Quick Guide to Health and Safety
E-Book, Englisch, 192 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-84569-500-2
Verlag: Elsevier Reference Monographs
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Puts health and safety in to contextProvides a rational overview and starting point to applying health and safety in the workplaceOffers a concise interpretation of health and safety legislation in practice
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Your 10 Minute A–Z Guide to Health and Safety
Read this before you get too involved in the detail in the rest of the book. Come back to it occasionally if you find yourself getting so caught up in the world of H&S rules and regulations that you are in danger of forgetting what your job actually is, or what your business is actually there to do. A is for ACoP
ACoP stands for Approved Code of Practice, documents published for the HSE to explain some of the H&S laws and regulations in (reasonably) common language. HSE inspectors feel all warm and happy if they see that businesses have them, and are using them when they visit. And also ASBESTOS
Dangerous stuff. Don’t think you can properly identify, work on it or remove it without specialist advice. Ask the HSE for a list of approved contractors. B is for BUSINESS (YOURS)
All UK businesses are obliged to comply with H&S laws, rules and regulations. The situation is similar to driving where you have to comply with all the laws, common and obscure, that cover driving … which of course you do. And also BUSINESS SUCCESS
Compliance with H&S requirements will not make a business successful. On odd occasions, poor H&S compliance, leading to accidents and prosecutions or whatever, can make it unsuccessful, but most recover. H&S officers inside large organisations don’t always think like this. C is for COMPLEXITY
H&S legislation is complex (lawyers will tell you this – and they should know as they made it like that). Practically, in most situations, compliance reduces to simple documents, procedures and practices, 90 per cent of which are common sense or good practice. And maybe for CHARADE
In the world of H&S, as in all other aspects of business, some activities are necessary, productive and genuinely useful, and some are charade. The larger the organisation, the greater is the percentage of charade. D is for DANGER
Danger lurks everywhere, no doubt. Fortunately, on a good day, most of it will pass you by – without you ever knowing it was there. And also DUTY OF CARE
You have it. It’s the law (see Chapter 2). E is for ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement is the main role of the HSE. They do this in three basic ways: • issuing improvement notices (requiring you to improve something); • issuing prohibition notices (requiring you to stop using a machine, site or whatever, until you improve something); • bringing prosecutions (because they allege you have broken an H&S law; this is an entirely different thing to them not liking something that you have, or haven’t done); And also for EXCESS
The HSE do not have a countrywide excess of inspectors. Their enforcement activities are fairly thinly-spread and so have to be targeted. Truly random visits and enquiries are rarer than you might think. In this respect they are no different to the Police, Tax Authorities or other government departments. F is for FIRE
Fire is dangerous. The idea that you can stand next to a fire and think logically about how to put it out is a myth. It is very frightening. Happily, the fire itself will rarely actually kill you (the smoke gets you first). And also for FILING CABINETS
Flying filing cabinets can probably cause injury if they fall on you (but why would they?) or if you jam your toe underneath (and why would you do that?). Keep your dangers in perspective. G is for GAS
Gas can kill you in several ways. If you deal with gas, get specialist advice from someone who knows what they are doing. And also GOAL-SETTING
Goal-setting is a basic tenet of UK H&S legislation, and a wonderful piece of jargon. The basic idea is that the regulations tell you what you have to achieve (the goal) but do not actually prescribe how you should do it. For example: Q How often should this equipment be inspected? A Sufficiently regularly so that it is safe. Q But how regularly is that? A That’s up to you – it’s your machine so you must know how risky it is (and by the way, you’d better get it right). H is for HAZARD
A favourite H&S word – a hazard is an activity that can cause damage to you. Not to be confused with risk, which brings the spectre of probability into the equation. If you think about, and list, all the hazards that exist in your workplace, your HSE inspector might be impressed. And also HELP
By all means ask HSE inspectors for advice if they visit your premises. You can contact them on the telephone also. The well-meaning advice you receive will reflect the HSE’s role as the enforcing authority and not your paid adviser. Referring you to HSE publications is an uncontroversial way to give you advice (see ‘C’ for Complexity). I is for INSPECTOR
The inspector is the public face of the HSE and its enforcement activities. In some types of facility, such as public buildings, schools, shopping centres and suchlike your inspector may be employed by the Local Government Authority, rather than the HSE, but their role is much the same. Your HSE inspector does not make the laws but does play a role in their application. Like all people, inspectors harbour opinions and have strengths and weaknesses in what they do. And also IMPROVEMENT
HSE inspectors can issue you with a piece of paper called an improvement notice if they feel you are not complying with H&S regulations. If you are given one, it often means that you have ignored a previous less formal request or hint that you need to improve something. Improvement notices are famous for causing management to panic and run around in ever-decreasing circles, looking for someone (apart from themselves) to blame. J is for JUDGEMENT
During a prosecution case in court, the HSE will be working to persuade the magistrates or jury (depending on how serious the prosecution is) to make a judgement against the defendants that they are guilty of the offence with which they are charged. And also for JUDGES AND JURIES
Part of the legal system, and therefore best avoided at (almost) all costs. The HSE understand this system better than you and records show that they win more cases than they lose. K is for KILLING
Just about the worst H&S offence with which you can be charged. Penalties include unlimited fines and imprisonment. There are many, many more people killed in traffic accidents and accidents in the home than in accidents at work. And also for KICKBACK
If you lie to, or mislead, your HSE inspector, and are found out, you can expect to be subjected to, surprise, surprise, further questioning and investigation. L is for LAW
Laws are the rules of a civilised society. Most people know less than 5 per cent of the laws they are subject to, but life continues. Lawyers make their living at it, squabbling theatrically between themselves over every last word and turn of phrase. You pay for it all. And also for LIP SERVICE
This is what some (even quite large) businesses give to H&S issues. It takes the form of elaborate policy statements, lots of written procedures in filing cabinets, lots of pretty banners and posters, but not much action. M is for MACHINERY
Machines are covered by lots of H&S regulations covering electrical safety, guarding requirements, safe operating procedures and suchlike. Some machines can be very dangerous, but others less so. And also for MUDDLE
Your destination if you read statutory regulations (called ‘instruments’) too deeply. Approved codes of practice (see A for ACoPs) and guides are a little better at explaining things in simpler language. N is for NECESSITY
These are the actions you really need to take to comply with H&S regulations. Not to be confused with N for NICETY Actions and things that, while not actually bad, concentrate on alleviating risks so small so as to be fairly worthless in the bigger picture of things. Some businesses waste their energy concentrating too much on niceties. O is for...
