Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment is a key component of health and safety for you and your business. ProActive Health and Safety provide you with Risk Assessment guidance, products, systems and training. Call us now on 0161 935 8282 to see how we can help protect your business and employees.
Thu, 09/18/2008 - 16:29 — ProActive Healt...
Drug and alcohol in the workplace are two things that don’t mix. When a person is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs they can make life threatening mistakes for themselves or other employees. As an owner or manager you know that your business or company must do drug and alcohol screenings. Many of the screenings are done when the person is hired and then subject to surprise tests according to the policies of the company. By doing the screenings a company is able to comply with the health and safety regulations set forth by the HSE.
There is also another side to the drug and alcohol testing. Any time there is an accident at your company it is imperative that a drug and alcohol test is completed on the person who caused the accident. This will later rule out issues that could surround the accident claim. An insurance company will also require the drug and alcohol testing.
The risk assessment for drug and alcohol is quite simple. A professional will use a breathalyzer much like the police use to determine if there is drug or alcohol in the persons system by their breath. The breathalyzer must be calibrated before every use, which is why a professional like a ProActive health and safety consultant is needed for the drug and alcohol risk assessment.
The consultants at ProActive have been under the proper training required for the health and safety of employees at any company. This includes the drug and alcohol testing training. If you suspect an incident has occurred as a result of drug or alcohol you are able to call ProActive’s consultants do come out to the business for testing. They will also be able to file a report on what they found regarding the accident as a whole. Health and safety consultants do accident assessments to better their risk assessment plans. By allowing a health safety consultant into your company you can prevent most accidents or injuries on the job.
Wed, 09/10/2008 - 19:13 — ProActive Healt...
It is not just the job of the manager or owner to manage risk. Risk in the environment is all the employee’s responsibilities. There are ranks for the amount of liability one carries in the health and safety risks, though. What we mean is that a lower level employee should look out for dangers and be aware of what could occur at the company. On the other hand if another employee leaves a tool lying around that injures someone else it is not the low levels employee’s responsibility as they had nothing to do with the tool left out. One could argue that the employee is mildly responsible if they recognised the danger and yet didn’t take care of it by altering a higher level employee.
There are gray areas to responsibility. The proper training can better help employees understand their health safety guidelines as it applies to their work environment. There is one thing that is pretty clear though. When the owner or manager has placed safety signs in proper places, provided proper training, and offered risk assessment training to employees, the employees are responsible for maintaining their area of work and therefore their environment.
An employee who sees a spill in the hallway should take steps to clear the danger or alert a person who can take care of the danger by posting signs and getting the spill cleaned up. Everyone in a business must work towards health and safety standards set by the Health and Safety Executive.
To guarantee that all employees are able to do an environment risk assessment proper training by health and safety consultants should be offered. Further more employees should be trained in the more common aspects of health and safety. For instance slips, trips and falls account for the largest amount of claims in a business. With proper training prevention and protection can be offered to employees. Another example would be drug and alcohol training. Drug and alcohol talks or training courses can pinpoint the necessary information an employee might need to spot drug and alcohol abuse by fellow employees. Since drug and alcohol abuse heightens the risk in the work environment the training is essential.
ProActive offers a solution to the need for work environment assessing by employees and superiors. ProActive employs health and safety consultants trained in risk management and prevention plans. The consultants can offer these courses as well as the risk assessment for each area to benefit all employees. By acting now and hiring the consultancy you are ensuring that your company is within the health safety regulations.
Mon, 09/08/2008 - 19:32 — ProActive Healt...
Slips, trips and falls are one of the highest on the list of job accidents that can occur. In fact slips and trips are responsible for over a third of the major injuries reported by businesses in a year. They are also about 20 percent responsible for employees taking over 3 days off from work due to injury. Slips and trips are about 50 percent of the reported accidents by employees in the public sector. Based on these statistics it is imperative for a business like construction, sales, or even factories to have risk assessment plans in action.
Further statistics for slips and trips state that 95 percent of all major accidents involving a slip will result in broken bones. These accidents and injuries can be from falls from heights or just slipping on a specific type of surface. Construction sites are more often the result of slips, trips and falls. As such consultancy services are needed for most businesses, especially those of construction.
By hiring a health and safety consultant a business will be within the safety regulations set up by the HSE. The health and safety executive branch of legislation states regulations that a business must follow based on the type of business and the risk assessment for accidents and injuries that are most likely to occur.
Every business must follow the health safety. You may find as the owner or manager you can’t devote as much time as is needed for the health and safety regulations. This is why places with UK consultants such as ProActive are beneficial to your company. The health and safety consultants at ProActive have been well trained in the safety regulations needed in jobs and businesses. They are able to be strategic for you in planning risk prevention and guides for employees. By acting now you will ensure your company is within the health safety regulations demanded by the HSE.
Sat, 09/06/2008 - 22:07 — ProActive Healt...
The Health and Safety Executive is proposing several changes to the occupational health and safety within companies. In an effort to reduce accidents further that occur in the workplace the HSE will look at five priority topics. The government’s targets are a reduction in working days lost due to accidents and ill health, incidence of work related ill health and rate of fatalities and major injuries. These are the three areas they are going to try and reduce by 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent respectively. The five priority topics they are hoping to get these percentage reductions are work related stress, slips and trips, musculoskeletal disorders, workplace transport, and falls from height.
These five areas of topics are the top issues regarding accidents. In fact these top five categories are more likely to injure, make a person ill, or kill on the job. The HSE feels it is extremely important that these areas be discussed and work environments updated to ensure that all new legislation will be carried out.
The updates proposed by the HSE will be implemented by 2010, with hopefully the percentage they hope to see regarding the reduction in accidents, injury, illness, or death at the work place. With these new changes it is going to be paramount that you have a qualified individual at work to do inspections, risk assessments, and create your risk management plan. Having a qualified individual to oversee the entire health and safety of your business will mean less accidents and better inspections for your company. By hiring ProActive you have that qualified individual on hand when you need them. Proactive will make sure you are within the new regulations from the HSE and any other changes that may occur during this transition. ProActive will be there for any problems that need solutions regarding health and safety.
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 22:19 — ProActive Healt...
Businesses have health and safety regulations that must be followed for the prevention of accidents and incidents on the job. Under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations Act of 1992 employers are responsible for providing suitable protection equipment for their employees.
If there are any hazards on the job requiring personal protective equipment to be worn, the business employer must supply the necessary equipment. The equipment they supply should follow regulation for of the 1992 Act. Also under this act the employer is required to train their employees regarding the personal protective equipment. While the laws understand that you cannot always help an employee act responsibly, you must at least offer the equipment and training to the employees so that they understand what reasonable behaviour is required.
The personal protective equipment is more than safety glasses as one of our blogs spoke about earlier. Personal protective gear may be ear, eyes, face, arms, hands, or whole body gear for protection. There are going to be certain positions where little to no personal protective equipment is required. Office buildings for example require little protection. The personal protection equipment is more for construction, building sites, manufacturers, warehouses, factories, biohazard businesses, and much more.
As an employer, health and safety regulations are imperative to follow. If you are uncertain as to what is required of you in the personal protective equipment regulations, hiring a ProActive health and safety consultant can help you. The health and safety consultant through ProActive has been properly trained in the type of business that you run. They are trained to make sure risk assessments, plans, and overall health and safety are being completed by your business. By hiring a health and safety consultant now you can get the proper equipment for your employees, remain under regulation guidelines, and work cost effectively as a business.
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 22:18 — ProActive Healt...
In one of our last blogs we spoke about offering first aid and CPR training to all members in your employment. This is a very good option; however you are not required to have all employees certified. A common question of business owners is how many first aid trained individuals do you need on a job site, factory, or in the office. The health and safety regulations for First Aid were posted in 1981. These regulations state that there are a number of elements to decide how many individuals you need.
A first aide trained individual is different from a consultant appointed for risk assessment and plans. You also need a risk assessment representative. There is a specific number for these executives as well within the workplace. For now let’s take a look at how to decide the number of first aid personnel you need in the work place.
Workplace hazards and risks
Organisations history with accidents
Size of business
Nature and distribution of employees
Travelling, remote or lone workers
Emergency medical services in the area
Shared or multiple occupation sites
Leave and other absences of trained personnel
The considerations above will help you decide on the number of first aid trained individuals you need in the workplace. The above information are guidelines to help you stay within the health and safety regulations.
A low risk business such as shops, offices, or libraries with fewer than 50 employees should have at least one person that is appointed to first aid and trained in first aid. For more than 100 workers at a low risk location at least two appointed personnel for first aid should be at the business.
Medium risk employment places like light engineering, assembly work, food processing, and warehousing have different numbers. For less than 20 employees there should be one person appointed for first aid. For every fifty employees you have working for you, you will need a first aid personnel. So if you have 150 employees you need three persons appointed to the health and safety first aid section.
The higher risk facilities like construction, slaughterhouses, chemical engineering, dangerous machinery, and sharp instruments require one person for fewer than five employees. Then for every fifty you employee you need at least one first aid appointed person.
At ProActive you will find the safety and health consultants are trained for risk assessment and management. They can also help you in getting individuals trained in first aid to be appointed in the necessary positions. By acting now you will be within the regulations required of you.
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 22:15 — ProActive Healt...
In a business you are required by law to have health and safety posters displayed. These posters can be displayed in various spots throughout the work environment. They should be in common sense places that your staff will be able to see and read them. Often times a business will place these in bathrooms, lunch rooms, or on doors. You are also required to pass out health and safety regulation information to the employees when they first start to help them understand their roles and responsibilities, as well as the emergency management plan.
When you are trying to create the posters or make sure that the posters have everything that is needed to be displayed, you might have a few questions. We will outline what the posters should have regarding health and safety.
Employee Representative:
In this section the appointed person that works for the employees regarding health and safety matters should be listed. The regulation of 1977 states that this must be offered as does the 1996 poster. This can be union or non- union information.
Management Representatives:
In this section the employee in charge of the health and safety risk assessment and plan should be named. In other words the employee that has assessed the work place takes care of the paperwork, and makes sure the plan that is followed should have contact information displayed in case of an emergency.
Enforcing Authority:
This section will state the department and name involved in the workplace inspections for health and safety. This is the section for the business person in the HSE you would need to contact if there are any issues with the health and safety within a workplace. They are also the person to report an incident to via the proper paper work.
Employment Medical Advisory Service:
This area shows the health and safety departments in the area to call in case of an accident, injury, illness, or other emergency situation that may occur at the workplace.
By hiring a health and safety consultant, you will have an employee for section two of the poster that is properly trained and on hand for your need. This person can also help you maintain the posters, paperwork, and assessments needed within the workplace. It is in your best interest to act now.
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 22:13 — ProActive Healt...
A question you may not think of, but that is asked often is: How Many Toilets Should a Workplace Have? It is a very valid question. There are health and safety regulations you must follow within your business whether it is a construction site, office building, or factory. To ensure you are following these health regulations, you will need to understand the Workplace Regulations of 1992. Under regulation 20 for sanitary conveniences it states:
A work environment must have suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences at accessible places.
Without prejudice the sanitary conveniences must have the following to be named suitable:
The rooms must be adequately ventilated.
The rooms must be clean and orderly
Separate rooms must be offered for men and women except where a convenience has proper security and a stall separate from the other conveniences.
You can also decide on the number of facilities offered by the number of people you have at the place of business. For example, the regulations do state that the conveniences need to be located in areas of highest traffic for the employee. So a bathroom near the lunch area and one for customer convenience may be important to you. Here is what the information about sanitary regulations state:
Mixed Use:
For 1 to 5 people you need one toilet and washbasin.
For 6-25 people you need 2 of each
26-50 you need 3 of each
51-75 you need 4 of each type
And 76 to 100 you will need at least 5 toilets and washbasins.
Men:
1-15 you need 1 of each (toilet and urinal)
16-30 requires 2 of each
And so on with adding one room per 15 employees.
While these regulations are easy to understand, you may still wish to hire a health and safety consultant to help you ensure all regulations pertaining to health and safety are considered. ProActive has several qualified employees to help your business find solutions.
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 22:09 — ProActive Healt...
As a business you are required to ensure the health and safety laws are being adhered to in your work environment. There are a number of responsibilities you must consider. For many places of business ensuring health and safety is difficult for the management team, unless you have hired a person well versed in the health and safety regulations of a business. This person would need to be hired for the health and safety legislation requirements, all though they can have a few other duties as well when time permits. You have another option, which we will get into more later.
First let’s take a look at the five steps to risk assessment. Risk assessment is a careful examination of what, in your business, can be harmful to people and employees. Depending on the type of business you have, there are certain things you should be assessing that may not be as important in others. For example, construction sites will not care about food health and safety like a restaurant would. This doesn’t change the five steps that are below.
Identify the hazards in the workplace. This can be fire, food health and safety, machinery, and other equipment that could be a potential accident.
Decide who might be harmed and how. In other words based on the hazards at work you need to see who would most likely be in that area and how they could potentially come to harm.
Evaluate the risks and take precautions for prevention.
Record your findings and the plan you will implement.
Review the assessment and update it if necessary.
There is a lot we have not mentioned regarding each of these different steps. For that you would need training in health and safety, along with the manuals stating the legislation you must follow. This is why a trained person at your business is essential. ProActive offers health and safety consultants on a full or part time basis, which means they will do the risk assessment for you. By taking steps to protect your employees and visitors you can save a great deal in claims throughout the year. Of course there are many reasons to act now, such as being within the guidelines you need to follow.
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 22:06 — ProActive Healt...
For businesses that require employees to work at varying heights, there is a Work at Height Regulations act passed in 2005. This act will state how you can use ladders in the workplace, when you may need scaffolding and other height equipment requirements. A number of accidents occur from heights because of improper use of equipment, or not having enough equipment for the number of employees you have. Space can also be a reason for height accidents in that you can’t get a ladder or enough help in one area to provide safety.
The HSC understands that ladders and other equipment are needed in places of business, such as warehouses or construction sites. Schedule 6 outlines the requirements for ladders that must be followed.
Every employer shall ensure that the ladder is used only for work and that risk assessment has been applied under regulation 3. The use of a ladder should not be based on low risk, short duration or use or existing features on the site. In other words not having a ladder because the shelves are spaced within enough distance to climb is a violation of the regulation.
Any surface that the ladder is on should be stable for use.
A suspended ladder will be attached in a secure manner, with the exception of flexible ladders. In other words it must be prevented from displacement or swinging.
A portable ladder must be prevented from slipping during use either by securing the ladder, anti slip mechanisms, or a person spotting and holding the ladder stable.
The ladder must be long enough for the required job.
A mobile ladder must be removed after the use is over. It also needs to be prevented from moving before climbed.
There are hundreds aspects to schedule 6 that must be adhered to. If you are an owner or employer of a business you need to make sure that everything under schedule 6 is adhered to. This may require ladder training for all employees, regardless of whether they will use the ladder frequently. ProActive can help you offer the needed information to employees through training as well as help in the risk assessment of your business to ensure health and safety.
Hire a ProActive health and safety consultant today, to ensure you are within regulations at your business for ladders and all other hazards.
