The HSE have devised a strategy for 2017. They focus on work-related stress, musculoskeletal disorders and occupational lung disease.
The Health and Work strategy has been developed to enable companies to engage with each other and the regulator itself, by both providing vital information on controlling health risks, and sharing information about best practice and the contributions by industry to improving health within the workplace. You can view and comment on the strategy on the HSE’s website (www.hse.gov.uk).
Worker Health Priority Areas Top Tips
- Occupational Lung Diseases
- Undertake risk assessments to determine where controls need to be implemented to prevent workers from breathing in harmful substances and developing conditions such as asthma or lung cancer.
- Provide effective personal protective equipment, ensure it fits employees properly and workers know how to store it and use it correctly.
- Control dusts and vapours by containment, and by using extraction or ventilation methods to remove them from the workplace.
- Provide health surveillance and monitoring where appropriate.
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Develop a thorough risk assessment of all work activities in relation to how workers could sustain a back or limb injury.
- Look at how mechanical aids could be used, such as trolleys and conveyors, to reduce the amount of lifting, pushing and pulling of loads.
- Label weights so that employees know the weight of the load they are moving.
- Provide training for workers on how to avoid musculoskeletal injuries.
- Work-related Stress
- Undertake risk assessments for your organisation to identify the risk factors that could contribute to workers feeling stressed at work, in line with the Management Standards produced by the HSE.
- Implement suitable controls, such as allowing job rotation or developing ways in which workers can have a say in their workload or the way their job is done.
- Develop policies on how change is to be delivered within the workplace, and how workers will be consulted on the process.
It’s estimated that a quarter of all enforcement notices issued by the HSE relate to health issues – take steps to follow the recommended actions now to avoid receiving a notice at your workplace.
Contact us should you require further information.
