• 
• External walls usually refer to the outside walls of a building. They will generally need little maintenance but should be inspected at least annually for signs of deterioration or water damage.
• For all roofing or chimney maintenance work, it is essential to ensure that adequate safety arrangements are in place for working at height.
• Gutters should be inspected and cleared at least twice a year, sometimes more frequently if a roof is overhung by trees.
• Ensuring that a floor is well maintained will not only preserve the appearance of a building but will also contribute to safety by making slips and trips less likely.
• Windows should be regularly maintained and cleaned so they can be opened easily for ventilation and allow in sufficient light.
• There is no statutory obligation to keep an external or outside wall in a good state of repair. However, if it is in a dangerous state and falls and injures someone, the owner or occupier may be liable.
• To maintain their grounds and outside areas, an organisation may employ their own staff or engage specialist contractors.
• It is imperative that in-house facilities maintenance staff and maintenance contractors observe good health and safety practice at all times.
• Suitable information and training must be provided to employees with maintenance responsibilities.

How to Maintain Ceilings

• Wash down and repaint surfaces that have been painted.
• Repair ceilings where lining paper or plaster is used, by re-plastering or recovering.
• Refer to manufacturers’ instructions when redecorating: decorating may change the characteristics of a material, eg for any specifically treated fire-resistant surfaces.
• Investigate any observations of damp stains, blistering of paint or lining paper, black mould growth, or cracking to prevent possible ceiling collapse.
• Apply a sterilisation solution according to the manufacturer’s instructions followed by repainting, preferably with an anti-fungicidal paint, to deal with black mould or damp stains. A longer-term solution would be to improve the heating or ventilation.
• Repair any hair cracks by lining the ceiling with a stout lining and then painting it.
• Seek specialist advice for any larger problems such as large cracks.

How to Maintain Grounds

• Weigh up the pros and cons of using in-house staff or contractors to maintain the grounds.
• Consider the attractiveness of plants and trees against maintenance costs.
• Be aware that shrubs and flower beds are a trap for litter and easy targets for vandalism.
• Position trees so they do not damage the foundations of buildings, do not provide cover for intruders and do not block the view of any security cameras.
• Keep records of every tree giving details of location, type, age and condition.
• Maintain footpaths and tarmac areas to a high standard to limit the potential for accidents and improve access.
• Implement ways of reducing the amount of litter generated on the premises.
• Check perimeter fences are adequate to keep out litter, pests and intruders.

How to Maintain Floors

• Check how each flooring material is best maintained. An incorrect cleaning program can change the slip properties of a floor, which can become dangerous.
• Treat any outbreaks of wood-boring insects with disinfestation liquid for a small localised problem. Where the outbreak is more extensive seek the advice of a specialist.
• Use jointless epoxy resin screeds or hard tiles to re-level well-worn and uneven areas of flooring.
• Remove areas of rubber burn on thermoplastic tiled finishes caused by shoes and trolley tyres by wiping with white spirit.
• Replace any thermoplastic tiles which are cracked.
• Brush linseed oil onto the floor to “feed” the timber or preservative staining to help prevent excessive shrinkage in boarded or wood-blocked flooring.
• Seek specialist advice for any larger problems such as cracking in suspended concrete floors or infection by dry rot on suspended timber floors.

Contact us if you have any queries.

8 March 2023 marks International Women’s Day. It’s a day that celebrates ‘the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women’ whilst also calling for equality – where men and women are treated the same. No one government, country, charity or group is responsible for it.

We hope you found this of interest. Here are some useful links

IWD: About International Women’s Day (internationalwomensday.com)

International Women’s Day 2024: UK Statement to the OSCE – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

International Women’s Day | World Vision UK

The UK has a strong framework and reputation when it comes to health and safety and the approach towards airborne contaminants is no exception. In 2022, there was an estimated 19,000 new cases of breathing or lung problems made worse by work, according to the HSE.

What the law says

The primary legislation that addresses harmful airborne contaminants in the workplace is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) which outlines that employers have a legal duty to access risks associated with hazardous substances and make decisions on what measures to use to protect the health of their employees. It is important that employers are engaged with airborne hazard safety not only for the health of their employees but to also avoid enforcement action.

How can workers be exposed to airborne contaminants?

As a result, some industries are more susceptible to the presence of harmful substances such as construction, manufacturing, and mining. Manufacturing roles such as brick and tile manufacture, ceramics and stone working and foundry work are particularly prone to harmful effects.

Airborne contaminants can occur from a variety of outputs depending on the occupational setting via substances such as dust, gases, fumes, mists, or vapours present in the air.

Even dusts created by foodstuffs that we consider to be safe can be hazardous, if there is continuous exposure. Output is often invisible to the naked eye, and workers are not aware that they are exposed.

What are the dangers of being exposed to these kinds of hazardous substances?

Every year, thousands of workers in the UK experience damaging lung-related effects from airborne contaminants such as lung cancer, asthma or lung scarring because of airborne contaminants they have breathed in at work. The severity of harmful effects will ultimately depend on duration, frequency and degree of exposure to the substances.

Is it difficult to control exposure to airborne contaminants?

As a result of the variety of airborne contaminant transmission and the often-imperceptible output, the HSE has identified a concerning trend: that employers are often unaware that their workers are being exposed to hazardous substances or that their existing controls may be insufficient.

This lack of awareness gives rise to several issues including the sources of exposure being missed, the deterioration of existing controls and incorrect utilisation of the implemented safeguards.

What is the process for installing LEV in the workplace?

There is a systematic approach to installing LEV in the workplace to make sure that it is fit for purpose and effective. All LEV systems must comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).

You must manage LEV risk assessment properly; Safety First carries out LEV inspection and testing in the workplace to help companies ensure that they are fully compliant with COSHH regulations. Our qualified occupational hygienists are experts in local exhaust ventilation systems. They will monitor and analyse system performance data, as well as perform qualitative evaluations on the control of potential contaminants. Measurements from the test results are compared with the original LEV specification and performance criteria outlined in HSG258.

How often do LEV systems need to be monitored and checked?

Regular inspections of LEV systems should take place to ensure the smooth running of the device.

Safety First’s LEV inspection and testing 

Safety First will produce reports and records that will assist your business in improving control measures, plus serve as evidence of your company’s compliance with COSHH regulations.

Contact us should you require further information.

Making sure your business is a safe place for people to work, shop, or visit is essential. Whether you’re a public-facing high-street retailer, a factory with a growing workforce or your clients are visiting your offices in an industrial estate, there are many hazards you should be looking out for.

Slip and trip accidents increase during the Autumn and Winter season for a number of reasons: there is less daylight, leaves fall onto paths and become wet and slippery and cold weather spells cause ice and snow to build up on paths. There are effective actions that you can take to reduce the risk of a slip or trip. Regardless of the size of your site, always ensure that regularly used walkways are promptly tackled.

Carry out a risk assessment – Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, a risk assessment is a legal requirement that involves identifying sensible measures to control hazards if you’re an employer, your work activity is mentioned in the regulations, or your work poses a risk to others.

Identify hazards outside your business – These are mainly the result of wet and icy weather. Places where hazards could occur include Company car park and its adjoining road, Pavement or pathways etc

Identify hazards inside your business – These can mainly be the result of darker days and colder temperatures. Places where hazards could happen include the entrance areas of your business, dark warehouses, unlit corridors or stairwells for example.

What else can you do to ensure safety in winter?

Lighting

Is there is enough lighting around your workplace for you and your workers to be able to see and avoid hazards that might be on the ground? The easiest way to find out is to ask your employees.

Wet and decaying leaves

Fallen leaves that become wet or have started to decay can create slip risks in two ways, they hide any hazard that may be on the path or they themselves create a slip risk.

Put in place a procedure for removing leaves at regular intervals; you might even consider removing the offending bushes or trees altogether.

Rain water

In dealing with rainwater:

• When fitting external paved areas ensure that the material used will be slip resistant when wet.
• Discourage people from taking shortcuts over grass or dirt which are likely to become slippery when wet. Consider converting existing shortcuts into proper paths.
• On new sites, before laying paths, think about how pedestrians are likely to move around the site. Putting the path in the right place from the start may save you money in the long term.
• Many slip accidents happen at building entrances as people entering the building walk in rainwater. Fitting canopies of a good size over building entrances and in the right position can help to prevent this.
• If a canopy is not a possibility, consider installing large, absorbent mats or even changing the entrance flooring to one which is non-slip.

Ice, frost and snow

• To reduce the risk of slips on ice, frost or snow, you need to assess the risk and put in a system to manage it.
• Identify the outdoor areas used by pedestrians most likely to be affected by ice, for example: – building entrances, car parks, pedestrian walkways, shortcuts, sloped areas and areas constantly in the shade or wet.
• Monitor the temperature, as prevention is key.
• You need to take action whenever freezing temperatures are forecast. Keep up to date by visiting a weather service site such as the Met Office or the Highways England.
• There are also smart signs on the market, available to buy at low cost, which display warning messages at 50 and below.
• Put a procedure in place to prevent an icy surface forming and/or keep pedestrians off the slippery surface;
  • Use grit (see separate article below for more detail) or similar, on areas prone to be slippery in frosty, icy conditions;
  • Consider covering walkways eg by an arbour high enough for people to walk through, or use an insulating material on smaller areas overnight;
  • Divert pedestrians to less slippery walkways and barrier off existing ones.
• If warning cones are used, remember to remove them once the hazard has passed or they will eventually be ignored.

Gritting

The most common method used to de-ice floors is gritting as it is relatively cheap, quick to apply and easy to spread. Rock salt (plain and treated) is the most commonly used ‘grit’. It is the substance used on public roads by the highways authority.

Salt can stop ice forming and cause existing ice or snow to melt. It is most effective when it is ground down, but this will take far longer on pedestrian areas than on roads.

Gritting should be carried out when frost, ice or snow is forecast or when walkways are likely to be damp or wet and the floor temperatures are at, or below freezing. The best times are early in evening before the frost settles and/or early in the morning before employees arrive. Salt doesn’t work instantly; it needs sufficient time to dissolve into the moisture on the floor.

If you grit when it is raining heavily the salt will be washed away, causing a problem if the rain then turns to snow. Compacted snow, which turns to ice, is difficult to treat effectively with grit. Be aware that ‘dawn frost’ can occur on dry surfaces, when early morning dew forms and freezes on impact with the cold surface. It can be difficult to predict when or where this condition will occur.

Contact us if you require further information.