Your New Year’s Health and Safety Resolution

No doubt many of you will have made your New Year resolutions by now and many of you may also have already broken them! But for all of you who are concerned with health and safety, if there is one resolution you should make and adhere to, that is to make 2010 your “safest” year yet.

Despite the tough economic conditions, 2008/2009 saw improved health and safety statistics in the UK. But these statistics still featured 180 deaths, over 130,000 injuries and 1.2 million cases of work-related ill-health. So there is a long way to go as many families continue to be adversely affected by workplace accidents and incidents.

The Institute of Occupational safety and Health (IOSH) is calling on businesses to make a resolution this year to:

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  promote a healthy work-life balance by discouraging long working hours
  
  
  
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  promote a good safety culture
  
  
  
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  clamp down on work-place bullying
  
  
  
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   create opportunities to enjoy a healthy lifestyle
  
  
  

By following these steps we should be able to reduce the number of deaths in British work-places and have a significant impact on the number of serious injuries and cases of ill-health caused or made worse by work. Additionally, by employing a risk management specialist and having a business risk assessment improvements can be made to help further reduce these figures.

Fit and healthy members of staff are good for business as there is less absenteeism and thus more productivity. So even in tough economic times, investment in health and safety is the right thing to do to help maintain a profitable business.

In conclusion, if you only make and keep one resolution this year, pledge to make 2010 the safest year yet. And if you need advice and guidance, speak to a risk management consultant and your insurance broker.

This article has been provided by Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Limited, the business insurance experts. For free advice and no-obligation commercial insurance quotations, contact us on 01603 218000 or visit our web site – http://www.alanboswell.com/

Health and safety again becomes a political football

In a major speech this month David Cameron pledged to crack down on Britain’s excessive health and safety rules and regulations which he described as “the great knot of rules, regulations, expectations, and fears that I would call the over-the-top health and safety culture”.

Cameron, in his quest for votes, surely had the wrong profession in his sights. The media which perpetuate the myth that somehow health and safety is to blame for much of society’s ills, should surely be his target for its part in falsely reporting on health and safety issues.

However, he actually highlighted an important cultural issue by announcing that something has gone seriously wrong with the spirit of health and safety in the past decade. He acknowledged that the biggest problem is the way health and safety rules are interpreted and applied, and attacked the commercialisation of lawyers’ incentives to generate litigation and the growth of ‘ambulance-chasing’. He said “Businesses, organisations and individuals operate under the shadow of the worst-case scenario. The more vulnerable they feel, the more cautiously they act – and the more stringent their health and safety processes become.”

Reaction to the speech has been varied. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC said that employers were not over zealous in their application of health and safety regulation and the figure of over 246,000 people being injured at work last year indicates the opposite. He added that in the UK we had more health and safety regulation 35 years ago than we do today and regulation today is simpler and easier to understand

IOSH (Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) welcomed the opportunity to move away from a culture of blame to one that’s based on better risk intelligence and said it would welcome any serious debate about risk and responsibility.

St John Ambulance, also welcomed the debate Cameron has opened saying as it stands at the moment, there is a great deal of confusion about the regulations. All of us working in health and safety need to do more to make clear how they should be interpreted. Organisations want to do the right thing, but don’t always know how. Somehow common sense gets lost, and we end up with the stories we all see about ‘health and safety gone mad’.

For more information on risk management and for expert business insurance advice, speak to Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers on 01603 218000, or visit our web site – http://www.alanboswell.com/risk-management/

HSE Asbestos Campaign Re-Launched

Working with asbestos? Know the risks; check you are up to date with your risk management and business insurance.

Asbestos was used in hundreds of different products and buildings from the 1950’s to the mid 1980’s. Asbestos cement was used up until 1999 in a variety of different premises and materials. Any building that was constructed or had major refurbishment between the 1950’s and mid 80’s is likely to contain some type of asbestos containing material. Use of asbestos peaked in the 60’s and early 70’s – premises built or refurbished during this time are the most likely to contain some form of asbestos.

When asbestos fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which are responsible for around 4000 deaths a year, the single greatest cause of work related deaths in the UK. There are four main diseases caused by asbestos:

• mesothelioma (which is always fatal) 
• lung cancer (almost always fatal) 
• asbestosis (not always fatal, but it can be very debilitating) and  
• diffuse pleural thickening (not fatal).

On 2 November 2009 the HSE re-launch their campaign “Asbestos – The Hidden Killer” and its message is very clear – take asbestos very seriously.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 came into force on 13 November 2006 and affected owners, occupiers, and managers of and those responsible for non-domestic premises. These people are referred to as “the dutyholders”. The regulations require the dutyholders to:

• Manage the risk from asbestos or place a duty on them to co-operate with whoever manages the risk.
• The dutyholder must identify if there is asbestos in the premises, the amount and its condition. (It is to be presumed that materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence to the contrary).
• The asbestos risk must be suitably and sufficiently assessed and a management plan prepared detailing how the risk is to be managed.
• All steps needed to put the plan into action must be taken by the dutyholder and the plan and arrangements must be reviewed and monitored.
• Anyone who is liable to work on the asbestos or disturb it must be provided with information on its location, condition and where work with asbestos is being undertaken, the enforcing authority must be notified
• The dutyholder must ensure adequate information, instruction and training is given to employees
• Every dutyholder must prevent exposure to asbestos or reduce it to as low as reasonably practicable and provide adequate personal protective equipment.

In most cases, if you are working with asbestos you will need a licence to do so.

Summing up, any work that may involve exposure to asbestos needs to be very carefully planned and carried out. Penalties for failure can be business threatening with very large fines being imposed by courts.

For more information on risk management and for expert business insurance advice, speak to Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers on 01603 218000, or visit our web site – http://www.alanboswell.com/risk-management/

Taking the Strain

The recent “Fit for Work Europe” report by The Work Foundation, a London based think tank, has found that muscle and joint pain accounts for almost half of all sick leave, both in the UK and across Europe. It concluded 49 per cent of all sick leave is caused by musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
The report says an estimated one million people in the UK alone suffer from MSDs that cause them to take time off work, with 9.5 million working days lost each year. It estimates that this costs the UK economy £7bn each year.

Additionally the report found over 40 million workers throughout Europe suffer from chronic musculoskeletal pain costing the European Union economy as much as £219 billion per year.

Stephen Bevan, Managing Director of the Work Foundation, states: "MSDs clearly have a serious, negative impact on the EU workforce, as they were responsible for millions of lost working days”.

Tatiana Quadrello, senior researcher at The Work Foundation, said: 'The Fit for Work study clearly suggests that early intervention is a key factor in allowing people with MSDs to remain in work.”

The Work Foundation's strain injuries report seems to highlight the need for better occupational health and rehabilitation services.

Only two per cent of UK workers have access to comprehensive occupational health services through their employer. A GP referral to a specialist, could take months, by which time the condition could be chronic and could cost a worker their job.

The Work Foundation has now launched a Fit for Work Europe campaign calling for governments and healthcare professionals across Europe to do more to tackle musculoskeletal disorders.

For more information on risk management and for expert business insurance advice, speak to Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers on 01603 218000, or visit our web site – http://www.alanboswell.com/risk-management/

Managing Risk for Work Experience Placements

John Neil, Risk Management Consultant at business insurance specialists Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers, looks at the things businesses need to think about when they take on young people as part of a work experience programme.
It's back to school time and for many year 10 and 11 students this means getting ready for work experience. These workplace visits can be a bit of a health and safety minefield for businesses...
There's a lot to think about when a child arrives at your business premises from a local school for a short period of work experience. All too often young people are involved in accidents and experience shows that they must be carefully managed and supervised whilst on a work experience placement.

One thing you may not realise is there are a few extra health and safety regulations when employing people under the age of 18 and far as health and safety law goes, students on work experience placements are employees.

The main thing to note is you must assess the risks to anyone under 18 years old before they start work experience. You must also tell the young person what these risks are.

There's no need for a new risk assessment every time someone arrives for work experience. A generic assessment covering young workers is fine, so long as it's relevant however the assessments needs to take into account the young people's "psychological or physical immaturity, inexperience, and lack of awareness of existing or potential risks."

Of course, as with all risk assessments, employers have to follow up with some control measures.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations include an additional requirement which prohibits the employment of young people where the risk assessment identifies harmful exposure to toxic substances, radiation, extreme cold or heat, vibration, noise, work which is considered beyond their physical or physiological capacity, or work where the risk of accidents will not be recognised by young people, because of their carelessness, lack of experience, training or awareness. There are also some specific prohibitions on the employment of young persons in certain trades or the use of particular plant and machinery.

There is one other regulation worth noting. This applies to children below the minimum school leaving age. Here, parents or carers must be told about the findings of the risk assessment and the control measures being put in place before the child starts work experience.

For more information on risk management and for expert business insurance advice, speak to Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers on 01603 218000, or visit our web site – http://www.alanboswell.com/risk-management/

Driver CPC - What is it all about?

You may have already heard murmurings about The Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) which is a hot topic at present within the haulage industry. But what does it mean for fleet insurance clients?

Developed as a requirement of the EU Directive 2003/59, the Driver CPC is designed to improve the knowledge and skills of professional LGV and PCV drivers throughout their working life. This in turn should lead to safer driving, subsequently safer roads and, in theory at least, reduced fleet insurance premiums.

The Driver CPC for PCV drivers was implemented on 10th September 2008, and for LGV drivers it will be implemented on 10th September 2009.

• From 10th of September 2009, any newly licenced LGV driver must have a Driver CPC. They get this by passing the Driver CPC theory and practical tests. These are in addition to the tests they must sit to get their LGV driving licence.
  
• Anyone already licenced to drive a goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes before 10th September 2009 does not have to sit the initial Driver CPC tests However, all LGV drivers will have to complete 35 hours of Driver CPC training every five years, or they will no longer be allowed to drive professionally.

So what should hauliers do? It would be advisable to get their drivers trained sooner rather than later because if they leave it too late, they could find there aren't enough approved Driver CPC training centres to cope with demand. As we know haulage companies can't operate without drivers.

Secondly hauliers who begin training immediately will automatically stand out: showing their customers and their fleet insurance provider that they care about the safety of their drivers and other road users.

There is a number of Driver CPC exemptions associated with the Directive. These are listed below:

• Vehicles with a maximum speed not exceeding 45 Kph
• Vehicles used by the armed forces, civil defence, and emergency services
• Vehicles undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance
• Vehicles used in states of emergency
• Vehicles used in the course of driving lessons or examinations
• Vehicles used for non-commercial carriage of passenger or goods – for personal use
• Vehicles used for carrying material of equipment to be used by the driver in the course of his or her work, providing that driving the vehicles is not the drivers’ principle activity

Ultimately, it is up the driver and their employer to decide if they are covered by these exemptions, and if necessary, justify it to the competent authority.

For more information on fleet insurance and fleet risk management, please visit http://www.alanboswell.com/.

Risk Assessments – Not interesting but very necessary

Revisiting your risk assessments could reduce accidents in the workplace by up to 75% and lead to lower business insurance premiums.

I have always stated that the most important part of any health and safety regime is the correct identification of risk and highlighting methods of control, then documenting this in the form of an easily understood risk assessment that is properly communicated to staff.

When you then pass this message on enthusiasm seems to wane, eyes roll and people seem to lose the will to live. I could talk about how risk assessments lie at the heart of all health and safety legislation and practice or about how they are a legal requirement, but instead to highlight their importance I will share with you some details of research from a major UK insurer.

Aviva took a detailed look at around 7,500 employers' liability insurance claims - incidents where someone was killed or injured at work.

In particular they wanted to know what was behind most of these cases. The thing most employers hadn't done to stop these incidents happening was “failure to carry out a proper risk assessment." This finding was attributed to 38% of all business insurance liability claims.

The next two most common failings after risk assessments were "lack of training" - found in 27% of cases - and "poor housekeeping" – found in 11% of cases.

So as you can see, despite the apparent lack of interest the words risk assessment conjure up, they are very important.

When next asked what's really important when it comes to health and safety, I'm going to say "risk assessment, training and housekeeping".

Because by Aviva’s reckoning that should cover just over three-quarters of all incidents where someone ends up losing their life or suffering an injury at work.

So probably the best piece of health and safety advice anyone can give is make sure you do your risk assessments.

For more information and advice on business insurance and risk management, please visit: http://www.alanboswell.com/business_insurance/