Comply at Work

safety snippets&

business bytes

May 2014

Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503

HOT, HOT, HOT P2

Upcoming Courses P3

Work Equipment P4-5

In the Spotlight P6

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

Safety

Snippets

It’s going to be HOT, HOT, HOT at Comply at Work!

Our next FREE twilight seminar will be held on Wednesday 11 June at 4 pm at our Training centre in Horwich.

A BRIEF overview of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 including:• Where do the regulations apply and what must be

identified• Practical risk assessments on a few fairly common ‘issues’• Flammable liquids and gases• Fire spread and means of escape• Action in the event of fire• Instruction and training of staff• Special risks such as people with disabilities• Firefighting equipment• Emergency routes and exits• Signs• Guidance The presentation will include a few very tiny pop’s, bangs and ‘things not to do with petrol’ etc. sounds like fun!Places are limited, so don’t miss out – contact us now to reserve your place.

We are also giving all our readers a FREE useful fire checklist for the workplace, just drop us an e-mail or call us so that we can send on to you, with no obligation.

Safety Snippets | P3 e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

UPCOMING COURSES

Call us for further information and costings. Discounts are available for some of our courses.

Don’t delay as places are taken quickly!

Our popular ‘Pick n Mix’ training session runs Friday afternoon on 23 May.

This includes Manual Handling followed by Asbestos Awareness.

Either or both courses can be booked and for groups or if attending both session, we can offer a discount.

These sessions are very popular with Tradesmen who require the training and certification for CHAS and

Safe contractor accreditations. Please are now limited, please let us know if you

would like to book as soon as possible.

Our next One day

Emergency First Aid Course runs on Tuesday 24 June

places are already going quickly so let us know as soon as you are able if you would like to make

bookings.If you would like a FREE First Aid policy template

document, with no obligation, please get in touch with your request and we will e-mail it on!

P4 | Safety Snippets Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Safety

Snippets

Source: Indicator

e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Safety Snippets | P5

Source: Indicator

Deadly chargers on the marketTrading Standards has reported that some phone chargers are causing electric shocks and fires. How should you deal with this in your workplace?

Potentially deadly. A report published by Trading Standards has warned that the UK is being flooded with unsafe electrical chargers for items such as phones, e-cigarettes, hand-held computers, etc.

What’s wrong with them? The problems found include: (1) mains wiring in contact with low voltage circuitry leaving users at risk of electric shock; and (2) incorrect and unsafe conversion plugs supplied with products, leaving users at risk of electrocution through touching live pins when connecting adaptors.

Fire risks. In addition to the reports of serious electric shocks, it’s believed that some chargers have exploded or burst into flames.

Cheap imports. The reason that many people are opting for these products is their price. An original charger can cost upwards of £20, however the fake products sell for a fraction of the price. Trading Standards identified that they are being sold online and in many high street phone shops.

Under the desk. If, like most employers, you allow your staff to charge their phones etc. at work, you could be unwittingly putting them at risk. So what should you do?

Fake chargers are causing electric shocks and fires. Make staff aware of the risks and prohibit the use of non-standard products in your workplace.

Source: Indicator

WORK EQUIPMENT

Tip 1. Make staff aware of the risks of buying these cheap products. Showing them the Trading Standards report should help http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/policy/policy-pressitem.cfm/newsid/24

Tip 2. Because of the risks to your staff and your property, it’s sensible to prohibit them from using any personally-owned chargers that have not been supplied by the phone manufacturer.

Tip 3. Make sure that any chargers you purchase are the genuine article rather than cheap alternatives.

P6 | Safety Snippets Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Safety

Snippets

Source: Indicator

Can you stock plasters in a First aid Box?

Issue: An employee had cut her finger in the workplace and a colleague tried to obtain a plaster from the first-aid kit but there were none. The employee asked a manager if they could restock them but she replied that due to health and safety reasons ie allergies, plasters were no longer supplied for the first-aid.

Answer:There is no health and safety regulation which bans the provision of plasters, in fact HSE’s own guidance recommends that a first-aid box should stock plasters.If the concern is about the small risk of allergic reaction to some types of plaster then this can be easily managed by stocking the hypoallergenic variety or simply asking the person being treated if they are allergic to plasters before they are applied.

Source: HSE

Quick Question?

All of these accidents could have been avoidedHere are some real-life case studies involving injury and ill-health - including what steps were taken to make sure they didn’t happen again…

Struck by sharp knifeA worker received a serious hand injury when using a sharp hand knife to debone meat. The company now provide knife-proof arm guards gloves for the non-knife hand and knife-proof aprons.

Slipping on a wet floorA worker was injured when walking past a tray cleaning area in a large food factory. The floor was wet from run-off and from prewash spray. The man, who was wearing normal outdoor shoes, slipped and fell, breaking his femur.

An improved floor surface with greater microscopic surface roughness was installed to reduce slip risks and control of water spray implemented. Additionally suitable safety footwear was issued with soles that provided better grip in wet conditions.

Disinfecting tabletsA number of employees in a food production area developed dermatitis. This was traced to water disinfecting tablets which were used to wash vegetables.

The employer stopped those who had developed dermatitis working in this area and issued gloves to food handlers subsequently involved in this work. This resolved the problem

Crushed in machineAn engineer suffered fatal crushing injuries when working within the danger area of a large robotic palletising machine. The machine started up unexpectedly as it had not been electrically isolated, nor had the power been locked off.

In food and drink manufacturing, around one fatality a year results from workers entering large machines which have not been safely isolated and locked-off from electric, hydraulic or pneumatic power sources.

Systems were put in place to ensure workers entering machines are safe, for example by locking off the power source and the worker taking the key with them into the machine.

Flour dust in plant bakeryA 20-year-old man was admitted to hospital from work with an acute asthmatic attack caused by flour dust inhalation. In the previous 12 months he had been absent from work for 25 days with chest symptoms.

His exposure to flour dust was dramatically reduced by engineering controls and better work methods and he was able to go back to work. In the following three years he did not have any time off with chest problems.

e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Safety Snippets | P7

Accident case studies

Read more case studies on HSE’s website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/

Business

Bytes

P8 | Safety Snippets Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

✔

Getting to yes!WHAT HAVE ALL THESE QUESTIONS GOT IN COMMON?

• Children, do any of you want to tidy your bedrooms?

• Would you like to buy this new computer system from me?

• So team, that’s this year’s plan. Are you all happy to share it with your teams?

• Will you invest in my product/project/idea?

The answer? They’ll all trigger a response of “yes” or “no”. This makes it easy for the other person to say “no” to you. Depressingly often, they do.

The solution is more straightforward that you’d expect…

DON’T ASK YES/NO QUESTIONS

Instead, offer options. If you like, this turns your yes/no question into a yes/yes:

• Children, when do you want to tidy your bedrooms today?

• We have two computers that would deliver the outcomes you want - A or B. Which would you prefer?

• So team, that’s this year’s plan. There are a couple of ways we could proceed. Either I could email it to everyone directly; or you could share it with your teams in your weekly meetings. How would you suggest we do this?

• So that’s my product/project/idea. What would you suggest we do next? Implement it all? Run a pilot first? Something else?

Of course, people can still say “no”. But they’re less likely to. After all, instead of asking “shall we proceed?”, it’s now “how shall we proceed?”

There aren’t many techniques that will both persuade colleagues to accept your proposal and also convince your children to tidy their bedrooms. But offering options is one.

When are you going to use it first?

Source: Andy bounds

Business Bytes | P9 e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Newave Heating Ltd has successfully gained CHAS status for another year without any queries from the assessor.

Congratulations to all our candidates who sat the CIEH level 2 Award in Health and Safety in April – all passed the course and have receive certification – well done!

Also to our candidates on the Emergency First Aid course in May – all passed the course successfully. They were a noisy bunch and had great fun!

Congratulations to our client HCS Cleaning Services of Bolton who have now been awarded Safe Contractor Accreditation, following their recent success in gaining CHAS status.

Welcome to a further retained client this month, SK Sealants.

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