6 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
HSE sector plans The HSE is in the process of publishing 19 separate plans that detail how it’s planning to tackle safety in different sectors. What’s to know?
New setup. The HSE used to operate two distinct sectors - one covered construction, the other everything else that falls under the HSE’s enforcement remit. However, “to help Great Britain work well” it has now split workplaces into 19 sectors. These are based on industry type and risk profiles
This means? Inspectors will still be out completing regular workplace inspections and using their enforcement powers. This is where things get more familiar. Although its PR department frequently uses the word “help”, receiving such assistance could actually mean charges under the fee-forintervention scheme or even enforcement action.
Across the board. The sectors include: agriculture, construction, utilities, manufacturing, logistics and transport. The HSE has prepared draft plans that cover the health and safety performance of each sector. The report for the manufacturing sector says that it has a mixed record for health and safety performance. Around 3% of workers are injured in non-fatal accidents annually, which is higher than the all-industry rate. Effectively, the HSE has given the manufacturing sector a “must try harder” rating.
The HSE is here “to help Great Britain work well”. Be warned that this means visits and charges for its time of £124 per hour. Use the new sector plans to see what it has in store for your business in the coming months.
On the right track. The HSE is on hand to drive the improvements needed to “help Great Britain work better”. Although the banner has changed, the HSE’s approach to raising standards hasn’t altered a great deal. In summary, it’s still sending inspectors out to “engage with others” and to “secure effective management and control of risk”.
More information about the HSE;’s Sector Plans can be found here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/ strategiesandplans/sector-plans/index.htm If you need any support, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P7
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
To summarise: Some existing buildings don’t have sufficient protection to staircases to prevent a child from falling through etc. To protect children, rails must not be climbable and gaps must be less than 100mm diameter. If your premises aren’t up to scratch, either prevent children from accessing the danger area or upgrade the barriers.
P8 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Are your stair barriers safe? A member of staff says that your staircase barriers aren’t good enough. The railings have been there for years and as the building had the right approvals when it was constructed, surely they must be okay? If you were constructing or altering a building today it would need to comply with the Building Regulations 2010 (BR). The BR are supported by documents which explain the expected standards in more detail, which describe the features required to prevent falls. Older buildings are unlikely to meet current standards because the approved documents change periodically. Tip. There can be a valid explanation for your building differing from the current approved documents and there’s no requirement to update every existing structure. Whether you need to do so depends on the current use and the risks. What’s the minimum? The minimum required stairway protection is that described in the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l24.htm Tip 1. Check that your staircase meets the minimum standard in the ACoP: the open side(s) must have a rail at 900mm or higher, plus a lower rail. You must also have one handrail, though in practice the upper rail of the barrier usually doubles as a handrail. Tip 2. There should be handrails on both sides if there’s a particular risk of falling, e.g. narrow treads or heavy usage. You may need a handrail down the middle of a stairway if it’s especially wide. Going further
Tip. If there’s a significant risk of items being dropped on to the levels below, incorporate infill such as a mesh or panel. Children The use of a building by children is the main reason for upgrading the protection of stairs because: (1) they could fall between the railings; (2) they may climb over; and (3) a very young child may get their head trapped between railings. Tip 1. Where a stairway is used by children, barriers should not be readily climbable. This tends to rule out horizontal barriers. Vertical rails or solid infill panels work well. Tip 2. If children under five years old will use the building your guarding should prevent entrapment. The test is that a 100mm diameter sphere is unable to pass through gaps in the guarding. Tip 3. Many business premises have stair barriers which aren’t designed to this standard. If you don’t want to make alterations, implement alternative measures which preclude children from using that part of the building. If you’re relying on such arrangements, make sure that the reasons for your decision are written in a risk assessment and monitor that your procedure works in practice. If you need any further advice, please get in touch. We are here to help.
In industrial buildings which are not accessed by the public, basic barriers as described in the ACoP are normally sufficient. However, if there are special risks such as from falling objects, or if children use the building, you will need to do more. e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Source: Indicator
Safety Snippets | P9
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts P10 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Is there a maximum temperature? Q. As soon as we had a warm day this year one of our staff said that their workplace was too hot and “in breach of safety regulations”. We dismissed their argument but are we on safe grounds to do so? A. There isn’t a maximum workplace temperature. The legal position is that the workplace temperature must be “reasonable”. This will vary depending on the type of work that’s being completed and the level of physicality involved. There is no maximum workplace temperature defined in law. The legal position is that the temperature must be reasonable. This will vary depending on the level of physicality involved in any tasks completed.
Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P11
Comply at Work
in the spotlight Well done to our retained clients, C Plumb Ltd and JCW Group on achieving SMAS accreditation.
Welcome to our new retained Clients: Manchester Superstores – throughout the NW Aqualease Ltd, Blackburn and Leyland HCP North West Ltd and TMW Traffic Control, Winsford 1Point (North West) Ltd, Bolton
We are planning a FREE workshop soon and are working on ideas for these. If you have any suggestions of what may be useful or interesting to your company – we want to hear from you!
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