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Christmas is an interesting time for businesses. There are lots of temporary changes to work patterns, lots of parties (hopefully!) and most important of all, it’s the time of the year to dust off the decorations and make your office suitably festive. None of these things form part of your usual work activities and so you’ve probably not really thought of these things from a H&S perspective. Happily, a few years ago, the HSE published their “Twelve Myths of Christmas” and so we thought it would be a good time to revisit just a couple of the more relevant points that they raised.

1. Workers are banned from putting up Christmas decorations in the office

We’ve heard this one a lot over the years. Workers are definitely not banned from putting up decorations; however as a responsible Employer it just means that you’ve got to be practical about how you do this. Essentially this means using the correct access equipment (step ladders are fine as this would be classed as short duration and infrequent), being careful with decorations near to sources of heat and ensuring that things such as lights are turned off when your premises are unoccupied.

2. Indoor Christmas lights need a portable appliance test (PAT) every year

This is a contentious one. We would suggest that if you have an in-house PAT testing facility, then this would be a good, practical, thing to do to ensure that the lights aren’t damaged. The HSE actually advise that as long as you are checking for obvious signs of damage and not using obviously faulty lights, then this would be okay.

3. You can’t throw sweets out at a Pantomime

It has been seen in the papers. This is a case where the original company involved was simply afraid of having to pay compensation if anyone got hurt and blamed H&S in order to get their way. Our opinion, and that of the HSE, is that it’s a case of “oh yes you can!” Obviously on the proviso that you don’t have someone like Steve Backley (famous javelin thrower for our younger readers) machine-gunning sweets at 100mph!

4. Carol singers are a health and safety risk

They might be a form of noise pollution to some but as long as you follow sensible precautions, such as not signing in the middle of the road or carrying large quantities of cash, then there’s little risk from a hearty rendition of “Jingle Bells”.

We’ve also heard talk of the necessity to apply for a permit to carol sing. Again, we’re not aware of any legal requirement to do this either! Feel free to belt out your favourites at the top of your voice!

5. You cannot clear snow and ice from pavements

We would encourage everyone to ensure that access to their premises is maintained throughout cold spells. It is incredibly unlikely that you’ll be held responsible if you’ve attempted to do the right thing by clearing a path and then someone slips. In fact, we’ve never seen anybody succeed with any claims of this nature. There are a few tips though to do this successfully

• Do it early in the day.
• Don’t use water as it might refreeze and turn to black ice.
• Use salt if possible or ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt.
• Pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways. Add more salt if you can.

Remember to enjoy yourself!

Christmas is a time to have fun, not to be swamped by health and safety regulations. As long as you take a reasonable and practical method of planning whatever you’re wanting to do to get into the festive spirit, we’re sure that you will be fine!

Stay Safe!

Merry Christmas from Walker Health and Safety Services.

The risks from coming into contact with metalworking fluids are well-known, yet there are still companies who do not protect their workers from developing serious health problems associated with the substance. Take the necessary steps to make sure your company is not one of them.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the cases of ill health amongst the workers and found that the measures put in place by the company to prevent or control exposure to metalworking fluid mists were inadequate. There were also failings in the company’s health surveillance provision. Metalworking fluids are often used as lubricants or coolants and are widely used across many manufacturing industries, with the dangers of breathing them in being well-known.

1. Conduct a risk assessment across all machines and processes to identify where exposure could occur for your workers. Communicate the identified risks to workers and teach them how to use the precautions you put in place, such as the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).
2. Take action to minimise skin exposure. Prevent skin coming into contact with the substance when using or moving parts/tool pieces, or when undertaking maintenance, by wearing suitable gloves and using face shields.
3. Prevent mists of metalworking fluid from entering the workspace. Enclose machinery operations to reduce the likelihood of mists escaping, and ensure that extraction is used to control them at source. Make sure there is a time delay on machine doors so that no one can open them before the extraction has fully finished.
4. Introduce health surveillance for workers where exposure cannot be prevented. For skin, this should involve regular skin checks by a suitably trained person, and for breathing, at least an annual health questionnaire in the first instance.
5. Control bacterial contamination within the fluid, as this can cause irritation of the respiratory tract. Microbiological dip slides can be used to test the fluid for this purpose. Regularly check your metalworking fluids to ensure sump oil is not dirty or smelly, as this could indicate a problem that needs resolving.

Contact us, if you require information.

Raffle Prize request in aid of Club 2000 Sport and Leisure

I volunteer for Club 2000 Sport and Leisure. I am also on the committee.

Club 2000 is a sport and leisure club for people with disabilities, including learning difficulties, who live in Telford and Wrekin. Club 2000 is totally independent and not part of the local authority and receives no funding from them or any other statutory organisation.  Club is run entirely by volunteers and supported by membership subscriptions and any money that members and volunteers can raise by their own efforts together with any donations. We meet weekly, except during the summer holiday.

I started volunteering with Club 2000 in August 2010. It was a 16 week program. Over 5 years later and they can’t get rid of me. I enjoy club 2000 and its members. I also give my time to drive the minibus so members can attend and look after the website.

Our website is http://www.club2000sportandleisure.co.uk/ Our registered Charity No. is 1077511

Every year we offer our members trips. This year they wanted to go to Chester Zoo, Cadbury World, Blist Hill and Drayton Manor as they thoroughly enjoy themselves. There’s something to do for each and every one of them.

We are holding an entertainment event on 18th February 2017 in the hope of raising money for Club 2000. You could either purchase a ticket to attend or donate a raffle prize.

Should you wish to donate a raffle prize be it large or small, please let me know by email. We will ensure your company name is attributed to the Club 2000 newsletter and website. We understand you may receive many requests and fully understand if you are unable to give on this occasion.

Prizes are to be sent to: Emma Walker, Walker Health and Safety Services Limited e-Innovation Centre University of Wolverhampton Telford Campus Priorslee Telford TF2 9FT and should arrive no later than Friday 6th  January 2017.

Thank you from Club 2000.

Kind regards

Emma

On behalf of Club 2000 Sport and Leisure.

Ensure Your Workers are Protected when Procedures Change

1. Consult with employees in advance before making any changes to the workplace, including to work methods, equipment and layout. Often staff will know a lot about the potential hazards as they perform the tasks on a frequent basis.
2. Risk assess any changes before putting them into practice. Look at how changing one element could impact on another work procedure – for example, by re-arranging the layout of the workshop without planning how workers will stay segregated from workplace transport, staff could end up having to cross traffic routes and therefore put themselves in danger of being run over.
3. Develop a safe system of work for staff to follow. Write this down so workers can refer to it when needed.
4. Ensure that the required training is provided, for example if new equipment is to be used for the first time.
5. Supervise the new procedure to check that workers understand what they need to do, and that they follow the safe system of work correctly.
6. Review the risk assessment periodically to ensure that you have captured all of the inherent hazards in the new work procedure. Ask workers for feedback – check that your controls are working to mitigate the identified risks.

Always take time to carefully plan your work procedures – never implement changes without assessing the risks first, and working out how to control them effectively.

Contact us should you require guidance.

Today (31 July) marks the 40^th anniversary of when the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) received royal assent.

Arguably it is one of the best pieces of legislation on the statute books – although we know it is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. It has protected millions of British workers, and driven sharp reductions in incidents of occupational death, serious injury and ill health.

In 1974, fatalities to employees covered by the legislation in place then stood at 651. The latest figure for 2012/13 was down to 148 for employees and self-employed combined. The actual reduction is probably more than this as data for sectors not covered by health and safety law pre 1974 was not collected. In the same time frame (and with the same caveat) non-fatal injuries have dropped by more than 75 percent. There is still room for improvement clearly, but the change in the last 40 years is quite remarkable.

Before the 1974 Act there was a host of different regulations – some industries swamped with prescriptive rules and others with little or no regulation at all. Much of our current reform agenda is aimed at: stripping out unnecessary or duplicated regulation and helping smaller businesses to understand how to take a proportionate approach to managing their risks – but the basic principles remain the same.

Forty years on the Health and Safety at Work Act has demonstrated it can be applied to new responsibilities and new demands, creating the framework for people to come home safe and well from a day’s work in any sector of the economy.

The legacy is a safety record envied around the world.