Category Archives: Health and Safety

Poor seating can negatively affect physical and emotional wellbeing, work performance and productivity. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has estimated that back pain costs UK employers up to £625 million per year. Continuous sitting on poor seating cannot be maintained for the whole of one’s working life. So what makes a good office chair and how should it be selected?

7 Tips for Selecting the Correct Chair

1. The seat needs to be adjustable so that both feet can rest comfortably on the floor. The seat pan should stop the pelvis from tilting away and support physiologically the ‘right’ sitting. The seat should permit both active and dynamic sitting, i.e. between a forward, upright and laid-back posture.
2. The backrest should be high enough to reach at least the shoulder blades. There should be a gap between the back and the seat pan for the buttocks. Some backrests have a tilting mechanism which adjusts with the worker. This can provide comfort in a wide range of working positions.
3. Armrests: whilst not essential, they can provide comfort, as they can take the weight of 8-10kg, i.e. the arms, which would otherwise simply hang on the shoulder girdle, causing fatigue. Armrests should be set back from the front edge of the seat or be adjustable to allow the chair to fit under the desk.
4. Chairs should be mobile, i.e. have castors, to provide flexibility where workers need to move from one location to another. Ensure the correct type of castor is selected, e.g. for hard floors or carpeted areas.
5. Adjustments may include seat height, backrest height and tilt. Adjustment controls should be easy to use from a sitting position.
6. Weight: no one weighing more than 16 stone should use a gas-lift chair, unless it is one which has been specially designed to accommodate larger persons.
7. Upholstery: the seat, backrest and armrests should be well padded to ensure user comfort and reduce the likelihood of damage. Upholstery should meet BS 7176:2007 in respect of resistance to ignition.

Follow these tips and you will be able to demonstrate that you have taken steps to avoid posture-related problems and injuries and will be able to defend any claims that arise.

If your staff require an assessment of their workstation, please contact us.

Symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to food poisoning and flu, producing drowsiness, headaches, chest pain, breathlessness or nausea. The most sensitive areas in the body are the heart and nervous system and workers with heart, lung and respiratory problems are most susceptible, as are pregnant women and smokers.

How to Manage CO in Your Workplace

1. In practical terms, you can address this silent killer by drawing up a floor plan for your workplace. Don’t forget to include any confined spaces.
2. Next, identify all potential and actual sources of CO – include equipment, processes and storage – and risk assess each. Consider employees who use petrol, diesel or gas-driven tools and appliances such as floor grinders, concrete cutting tools, compressors, diesel forklift trucks or small mobile plants. Remember that cabs in vehicles which have defective exhaust systems can also be affected by CO.
3. Where possible, change from petrol or diesel-powered equipment to equipment which is powered by batteries or electricity, if practicable to do so. If not, do not use petrol or diesel-powered engines or tools in poorly ventilated areas, inside your building or in partially enclosed areas.
4. Determine your workers’ exposure by carrying out an indoor air quality assessment. Current workplace exposure limits should not exceed 30ppm for long-term exposure and 200ppm for short-term exposure.
5. Implementing engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation will remove CO before it is released into the workplace. Ensure ventilation ducts are not blocked.
6. Ensure appliances have been properly installed and are maintained by a competent person.
7. Train employees on how to recognise the hazards that can lead to CO poisoning and ensure you place hazard warning labels on any equipment, tools or appliances likely to produce CO.
8. Only allow authorised personnel to operate equipment, tools and appliances which are likely to produce CO. All such personnel must receive adequate training, information and instruction.
9. Use CO monitors with audible alarms or personal CO monitors where a risk of exposure exists. However, these should be provided as a back-up and not as a substitute for a safe system of work.

The responsibility for a safe workplace falls squarely on your shoulders. Don’t let this silent killer catch you out.

Contact us if you wish to discuss this topic.

If you are responsible for a school, retail and distribution warehouse or catering premises, your business is at higher risk than others. You can help prevent your business becoming another arson statistic by adopting a few simple precautions.

10 Tips for Arson Prevention

1. Review your overall fire risk assessment and make sure it considers potential for arson. Ensure fire equipment such as alarms, extinguishers, detectors and sprinklers is maintained and protected against sabotage.
2. Encourage staff to challenge visitors and report suspicious behaviour. Train them to be security conscious and be aware of their contribution to arson prevention.
3. Maintain the building fabric in good repair and seal gaps beneath external doors.
4. Limit quantities of flammable substances or LPG on site and keep them locked away at all times.
5. Ensure that any dark recesses in your premises, e.g. inset doorways, enclosed yards, alleyways etc., are secured with a gate or door – arsonists can start fires without being seen by passers-by.
6. Ensure that rubbish bins have lockable lids. If they can’t be locked, they should be stored within a secure compound or chained to an immovable object at least six metres from any building and away from overhanging roofs. The same applies to skips you may use to collect rubbish.
7. Choose someone to carry out checks to ensure everyone has left your premises before you lock up at the close of business. Ensure that all employees who access the building during non-standard hours are made aware of their responsibilities and your fire arrangements. Know who holds keys to the premises and chase any that are missing.
8. All windows should be locked when there are no workers on site.
9. Fit a metal container to the inside of your letterbox to contain fire started by lit materials which may be posted.
10. Don’t forget to reduce subsequent losses and disruption from a fire by preparing a disaster recovery and business continuity plan.

Arson is now one of the UK’s fastest-growing crimes. Don’t let it happen to your business – take action now.

Contact us should you require advice.

The identification of hazards is the most important step in any risk assessment because any hazard omitted will result in the associated risk not being assessed. It is important to distinguish between continuing hazards, i.e. those inherent in the machinery when operating under normal conditions, and hazards which can result from failures or error. Begin by making a list of all machinery, taking into account all its life stages, including installation, commissioning, correct use and operation, maintenance and decommissioning.

6 Key Points to Consider when Identifying Machinery Hazards

1. Identify hazards by means of physical inspections, task analysis, process analysis and analysis of accident data. Involve your workers and safety representatives, as they are most likely to know about hazards associated with their work.
2. You should inspect each machine and the way it is operated to identify any parts, processes, operating procedures, work activities and any danger zones, including moving parts. Make sure that guards are in working order and appropriate for the machine. Guards must protect your operators from ejected materials and rotating parts.
3. There are a number of potential machinery hazards, which include the materials or items being processed and internal sources of energy, e.g. electricity. According to HSE, the following are the most common situations which result in injury or serious harm to people:
   • A worker coming into contact with parts of a machine by being drawn into a machine or position where they may sustain injury;
   • Being caught between moving parts of the machine and a fixed structure such as a wall;
   • Being struck by parts of the machine;
   • Being struck by ejected material;
   • Being struck as a result of release of potential energy in machine components or materials being processed.
4. Consider also hazards relating to the location of the machine, the environment in which it operates and proximity to other structures. Don’t forget to include the consequences of reasonably foreseeable misuse or malfunction.
5. Other factors to take into account include manual handling, fatigue, workflow and design and ergonomics.
6. Hazard identification and management should be conducted and monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure control measures are in place and working and that no new hazards have been introduced.

Failing to address machinery hazards usually results in court cases and large fines. Take action now to prevent this from happening to your organisation.

Legionellosis is the collective name given to the pneumonia-like illness caused by legionella bacteria. This includes the most serious legionnaires’ disease, as well as the similar but less serious conditions of Pontiac fever and Lochgoilhead fever. Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia and everyone is susceptible to infection. However, some people are at higher risk, including:

• people over 45 years of age;
• smokers and heavy drinkers;
• people suffering from chronic respiratory or kidney disease; and
• anyone with an impaired immune system.

What are my duties?

Under general health and safety law, as an employer or person in control of a premises (eg a landlord), you have health and safety duties and need to take suitable precautions to prevent or control the risk of exposure to legionella. Details of the specific law that applies can be found in part 1 of Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems.

Carrying out a risk assessment is your responsibility and will help you to establish any potential risks and implement measures to either eliminate or control risks. You may be competent to carry out the assessment yourself but, if not, you should ask someone with the necessary skills to conduct a risk assessment. This can be done by someone from within your own organisation or from Walker Health and Safety Services.

The guidance is for duty holders, which includes employers, those in control of premises and those with health and safety responsibilities for others, to help them comply with their legal duties. These include identifying and assessing sources of risk, preparing a scheme to prevent or control risk, implementing, managing and monitoring precautions, keeping records of precautions and appointing a manager responsible for others.

The guidance gives practical advice on the legal requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 concerning the risk from exposure to legionella and guidance on compliance with the relevant parts of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

The guidance is in three parts:

Part 1: The control of legionella bacteria in evaporative cooling systems
Part 2: The control of legionella bacteria in hot and cold water systems
Part 3: The control of legionella bacteria in other risk systems

If you require further information or assistance, please contact us.