Safety ...or rather, SafeTea

Safety ...or SafeTea?

Keep yourself acquainted with six important aspects of safety relevant to waterways volunteering by watching these online tea-break videos...

SafeTea? What’s that about?

No, it’s not a piece about how to make a pot of tea safely! (Although in the past there has been the odd accident involving a Burco tea boiler.) No, this was a series of five-minute videos and one infographic, suitable for watching during your tea-break, which go through some aspects of canal restoration site safety.

They were put together by the Inland Waterways Association’s Restoration Hub in partnership with the Canal & River Trust and supported by a grant from Historic England. They’re all online, links to them were posted (daily at tea-break time!) from 31 Jan to 5 Feb on the Facebook group Canal & River Trust Restoration, and can be easily found by searching the group for #SafeTea. The subjects covered are:

DAY 1: Involvement, Communication, and Review: Acting Safely From Trustees to volunteers it is everyone’s responsibility to act safely. This video sets out some of the approaches to health and safety taken by the Waterway Recovery Group, Inland Waterways Association and the Canal & River Trust whilst restoring canal and rivers.

DAY 2: Don’t lose your touch: Hand Arm Vibration Volunteers on a work party or canal camp will only be involved in a construction activity for a short time, rather than for their daily working life. Nevertheless, volunteers can still suffer from the effects of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), possibly temporarily. You should therefore take steps to manage the risk from vibration. Watch the video webinar by Andy Price, the Canal & River Trust’s Safety Advisor, to find out more.

DAY 3: Temporary Works The requirement to manage temporary works is not just restricted to large, complex, multi million pound projects. Across all canal restoration projects we undertake temporary works of varying scales and they must be managed appropriately. Poorly managed temporary works lead to risks, such as injuries or fatalities, failure of temporary or permanent works, damage to adjacent premises with consequent delays and extra cost. The video highlights the key points you should consider.

DAY 4: First Aid and Accident Reporting Restoration sites, by nature of being a construction site, contain many hazards. Many volunteers will not be used to encountering these hazards in their everyday life. There is a higher chance of accidents and injuries occurring because of this unfamiliarity. Restoration groups have a duty of care towards their volunteers. You should ensure that anyone who is injured or taken ill while on site receives the appropriate and immediate attention.

Day 5: Tips on Writing Risk Assessments Starting out to write a risk assessment for your project or site can often seem an overwhelming task but it is a key tool to keep your team safe on site and manage the risks. IWA’s Technical Support Officer, Mikk Bradley, has put together his top tips for writing a risk assessment in this short video.

Day 6: Wellbeing In recent years it has been shown that volunteering can have a big impact on your health and wellbeing, as well as offer greater life satisfaction. Volunteering is a great way to get active and meet new people, all in the backdrop of our country’s stunning canals and rivers. With your help we can help wildlife thrive, and people can find health, happiness and wellbeing on their doorstops.

A recent study conducted by the Canal & River Trust found that people who volunteer by water see much greater levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction. Your waterway volunteers are a crucial part of the journey to restore our nations waterways, and there are simple ways to ensure the wellbeing of your team. Take a look at our infographic for more information.