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Health and Safety update q4 2018
- 1. Health and Safety at Work Update October 2018
- 5. The full guidance can be found at https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org. uk
Editor's Notes
- Hello. I’m Keith Rhodes health and safety consultant at Delibero Consulting. Welcome to this update on health and safety at work. Time is precious. Busy managers will find these bite sized presentations an ideal way to keep abreast of what’s new. For those of our clients working towards accreditation standards, subscription to these presentations can be used as evidence of support, of provision of resources and of managing changes that impact on OH&S performance. Feel free to contact us for further information and understanding of the issues raised.
- Failure to conduct COSHH assessments A popular garden centre has been ordered to pay £104,000 in fines after admitting to three safety offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act, when a member of staff developed breathing difficulties after clearing up spilt garden chemical in April 2017. Perrywood Garden Centre of Tiptree had a health and safety policy, but this had not been updated to reflect the changes in the directorship of the company. The policy manual described the company’s safety management system, but it had not been put into practice. (It would be reasonable to assume a good policy would include arrangements for controlling hazardous substances). Perrywood management had also failed to implement the recommendations of its most recent audit report which included a requirement to undertake COSHH assessments for chemical products on sale. n.b. new workplace exposure limits (WELs) for 31 substances have been introduced from 21st August 2018. You can find a list of the substances and the new limits in the updated HSE publication EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits.
- A young apprentice suffered horrific burns when his foot slipped into a deep fat fryer that was switched on and operating at around 180°C. He was cleaning an extraction canopy at ‘The Cross’, a Michelin-starred pub in Kenilworth, apparently using long-established cleaning methods. He sustained severe injuries and required months of medical treatment. He had not received any safety training, information, or instruction, despite having worked as an apprentice chef at the restaurant for more than a year. Neither had he been provided with the findings of risk assessments relating to work at height, use of fryers and contact with heat sources. Implications for us: Away from the facts of this particular case we can suppose that many poorly thought out cleaning activities can result in injury. Perhaps the apprentice had been standing on the stainless-steel counter-tops which themselves were slippery? Or perhaps over-reaching from an unstable stepladder or platform. Infrequent cleaning jobs must be assessed with the same vigour as any other work activity. Are we letting our workers carry out inherently safe jobs while turning a blind eye to a safer system of work? Identify ‘one-off’ jobs and risk assess them.
- Free flu vaccinations are now available for adult social care staff this winter season. The vaccinations are available for social care workers who offer direct care to vulnerable patients/clients. ‘Vulnerable’ means those patients/clients in a clinical risk group for flu or who are aged 65 years and over. Getting the vaccination helps to protect the worker and also the people they look after. NHS England have confirmed that eligibility includes staff who are working for registered: residential care homes; residential nursing homes; domiciliary care services; ‘Shared Lives’ schemes; extra care housing services; and supported living services. Staff can go to their own GP practice or any pharmacy for the vaccination. To prove that you are eligible you will need to take identification with you that shows your name and that of your employer. This could be an ID card or badge, a letter from your employer or a recent payslip.
- The National Fire Chiefs Council has published guidance on fire safety for Mobility Scooters ‘Mobility Scooter Guidance for Residential Buildings’. There is a legitimate fire safety concern associated with the storage of scooters. The design of many premises, particularly smaller and older premises, does not always lend itself easily to the safe storage mobility scooters. The lack of space and the layout of the corridors, lifts and stairways in communal areas mean that individuals will often leave scooters adjacent to their front entrance doors on protected escape routes or within protected stairways. Furthermore, poorly maintained batteries and inadequate charging facilities can lead to an outbreak of fire. Multiple mobility scooters can exponentially increase heat release, and escape routes can fill with dense toxic smoke very quickly. Ensure that any storage area for scooters is of at least 30 minutes’ fire resisting construction and has smoke detection. Restrict charging at night, (8pm to 8am) – this will reduce the risk to those who are a sleep. Any charging equipment in designated storage areas should be subject to portable appliance testing. The storage of mobility scooters should be fully risk assessed ensuring they do not compromise the means of escape. Escape routes should be kept clear to enable people to evacuate quickly and safely. The full guidance can be found at https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk
- The Food Standards Agency are reminding people that frozen vegetables, including sweetcorn, need to be cooked before eating even if being used in cold meals such as salads, smoothies, or dips. If the product is not labelled as “ready to eat”, the cooking instructions should always be followed before eating the food - hot or cold. Frozen sweetcorn is the likely source of an ongoing outbreak of listeriosis affecting five European countries including the United Kingdom.
- A reminder about enforcement penalties During an inspection of the construction and joinery company Awad (UK) Ltd, of Wembley, Middlesex, an HM Inspector noted a risk of falling due to a lack of edge protection. A prohibition notice was served preventing work being carried out near open edges until the area was secured. A few days later the company was also issued with an improvement notice for failure to provide adequate and suitable welfare facilities at the site. The company and its director failed to comply with the notices and continued to put workers at risk of serious injury. The company was fined £37,500 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 21 and 22 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (relating to improvement and prohibition notices). Furthermore, the Director personally pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (relating to Directors liability) and was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.
- Woodworking machinery Unless they are adequately protected by safeguards such as interlocking guards, woodworking machines have been required to be fitted with brakes since 2003. Although new machines are fitted with such brakes, it is apparent that sometimes older machines have been overlooked by managers and remain in service today. Recently, Timberline DIY Limited, of Jarrow, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £40,000 with £8,000 costs after an employee injured three of his fingers while cleaning a band re-saw. The worker was cleaning the saw when he made contact with a moving blade. As a result of his injuries, the worker was rushed to hospital where he had to have three of his fingers partially amputated. The machine was not effectively braked and therefore the cutting blade took an excessive time to stop. Machinery must be equipped with an automatic brake that stops the tool in a sufficiently short time (ten seconds or less) if there is a risk of contact with the tool while it runs down. While it is possible to fit some form of braking to any woodworking machine, for some machines, bringing them to rest within ten seconds might be positively harmful to the machine and dangerous to the operator or others close by. This is the case where large amounts of energy have to be dissipated during braking or there is a danger of blades breaking, for example as a result of a crack, as may be the case on any machine fitted with a band blade. In these cases, the run-down time should be less than the run-up time, with an overriding maximum of 35 seconds for some larger machines. If this cannot be achieved, look again at other ways of protecting the operator using guards to prevent access to the danger zone.
- This presentation is a sample of what Delibero can do for you to create a learning impact on your workforce in a flexible and time-effective way. Delibero can offer similar learning media on all aspects of occupational health and safety. How about fire safety procedures, tool box talks or induction training?
- Contact us at hello@delibero.consulting