OUR BLOG 

 
Below are a number of posts containing useful tips and insights from the Directors of Auxil Limited, acknowledged industry experts and trusted advisors in the fields of Health & Safety and Human Resources, which will hopefully trigger some thoughts or ideas. 
 
Why not join the conversation? We would love to hear your views… 

Posts tagged “Risk Assessments”

Working with electricity on construction sites requires the correct precautions to be taken by both site manager and operatives in order to ensure a safe and sufficient system of work for all involved. 
While electrical equipment can be useful in site activities, it presents just as much risk of harm and even death if it is not assessed before use. 
 
It is important when working with electrical equipment that the system is isolated and turned off when not in use, as doing so reduces the risk of accidents involving electricity. An electric shock can vary from a minor injury to fatal, especially depending on whether low or high voltage is used. A risk assessment and a safe isolation procedure must be put in place before any work with electrical systems are conducted. 
The HSE website defines lone workers as those working by themselves without any immediate or direct supervision, such as health workers, engineers, people working alone in an office and those who work at home. 
Those who work alone are at greater risk of harm than with other people such as supervisors and fellow operatives, who would be able to prevent or reduce the severity of potential hazards in the workplace. Workers visiting a residential property could also be at threat of any risks when working alone, due to the presence of unknown people which could potentially present issues. 
 
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require that the risks towards lone workers are considered. 
 
Ensuring the health and safety of employees has always been important for business owners, with this in mind we have put together information to help to manage your health and safety. 
The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989, requires employers to either display the HSE-approved law poster or to provide each of their workers with the equivalent leaflet. 
 
If an employer chooses to use the Health and Safety Law poster to communicate with their employees, they should consider two things; the location of the poster or leaflet and the quantity that they display. 
 
HSE- approved law posters must be displayed in a prominent location in all business sites; in an area that can be easily accessed by employees; this could be in places like break rooms, kitchens, reception areas and communal spaces, ensuring they are clearly visible. 
Most employers throughout the UK understand, more than ever, how important the Health and Safety of their workforce is, with this in mind our focus this month is on health and safety training and why it is important. 
In the first instance, it is a legal requirement that employees are competent to undertake required tasks in a safe way. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (HSWA) 1974 states that employers need to provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision is necessary to ensure, "so far as is reasonably practicable", the safety of their employees and others affected by their activities. 
 
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999, outlines where safety training is most important, e.g. when people start work, on exposure to new or increased risks and update skills and knowledge where needed. The MHSWR require employees to consider the capabilities, training, knowledge and experience of workers and ensure that the demands of their work do not exceed their ability to carry out their role without risk to themselves and others. 
Working safely during the coronavirus pandemic has been and is at the forefront of business owners’ minds. To enable businesses to return to work, following the latest information from HM Government, employers are required to produce a risk assessment. 
 
To help, we have listed below the requirements employers must consider when producing their Covid-19 Risk Assessment: 
1. Are your employees fit to come to work or are their immediate family are infected or vulnerable, 
2. Should they be isolated, 
3. What happens if they show symptoms at work, 
4. Can your employees work from home and use technology 
5. Can you stagger shifts to reduce numbers at premises at any one time 
6. How are your employees getting to work, driving, using public transport, cycling or walking 
7. How are they signing in and out safely 
8. How is social distancing being managed within the workplace, 2m spacing, and moving around the workplace 
9. Use of desks, workstations, people in shared rooms or using shared working platforms. 
 
Contractor pays £566,670 for line strike with no injury 
 
A construction contractor has been fined £566,670 after a tipper truck driven by one of its employees struck overhead power lines. The vehicle sustained minor damage and the driver was unhurt. 
 
The driver was employed by Mick George, a company that supplies earth moving, demolition, skip hire and waste management services to the construction industry.  
 
On 9 March 2016 he was emptying a load of soil from the tipper at a construction site in Northampton.  
 
He drove forward with the dump bed still raised and touched – or almost touched – the 33kV overhead power lines. 
I know that workplace health and safety practices have improved greatly in recent years but there is still much to do, especially when making risk assessments. 
 
Firstly, let me tell you what risk assessments are not: they are not a mass of paperwork.  
 
A risk assessment involves identifying possible situations that may arise in the workplace that could cause harm to people. Once identified, a formal documented procedure should be put in place. 
You may be aware that working at height is one of the biggest factors in the fatalities and injuries that take place in the workplace. Common accidents are falling from height or falling through fragile surfaces. 
 
Here are some sensible do's and don’ts to combat the potential hazards. 

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