I was ready recently in the news about how a construction worker was permanently scarred after an electrical explosion occurred when underground cables were hit, and it just re-iterated to me how important method statements and risk assessments are to even the most simple of jobs. Taking the case of this poor man, who was simply asked [...] Read more »
Asbestos, a real health risk in our schools
I was reading a news item last month about the health and safety in schools when it comes to asbestos, and how after an audit by the Health and Safety Executive 20% of the 164 schools surveyed had unacceptable procedures in place for dealing with asbestos, Read more »
Construction Health and Safety – or not!
A friend of mine recently took a holiday overseas in an African country, where perhaps they take the health and safety in construction not as seriously as we do in this country. Whilst there are obvious cost benefits to this route actually the risk to the workers is immense and it left me thinking, Read more »
Classroom Risk Assessment
Where the welfare of children are concerned, especially when they are supposed to be in a completely secure environment, any help given to protect them and keep them safe seems to me to be a jolly good move. Health and safety in schools is one of our specialist areas so we were delighted to read [...] Read more »
Health and Safety for Commercial Property Owners
As Commercial Property owners we have a wide range of legisltation with which we must comply. The situation is further complicated by your obligations to and relationships with tenants. Where do I start? Ultimately the division of Health and Safety responsibilities is often the subject of negotiation between landlords and tenants and will consequently vary [...] Read more »
Lax fire safety could be putting millions of lives at risk
Insurance company RSA research findings has revealed that a quarter of workers have never participated in a full fire evacuation of their workplace. One in 20 UK workers claimed their workplace had no marked fire exits and over 40% of people also said they would spend time retrieving personal belongings or work documents before vacating [...] Read more »
What are the main effects of the revisions to the CDM Regulations?
What are the main effects of the revisions to the CDM Regulations? Although there have been a number of improvements to general health & safety within the construction industry before the revised Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) came in to force, construction is still a dangerous occupation. In 2005/6, almost one third [...] Read more »
As a Funeral Director I have to comply with a wide range of legislation, external environments often present planning and strategic difficulties. Where do I start?
As a Funeral Director I have to comply with a wide range of legislation, external environments often present planning and strategic difficulties. Where do I start? You should have a plan in mind of how your safety system should operate, what training your employees need, who will carry out risk assessments and how these will [...] Read more »
HSE Guidelines on Safety Credentials
HSE Guidelines on Safety Credentials Ensuring that contractors have a basic understanding of health and safety prior to starting work is common practice. Frequently, contractors are subjected to clients’ ‘pre-qualification’ or ‘Stage l’ assessments when tendering for work and in recent years the development of various assessment schemes to confirm contractors’ basic safety credentials have [...] Read more »
Health and Safety for Petrol Retailers
My business operates in a high risk environment and I have to comply with everything from ‘DSEAR’ to food hygiene legislation. Where do I start? The simple answer is you need to have a clear picture in your mind of how your safety management system is to be organised. This will be captured within the [...] Read more »
