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Do you have good practice in place for Hand Arm Vibration?

Risk Assessment ServicesHand Arm Vibration (HAV) can pose a serious health risk, and many firms are not doing enough to help prevent it. Once the damage has been caused, it is permanent, yet it can so easily be prevented. Under the Control of Vibrations at Work Regulations 2005, employers must protect workers from health risks caused by vibration. Failure for your business to have good practice in place can lead to long-term sickness or claims for compensation – potentially damaging your business.

The Health and Safety Executive has released some good practice advice in order for businesses to understand what they need to do to help prevent Hand Arm Vibration health risks. There are several different factors to consider, and ideally assessment should come from a professional Occupational Hygiene expert such as Safety First Group, in order to identify the risk factors.

HSE has identified some of the following risks and solutions to consider for Hand Arm Vibration:

Selection of work equipment – Employers should demonstrate a sound procurement policy for power tools and hand-guided machines, ensuring that the tool is suitable for the job.

Limiting daily exposure – Maximum times can be determined using the exposure points system or supplier’s “traffic lights” tool categories, but these should be derived from sound “real use” vibration emission values.

Other risk controls – Control of HAV risk by means other than reducing vibration exposure such as aids to support weight or provision of warm clothing and gloves

Information, instruction and training – Employees at risk from vibration should have received information on the risks from HAV and how to help reduce them, and arrangements for health surveillance and their duty to cooperate.

Health Surveillance – Particularly required where the exposure to arm vibration is likely to be exceeded. Employers as a minimum should use a periodic health screening questionnaire – ideally annually and for new employees. Arrangements for referral of relevant cases to an occupational health provider with HAVS expertise for diagnosis and ongoing monitoring should be made.

If your business is unsure of whether you have the sufficient protocols or monitoring in place to protect from the risk of HAV, then contact us. We work with technicians who are highly-qualified and experienced in assessing your workplace for HAV risks and proposing measures for eliminating or minimising these risks.

Contact us for further information.

 

 

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Extreme summer heat and employers’ duties

Employers need to consider the impact extreme summer weather may have on the health of employees. While doing so, the employer must also determine the risk control measures that may be required at such times.

https://walkersafety.co.uk/contact-us/

Introduction

Summer 2022 had seen the UK record its highest ever temperature of 40.3°C, with new national records being set in England, Scotland and Wales.

Although the chances of reaching such high temperatures again in the coming years are said to be extremely low, the Met Office has concluded that the UK will, however, see longer periods with temperatures higher than the seasonal norms.

Although many people may enjoy high summer temperatures, for employers periods of excessive heat can present challenges in terms of meeting their health and safety obligations.

Heat and health effects

The majority of individuals in the UK will be well acclimatised to the usual summer temperatures. However, with climate change impacts, there is the potential for more periods of hot weather above average summer temperatures.

In these circumstances, individuals are less likely to be able to acclimatise to the higher heat levels leading to “thermal discomfort”.

Thermal discomfort is where people start to feel uncomfortable, ie they are too hot but are not made unwell by the conditions. Most people will not suffer medical symptoms due to the discomfort, beyond irritability and tiredness.

However, extreme heat events can cause significant health issues such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke and other heat stress-related illnesses.

Perhaps less well-recorded, exposure to higher temperatures for longer periods of time can increase the risk of injuries as a result of fatigue, lack of concentration, poor decision making, etc.

Other factors to consider could include increased stress levels, increased pollution levels and even increased exposure to hazardous substances where materials/substances react adversely to extreme temperatures.

It is now well-recognised that other factors will impact any adverse effects of extreme heat. This includes relative humidity, air movement, sun exposure, work demands, clothing and metabolic heat. These factors make up what is known as the “human thermal environment”.

Employers’ duties

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that “all workers are entitled to an environment where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Heat is classed as a hazard and comes with legal obligations like any other hazard”.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR), employers must assess the risks to workers and put control measures in place to protect those workers.

The HSE states that “temperature in the workplace is one of the risks you should assess whether the work is being done indoors or outdoors”.

Risks must be controlled to as low as reasonably practicable, which means finding a balance between the cost of reducing the risk and the benefits that brings.

A question often asked when undertaking a risk assessment is whether there is a maximum temperature in which workers are required to work. As the HSE states, “there’s no law for maximum working temperature, or when it’s too hot to work, because every workplace is different”.

It continues by noting that no meaningful upper limit can be imposed because in many indoor workplaces high temperatures are not seasonal but created by work activity, eg in bakeries or foundries.

The employer must, therefore, determine what a reasonably comfortable temperature should be at the workplace based upon the findings of a risk assessment. There can be many inputs into the risk assessment, including:

  • work requirements and work rate
  • working climate
  • individual worker aspects (age, body type, medical conditions)
  • work clothing and PPE.

The HSE has also produced a useful “heat stress checklist” that may help inform an employer’s decision regarding risk control measures.

There is nothing stating what is meant by “comfortable” as what one person deems reasonably comfortable may not be the same as what is deemed reasonably comfortable by another, and this is where difficulties often lie for employers and employees alike.

Trigger points

It is probably the case that during much of the year, workplace temperatures are within a zone that is deemed to be comfortable for the majority of workers and it is only during exceptional periods of heat that workers begin to suffer from thermal discomfort and/or the health effects of heat exposure.

As such, employers may determine that it is necessary to have additional risk control measures adopted to take account of exceptional seasonally hot weather.

This can be based upon the needs of an individual (taking into account the employer has a duty of care to individual employees) or collectively for a group of workers.

In taking this approach, the employer will require a form of “trigger point” that informs them when additional risk control measures may be required due to hot weather.

One tool that may be used is the UK Health Security Agency’s Heat-Health Alert system. Although primarily aimed at the organisations required to undertake public health action, the system does provide useful information.

From summer 2023, Heat-Health Alerts transitioned to an impact-based alerting, which provides users with information over and above the fact that hot weather is likely to occur. It gives an indication of the impacts likely to be observed as a result of the temperatures. The alerts are given a colour, as shown below.

  • Green (preparedness): no alert will be issued as the conditions are likely to have minimal impact on health; business as usual.
  • Yellow (response): these alerts may be issued during periods of heat that would be unlikely to impact most people but could impact those who are particularly vulnerable.
  • Amber (enhanced response): an amber alert indicates that weather impacts have the potential for the whole population to be at risk; non-health sectors may also start to observe impacts.
  • Red (emergency response): a red alert indicates significant risk to life for even the healthy population.

In conjunction with the above, the Met Office has the National Severe Weather Warning Service, which is a warning service based on the impact of the UK weather rather than a threshold of the weather itself. Warnings are graded as yellow, amber and red, and, among other matters, give the following information:

  • a clear description of the expected weather
  • a clear description of the potential impacts the weather may cause
  • an assessment of the level of impacts that may occur and the likelihood of those impacts occurring.

Utilising the above information, employers may determine that pre-planned additional risk control measures are necessary to ensure that their employee’s health is not adversely impacted by extreme summer weather.

Summary

Summer extreme weather can be said to be foreseeable and as such employers need to consider the impacts this may have on the health of employees.

In doing so, a suitable and sufficient risk should be undertaken to take into consideration the impacts of such weather conditions. In doing so, the employer may determine that additional risk control measures may be required at times of extreme hot weather.

In such cases, suitable planning must be put in place to ensure the risk control measures deemed necessary are implemented. This could be through the use of trigger points such as UK weather warning systems.

In general terms, this could include:

  • physical measures to improve thermal comfort for indoor workplaces
  • procedural measures to reduce heat exposure, such as changing working practices
  • management action, such as making employees aware of the additional risk controls and health risks associated with extreme temperatures.

Contact us for further advice.

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Published · Updated

Lift trucks can be dangerous machines

If you don’t use them properly, they can kill and injure people. Follow this advice to help you and those you work with stay safe.

Operating
Always:
■ carry out a pre-shift check of the lift truck;
■ wear operator restraints, where fitted;
■ look all around before moving off;
■ look in the direction of travel;
■ travel at a speed suitable for the location and the load you are carrying;
■ travel with the forks lowered, but clear of the ground;
■ watch out for pedestrians;
■ watch out for obstructions;
■ avoid sudden stops and violent braking;
■ slow down at corners, doorways, and at every danger spot and sound the horn where necessary;
■ apply the parking brake when leaving the lift truck;
■ face the lift truck and use steps and handholds when getting in or out.

Never:
■ operate a lift truck unless you are trained and authorised to do so;
■ use a lift truck or equipment you know is not working properly;
■ operate controls from outside the cab, unless it is designed so you can do this;
■ stand on or near the controls to reach the load or anything outside the cab;
■ travel on uneven ground unless the lift truck is suitable for this;
■ run over unprotected cables or flexible pipes;
■ try to carry out repairs – leave this to a qualified maintenance engineer;
■ operate a lift truck when under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
■ use mobile phones or other hand-held devices while operating or travelling.

Loads
Always:
■ observe floor loading limits – find out the weight of the laden lift truck;
■ ensure there is adequate clearance for the lift truck and load, including overhead;
■ lower loads at a safe speed;
■ use suitable attachments for lifting unusual or wide loads and follow the manufacturer’s instructions;
■ ensure you are properly trained, competent and authorised to operate the lift truck with the attachment being used.

Never:
■ lift loads greater than the capacity of the lift truck;
■ move a load that appears unsuitable or unstable (including on a damaged pallet);
■ travel with a bulky load which blocks your view;
■ travel with a raised load, unless the lift truck is designed for this;
■ use an attachment unless a competent person, an authorised dealer or manufacturer has derated the lift truck (reduced the actual capacity).

Slopes
Always:
■ travel slowly when going down slopes;
■ when carrying a load, ensure the forks face uphill when travelling up or down slopes;
■ without a load, ensure the forks face downhill when travelling up or down slopes;
■ adjust the tilt (where fitted) to suit the gradient and raise the forks to clear the ground.

Never:
■ attempt to turn on or travel across a ramp or a slope;
■ leave a lift truck on a gradient except in an emergency, in which case always chock the wheels.

People
Always:
■ use a safe work method when using working platforms.

Never:
■ lift a person on the forks, or on a pallet, or similar, balanced on the forks;
■ carry passengers, unless the lift truck is designed for this;
■ allow people to walk under raised forks or loads;
■ pick up a load if someone is standing close to it.

When you have finished working
Always:
■ park the lift truck on level ground, never on a slope;
■ leave the lift truck with the mast tilted forwards and the forks fully lowered, with the tips on the floor;
■ apply the parking brake, select neutral, switch off the engine and remove the key;
■ return keys or other activating devices to their place of safe-keeping.

Contact us if you require further information.

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Published · Updated

Injury Awareness Week 24th-28th June 2024

Do you log all accidents and near misses in the company?

Are your health and safety documents up to date and do the risk assessments reflect any recent accidents or near misses?

Do you learn from accidents and near misses?

This week the focus is on the impact of avoidable workplace injuries.

Injury Awareness Week

Contact us if you require further information.

Published · Updated

Fall prevention: Keeping on your toes?

slips-trips-fallsHSE Guidance HSG150: Health and Safety in Construction, observes that falls are the largest cause of accidents and fatalities in the construction industry.

The primary focus of guidance in this area tends to look at the general causes of falls, which are described under two categories; “working at height” or “slips and trips”, and in turn, support is offered on both of these topics, with the stated aim of helping with the identification of hazards, controlling risks and explaining how to “plan, organise, control, monitor and review health and safety throughout the life of a project”.

HSE also provides subject specific guidance looking at activities that may result in an increased risk of falls. Examples include roof work, ladders (and step ladders), scaffolding, mobile platforms, and fragile surfaces.

It should perhaps be noted that the guidance offered by HSE does not distinguish between “low” and “high” falls. This is in line with the approach adopted by legislation; for example, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 describe work at height as:

(a) work in any place, including a place at or below ground level,

(b) obtaining access to or egress from such place while at work, except by a staircase in a permanent workplace,

where, if measures required were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.

Falls from height are not the only potential cause of injury. Falls onto things, such as; hot work; wet concrete; protruding reinforcement; onto equipment, such as machinery; moving plant or vehicles, can also have serious consequences, regardless of the distance involved.

In all circumstances, HSE favours a risk-based approach, applied in the following three stages.

Firstly, measures should be put in place to avoid working in a way which could result in a fall. If that is not possible, then the amount of that work should be minimised, and as a last resort, protective measures should be put in place to mitigate the possible consequences of a fall.

The third item can also be subdivided into two parts, general or “collective” protective measures, such as guard rails or improved lighting, and personal protective measures, such as harnesses or protective clothing.

Protective measures may be categorised as “fall arrest” or “fall restraint” systems. The former stops someone who is experiencing a fall, for example by using a net or a harness, while the latter is designed to stop them falling in the first place, perhaps by means of guard rails, warnings or edge protection.

However, although the individual may also be a contributing factor, these kinds of accidents come about for one of two reasons; either the workplace itself is not safe, or access to the workplace is inadequate.

There are a number of ways of dealing with both issues, so let us look at some of the options.

Prevention hierarchy

There are several measures which you can use to reduce or eliminate the incidence of falls. Most important among these are risk assessments. Every situation has its challenges, but by using simple techniques, the following hierarchy can be established.

  • Identify: List the potential hazards, the risk that they will occur and the potential consequences — injury, illness or, worst case, fatality. This can be used to determine the subsequent action.
  • Avoid: Where possible, work with the highest risk and most serious consequence should be reconsidered with a view to not having to do it at all. Working practices may be adapted so that work at height is not necessary. For example, it may be possible to undertake work at ground level and then lift it into position rather than carrying it out it in situ.
  • Prevent: Use an existing safe place of work, or access equipment such as scaffolds or mobile platforms fitted with guard rails. Include fall restraint systems such as a harness with a shorter anchor line which will prevent someone from getting into a position where they could fall. A good example of both techniques is the construction of the London Eye, the large observation wheel installed on the south Bank of the River Thames at the millennium, which was assembled on floating platforms before being elevated to vertical, meaning that work at height was minimised, so the risk to workers was significantly reduced.
  • Minimise: If complete avoidance is not possible, then it may be possible to reduce the amount of risky work. For example, the use of extendable tools could remove the need to use ladders or platforms.
  • Protect: As already mentioned, there are some protective measures which can be put in place to reduce the incidence of falls, either by stopping them happening, or by seeking to minimise the consequences. Examples include harnesses, safety nets or “soft landing” systems. An innovative recent example is the installation on some sites of proximity sensors and personal alarms which can alert workers when they are nearing a hazard. This can be in addition to visual or other audible warnings. However, while it is important, protection should always be seen as a last resort, as it is effectively acknowledging that the other measures are likely to fail.
  • Train and instruct: An important part of all stages of the hierarchy is to ensure that people are aware of the dangers, are able to identify and deal with them, and sufficiently experienced in the use of preventative measures, such as harnesses and other protective equipment.

In some cases, it may be appropriate for you to draw up a series of “method statement” showing the procedures to be undertaken to ensure certain activities can be carried out safely. These are sometimes referred to as risk assessment method statements (RAMS).

The introduction and advancement of new technology has introduced the possibility of many other control solutions, especially those involving remote detection and navigation.

Practical steps

As well as providing training and instruction to people who are at risk of falls, you can implement some relatively simple steps which can be taken to further ensure the safety of all concerned.

  • Make sure that workplaces and access to them are clean and dry. Working areas should be level, and without obstacles, or anything else which could be a hazard, such as uneven surfaces or coverings.
  • Where appropriate, provide environmental protection. Exposure to weather conditions such as rain, wind and snow can all impede workers’ ability to perform, as can extremes of heat and cold, but things like dust and noise can also present problems. Other factors, such as excessive noise, can prevent instructions from being heard and understood, so the use of earpieces may be considered in those circumstances.
  • Adequate lighting should be provided. It should also be noted that overly bright lighting or sunshine can also obscure vision, so it may be necessary to use shading as well as lighting in some cases.
  • Holes, edges and other hazards should be clearly identified. This can be achieved with visual markers such as tape; audible warnings; or physical barriers such as guard rails and edge protection.
  • PPE: Personal protective equipment should be made available that is suitable for the task being undertaken. As well as simple measures such as head and body protection, consideration should be given to appropriate fall restraint and fall protection systems. All PPE should be regularly checked and inspected — especially before each use — to make sure there are no defects or damage. And perhaps most importantly, it should fit properly.
  • Training should be tailored to the task being undertaken or the protection/prevention used. As well as general training for operatives, it may be necessary to provide training for particular topics, such as slips, trips and falls, and task-specific training in the use of certain types of PPE, including fall arrest and restraint equipment. As always, training should be delivered in a way, and in a language which the operative can best understand.

Summary

Accidents involving falls are among the commonest causes of injuries and death in the construction industry. It follows, therefore, that they should be one of the easiest to reduce and eliminate.

Although the industry has made significant improvements in recent years, there is still some distance to go. However, by following some simple guidelines, planning properly, with well-trained operatives using the right equipment in the right environment, we can continue to take steps in the right direction.

Contact us if you have any queries.