Thursday, 6 March 2008

The NEBOSH Certificate in Construction

This is the first week of NCC1 the first section covers the Foundations in Construction Health
Safety, it cover as you can imagine the basics of health and safety legislation. On the web site Health and Safety for Beginners I found this table of legislation. I think this will make a very good revision aid.
I also found a couple of power point presentations which are very good.
Year
Abbreviation
Health and Safety at Work Act
1974
HSWA' 74
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (England and Wales)
2005
RRFSO '05
The Fire (Scotland) Act
2005
Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act
1987
FS&SPSA ' 87
Environment Protection Act
1990
EPA ' 90
The Work at Height Regulations
2005
WaH '05
The Building (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations
2004
BaR '04
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
2002
COSHH '02
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations
2004
COSHH '04
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulations
1995
RIDDOR '95
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations
1998
LOLER '98
Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations
1981
H & S 1st AID '81
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
1999
MHSW '99
SIX PACK
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
1998
PUWER '98
SIX PACK
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
1992
W(H,S&W)R '92
SIX PACK
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations
1992
H&S(DSE)R '92
SIX PACK
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations
1992
PPE '92
SIX PACK
Manual Handling Operations Regulations
1992
MHO '92
SIX PACK
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007
2007
CDM '07
Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations
2002
CHIP3
The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations
2004
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations
2005
Electricity at Work Regulations
1989
EAW '89
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations
1998
Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations
1996
H&S(SSS)R '96
Ionising Radiation Regulations
1999
IRR '99
The Control of Asbestos Regulations
2006
CAW '06
Control of Lead at Work Regulations
2002
CLaW '02
The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations
1989
The Confined Spaces Regulations
1997
CSPACES '97
Highly Flammable Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations
1972
HFL&LPG '72
Pressure Systems Safety Regulations
2000
PSS '2000
The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations
1977
SR & SC ' 77
The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations
1996
The Health and Safety (Information for Employees) Regulations
1989

Wednesday, 5 March 2008

Revision Notes: - Health and Safety Policy


A company Health and Safety policy is required by law by all companies. Companies with 5 or more employees are required to have a written safety policy, this is different from the company Health and Safety manual but can be a part of the same document.
The Health and Safety policy can be split into three distinct sections.
Section 1
Should highlight the company's commitment to Health and Safety and should detail the company's ever progressive attitude toward adopting a positive Health and Safety culture. It should set out the goals and objectives of the organisation and how these will be achieved.
Section 2
This section should detail the lines of reporting and responsibility within an organisation, outline who are the safety representatives and their responsibilities.
Section 3
Called the arrangements section, this by far is the most comprehensive section and should contain detail on how the health and safety policy is to be put in to practice.
Typically it should detail the policy how to deal with Hazards such as fire, guarding on machinery, housekeeping, Specific hazardous operation i.e. working at height, maintenance and access and egress from places of work.
It should also deal with the policy of introducing new machinery or new SWP's. Housekeeping and amenities should be mention and the policy for hygiene in these areas. Other areas are first aid with emergency contact numbers incident reporting procedures and monitoring of these. It should also highlight the lines of communication and how to utilise them for H&S issues.
The health and safety policy is an important part of introducing a positive health and safety culture within an organisation, other things that could be included are selection criteria for employees, ensuring they are competent to carry out the duties requested; also details of health monitoring schemes (Hearing or eye tests) should any of the organisation activities warrant this,

Tuesday, 4 March 2008

Revision Notes:- Risk Assessments


Five steps to a risk  assessment

IDENTIFY THE RISK
Identifying hazards in processes or activities can be achieved by, methodically studying and observing, talking to operatives, checking manufacturer's instructions, referring to accident and injury records, HSE reference books website etc.

WHO MAY BE AT RISK
When considering who may be at risk from particular hazards you should always look at particular groups,
The main groups of persons can be categorised as
Employees.
Young peoples.
Pregnant Women.
Site Visitors Contractors.
Neighbours.

You should also consider groups who may not be present throughout the process but may be visitors for a long or short period these include cleaners, site visitors, supervisory staff and maintenance personnel.
EVALUATE THE RISK
The first and one of the most important questions that should be asked when evaluating a risk is "Can we eliminate the risk altogether" change the working practice or introduce new machinery. If it is decided the risk has to stay the it is necessary to consider what controls can be adapted to minimise the risk, changes in working practices, restricted zones or barrier and guard placement.
One of the last considerations not because of its least importance but all other methods should be considered first, is the issue of PPE to personnel.
RECORD THE FINDINGS
After thoroughly going through all the hazards that can be identified it is important to record the fact that the hazard has been identified and whatever mitigating factors are to be adopted to reduce the risk of exposure to the hazard. This is what would be produced if a request was made to prove that a risk assessment has been undertaken.
It is also a good checklist to consider that you have identified all the areas where a hazard may exist you have considered who and how many may be exposed to a potential hazard and you are now sure that any remaining risks are low.
MONITOR AND REVIEW THE RISK ASSESSMENTS
It would frivolous to think that once we done the risk assessment that responsibility stops there, It is necessary to review the risk assessment on a regular basis (regular would be defined in the company safety policy) Various circumstances could force a review of a risk assessment i.e. changes in working practice, safety audit, introduction of new equipment or even after an incident where a near miss or accident has occurred.
Footnote
HAZARD
Something that has the inherent ability to cause harm or injury,
RISK
Is measured either high or low as what exposure someone my be either long or short term and they could be harmed by the hazard

Sunday, 2 March 2008

Reading over the Paper

I have been reading through my submission and I have noticed a few mistakes, namely the one about

"Sate the circumstance in which an employer may be held vicariously liable for the negligence of an employee"

My answer reads "If an employer failed to provide correct and suitable guarding to a machine with exposed moving parts" I'm pretty sure this is wrong I shouldn't have given an example I should have said something like, if it can be proven that the duty of care was owed and this was breached which lead to harm.

It goes to show that importance there is on reading the question a few times and making sure you understand what it's asking for। I have personally found this area a difficult one to master.


I have sent the paper for a critique, when the chap comes back to me with it I will ask if I can post his comments, I am hoping to do this with a few papers and sections over the next few months.

My First Test Paper for NGC1



1)
With respect to undertaking general risk assessments on activities within a work place:
i
Outline the FIVE key stages of the risk assessment process, identifying the issues that would need to be considered at EACH stage

When undertaking a risk assessment, from the process you are assessing firstly you should identify the hazards which are to assessed, who will be affected by theses hazards whether directly or indirectly paying particular attention to any high risk groups (Pregnant women. Young Persons, Old Persons), evaluate the risk and any controls consider the likely hood of any injury and the severity of an incident. All these findings should be recorded to form a written risk assessment and periodically revisited for audit and review purposes
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iiIdentify FOUR items of information from within and Four items of information from the outside the organisation that may be useful when assessing the activities
Inside
Opinions of the workforce
Results of any safety audits
Minutes of safety meetings
Accident and near miss record books.
Outside
Complaints from neighbours
Any Enforcement notices
Fire inspection reports
Affect on local environment
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iiiState the legal requirements for recording workplace risk assessments
2
If you have five or more employees the management regulations require you to assess and record your activities in case of specialised work ie. Asbestos all risk assessments should be recorded regardless of number of employees
2)aOutline the THREE standard conditions that must be met for an injured employee to prove a case of negligence against their employer following an accident at work
Before a employee can successfully accuse his employer of neglect, he must first prove that the employer had a duty of care to protect him from the hazard, and that that duty was in fact neglected and that any harm the employee suffered was a direct consequence of that neglect of duty of care
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bSate the circumstance in which an employer may be held vicariously liable for the negligence of an employee
If an employer failed to provide correct and suitable guarding to a machine with exposed moving parts
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3)aExplain the meaning of the term 'perception'
the way that people interpret and make sense of presented information e.g. in relation to their surroundings or to the equipment they are using.

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bOutline the factors relating to the individual that may be influence a person's perception of an occupational risk
perception may differ greatly from person to person especially if sense have become damages due to a particular activity, If someone works in an environment which is very noisy that persons hearing may become damaged and therefore what they perceive as 'not being loud' may in fact be very loud to someone who has not suffered that hearing damage. The same can be said of someone who is very familiar with a working practice, what they perceive as being dangerous will very different to what a person doing that activity for the first time would. Familiarity can be a large contributory factor to injury at work.

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4)Outline the Issues to be addressed in a training session on the operation of a permit-to-work system
Permit to work systems are documented SWP (safe working practices) when training is given either from persons who are carrying out the works or persons who are completing the permits to allow people to work emphasis should be put on the importance of completing the permits fully and then complying with the restrictions or action the permits dictate.
Only competent persons should be allowed to complete and receive permit to work they should be well versed in the particular hazard present.
Persons issuing permits must follow the accepted company method of issuing all sections of the permit should be completed none left blank, if it's not required for that particular activity then it must say so
Training on the receipt of permit and complying with the conditions set out is just as important.


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5)In relation to the safety representatives and safety committees Regulations 1977, outline:
iThe rights and functions of a trade union –appointed safety representative
The representative should represent the health and safety interests of workers to the employer by approaching the employer regarding any potential hazards and dangerous occurrences within workplace and be able to approach the employer regarding general matters affecting the group of employees they represent.

6
iiThe facilities that an employer may need to provide to safety representatives
He has the right to investigate any incidents that have occurred; he has the right to attend safety meetings he is required to be given time without loss of pay to do these activities.
2
6)Identity the factors to be considered to ensure the health and safety of persons who are required to work on their own from the workplace
That the work can be safely carried out by one person
That they have adequate training and they are competent to carry out the work safely. They have sufficient PPE available and are trained in its use.
That they suffer no threats of violence or are vulnerable in other ways such as women or young person's working alone.
That they have adequate means of communication with the office or other workplace. Is there adequate supervision or arrange periodic visits from supervisors and is the person medically fit to complete the works, is there safe ingress and egress for the person
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7)aIdentify FOUR types of health and safety information that might usefully be displayed on a notice board within a workplace
4
Safety Committee minutes, company H&S newsletters and bulletins, posters about particular hazards, H&S legislation booklets and posters
bExplain how the effectiveness of notice board as a means of communicating health and safety information to the workforce can be maximised
If a notice board is just a collection of bland H&S features this will not be as effective in conveying information as one which is bright kept up to date regularly, highlighting serious issues by use of posters and graphs charts etc, graphics can say a lot very quickly
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8)With respect to the management of risk within the work place:

iExplain the meaning of the term of the risk 'hierarchy of control'
2
'hierarchy of control' at which point in the development of a process that management of a potential hazard through control measures are adopted to remove this hazard, the earlier in a process that the hazard can be removed the better
iiOutline, with examples, the standard hierarchy hat should be applied with respect to controlling health and safety risks in the workplace
ERIC PD (Eliminate, Reduce, Inform, Control, PPE, Discipline)
Eliminate the hazard at design stage wherever possible substitute either materials or plant for something less hazardous, put in place safe systems of work; Warning systems, and as a last resort the use of PPE. All other methods should take president over PPE
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9)
Outline the strengths AND weaknesses of using a checklist to complete a health and safety inspection in a workplace
8
Using checklist when carrying out safety inspections are very useful in allowing the hazards that have been identified previously to be check and not overlooked. They also provide a logical approach to assessing a process from start to finish, they allow preparation for the inspections to be done. On the downside is they may focus the inspector to the areas on the check list and may miss something else that is happening, this again re-iterates the need for trained and competent inspectors who are familiar with risk and hazards associated with the process.

10)aExplain why an organisation should have a system for the internal report accidents at work.
This allow them to trend analyse statistics of accidents, near misses or dangerous occurrences. They can identify areas where inappropriate PPE is being used, or there are significant flaws in SWP's, they can also be used to benchmark and give targets for improvement.
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bIdentify the reasons why employees may fail to report an accident at work
An employee may not report an accident if he was not supposed to be in the area where the accident happened, maybe was not wearing the correct PPE for the task or was not following standard SWP for the task
4
cOutline the key areas that should be addressed in the 'arrangements' section of a health and safety policy document

The arrangement sections of a health and safety policy should address the terms of reference for the H&S committee, Accident and ill health reporting procedures, Site visitor's routine, dealing with any emergencies (Fire etc), should include details of the first aid and emergency contacts of ambulance Hospital. Any health screening programs (ie eye or hearing tests), pre-employment medicals. Alongside all these things which are mainly concerned with the welfare of personnel should be the statuary requirements of machinery and equipment maintenance, this section is also where information on risk assessments should found with the review procedure and frequency.
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