How can I effectively manage and control the safety of vehicles in the workplace? Driver error is often a key factor in vehicle accidents. Many incidents result from reversing manoeuvres and excessive speed. Whether due to error or irresponsibility, poor driving frequently compounds hazards involving vehicle operations in the workplace. These can be divided into [...] Read more »

What precautions should I take to safeguard employees working in cold environments? Working in cold environments fairly obviously presents very different hazards to those encountered in the ‘normal’ workplace, the most obvious of which are frostbite and hypothermia. Perhaps the most significant issue is that of maintaining body temperature within normal tolerances whilst preserving sufficient [...] Read more »

What is ‘COSHH’, What ar the main risks arising from hazardous substances and how should I control them? When we refer to hazardous substances, we are talking about either chemical agents, (which exist as liquids, gases, vapours, mists, fumes or dusts) or biological agents (fungi, bacteria or viruses). The CHIP 3 (Chemicals (Hazard Information and [...] Read more »

What should I do to protect the safety of young workers? Firstly it helps to know exactly who we are talking about and how safety law defines children and young people. A Young Person is anyone under 18 years of age. A Child is anyone who has not yet reached the official age at which [...] Read more »

Do I really need an Asbestos Survey? It is now some time since Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 came into force, requiring duty holders to manage asbestos on their premises. But asbestos surveys are often carried out unnecessarily and rather badly. Many thousands of asbestos surveys take place around [...] Read more »

How can the risk of manual handling injury be reduced? Manual handling injuries accounts for some 40 percent of reportable injuries, most of which impact on the lower back. Effects can be immediate or develop into longer term chronic problems. The main causes are moving loads that are too heavy, failing to grip the load [...] Read more »

How can I look after those members of staff that use computers? A large amount of investigation and research into the effects of computer display screen equipment (DSE) or visual display units (VDUs), has failed to result in proof that VDU’s can in themselves cause disease or permanent damage to the eyes. Nevertheless, the Health [...] Read more »

As an employer, what are my duties to this ‘vulnerable group’? A new and expectant mother is defined as someone who is pregnant, has given birth within the previous six months, or is breastfeeding. Employers have a general duty to assess risk to all employees, under the management of Health and Safety Regulations l999. As [...] Read more »

What provisions should I make to protect my staff from attack? Work-related violence is defined by the HSE as ‘Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’. Sexual or racial harassment at work should also be viewed as a violence issue. Read more »

What are the basic principles of fire, how does it spread and how should I minimise the risk of fire in line with legal requirements? Fire results from combustion, i.e. the process by which oxygen combines with some form of fuel in the presence of heat or a source of ignition. Often known as the [...] Read more »