Complyatwork january 2015 v2

January 2015

Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503

Comply at Work

safety snippets&

business bytes

Upcoming Courses P3

Happy New Year P4-5

Alcohol in the Workplace P6

Clients’ Question Time P7

Fuel - Get More for Your Money P8

Powerpoint Points P9

Comply at Work - Big Bolton Expo P10-11

In the Spotlight P12

P2 | Safety Snippets Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Safety

Snippets

Safety Snippets | P3 e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

UPCOMING COURSES PLANNED FOR THE NEW YEAR

Friday 6 February

CIEH Level 2 Award In Health and Safety

one day £120 + VAT inc Buffet lunchFriday 13th February

Qualsafe Level Emergency First Aid at work

one day £85.00 + VAT inc Buffet lunchFriday 20th March

‘How to deliver tool box talks’ (Train the Trainer)

and

‘Accident Investigation’These are two new bespoke courses of around 2

hours each with the exact timings to be confirmed. Certificates of attendance will be issued. Just

£50.00 + VAT per person per session.We are also planning another Friday afternoon pick

and mix session soon for Manual Handling and Asbestos Awareness – please register your interest

now to reserve your places on this very popular course. Discounts apply for larger groups.

We hope to see you on one of our training sessions soon


Safety

Snippets

Is your Health and Safety management system up-to-date and fully compliant with current Regulations and Guidance?

We would be delighted to arrange a brief conversation with you to carry out an informal review of your current Health and Safety arrangements. This will advise you of your current compliance status and identify any further requirements. These will be summarised in a brief report. The review will hopefully allow us the opportunity to be considered to supply your Health and Safety service requirements as they arise. There’s no catch!

Please request your FREE ‘Healthcheck’ at no cost to you, and without obligation, and we will respond to you promptly to arrange a mutually convenient time to visit.

We pride ourselves on being a friendly, approachable company offering quality advice and guidance you can understand at very competitive rates.

Protect your Business AND People.

Call 01204 772977

*Offer applies to new clients only, based in the North West and to the first 5 applications before end February.

e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Safety Snippets | P5

HAPPY NEW YEAR!If your New Year Resolutions include any of the following…

FOCUS ON YOUR BUSINESS

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

WIN MORE SALES

SAVE MONEY

CUT RED TAPE

AVOID COSTLY LEGAL ACTION

HAVE LESS STRESS, MORE PEACE OF MIND

WE CAN HELP!

Time-limited offer, first come, first served…

FREE ‘Healthcheck’ and Report on your Health and Safety Arrangements*


Safety

Snippets

Source: Indicator

Alcohol in the workplace: Alcoholics Anonymous

We have recently been contacted by this charitable organisation and are keen to promote their services to our clients and contacts.

Joanne, an Employment Liaison Officer writes for us below…

Hi, my name is Joanne and I’m an alcoholic!

What does Alcoholics Anonymous have to do with the health and safety of your employees?

Did you know that Government Statisics shows that 1 out of 10 people could have drink related problems?

Did you know that drink related issues including sickness, accidents at work, rehiring and training new staff, according to Government statistic, is costing the economy over £1.6 billion in lost revenue every year? The cost of recruiting and training a replacement may be greater than the cost of allowing someone time off to obtain expert help.

Do you know that Alcoholism is an mental illness and that employees with a drink problem have the same rights to confidentiality and support as they would if they had any other medical or psychological condition, or that many people with an alcohol problem are able in time to regain full control over their drinking and return to their previous work performance.

If any employees were found to be drunk, you suspected or they admitted they thought they might have a drink problem, how would you proceed? Any Disciplinary action should be a last resort. A court may find a dismissal unfair if an employer has made no attempt to help an employee whose work problems are related to drinking alcohol.

Do you have any knowledge of AA or what happens at an AA meeting or have to hand any information for employees who may be in need of this information?

Alcoholics Anonymous - Who Are We and What Can We Do for You - Would you be interested in a short presentation for HR or any key personnel who deal with the welfare of your employees. AA gives you another avenue or tool to use to help people who may have a drink problem in your employment. All our services, literature and time is free. AA is self-supporting through its own contributions. We are not professionals but we have valuable experience in dealing with Alcoholism, our aim is to simply help you help any person who feels they have a drink problem. If you would like to set up a meeting please send me email [email protected] or you can use the AA website and have a look at the section for Professionals on there www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk.

Joanne K -Employment Liaison Officer

East Lancs Intergroup - Alcoholics Anonymous

New IOSH campaignCancer caused by work claims 666,000 lives a year worldwide.

IOSH’s No Time to Lose campaign aims to get the causes of occupational cancer better understood and help businesses take action. Find out more

e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Safety Snippets | P7

Clients’ Question TimeWe have recently been asked the following questions by our clients. with their permission, we have published them in our newsletter to assist others…

PROVISION OF SAFETY FOOTWEARQ If the company specifies selected safety footwear for various production/installation processes and the employee wants something more expensive are we entitled to a cut-off point and the employee pay the difference?

A The Health and Safety Executive’s PPE policy has previously stated:

If an employer decides that safety footwear is required, then the employer will have to pay for the provision of such Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). However, what should an employer do if the employees want an ‘upgrade’ or have a better pair of boots etc? Does he pay for better ones or just the ones that fulfil the legal requirements?

The employer must fulfil the legal requirements and ensure the footwear is ‘suitable’ as required by Regulation 4 of Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. If this is done and the employees want an ‘upgrade’ then the employer can do the following:

He/she can provide the employees with a choice of footwear within a similar price range. Most employees only if this option is rejected then the employer can provide the employee with the cost of the ‘suitable’ pair of footwear which the employer has already identified and the employee will then pay the difference.

If an employer wants to do this he must stress to his employees that he/she is willing to provide the ‘suitable’ footwear. This is an important point to be stressed to the employees so that they understand that their employer has discharged their legal duties. (If the employer provides ‘suitable’ footwear then the employer has fulfilled his legal duties).

However, the employer must ensure that what the employees purchase is suitable for the task and the environment for which they are to be used.

PORTABLE APPLIANCE TESTING IN OFFICES Q What would be an accepted PAT testing regime in a low risk office and can you advise on the PAT testing of employees’ personal equipment in offices. For example, would this apply to mobiles being charged in the office?

A If the equipment is being used in the office then the law requires you to maintain the equipment, whether it belongs to you or the employee. Battery charging equipment that is plugged into the mains is classed as portable and movable equipment. The HSE provides the following information on electrical equipment in low risk environments such as offices which also includes a suggested table of initial intervals for PAT testing;

What does the law say?

You must maintain electrical equipment if it can cause danger, but the law* does not say how you must do this or how often. You should decide the level of maintenance needed according to the risk of an item becoming faulty, and how the equipment is constructed. You should consider:

● the increased risk if the equipment isn’t used correctly, isn’t suitable for the job, or is used in a harsh environment; and

● if the item is not double insulated, for example some kettles are earthed but some pieces of hand-held equipment, such as hairdryers, are usually double insulated.

This includes any electrical equipment your employees use at work, whether it is their own or supplied by you. You have a joint responsibility to maintain any equipment used by your employees that is either leased (eg a photocopier) or provided by a contractor (but not equipment both provided and used by a contractor).

You will need to check periodically if any testing needs doing. How you do this depends on the type of equipment.

Further information on maintaining electrical equipment safety can be found on the HSE’s web page; http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/maintenance/safety.htm


Business

Bytes

Step 1: Make your car more fuel-efficientKeep your tyres inflated

Fuel efficiency improvement: Up to 3%

Lower tyre pressure increases the drag on a car, meaning you need more fuel, so regularly check the pressures are correct and your car needs less oomph to keep it moving.

Declutter your car


The lighter your car is, the less effort it needs to accelerate. By decluttering, clearing out junk from the boot, and not carrying unnecessary weight, you can save more.

Take your roof rack off


A roof rack, even unused, adds wind resistance to a car, increasing drag and making the engine work harder. If you don’t need it, take it off, along with anything else inefficient. Even closing the windows will make the car run slightly more efficiently.

Turn off air con at lower speeds


Newer cars are getting better on this, but air conditioning still uses an incredible amount of fuel - so make sure it’s turned off unless you really need it.

The general consensus is it’s more efficient to drive with the windows down and the air con off at lower speeds, but at higher speeds it’s better to use the air con and keep windows up due to the extra drag caused by having windows down.

If you’re not using your air con, it’s worth turning it on once in a while as not using it can mean it stops working. Also, don’t keep the engine running. Drive off as soon as you start up and switch off the engine as soon as you reach your destination. Turn your engine off where possible, eg, in traffic or during big delays on motorways.

Don’t fill it up


Fuel is heavy, so by filling the car up you’re adding quite a weight. The less fuel your car has in it, the more

efficiently it drives. If you fill up slightly more often and put less in (to 1/2 or 3/4 full), it’ll make the car run more efficiently.

But don’t be tempted to run the fuel too low - winter driving uses more fuel, so you’ll cover fewer miles per litre.

Step 2: Drive more efficientlyYou can drive the same distance in the same time using much less fuel, chopping up to 30% OFF your fuel costs, but without cutting your top speed. It’s about driving more smoothly to boost your fuel efficiency.

Accelerate gradually without over-revving

Speed up smoothly. If you press harder on the pedal, more fuel will flow - but you can reach the same speed using much less power. As a rough rule, stay under 3,000 revs.

Drive in the correct gear

Always drive in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine. So change up much earlier than feels natural. Again, a very rough guide (though it varies wildly with each car) is not to go over 3,000 revs.

Slow naturally

Rather than brake all the time, let your car slow naturally. Use its stored momentum.

Think about road position

To do all this takes road awareness. The more alert you are, the better you can plan ahead and move gradually.

In many ways, this all comes down to one little rule of thumb.

Every time you put your foot on the accelerator, remember the harder you press, the more fuel you spend.

Just being conscious of this, and your road position, should massively increase how far you can drive on a tank of petrol. It’s estimated someone who averages 35 miles per gallon could reach 40mpg by driving better, a near-15% saving.

Source: Martin Lewis

Fuel - get more for your moneyWith the price of fuel reducing significantly, here are a few more

ways to get more for your money, in business and leisure:

Business Bytes | P9 e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Action Point

Review a recent PowerPoint, and see how well you follow the five guidelines. Then, think of 1-2 simple ways to improve your next presentation.

And, for more tips on how to have impact when you communicate, click here.

Powerpoint points!Two phrases you commonly hear:

‘I don’t feel comfortable making presentations ‘

‘I use PowerPoint as a comfort blanket’

Which does beg the question: how good a comfort blanket can PowerPoint be, if people feel so uncomfortable using it?

And, even if you like PowerPoint, it’s your audiences – not you – that dictate whether your presentations are a success. So, your slides must be audience aids, not speaker prompts.

Audiences hate sitting through tedious, wordy slides. Presenters hate delivering alongside them. So, here are five simple guidelines to using PowerPoint more effectively:

Start correctly: begin by thinking what you want your audience to do after your presentation – not what your content/slides should be. Let this ‘do’ govern your entire preparation

Go to PowerPoint last, not first: PowerPoint should be a tool to convey your thinking, not the way you think

Less wordy: your slides should accompany - not duplicate – you. They must not tell the whole story, or there’s no point you being there. Only put key, simple, digestible words/visuals on your slides, for you to elaborate on

Use the visual medium for visual things: PowerPoint is an excellent tool for communicating visual messages – graphics, charts, etc. But it’s a rubbish way to communicate full sentences and reasoned arguments. You – the presenter – are better at doing that. Either create visual, text-light presentations; or wordy, text-heavy documents. Don’t create something that tries to be both and, thus, is neither

Use slide builds: if a slide has four points, your audience will be reading points 2-4 while you discuss point 1. This means they aren’t fully focused on any of them. Stop them reading ahead by clicking to bring up each new point

And the best thing about PowerPoint? When you press ‘B’ on the keyboard, it blacks out the screen – perfect for when you want your audience 100% focused on you, not the slides

Business

Bytes


@CCOMPLY at WORKHEALTH & SAFETY CONSULTANCY AND TRAINING

Visit us at the Big Bolton Expo

Wednesday 11th February


Comply at Work

The Big Bolton Expo is back – and Comply at Work will be exhibiting. We’d like to invite you to come along to the event and whilst you’re there call and see us on Stand 23.

We’re exhibiting so that we can tell people about our services and our exciting new training courses.

We are also having a prize draw and give-away freebies!

Super Prize Business Card Draw of a signed Bolton Wanders shirt!!!

Come and have a chat with us and whilst you’re there and network with lots of other businesses.

The Big Bolton Expo is being held at The Bridge Conference Centre on Wednesday 11th February. There are plenty of things happening on the day:

4.00pm – 4.45pm Networking

4.45pm Exhibition opens

5.30pm and 6.30pm Speed Networking

7.00pm Food served (courtesy of THE Chinese Buffet)

8.30pm Close

It’s really easy to register and it’s FREE! All you need to do is CLICK HERE

I do hope you will be able to join us and be part of this exciting event. We look forward to seeing you on the day!

Business

Bytes




Comply at Work

We have some superb facilities in Horwich Bolton. The venue has a training room which holds 16 seated at desking, plus extra seating if required. All desking and chairs are stackable and foldable to ensure the trainers can arran-ge the room to their specific requirements. This will be arranged for you pre-training.

We have a modern, ceiling-mounted projector, speakers, hi speed connectivity with fibre optic broadband and a large contemporary magnetic glass board, flip chart and several training aids. There is a wall-mounted TV in the break out area.

We offer free refreshments – sparking and fil-tered water, mints, tea, coffee, herbal and fruit teas and biscuits throughout the day. We can arrange very reasonably-priced high quality buffets delivered chilled from a local provider at your request.

There is a Reception/ Break- out area available for syndicates, breaks and lunches. We have a designated smoking area on site and two toilets, one of which is an ambulant accessible toilet.

We can offer a photocopying or printing service at nominal cost.

There is free parking at the end of the block and across the road from the venue. We are close to local train stations, and to J6 of the M61 and on local bus routes. The town centre with all amenities is within 2 minutes’ walk away.

We are flexible and charge by the hour at a competitive price. We would be perfect for SMEs, board meetings, team meetings, inter-views, workshops, networking, presentations and training or just short one – one meetings with your clients which we can provide free of charge with just a nominal amount for tea/co-ffee etc. Just let us know and book a timeslot in advance!

Please call us now on 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503 to discuss your requirements. www.complyatwork.co.uk

Venue Hire

Comply at Work

spotlightHere’s a summary of the latest news from Comply at Work…

Some of our work this month so far has included:

The delivery of DSE assessor training to a NW Housing Group

Delivery of Manual Handling training

Delivery of Fire Marshall Training

Site audits for a client acting as Principal Contractor for a leading biscuit manufacturer

Implementation of Health and Safety management systems

Finally, we are pleased to assist our new clients this month:

• Stressfree Print, Horwich

• Bolton Electrical

• Journey HR, London

• Houlton & Sons Ltd, Hull

• Composite Textiles Ltd, Rochdale

• Elite Greenhouses, Kearsley

• Posturegroup/Relaxa, Herts

The Authority in Access

Ensure you meet current Working at Height (WAHR 2005)

regulations with our adhesive stickers, tags, holders and business

packs

• Site Surveys for Bespoke Access• Ladder & PASMA Training• Special Application design• On Site Ladder Inspections

Ladder Log Safety Inspection System

Services We Offer

Visit Ladderstore.comor call our team on 01204 590 232

The Authority in Access

Ensure you meet current Working at Height (WAHR 2005)

regulations with our adhesive stickers, tags, holders and business

packs

• Site Surveys for Bespoke Access• Ladder & PASMA Training• Special Application design• On Site Ladder Inspections

Ladder Log Safety Inspection System

Services We Offer

Visit Ladderstore.comor call our team on 01204 590 232

We thought that I would give you the heads up about the Ladder Exchange which starts on the 1st September and lasts until 31st December this year.

See the general details at http://www.ladderexchange.org.uk/

Ladderstore have been part of this great initiative for over 6 years and we give customers 10% off any orders that are to replace damaged ladders. If customers are unsure about the state of the ladder they can always contact us on 01204 590232 and we can advise them or if it is a large number of ladders go out to check them.

the

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Complyatwork january 2015 v2