Health and Safety Policy

Running a small business

Only firms with fewer than five employees are not required to have a written health and safety policy statement or risk written assessments. By law and also logic all businesses have to assess the potential risks which their activities represent for the employees, customers and the public. The truth is that if you run a SME and fail to comply with the health and safety law, the fines you would be facing will be considerable and can cripple your business. That’s why it is essential to get a good professional advice from the beginning or as soon as possible of your work activities.

Every year small and medium size enterprises lose money and working days due to occupational ill health and injuries. This is a direct result of inappropriate health and safety management. Regular updating, monitoring and reviewing of the policies and practices in your company need to become a monthly procedure and should be treated as important as the accounts and tax reviews. Some of the most frequent causes of compensation claims for SME’s and temporary absence from the work place are the injuries from slips, trips, falls and manual handling.

To avoid this we recommend you pay special attention to the quality of indoor and outdoor facilities and training. If you are lucky you may also employee workers with an amount of common sense.

The correct management of health and safety issues will translate not only in complying with the law, but also will benefit your company in other aspects.

- Reducing the sick leaves and absences, witch on the other hand will help you to retain your qualified staff.
- Will improve productivity and profits in the long term by creating a nice and secure working environment.
- Will maintain and even boost your reputation with customers.
- Will reduce costs- insurance premiums (Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance) and legal costs.

The  Löfstedt’s review

The Department of Work and Pensions has commissioned Professor Löfstedt, director of the King’s
Centre for Risk Management at King’s College, London to perform a study on the current situation
of the Heath and Safety Act and its implementation in the day to day business life.

The study focuses in particular on the 200 Regulations and the 53 Approved Codes of Practice (ACoPs) Enforced by the
HSE.

It is part of the Government’s plan to reduce the existing bureaucracy and confusion in legislation against which businesses were complaining for some time.

Some of the already announced changes and direct results of the Lofstedt’s review include relaxing the need of inspection visits
for properly attended low- risk small businesses, simplification of the safety guidance for small businesses and abolishment of the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority. There are some more changes to be brought forward by 2013 and 2014 focusing on the regulations for self- employed people (some of whom would be exempt of health and safety legislation) and simpler accident
reporting.
New legislation if and when needed would be risk and evidence based.

There may also be suggestions in changes of an independent health and safety regulator for the nuclear energy industry.

So far so good.

the planned changes will mainly tackle unnecessary paperwork for most businesses owners, health and safety advisers and
regulators as well as promising to provide a a simplified and clear way for companies to comply with the law.

What does it mean to your company?

There is not going to be a major alteration in the current legislation. The Government accepted most of the study’s suggestions to remove the existing bureaucracy burden from companies and focus on the correct  assessment of higher risk businesses.

From 2013 most low risk self-employed will be almost absent of health and safety regulations.

We here at Safe2Use.com will provide you with the latest news and changes as soon as they are communicated.

Until then we would love to hear your feedback.

Is it getting too much?

There has always been a lot of debate about grey areas in health and safety regulations.

I originally came from a construction and engineering background and have herd arguments both from workers in the trenches and now from the view of health and safety authorities, consultants and advisers.

First let’s look at from what I can gather is the sensible worker or business owner’s point of view.

The main problems seem to stem from safety rules and regulations that interfere with productivity speed, additional cost and ease that a particular job can be completed. I’m sure you have spoken to a veteran who has been doing a particular job for twenty years without incident and now new enforced safety laws result in the same task taking twice as long and more money has to be spent on unnecessary safety procedures.

Less productivity, more cost, more time to complete same task.

I have also been told by such similar people as mentioned above that they had an apprenticeship period with a mentor when they were young and over the years honed there skills to be able to complete such a task as efficiently and to a the highest quality possible.

As we know apprenticeships schemes are rare now and from the veterans point a view common sense has been taken from the youth.

One statement from a 52 year old lathe operator struck a particular cord and it went like this.

“When I started my apprenticeship there were 6 of us being trained for the job however 2 of the lads were a danger to their selves and us, they just did not have the mental capacity to be working around dangerous machines. They were clumsy, forgetful, and immature and had no common sense what so ever. So before the inevitable injury took place they were duly informed by a professional operator that they were not cut out for the job.
Nowadays all responsibility is taken from workers. Let’s say all humans are not all created equal and you as a company employ someone who is a liability, you have some major problems ahead. No matter how much training you give said person this will never amount to safe operation and an accident is bound to happen. This will then surely be deemed as the manager’s fault or lack of training, safety procedures, to much stress and so on. Thus the company and manager gets fined and injured party (normally incompetent person or liability) gets a big payout. Next if you determine that said operator is beyond useless you have then got to remove said person from the company before anything bad happens. This will probably result in unfair dismissal in return giving said person a big payout from the company.
So we now have a country with dwindling manufacturing plants and factories. We produce hardly anything because everything we do now cost twice as much and takes twice as long due to tolerating incompetence!”

Strong views from a man who has seen significant changes in health and safety legislation over the years.

Obviously there needs to be balance and a sensible approach to how a particular task must be handled.

The resistance and defiance from workers and company owners can sometimes be very fierce as we can see so we should address these issues and actually get all parties involved when it comes to health and safety Regulations.

Next time we will be exploring responses from the other side of the coin i.e. a health and safety adviser’s point a view.

We would like to answer all concerns highlighted in this post and work out some strategies on how we could better keep people safe but at the same time allow work to be completed more efficiently and cost affective.

If you would like to view health and safety regulations that affect your type of work you can find information at www.hse.gov.uk

Audits (if done right) help workers to carry on with health and safety procedures easier.

Very often the audits could be seen as unhelpful and interfering with day to day tasks and also when workers are faced with complying with health and safety requirements at the work place there often will be resistance.

Health and safety regulations are getting tougher every year, as are the regular visits to the businesses from the HSE.

In these difficult economic times no company can afford a huge fine due to bad compliance with the law.

This is where a quality audit can achieve the desired result of not just interfering with work but complying with the law and at the same time actually helping with and improving the daily tasks of workers.

If you as a manager are able to choose the right health and safety expert, he or she could be a great addition to the team. Instead of a boring and nagging person who doesn’t know what the business is all about interrupting around the office, shop or factory floor making everybody miserable… And believe me, this is what happens most of the time when you have a health and safety advisor taking an audit around your business premises.

Again an audit could improve the quality of your team/management relationship while saving you money (if it is done by the right people and in the correct manner!).
Internal audits are important too, usually done by the manager.

This person will know the organization of the work and the type of business and certainly could provide a good advice.

If this is the case the wise thing to do is at least once per year have your safety expert visit your premises to have a good look and provide you with up date information about the latest law changes and regulations.
Any of the reports from these audits needs to be presented in a positive and constructive manner, because this way they can be more effective and actually implemented.

Also it is very important for the effectiveness of audit reports to be delivered in simple and clear language.
Make it easy to use and present in a daily or weekly plan for the needed changes.
A good audit would includes what your company is doing right too, not just the mistakes.

Sometimes a quality audit can even solve some of your organizational process issues by pointing out problems you or your management are not able to see.
Most of the health and safety advisers out there would also offer you a tailor made plan and on site help on a daily basis for the problems to be efficiently sorted.
In conclusion a health and safety audit is able to save you money, time and ultimately improve your business.

Risk management may be the branch of study that are responsible for determining, assessing and monitoring risks or risk (any uncertainty) for a corporation. It may be put on both private and public industries. In public places sector, risk management could be completed in certain infrastructure development projects like construction of public structures whereas private sector risk management include business or places of work. Financial risk management, evaluates the economical value and handles the connected financial risk (if any). Enterprise risk management, however, includes all kinds of chance of a business, either financial or proper. Let us have a look in the fundamentals of risk management.

Risk Management: Fundamental Information

The primary principle behind any kind of risk management would be to recognize and minimize the approaching problems, in order to reduce the deficits that’ll be incurred soon. Risk management could be either continuous or non-continuous. Within the former situation, assessment of risk is performed continuously, from the beginning of the project till its completion whereas within the latter one, risk assessment is generally done only one time throughout the first stages from the project. Following fundamentals are covered inside a risk management program.

Looking at Previous Data

Looking at work or previous procedures is relevant while assessing risk web hosting companies. The danger management committee evaluates the state data from the previous years, to ensure that they are able to understand the organization profile, and also the current terms and guidelines of the organization.

Determining Danger

Risk identification is a vital part of control over risk. Within this stage, because the title indicates, the potential risks are recognized and named. While determining the danger, it’s apparent the causes of the danger will also be examined to be able to evaluate the potential impact(s). The danger management team can compare the conventional risk lists with regards to the specific project.

Assessing Risk

Risk assessment is performed when it comes to probability ratio. The prospect of the danger ought to be more than zero, otherwise you will find no likelihood of the danger occurring. In other words, if probability is generally under 100, then uncertain problems may occur. When the probability ratio is 100, then your risk is known to being an problem that’s handled under problem management. Risk may also be evaluated when it comes to scale viz. low, medium, high and critical. Though, people think mostly concerning the negative impact of risk management, there may also be an optimistic impact.

Monitoring and Controlling Risk

After assessment of risk, you will find four methods that may be implemented staying away from the danger (altering the program), moving the danger (to a person more responsible to deal with it effectively), mitigating the danger (doing something to reduce the impact) or accepting the danger (relevant when the risk is minimal). By manipulating the risk, we mean to evaluate the continuing project and appearance for just about any new risk (if there are any).

More specifically, the entire risk management process involves keeping treatments for the danger. Hence, it is extremely entirely possible that a business are affected deficits, despite risk management. Controlling risk isn’t a struggle, rather we are able to refer to it as an important job. It ought to be carried out by professionals, who’re experienced enough to create forth ideas and promote practices for the advantage of the business. Inside a company, the project manager usually handles the control over risk. Risk management, otherwise done correctly, can result in lack of possibilities and/or business. For those who have an in-depth curiosity about controlling and fixing problems, then risk management could be a rewarding and satisfying profession. Nowadays, you will find certain schools that provide risk management courses.

When looking at health and safety in the workplace there are many things that should be taken into consideration.  Employers have a legal duty of care for their employees and under Health and Safety at Work Regulations employers are required to make suitable assessments of the risks to the health and the safety of the workforce. These detailed assessments are designed to ensure their workers are not placed at any risk or to reduce/eliminate risk.
An example of a risk assessment will be discussed below:
The first step in a risk assessment would be for a health and safety officer to look for hazards in the work place.  They would then identify the way that people coming into contact with the hazard could be harmed.
The second step would be to look at who might be harmed, identifying the vulnerable in particular such as expectant mothers, those with a disability or medical condition.
The third step would be to evaluate the risks and check if more needs to be done.  The officer would look at ways that the risk could be further reduced, including training and informing workers of potential hazards. A nominated person will then be assigned the task of implementing the changes.
The fourth step would be to record all the information as this is what constitutes a risk assessment.
The final step would be to review the risk assessment regularly and monitor the effectiveness of the improvements.
Examples of how health and safety in the workplace recommendations might be implemented include; ensuring that computers are correctly positioned and that workers have enough room to carry out their duties in line with legislation.  There should be special arrangements for people who need additional support such as specially adapted chairs, keyboard modifications and monitor screens. Wheelchair users should be able to enter and exit the building with ease, particularly in the event of fire and modifications should be made to allow this where necessary.
PAT (portable appliance testing) testing of all electrical items to ensure they are safe is also a risk assessment that should be regularly carried out.  Legislation requires that employers should ensure that the equipment used at work is kept in good working order and repair.
When looking at health and safety in the workplace there are alternative methods that some work places may offer.  These include holistic therapies to employees, dedicated counsellors and team building days with a view to creating a happy and relaxed work force.
What is very clear is that health and safety in the workplace is an essential consideration, for legislation and also for the well being of the workforce.

Most people remember being at school and standing in line waiting to be checked out by the “nit nurse.” After leaving school though people don’t tend to think too much about head lice until they have children of their own and find out that they have been infected.  So what are head lice and how can you get head lice help?

Head lice are very common and very contagious.  They are frequently found in places where there are lots of young children together such as nurseries and schools.  The head lice are extremely small insects and they feed on blood from humans.  They can’t fly as they have no wings nor can they jump from head to head, all they can do to move from one place to another is crawl.  That is why they spread when children play together as they are passed on by close contact as well as sharing belongings. The symptoms of head lice include an itchy scalp, louse droppings on pillows as well as visible nits in hair.

Head lice lay eggs every day, generally between three and eight, at the base of the hair shaft. The nits will hatch around nine days later.  Head lice are very itchy as they will infest the human head. They can’t live for long if they aren’t on the human head but can survive for up to a month if they are on hairbrushes or carpets for example.

Most people become aware their child has head lice when someone at their child’s school or nursery gets them and parents are notified. If your child gets head lice then the whole family should be checked out.  They won’t need to be treated unless they have head lice, contrary to popular belief.

Head lice help and advice and treatment vary widely, and some treatments suit others better than others.

A lot of people tend to avoid using head lice treatments containing insecticide if possible, although there are many available over the counter. There are other head lice treatments available on prescription too. Your doctor will be able to offer you the best head lice help.

One essential when dealing with the removal of head lice is a nit comb. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes including battery operated ones.  Some packs of combs come in different colours to identify the nits as well as the hatched louse eggs as these are both different colours.

The most popular head lice treatment method is to use the conditioner and nit comb.

Whatever head lice help you decide to take, any treatment should be repeated at a set interval to ensure all the lice and eggs have been destroyed.

Scabies/skin parasites is a highly contagious infection of the skin that is found in both humans and animals. Parasites that are the cause of scabies are tiny with eight legs. They are around 1/3 millimetre in length and are not directly visible to the naked eye. They burrow into the person’s skin to produce intense itching, which often seems to get worse in a warm environment and at night. This symptom of the disease is called pruritus, and is accompanied by a painful sensation leading to the person with scabies to scratch. Unfortunately this scratching can often results in a secondary infection.

The disease is usually transmitted via skin to skin contact although may also be transmitted by an object such as bedding.  The more prolonged the contact, the higher the risk of infection.

After the initial infection, the symptoms may not appear for a further 4 to 6 weeks, however reinfection may show symptoms in as few as 24 hours. Due to the fact the symptoms are considered allergic the delay in their onset is often reflected by a considerable delay in relief once the parasites have been completely eradicated.

The majority of people manifest scabies by tracks in their skin, or rashes like insect bites.  More often the signs of scabies can be seen in the creases of the body such as inbetween the fingers or toes, in the genital area and also under a woman’s breasts.  Another form of scabies, often associated with immunosuppression is called crusted scabies and is a much more severe type of the skin infection as the skin takes on a crust like appearance.

Diagnosis of scabies/skin parasites can be made by identifying the adult mites with a microscope.  This will identify not just the adult mites but also the eggs or larvae.

Scabies/skin parasites can be successfully treated with a whole range of medications. Due to the fact parasite at the cause of the scabies burrows into the outer skin layer, an external method of healing is most important, whereas an internal cleansing is seen to be secondary.

One cream for external use is called Permethrin and is considered to be the most effective.  This is expensive though when compared with the other treatments. A different cream is Crotamiton, although less beneficial it is nontoxic and also soothing. A treatment that can be used both orally and applied to the infected site is Ivermectin. So as to prevent re-infection, people close to the person with scabies/skin parasites should also be treated. There are also herbal remedies and some practitioners recommend bathing in sea salt on a daily basis to treat the scabies/skin parasites. In all cases the patient should take medical advice.