Is Health and Safety becoming impossible?

In this month’s article I have returned to H&S having discussed the new WAMITAB Competency scheme last month. The stimulus for the title is actually based on some real conversations that I have had this month when out and about visiting sites. I think that almost everywhere I went the issue of H&S came up, with most people feeling that it was effectively stopping the job… at least where it was being followed!
I can certainly understand where these concerns come from, particularly as more and more pressures are placed on managers from all sides. I am sure that most of you will feel that H&S is just another example of the vice being tightened and making previously simple tasks even more impossible.
It is probably true that H&S has become a bit of a weight for us all to carry, but I think that it is too tempting to blame it for everything that is wrong in the world! At the end of the day most H&S legislation is founded on common sense and if you look closely it tends not to be terribly prescriptive, with most requirements based on the completion of risk assessments.
The HSE web site is an excellent resource and I would recommend you look at it as there is a great deal of information and it is pretty easy to navigate around. One of the more humourous parts of the website is a section on H&S myths, all of which have received some publicity and false claims as fact. I thought that bringing your attention to some of these might give you some appreciation of how H&S is given a bad name…
MYTH ONE : ALL OFFICE EQUIPMENT MUST BE TESTED BY A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN EACH YEAR.
I thought this was a good one to start with, as it is something that I come up against quite a lot. Portable Appliance Testing can be a costly expense and I can understand why you might want it to be carried out… many of you mention it to me, describing it as a bit like an insurance policy, stating “well at least we have done everything we can”.
All of this is perhaps reasonable, but actually, the law doesn’t require you to have PAT testing undertaken, it just requires employers to assess risks and take appropriate action.
The HSE’s advice is that for most office electrical equipment, visual checks for obvious signs of damage and perhaps simple tests by a competent member of staff are quite sufficient.
MYTH TWO : KIDS MUST WEAR GOGGLES TO PLAY CONKERS.

I remember reading about this in the papers last year and thought that it was a case of H&S gone mad. Unfortunately the reality is that some schools did in fact require kids to wear goggles when playing conkers, but the HSE maintain that this has nothing to do with them. Quite rightly they say that the risk from playing conkers is incredibly low and just not worth bothering about. They go on to recognise that if kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.
I appreciate that skip hire staff won’t be playing conkers at work, but there are parallels, as all too often companies jump straight into issuing PPE for tasks, without really thinking about other (and better) control measures. A decent risk assessment should be the starting point, particularly where the precautions are based on the risk hierarchy.
MYTH THREE : WORKERS ARE BANNED FROM PUTTING UP CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IN THE OFFICE.
This has a seasonal airing and some companies may be banning such frivolity, but again this shouldn’t be pinned on H&S. This doesn’t mean that it is a free for all, with you still needing to take some basic precautions… use a stepladder and not a chair, also use sensible footwear when using the steps and think about where you are putting the decorations, avoiding sources of heat. All of this seems to be common sense and doesn’t stop the festive season!
Again, this can have broader relevance, as the risk is from staff doing tasks in a dangerous manner, rather than the activity being dangerous in its own right. Make sure that a decent risk assessment has been undertaken, precautions have been communicated and, importantly, that they are enforced.
These three myths are based on well intentioned concerns, but all too often H&S seems to make people switch off their common sense and either do nothing, or do too much. Both can be dangerous and both certainly give H&S a bad name.
The HSE refer to “sensible risk management” and we would certainly concur with this principle.
Nigel Mair is a WAMITAB assessor and verifier and runs the North West Regional Assessment Centre, delivering WAMITAB qualifications and other H&S, waste and environmental training.
If you have any questions for Nigel, please email them through to nigel@theskip.net