Health & Safety

Nigel Mair – Health and Safety

Whilst writing this article the snow is all around and everybody is talking about the weather, salt bins and getting the kids back to school! Whilst we all try to get back to whatever can be called “normal”, this month I am hoping to hang on to some Christmas cheer, with a little box of Christmas goodies!

Winter weather

Over the recent Arctic conditions the most common H&S phrase I have heard is “……they don’t grit the car parks because of H&S”. This is based on the assumption that to slip on ice is seen as “an act of god”, but if an attempt has been made to clear it up, then this can lead to a claim if it hasn’t been done well enough………..does this stand up from a legal point of view?

Firstly, I suppose it is important to state the obvious, with the risks being very real, with slips on the icy conditions accounting for a lot of accidents at work, particularly those that might involve visitors and staff on car parks, paths etc.

The 1957 Occupiers Liability Act puts a duty on the person in control of the land to make sure that they have taken all “reasonable” steps to make the land “reasonably” safe. Therefore this is the first test that you might need to consider……..that word “reasonable” keeps popping up, but it might be difficult to argue that doing nothing is reasonable.

The next bit to think about is from the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, with Regulation 12 putting an obligation on you to ensure the safe condition of floors and traffic routes. Paragraph 96 of the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) to these Regulations specifically refers to the current weather conditions, stating that…. “Arrangements should be made to minimise risks from snow and ice. This may involve gritting, snow clearing and closure of some routes, particularly outside stairs, ladders and walkways on roofs.”
What does this mean in practice, as if you don’t do it well enough, will you be liable? There are a couple of cases that give us a bit of a steer on what is expected……. Bloxham v Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd and Fildes v International Computers. In these cases, it was established that a system for controlling the hazards of snow and ice discharges liability if it fulfils best practice, but is not expected to extend to unreasonable lengths.

Therefore, it would seem appropriate to devote resources to clearing the most used areas in priority to those less used. For example, this might involve gritting/clearing ice and snow twice a day, early in the morning and in the early evening (the times when most traffic – vehicle and pedestrian – is expected).

Don’t forget that employees have a duty under Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 to take care of their own safety……….remind them of this! Also, it is not just going to be slippery outside, but also inside from water and slush being carried in on shoes. Extra care with doormats and floor cleaning is going to be important to help reduce this hazard.

What about land not under your ownership, but where you might want to be neighbourly? Well, this is a more tricky issue as if an area of the public highway is cleared, there is a common-law duty of care to ensure that it is cleared properly and remains clear. Doing the decent thing may therefore open up a bit of a can of worms!

In summary, I would suggest you have a Winter Risk Management Plan, with documented risk assessments, contingency arrangements and documented checks. All of which should help to mitigate any liability and more importantly, stop people slipping in the first place.

SME Risk Assessment Problems

You may not be surprised to hear, but in a recent study by the European Agency for Safety and Health and Work up to 15% of small enterprises (up to 50 staff) did not carry out risk assessments.

Don’t be one of the 15%……….make sure you are meeting your legal obligation.

A visitor killed at a Scrapyard

I am afraid to say that another tragic death has been through the courts. It occurred at a Southampton scrapyard when a visitor sitting in a car checking for parts was crushed by a grab-claw crane used to move vehicles around the site.

The owners pleaded guilty to a number of offences, to include failing to carry out a risk assessment. The company was fined £50,000 plus costs of £34,373.

The HSE inspector stated that recycling sites were dangerous work places and that warning notices, communication of sites rules and the use of high-visibility clothing should all be used. They also stated that it was important to set the right scene for visitors, so that they realised it was dangerous, with the staff taking the issue seriously.

February 22, 2010 at 8:23 am | Health & Safety | No comment

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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

June 19, 2008 at 9:35 pm | Health & Safety | No comment

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Where has all the Competency gone?

In this month’s article I have moved away from H&S and into the realms of the “environment” …don’t worry, I have checked with Enviroman to make sure that I am not standing on his cape!
There are quite a few changes that you will need to be aware of and Marco will no doubt address some of these at some point, with the two that I wanted to cover being changes to the way that competency is demonstrated and also the introduction of Continuing Competence. These do not get a great deal of coverage in the Regulations, but they will have a big impact on many of you.
Competency
The statutory requirement for a COTC has been removed and has been replaced with (currently) two schemes, although only one has been developed fully so far. This is the scheme by CIWM/WAMITAB and is based around the current vocational competence system, with some significant changes.
Sites have been categorised into high, medium and low risk activities, with this affecting the competency options available to you. The final categories are yet to be approved by Defra, but we have a far idea of what will be going where.
High risk sites
These will still require a full NVQ, although the COTC requirement has been dropped. Example activities are generally those involving hazardous waste and also non-hazardous landfill sites.
Medium risk sites
These are where the changes will start to have a big impact as you will only need to complete 6 units of the NVQ, or a 6 unit VRQ (see below). Example activities are non-hazardous transfer sites, contaminated land remediation sites, inert landfills, some WEEE and ELV sites.
Low risk sites
These will only need to complete 4 units of the NVQ, or a two-day EPOC (Environmental Permit Operator’s Certificate) that is being developed by CIWM. Example activities are in house storage of waste and WEEE ATF (storage only).
Continuing Competence
This is a new requirement for you to demonstrate that you remain up-to-date with changes to legislation and operational issues. This will be a two yearly requirement and will affect ALL competent persons, even those who already have their COTCs and also those who are relying upon deemed competence.
For those managers who achieved their competence before 6 April 2008, they will have to demonstrate their Continuing Competence by April 2010, whilst those certificated after April 2008 will have until 2012 as they have already demonstrated their Competence within that initial 2 year period.
To demonstrate your ongoing competence you will need to complete a test administered through CIWM/WAMITAB.

What if I already have a COTC?
If you already have an appropriate COTC then this will still be valid as an initial award, although Continuing Competence will apply.
What do I need to do if I have any questions?
As you can see there is quite a lot to take in, particularly for those of you operating sites that might fall into the medium, or low risk categories. The system is still in it’s early stages and there is going to be some confusion whilst it beds in and the finer detail becomes clearer.
Give me a call on 01204 658691 or email nigel@theskip.net if you have any questions and I will do my best to point you in the right direction.
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.

May 20, 2008 at 4:32 pm | Health & Safety | No comment

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The Word from the HSE

It isn’t very often that I would dare to speak on behalf of the HSE, but in this article I want to give you a bit of feedback on a recent H&S event in Wigan at which two inspectors from the HSE gave very good and well received presentations.
The event was very well attended, but it was noticeable that most of those there were either from consultancies, or from local authorities, with very few being from the skip hire sector… I am sure you will all say that this is a reflection of how busy you all are compared with the public sector!
One of the key points that the HSE were at pains (no pun intended) to emphasise was how bad the waste industry’s safety record was. They quoted a whole range of statistics of gloom at us, with one particularly sticking in my mind; based on current rates there will be one accident per year for every 40 workers in the sector. This means that statistically it is highly likely that every waste worker will have an accident at some time in their 40 year working life! This is certainly not a welcome proposition, nor something to look forward to.
There were a number of “we have drawn a line in the sand” moments during the talk. One that I think is going to pose the industry quite some difficulty is that perennial chestnut of working at height when sheeting/unsheeting or preparing loads. They were quite clear that this was no longer acceptable, so be warned!
Reversing was another one of those “must do better” issues. They emphasised the need to establish Safe Systems of Work based upon the principles of the safety hierarchy, namely:
1. Eliminate the need to reverse
2. Reduce the need to reverse
3. Use reversing aides to assist when the need to reverse is unavoidable
4. Use reversing assistants who have been properly trained
I am sure that you would agree that this is common sense, but there must be too many of us not following these principles as the HSE reinforced the need to do more, with what they felt was very poor implementation of Safe Systems of Work.
They also expressed concern about the poor level of monitoring and supervision in waste organisations. This they felt was down to poor and ineffective leadership. It can be difficult to pin point what is going wrong, but the HSE highlighted the importance of a “safety culture”, leading to what can best be described as “behavioural change”. When talking about this subject they once again set out a sequence of stages to follow…
1. Lead by example – this is absolutely essential as you have to “walk the talk” if you are going to display positive leadership. It is no good having safe walkways if you don’t follow them, or a hard hat area on site, if you don’t wear one.
2. Develop a climate of support – you may smile at this one, but it is recognised that if you want to move the company forward in H&S you need to make it through participation, training and support rather than finger pointing and blame.
3. Convince the workforce – this is a logical follow on from stage 2 and it is very important that you obtain full buy-in from everybody in your organisation.
4. Involve the workforce – again this is another logical next stage in the process. In several of my previous articles I have emphasised the importance of speaking to your staff and the HSE also recognise that this is absolutely essential.
5. Support good performance (and address poor) – it is all too easy to simply deal with what has gone wrong, rather than praising staff for showing positive behaviour, such as wearing the correct PPE, or working in a safe manner.
6. Learn from experience – as with any system it is important to pause every so often and take stock of how you are doing and whether you are moving in the right direction. If something has gone wrong, then the best thing to do is to learn from it and move on.
So, the HSE have spoken and made it quite clear that they want to see reductions in the shocking levels of deaths in the sector – this must be something that we all want, although sometimes it might not seem that way when yet another death or serious accident is reported. They also identify proactive leadership as a major factor if real improvements are to be made – will we step up to the mark and move with them on this? Only time will tell, although I am sure of one thing – they will be watching us to see how we do!
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

April 18, 2008 at 6:09 pm | Health & Safety | No comment

Tags: Health & Safety, HSE, Skip Hire Industry News, waste management

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