Category Archives: Office Health and Safety


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Safety Tips for Working in the Heat

As the warm weather continues, the dangers of working outside also increases. Knowing how to work safely in hot weather can help prevent heat stress and heat stroke. Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related disorder and occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature. The body temperature can rise to 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher within 10 to 15 minutes and heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not provided.  Other heat-related disorders include heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat rash.

Heat stroke occurs when the body no longer sweats and body temperature reaches dangerous levels. Symptoms of heat stroke include:

  • Dry, hot reddish skin and lack of sweating
  • High body temperature
  • Strong, rapid pulse
  • Chills
  • Confusion
  • Slurred speech

Heat exhaustion is the body’s response to the loss of water and salt, typically through sweating. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

  • Excessive sweating
  • Weakness or fatigue
  • Dizziness and/or confusion
  • Clammy skin
  • Muscle cramps
  • Flushed complexion

Heat cramps are painful cramps in the body’s muscles due to low salt levels and are typically caused by excessive sweating.  Symptoms of heat cramps include:

  • Muscle pain usually in the abdomen, arm or legs.
  • Muscle spasms usually in the abdomen, arm or legs.

Heat Rash is an irritation of the skin caused by excessive sweating.  Symptoms of heat rash include:

  • Red cluster of pimples or small blisters
  • Usually on neck and upper chest, groin area, under the breasts, and in elbow creases.

Ten Hot Weather Safety Tips:

  1. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids.
  2. Avoid dehydrating liquids. Alcohol, coffee, tea and caffeinated soft drinks can hurt more than help.
  3. Wear protective clothing. Lightweight, light-colored and loose-fitting clothing helps protect against heat. Change clothing if it gets completely saturated.
  4. Pace yourself. Slow down and work at an even pace. Know your own limits and ability to work safely in heat.
  5. Schedule frequent breaks. Take time for rest periods and water breaks in a shaded or air conditioned area.
  6. Use a damp rag. Wipe your face or put it around your neck.
  7. Avoid getting sunburn. Use sunscreen and wear a hat if working outside.
  8. Be alert to signs of heat-related illness. Know what to look for and check on other workers that might be at high risk.
  9. Avoid direct sun. Find shade or block out the sun if possible.
  10. Eat smaller meals. Eat fruits high in fibre and natural juice. Avoid high protein foods.

Stay safe this summer, keep hydrated.

In June 2017 we had a weather warning heat health watch. Read here for further details.

Contact us should you require further information.

 

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What is a DSE Assessment?

Smart watch and phone safety

What is a DSE assessment

Most employers are required to carry out a DSE assessment, but what exactly is one, and what does it need to cover? To start, let’s understand what DSE is, then look at how we can assess it.

What is DSE?

DSE stands for Display Screen Equipment. As the name suggests, a DSE assessment is an assessment of Display Screen Equipment. Display Screen Equipment (DSE) is a device or equipment with a display screen and often refers to a computer screen. However, it includes both conventional display screens and those used in emerging technologies such as laptops, touchscreens and other similar devices.

In a work environment, desktop computers are traditionally looked at when considering DSE, but it is important to consider other display screens such as tablets, laptops and smartphones.

What is a DSE assessment?

A DSE assessment is an assessment of risk from the way we use computers, laptops, tablets and other display screens at work. Each workstation should be assessed, and the risks reduced as low as is practical.

A DSE assessment looks at how a user works at their workstation. Like any risk assessments, the aim is to identify the hazards and assess the likelihood and severity of harm to those that may be affected. Then, reduce the risk by altering the workstation or providing tools to make it comfortable.

If you have sat at a computer screen for a long time, you may already be familiar with some of the hazards. Poor posture or lack of movement throughout the day can lead to back pain. Staring at the screen for long lengths of time can give you headaches.

But it’s not just computer screens that are causing issues. Slouching over your phone, tablet or handheld device for even a short length of time can give you neck and upper back pain.

Why do we need a DSE assessment?

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations. These regulations lay out some key requirements for employers surrounding the use of DSE, one of which is the need to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of workstations used in the workplace.

2.—(1) Every employer shall perform a suitable and sufficient analysis of those workstations which – (regardless of who has provided them) are used for the purposes of his undertaking by users; or have been provided by him and are used for the purposes of his undertaking by operators The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 

Any workstation used by your business, regardless of who provides it, should be assessed. So DSE requirements apply to co-working spaces, remote working, temporary workplaces and your own offices.

However, this should not just be considered a tick box exercise to comply with legal requirements. A DSE assessment can actually help combat ill-health and conditions, such as epilepsy and therefore improve health and productivity in the workforce.

What does a DSE risk assessment cover?

Problems are often caused by the way we use our DSE. The display screen may not be the cause of back pain, but the way you sit at it could. Computer workstations or equipment can be associated with neck, shoulder, back or arm pain, as well as with fatigue and eyestrain.

So, it’s not just the display screen that needs to be assessed. Everything to do with the use of the equipment should be considered. Other items looked at in the assessment includes, the keyboard, the mouse, furniture and the environment.

The assessment should also encompass the general environment and includes lighting, reflections, glare, temperature, humidity and noise. All of these elements can impact how the equipment is used, and the risks to users.

The business benefits to DSE assessments

Display screen equipment are the most common tool used across all businesses, and can offer many benefits to a business including:

Improved health, wellbeing and morale for DSE users
Sustained production from reduced sick leave
Minimising the risk of compensation claims for upper limb disorders
Reduced administration costs
Encourages positive behaviour and adoption of DSE good practice.
Improved organisation safety

Contact us should you require a DSE Assessment.

The Walker Health and Safety blog is brought to you by the team at Walker Health and Safety Services Limited. You can contact us using the address or email address below or via the form on our main site.

e-Innovation Centre
University of Wolverhampton
Telford Campus
Priorslee
Telford
Shropshire
West Midlands
TF2 9FT

E-mail: info@walkersafety.co.uk 
Telephone: 0845 834 0400
Fax: 0845 834 0401

Guest Blogging

If you feel that you could contribute to this blog then please feel free to send me a proposal of your guest blogging ideas and we can discuss these further info@walkersafety.co.uk . Please note any proposals must be of benefit to my readers from individuals with knowledge of their subject matter.

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Why health and safety training is needed

The Health and Safety at Work Act, etc 1974 states that employers should provide “such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees”. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 further require that employers provide employees with adequate health and safety training both on recruitment and when the risks to which they are exposed change, for example, where they move to a new role or when new work equipment is provided.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 go on to state that training should be repeated periodically where appropriate, be adapted to take account of any new or different risks and take place during working hours. Other sets of regulations which require training of employees include the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Organisations that have their health and safety management systems certified, for example to BS OHSAS 18001 or ISO 45001, are also required to conform to requirements concerning competence.

Unfortunately, when it comes to work-related training, there is no one-size-fits-all. Employers should consider who in their organisation needs training, what training should be provided, when, by whom, and when training should be repeated and refreshed. Consideration should also be paid to whether staff require formal qualifications for their role, such as facility managers, first aiders, or the maintenance teams responsible for legionella safety.

Ensure Employees follow Your Training: 5 Top Tips. Click here

Training – Contact Us for your training requirements or to discuss training solutions. Click here to look at our website training page.

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Increase in the HSE FFI charge

hard hat and gloves PPEThe rate which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) charges under its Fee for

Intervention (FFI)

cost recovery scheme has increased from £129 to £154 per hour as of 6 April 2019.

The fee is payable by organisations found by the health and safety watchdog to be

in material breach of health and safety law and, in terms of the requirements, the

employer (or self-employed person) is required to pay

the HSE for the time it takes to identify what is wrong and to put things right.

A material breach of health and safety law is something which an inspector considers serious enough that

they need to formally write to the business requiring action to be taken to deal with the issue.

Essentially, if the inspector gives a notification of contravention (NoC) after the visit, a fee will be payable.

The HSE has emphasised that organisations which do not break the law will not be liable for any payment.

In other words, duty holders who comply with the law, or where there is no material breach, will not be

charged FFI for any work that HSE does with them.

Therefore, where an inspector simply gives business advice, either verbal or written, no payment is required.

The FFI cost recovery scheme was designed and introduced in October 2012 with the aim of shifting some of

the costs of regulating health and safety at work from the taxpayer to those responsible for material breaches.

See previous Blog for FFI https://walkersafety.co.uk/2013/11/ffi-a-year-on/

Contact us for further information.

 

 

Published · Updated

Employer Factsheet: Electronic Cigarettes

  • Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have become popular substitutes for smoking tobacco. It is estimated that there are around 700,000 users of e-cigarettes in the UK.
  • The devices consist of an electronic inhaler that vaporises a liquid — which may or may not contain nicotine — and allows the user to inhale an aerosol mist.
  • Manufacturers of e-cigarettes provide different “flavours” of liquids (menthol, vanilla, coffee, etc) so that users can choose the taste that they prefer. The “flavours” are usually in a solution used in inhalers for medical purposes, ie for asthma. This provides the simulation of smoking.
  • The e-cigarettes normally have an LED light on the tip to identify when the device is being used. The colour is usually blue so that it can be distinguished from tobacco cigarettes.
  • Manufacturers have provided liquids that can contain different quantities of nicotine. Hence these can assist tobacco smokers to use an alternative nicotine replacement therapy. In tests, people inhaling the aerosol from liquids containing nicotine have been found to have similar amounts of the substance in their blood as those people using nicotine patches.
  • Manufacturers also supply liquids without any nicotine in them, as some users see the psychological habit of “smoking” more critical than simply the nicotine effect itself.
  • Currently there is very little information about the long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes. It is clear that there is no combustion of tobacco, so substances like tar do not exist. Hence they appear to offer a safer alternative to tobacco for both the user and those around them. Nicotine is addictive but in the amounts used in e-cigarettes it is thought to be no more harmful than the quantities released in nicotine patches, for example.
  • The World Health Organization acknowledges that e-cigarettes are likely to be less harmful than conventional smoking, but warns that their use may potentially increase the background air levels of nicotine and other substances that could be harmful to adolescents and pregnant women. It also points out that e-cigarettes have not been subjected to many independent tests and that any impact on health arising from their use may not become obvious for some years. It, therefore, recommends a legal ban on the indoor use of e-cigarettes and other such devices.
  • Given the known health effects of smoking tobacco, the use of e-cigarettes has obvious benefits. In the EU there are proposals to regulate tobacco alternatives that contain nicotine. Such products are permitted but, under the proposal, would require consistency in certain standards of manufacturing the products. While this would put nicotine-containing products under the same controls, e-cigarettes not using nicotine are not likely to be included in such a regime.

E-cigarettes and no smoking policies

  • Currently the inhaling of e-cigarettes is not in breach of the No Smoking legal requirements that apply to tobacco.
  • However, some employers ban e-cigarettes for food hygiene reasons, eg they do not want any potential food contaminants on the production floor. Others ban e-cigarettes on the basis that it may lead to employees believing that the tobacco ban is no longer in place or can be ignored.
  • As e-cigarette users are not smoking tobacco, there appears to be a much reduced health risk when compared to tobacco smoking.

As the sale of e-cigarettes is permitted, the health risks appear to be significantly reduced, and — in the case of liquids containing nicotine — nicotine patches, etc are already available, employers will need to consider their own circumstances whether or not to permit e-cigarettes in the premises they control. Given the emphasis on consultation when developing a smoking policy, it may be equally important to undertake a similar consultation exercise on developing a response to e-cigarette use.

Contact us if you require further information.