By Nigel Mair
In this month’s article I thought that I would point you in the direction of free information that you can access on H&S. There is a lot of information “out there”, some of it good, whilst others are of more dubious reliability. I have therefore tried to concentrate on the sources that are the most trustworthy.
Starting from the top, I would certainly recommend that you have a look at the HSE website (www.hse.gov.uk). This has a great deal of useful information and I would consider it to be very user friendly. If you go onto the home page, then there is a “publications” link which takes you to a number of free and pay for documents. Some are even available in other languages and can also be downloaded as “talking leaflets”.
I have mentioned in previous articles the appalling H&S performance of the waste industry and the HSE website has a link through to specific information on the sector. This has a wide range of very useful and readable information and guidance documents that should really be part of your work “library”.
Whilst the HSE should certainly be your first port of call, there are other useful sources of H&S information that you could also consider having a look at. For example, the CIWM website (www.ciwm.co.uk) has some H&S documents, such as a major Scoping Study, although you may not find it as comprehensive, or user friendly as the HSE site.
Finally, the Business Links website (www.businesslink.gov.uk) also has some handy links that may help you to find the answers you are looking for.
I know that we are all busy and reading through documents may not be uppermost in your list of priorities at work, but do remember that ignorance is not a defence and it is essential that you have all the tools you need to hand in order to run your business effectively, with this most definitely including information on H&S.
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.
