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With the shortest day of the year coming up, we have issued a number of tips to ensure people stay safe over the festive period.

With winter quickly approaching we are urging people to take a number of measures to protect themselves and their properties during the darker nights.

The aim is to cut crimes which traditionally rise when the clocks go back. While crime has been reducing in recent years, burglary, robbery and vehicle crime can increase with the darker nights.

Our tips are:

* Most burglars are opportunists – Make sure you use a light timer switch to make it look like you’re at home

* One in five burglaries take place through unsecure windows and doors, so keep them locked – don’t let them in!

* Do not leave your house or car keys in a visible and easy to reach place in your house

* Be careful not to advertise your movements when visiting public places or using social media sites like Facebook

* When out and about keep expensive items out of sight and close to you at all times

* Consider property marking your expensive and valuable items

* Make sure people know your whereabouts

* Do not leave property on display in your car

* Consider personal safety when travelling at night, avoid dark short cuts and always let someone know where you are going

* Register your valuables for free on the National Property Database  www.immobilise.com

* Plan journeys in advance and remember to book a licensed taxi before heading out for the night.

With the darkest nights upon us, thieves may take advantage which could increase the risk of burglaries and thefts. We are urging people to do as much as they can to ensure they are not targeted by thieves and by following a few common sense safety tips they may save themselves and their families a lot of money and distress.

Employers and employees have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to ensure that workplace risks are controlled so that people do not slip or trip.

12 Tips for Managing Slips and Trips in your Workplace

1. Carry out a risk assessment of slip and trip risks in consultation with employees. This will enable you to highlight any potential hot spots within the organisation. Consider the design and layout of work areas, activities carried out in the work area and procedures for carrying out specific tasks. Don’t forget to include outside areas, including car parks, entrances, etc.
2. Ensure safe systems of work are in place which take into account slips and trips. Workers and management should receive training on understanding the risks of slips and trips and know how to prevent them.
3. Encourage the reporting of accidents and near misses by staff to help identify slip and trip black spots. Give feedback on actions taken.
4. Arrange for regular workplace inspections and pay particular attention to floors, stairs, tasks, lighting, general housekeeping and cleaning methods, personal protective equipment and variations in conditions at different times of the day.
5. Keep work areas clean and tidy, with floors and access routes clear of obstacles or obstructions. Encourage a ‘see it, sort it’ mentality amongst staff.
6. Ensure rubbish is regularly removed to a designated area outside the building.
7. Provide good lighting levels, without shadows or glare, particularly on stairways.
8. Ensure flooring is level and is checked regularly for damage. Loose carpets or mats should be removed or affixed. Changes of gradient should be highlighted and slippery surfaces should be treated with non-slip coating.
9. Provide handrails to all stairways and ensure stair nosings are colour-contrasted to prevent slips.
10. Staff should be advised to clean up spillages immediately. Make sure signs are used when floors are wet or cleaning is taking place.
11. Cables should not trail across walkways. Cable ties, walkover mats and cable managers should be provided.
12. Workers should wear footwear which has been selected through risk assessment and with regard to its slip-resistant properties.

Managing the risks of slips and trips will create a safer workplace. Take action now to ensure the safety of your workforce and reduce criminal and civil litigation costs.

Contact us if you require information.

Poor seating can negatively affect physical and emotional wellbeing, work performance and productivity. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has estimated that back pain costs UK employers up to £625 million per year. Continuous sitting on poor seating cannot be maintained for the whole of one’s working life. So what makes a good office chair and how should it be selected?

7 Tips for Selecting the Correct Chair

1. The seat needs to be adjustable so that both feet can rest comfortably on the floor. The seat pan should stop the pelvis from tilting away and support physiologically the ‘right’ sitting. The seat should permit both active and dynamic sitting, i.e. between a forward, upright and laid-back posture.
2. The backrest should be high enough to reach at least the shoulder blades. There should be a gap between the back and the seat pan for the buttocks. Some backrests have a tilting mechanism which adjusts with the worker. This can provide comfort in a wide range of working positions.
3. Armrests: whilst not essential, they can provide comfort, as they can take the weight of 8-10kg, i.e. the arms, which would otherwise simply hang on the shoulder girdle, causing fatigue. Armrests should be set back from the front edge of the seat or be adjustable to allow the chair to fit under the desk.
4. Chairs should be mobile, i.e. have castors, to provide flexibility where workers need to move from one location to another. Ensure the correct type of castor is selected, e.g. for hard floors or carpeted areas.
5. Adjustments may include seat height, backrest height and tilt. Adjustment controls should be easy to use from a sitting position.
6. Weight: no one weighing more than 16 stone should use a gas-lift chair, unless it is one which has been specially designed to accommodate larger persons.
7. Upholstery: the seat, backrest and armrests should be well padded to ensure user comfort and reduce the likelihood of damage. Upholstery should meet BS 7176:2007 in respect of resistance to ignition.

Follow these tips and you will be able to demonstrate that you have taken steps to avoid posture-related problems and injuries and will be able to defend any claims that arise.

If your staff require an assessment of their workstation, please contact us.

Symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to food poisoning and flu, producing drowsiness, headaches, chest pain, breathlessness or nausea. The most sensitive areas in the body are the heart and nervous system and workers with heart, lung and respiratory problems are most susceptible, as are pregnant women and smokers.

How to Manage CO in Your Workplace

1. In practical terms, you can address this silent killer by drawing up a floor plan for your workplace. Don’t forget to include any confined spaces.
2. Next, identify all potential and actual sources of CO – include equipment, processes and storage – and risk assess each. Consider employees who use petrol, diesel or gas-driven tools and appliances such as floor grinders, concrete cutting tools, compressors, diesel forklift trucks or small mobile plants. Remember that cabs in vehicles which have defective exhaust systems can also be affected by CO.
3. Where possible, change from petrol or diesel-powered equipment to equipment which is powered by batteries or electricity, if practicable to do so. If not, do not use petrol or diesel-powered engines or tools in poorly ventilated areas, inside your building or in partially enclosed areas.
4. Determine your workers’ exposure by carrying out an indoor air quality assessment. Current workplace exposure limits should not exceed 30ppm for long-term exposure and 200ppm for short-term exposure.
5. Implementing engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation will remove CO before it is released into the workplace. Ensure ventilation ducts are not blocked.
6. Ensure appliances have been properly installed and are maintained by a competent person.
7. Train employees on how to recognise the hazards that can lead to CO poisoning and ensure you place hazard warning labels on any equipment, tools or appliances likely to produce CO.
8. Only allow authorised personnel to operate equipment, tools and appliances which are likely to produce CO. All such personnel must receive adequate training, information and instruction.
9. Use CO monitors with audible alarms or personal CO monitors where a risk of exposure exists. However, these should be provided as a back-up and not as a substitute for a safe system of work.

The responsibility for a safe workplace falls squarely on your shoulders. Don’t let this silent killer catch you out.

Contact us if you wish to discuss this topic.

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.