THE BLOG WHAT'S NEW?

5 Tips to Ensure You Hire Competent Contractors

1. When considering potential contractors for work, always ask to see evidence of their competence – this would include their qualifications and training, affiliations to trade bodies and industry bodies, and examples of previous similar work. Ask about their knowledge of applicable legislation, best practice and industry standards.
2. Check their references out. Ask previous customers about the contractor’s standard of work, and if they managed health and safety well when on site.
3. Always make sure that you see proof of the risk assessment relating to the job. Check that company has identified the hazards applicable to both the activity and your particular site.
4. Make sure the contractor can provide evidence of having safe systems of work in place, and that the precautions and controls they identify as necessary are actually put into place before work starts and throughout the job.
5. Before work starts, verify what management presence from the company will occur in order to supervise the works. Plan regular meetings to discuss progress, and ensure you have the contact numbers for management personnel in case of a problem on site.

When it comes to health and safety, never take any chances – only allow competent contractors to undertake work on your premises.
Contact us if you require advice.

1. Conduct a risk assessment for safe driving, thinking about the controls that need to be in place to avoid driver distraction, such as a blanket ban on using mobile phones when driving.
2. Check that all workers who drive on company business have the correct driving licence for the vehicle they will be using, and are familiar with the layout of the vehicle’s controls.
3. Follow up on any accidents or near misses that occur, no matter how minor they are perceived to be, and any convictions such as speeding. Identify if driver distraction was a factor. Consider if refresher training is needed.
4. Develop a clear policy on when and how mobile devices can be used in vehicles. Ban workers from using phones, hand-held devices and hands-free kits when driving – tell them instead to pull over to a safe place to make or take a call. This also applies to eating and drinking. Where possible, avoid calling workers when you know they will be driving.
5. Give regular training to workers on the dangers of being distracted at the wheel, from induction through to regular refreshers. You could use the video produced by Thames Valley Police on the above case – you can find it on YouTube and other internet sites.
6. Provide supervision for workers to ensure they are following company rules when driving – undertake ride-alongs and use the time to educate about good and bad practice.

It is vital that your workers are aware of the risks posed by looking at mobile phones or other devices when driving as part of their work activities – give them the necessary training today.

Contact us should you require advice.

Your phone buzzes to life while you’re driving along – what do you do? Ignore it, or have a sneaky look?

We all know that it’s illegal (not to mention extremely dangerous) to use your mobile phone while driving. Yet our latest research reveals that many motorists just aren’t getting the message…

Next time you’re tempted to reach for your phone while driving, remember the following. Here in the UK, it’s been illegal to ride a motorcycle or drive using hand-held phones since December 2003.

There are just two very specific exceptions to the law: if you need to call 999 or 112 in an emergency and its unsafe or impractical for you to stop, or if your car is safely parked.

You can, of course, legally use a hands-free phone. But if the police believe you’re distracted and not in control of your vehicle because of your using it, you could still get stopped and be penalised.

So, if in doubt, it’s best to banish your mobile phone to your glove compartment entirely until your journey’s over.

The new legislation in brief

New legislation is due in the UK in the first half of 2017, which will raise the points received from using mobile phones whilst driving to 6 points, instead of the previous 3-point penalty. On the spot fines, will also be increased from £100 to £200.

This is part of an ongoing initiative to crack down on dangerous driving due to people using their phones. This initiative will be supported by a new high profile Think! campaign backed by the government, which hope to raise awareness around the dangers caused by this behaviour.

If you require any advice in this matter, please contact us.

Tips to Ensure Staff are Protected when Dogs are on the Premises

1. Complete a risk assessment for the dogs you have on site, including guard dogs and visiting pets brought in from home. Consider how someone could be hurt and under what circumstances, for example, if a particular dog has a history of aggression. Have a clear policy on which dogs (if any) are allowed on the premises, and when.
2. If there is a risk of biting, keep a muzzle on the dog when people are in the area. Make sure the animal is under control at all times, and that the lead and collar are strong enough to not be broken if it pulls.
3. If people handle dogs or their waste, make sure there are suitable hand washing facilities nearby and bags to pick up faeces. Ringworm can be passed from dogs to humans if the spores are able to enter through breaks in human skin. Keep all dogs wormed and treated for fleas on a regular basis. Keep dogs out of food preparation areas, and clean up fouling immediately.
4. Display warning signs to alert visitors that a dog is kept on the premises.
5. Teach staff how to approach the dogs on site. Remember that all animals can be unpredictable, so it may be best for only trained workers to have access to the animals during the course of their work.

Dogs can present a risk to workers and members of the public if they are not properly controlled. Take action today to ensure that your staff are not at risk of being bitten.

Contact us should you require information or advice regarding this matter.

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.