THE BLOG WHAT'S NEW?

1. Identify each ladder you own for checking and inspection purposes. Number each ladder and keep a record of it. As a minimum, the record should identify the ladder, give the date of the inspection and the name of the person carrying out the inspection, along with their signature.
2. Decide how often you wish to formally inspect your ladders, e.g. three-monthly or six-monthly. Note that this formal checking is in addition to your pre-user checks.
3. For general ladders, look for: loose steps or rungs; loose nails, screws, bolts or other metal parts; cracked, split or broken uprights and damaged or worn non-slip bases.
4. For extension ladders, look for: loose, broken or missing extension locks; defective locks that do not seal properly when the ladder is extended and deterioration due to exposure to weather.
5. For trestle ladders, look for: loose hinges; loose or bent hinge spreaders; broken stop on hinge spreaders; the centre section guide for extension being out of alignment and the ladder being wobbly.
6. For stepladders, these should not be wobbly, have loose or bent hinge spreaders, broken, split or worn steps, or loose hinges.
7. Ladders which have been modified, painted or shortened should be removed from use.
8. Defective ladders, including those with corrosion and dents, must be removed from use and marked to ensure further use is prohibited. Repair work should only be carried out by a competent person.

A blatant disregard of ladder checks will highly increase the chances of fatal falls, prosecution and hefty fines. Make sure you carry out these vital checks.

Contact us if you require assistance.

Each year, 40% of all accidents reported to the HSE are attributed to slips, trips and falls and cost employers around £512 million in lost production. They are also responsible for 50% of all reported injuries to members of the public in workplaces. This short guide gives tips on how to reduce these statistics and what you can do to prevent slips and trips in your workplace.

There are many factors that contribute to slips, trips and falls in your workplace, according to the HSE…

1. Unsuitable floor surfaces
2. Wet/contaminated floors
3. Unsuitable footwear
4. Poor lighting
5. Obstructions in walkway
6. Uneven surfaces

To tackle these risks employers should focus on :

Contamination (e.g. Oil and dust)

Contamination can occur through spills, leaks or from cleaning activities (e.g. wet floors). You can look at ways to reduce the risk by reviewing current work practices and putting measures in place to ensure access to these areas are restricted.

If it is not possible to avoid contamination, other factors could be altered – for instance the type of flooring, cleaning method/routine or type of footwear worn.

Flooring

The floor in a workplace should be suitable for the type of work activity taking place on it. If a floor is slippery, the causes should be assessed – for example, does the floor need to be chemically treated? Are appropriate cleaning materials and methods being used?

Footwear

HSE says that choosing the right slip-resistant footwear for workers can be tricky and the final choice may have to be a compromise based on a range of factors – e.g. durability, comfort and other safety features. It advises seeking the supplier’s advice, asking for trial pairs to try and ensuring any trial involves a representative sample of the workforce and lasts long enough to produce meaningful results. 

Environment

This could include: lighting (could create glare on a shiny floor or inadequate lighting could stop people seeing hazards); noise, which could distract people from hazards; weather (rainwater, ice, snow, frost); humidity; and condensation.

Human factors

How people act and behave in their work environment – for instance, dealing with spillages, rushing around, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and so on.

Housekeeping

There should be no trailing wires or other obstructions, an effective cleaning regime and adequate storage facilities and rubbish bins to avoid trips.

Design and maintenance

Employers need to ensure that flooring is fitted correctly and properly maintained and that walkways are located correctly, available for use, wide enough and level. Stairs should be suitable, with usable handrails available and risers consistent. Markings can be used to indicate changes in level.

Should you require further information, please contact us.

How would you react in an emergency? Would you feel confident carrying out first aid or possibly using a defibrillator?

Every year in the UK, thousands of people die or are seriously injured in accidents. Many of these deaths could be prevented if first aid is given before emergency services arrive. What would you do?

If someone is injured in an accident at work or in everyday life:

• First check that you and the casualty are not in any danger. If you are, make the situation safe.
• When it’s safe to do so, dial 999 or 112 for an ambulance, if necessary.
• Carry out basic first aid if you know how.
• If a person is unconscious but is breathing and has no other life-threatening conditions, they should be placed in the recovery position until help arrives.
• If a person is not breathing normally after an incident, call for an ambulance and then, if you can, start CPR straight away. Use hands-only CPR if you are not trained to perform rescue breaths.

Would you like to know how to deal with the following in an emergency:-

• Poisoning
• Stroke
• Fractures
• Drowning
• Bleeding
• Anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock)
• Heart attack
• Burns and scalds
• Choking
• Electricity

There is currently no legal obligation to ensure an AED is available in the workplace. Without common law making units mandatory, workplaces may feel reluctant to invest in an AED. However, there is good reason to consider a purchase if you have not already. Typically these units retail for around £1000, depending on the make, manufacturer and accessories included. If you have multiple workplace sites this can be a significant cost.

But you can’t put a price on a life.

If you would like to learn the basics or train to a higher standard in first aid, contact us.

Top 10 Higher Risk Activities

The HSE has issued a list of specific activities in defined sectors, recognised as being potentially higher risk. These are:

1. Legionella infection in premises with cooling towers.
2. Explosion caused by leaking Liquefied petroleum gas in premises with buried metal pipework.
3. E. coli/Cryptosporidium infection at open farms.
4. Fatalities or injuries from being struck by vehicles in warehouses and motor vehicle repair centres.
5. Falls from height, including fatalities, or injuries, in industrial and retail premises.
6. Amputation and crushing injuries in industrial and retail wholesale premises and timber merchants.
7. Industrial diseases, including deafness and asthma in motor vehicle repair and industrial and retail premises.
8. Crowd control and injuries, or fatalities, to the public at large-scale public events.
9. Carbon monoxide poisoning in commercial catering premises.
10. Violence at work in premises which have vulnerable working conditions, e.g. lone and night working.

** Some of the subjects will not be applicable to your business.

The HSE has advised LA Inspectors that proactive inspection should be used only for the activities on this list or where there is intelligence that risks are not being effectively managed. The Inspector must explain to you why you are being inspected and if you operate in a low-risk sector and have been unreasonably subject to a proactive health and safety inspection, contact us.

Across Great Britain, the HSE secured a total of 636 convictions, giving a conviction rate of 94%. Local authorities prosecuted 191 offences and secured 184 convictions – a rate of 96%. The HSE’s emphasis is on prevention but they will come down hard on employers who flout the law. Do you know what should you be doing to avoid this happening to you?

10 Top Tips for Health and Safety Success

1. Lead by example – demonstrate your commitment and provide direction to let everyone know health and safety is important.
2. Write a policy which includes the health and safety responsibilities of all personnel within the organisation and the arrangements for implementing and monitoring it. To make your policy effective, you need to get your staff involved and committed. This contributes towards a positive health and safety culture.
3. Make sure your workplace hazards have been identified and the risks have been assessed, eliminated or controlled. Provide information on hazards and risks to your employees and contractors working on your premises.
4. Assess the skills that your employees need to carry out their work safely and ensure that all employees – including managers, supervisors and temporary or agency staff – have received the necessary training.
5. Ensure that managers and supervisors understand their responsibilities and have the time and resources to carry them out.
6. Arrange to have access to competent health and safety advice – you need to know if you are complying with health and safety laws that affect your business. A good adviser will give you practical solutions to health and safety ‘challenges’.
7. Set health and safety objectives, where everyone knows what they must do and how they will be held accountable.
8. Co-ordinate and co-operate with contractors who work on your premises.
9. Measure your health and safety performance by means of regular inspection and checking to ensure your standards are being implemented and management controls are working. You can monitor reactively – by learning from your mistakes – when they have resulted in injuries, illness, damage to property or near misses.
10. Monitor and review your performance by carrying out audits to see if your policy, organisation and systems are achieving the right results. Combine the results from measuring performance with information from audits to improve your health and safety management.

It is predicted that more employers will fall foul of the Regulator in 2015 – make sure you’re not one of them.

Contact us if you would like further advice.