Health and safety is essential for any business. Whilst it is a legal requirement for employers to handle, maintaining good health and safety has many benefits. If a business is proactive with its health and safety measures, then it can grow and succeed. Failure to implement proper health and safety practices in the workplace will result in serious repercussions.

Benefits

Employees

The most obvious and key benefits of health and safety is that you are looking after your most valuable assets. Staff that feel safe in the workplace are happier. If they are provided with the right health and safety provisions to do their work safely, then this will reduce accidents and absenteeism. Especially in industries where accidents are common, health and safety is vital. A safe workplace also means a more productive workforce. If employees feel safe and healthy, they will be happy and motivated in the workplace.

Costs

With 470,000 working people sustaining an injury at work in 2020/21, health and safety needs to be a priority. Accidents in the workplace cost the employer on average of £3.2 bn between 2019 and 2020. Good health and safety can help to lessen the threat of legal action. Moreover, it reduces costs in the long run if employers have the correct procedures in place prior to an accident happening.

Reputation

A company that has insufficient health and safety measures will suffer from a bad reputation. Word will get out, fines will be issued, and dangerous or life-threatening accidents can occur, all leading to a bad public image. A company does not want to be known for the alarming number of accidents that have happened in their workplace.

Many customers and clients will request a copy of a company’s health and safety policy before they work with them. This health and safety policy can say a lot about a company and their commitment to having a safe workplace. If a company has a bad reputation for their poor health and safety, then a customer won’t want to risk hiring you.

However, if a company practices and maintains good health and safety, then it can reap the rewards of being a quality, professional and caring organisation.

How can we help?

Poor health and safety can be detrimental to a business. That is why it is important to invest time and money into having sufficient health and safety policies and procedures. It makes good sense to implement and follow health and safety practices in the workplace, after all the repercussions of poor health and safety can be costly.

We offer cost-effective and practical solutions which have been designed to achieve compliance in the workplace. Do not cut corners with health and safety, instead speak to one of our professionals who can provide a wide range of health and safety services.

If you’re going to be hosting a fireworks display or bonfire celebration, you must consider the health and safety risks to ensure everyone is kept safe. This applies to fireworks or bonfires for Bonfire Night, Diwali, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year, as well as celebrations such as a wedding or birthday, or for a larger event run by a business. You must know how to control and handle fireworks and bonfires in these situations as both can cause serious injuries to attendees if they aren’t managed properly and safely.

Step 1 – Planning

• Obtain fireworks from a reputable supplier
• Evaluate the site and space where you will be holding the display.
  • Can your spectators stand away at a safe distance?
  • Ensure to check for overhead powerlines and other obstructions that could be littering the floor of the site.
• Have you considered the wind?
• Animals can be frightened by fireworks.
• Make sure to communicate with your neighbours in advance so that they can take necessary precautions
• Fireworks not marked with ‘Complies with BS 7114 Part 2 1988’ are only suitable for use by persons with specialist knowledge
• Allow at least 50m x 20m for your firing area
• Also allow a clear dropping zone for used fireworks of 100m x 50m

Step 2 – On the day

• Keep alcohol well away from the display site and bonfire
• Do not let anyone into the firing zone – unless they are the person assigned with the job of managing the display
• Assign one person or as few as possible to manage the fireworks
• Have adequate fire safety provisions on hand in case, such as; fire extinguishers, buckets of sand or water and metal litter bins
• For public events allow one steward for every 250 spectators and exit routes should be planned and clearly signposted
• Do not burn dangerous rubbish on bonfires, such as; aerosols, gas cylinders, tyres or foam-filled furniture
• Do not attempt to relight fireworks. You should keep well away from fireworks that have failed to go off. Allow half an hour at the absolute minimum to wait before you consider approaching it again.

Step 3 – Afterwards

• Used fireworks must be gathered – do not allow children to collect these
• Use tools to collect these and place them in a bucket of water
• Seek advice on how to dispose of them properly
• For further guidance please refer to the documentation produced by the Confederation of British Industry Explosives Interest Group (CBI EIG) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

How to Dispose of Fireworks, Bonfires, and Sparklers

After your fireworks or bonfire event, you must ensure that you dispose of any materials used correctly. Failure to do so could result in further risks. You should safely dispose of what you can on the day of the event. It can be difficult to gather all waste materials at night, and so someone must check the area first thing the following morning in daylight.

Fireworks
You should safely dispose of all fireworks after your display – including spent (those which have been used and weren’t misfired or partly ‘spent’), damaged, partly spent, misfired, and any that are unused. To do so, you should collect fully spent fireworks into a refuse bin. Any misfired, partly spent, or unused fireworks must be fully submerged in a bucket of water for several hours, or long enough to soak the firework the whole way through. Doing so will render the firework non-explosive.

Once this process is complete, it is advised that you may be able to dispose of the fireworks by placing them inside a plastic bag and putting this in your domestic waste. However, you are advised to check the manufacturers’ instructions about disposal that come with the fireworks or to contact them on the supplier for further information.

Bonfires
You should put out bonfires by pouring water on them, even if there aren’t any flames. This ensures that the fire has been extinguished completely and that the embers won’t reignite when the fire is left unattended. Once plenty of water has been poured on the bonfire and you are certain that it has been extinguished, you can leave it.

Sparklers
As mentioned, you must extinguish sparklers in a bucket of cold water immediately after use. This is because they will still be very hot and can cause burns if people come into contact with them. Once they have fully cooled, you can then dispose of sparklers in your general waste.

On the 14th September, the government published the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021 to reflect how it plans to sustain the progress that has been made so far and prepare for any potential future challenges.

The initial part of this response begins with, ‘Plan A’. This is largely a continuation of the way we are carrying on at the moment and the government wants to achieve the following:

• Build defences through pharmaceutical interventions: vaccines, antivirals and disease-modifying therapeutics.
• Continue with Track, Trace and Isolate.
• Support the NHS and social care by managing pressures and recovering services.
• Provide advice, clear guidance and communications to people on how to protect themselves and others.
• Lend aid to vaccinate the world and manage the risks at the border.

In the case that Plan A is insufficient, the government has also outlined a ‘Plan B’. This secondary plan would come underway in the instance that data suggests that the NHS is likely to come under unsustainable pressure.

In this event, the government will prioritise measures that can help control the transmission of the virus while simultaneously trying to minimise economic and social impacts. This includes:

• Communicating clearly and urgently to the public that the level of risk has increased and with it the need to behave more cautiously.
• Legally mandating face coverings in certain settings.
• Consider asking people to work from home if they can, for a limited period.
• Introducing mandatory vaccine-only COVID-status certification in certain settings, such as:
  • All nightclubs.
  • Indoor, crowded settings with 500 or more attendees where those attendees are likely to be in close proximity to people from other households, such as music venues or large receptions.
  • Outdoor, crowded settings with 4,000 or more attendees where those attendees are likely to be in close proximity to people from other households, such as outdoor festivals.
  • Any settings with 10,000 or more attendees, such as large sports and music stadia.

Some settings would be exempt from the requirements to use the certification, including communal worship, wedding ceremonies, funerals and other commemorative events, protests and mass participation sporting events. The Government hopes not to have to implement Plan B, but given the uncertainty, these measures are meant to set out details now so that the public and businesses know what to expect if further measures become necessary.

An increasing number of workers have gradually returned, or are preparing to return, to offices and workplaces. As workers return to the workplace, employers should follow the Working Safely guidance.

In addition, businesses are encouraged to:

• Ask employees to stay at home if they are feeling unwell.
• Ensure there is an adequate supply of fresh air to indoor spaces. Businesses should identify any poorly ventilated spaces, for example by using a CO2 monitor, and take steps to improve fresh air flow in these areas.
• Provide hand sanitiser to enable staff and customers to clean their hands more frequently, and clean surfaces which people touch regularly.
• Display an NHS QR code poster for customers to check-in using the NHS COVID-19 app, so they are alerted if there’s an outbreak and can take action to protect others.

By law, businesses must not ask or allow employees to come to work if they are required to self-isolate.

The government will engage on certification proposals with affected businesses and civil society to ensure measures are proportionate and effective. They have made it apparent that they are again seeking stakeholders’ views on certification proposals and invite submissions of evidence.

The government is particularly interested in views from businesses, event organisers and venue operators, including from those that have experience of using certification on a voluntary basis over the summer, and on the proposals for the workforce. The government invites submissions of evidence and is also engaging with stakeholder representative groups.

When it comes to the vaccination program, the government has made clear its three priorities for the autumn and winter are:

• Maximising uptake of the vaccine among those that are eligible but have not yet taken up the offer.
• Offering booster doses to individuals who received vaccination in Phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme (priority groups 1-9).
• Offering a first dose of vaccine to 12-15 year olds.

If fully vaccinated, you do not need to self-isolate after being in contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 or when returning from a country that was previously part of the red travel list. The government has expressed that it wants to make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated and for this, they have set up ‘grab a jab’ pop-up vaccine sites. You can find the nearest location to you on the NHS website.

Lastly, the NHS is offering a third vaccine dose (or boosters) to people aged over 50, or those with a health condition that puts them at higher risk from COVID-19. These groups will be contacted by the NHS whereas only frontline health and social care workers can book their booster online. If you are a frontline health or social care worker, you can only make a booking if it’s been at least six months since your second dose. If you test positive for COVID-19, you have to wait four weeks from the date of your test result to get your booster.

If you think you can book, or need more information, visit the dedicated NHS page.

You can find the full Government Response Plan here.

You can find further health and safety guidelines for your business on the C2 Safety website.

We can help you to operate legally and ensure that people can return safely to or work safely on your premises. Please get in contact with a member of our team if you need any assistance.

The health and safety of our customers has always been at the heart of what drives us at C2 Safety. Not only is it a vital aspect of the daily operations of any business, but it is essential in promoting a workplace culture that prioritises the safety of others.

While we understand that Health and Safety (H&S) might not be a subject that is at the forefront of everyone’s daily conversations, but it is important to recognise the consequences of not taking it seriously. According to the Health and Safety Executive (2020), even with the knock-on effects of the pandemic, 38.8 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury and 1.6 million working people suffered from a work-related illness.

Many of these instances could have been avoided if the proper H&S measures were in place to protect those individuals. It’s no secret that good H&S measures mean that your staff can do their work more easily and safely. This, in turn, will boost morale, increase productivity and reduce costs. This is what we aim to help you achieve at C2 Safety.

There are many ways for your business to incorporate H&S measures that not only protect you and your employees but won’t break the bank. We offer a variety of bespoke consultancy services that can help you work towards acquiring proper guidance, procedures, certifications and documentation. A great example of working with one of our retained and valued customers, David Salisbury.

As a leader in the joinery manufacturing and installation sector, they require important health and safety practices on a variety of levels. From their highly advanced factory and additional involvement in a multitude of residential and commercial sites. It is imperative that they maintain and follow their health and safety plans and strategies.

David Salisbury has always been about improving and implementing effective H&S management practices in order to look after and maintain the well-being of their workforce. A case in point – with the ongoing support of our Safety Advisor, Pete Keane working alongside David Salisbury’s Head of Installations and Health and Safety Manager, Stephen Carpenter and HR Manager, Claire Byrne has resulted in their ability to continuously renew their  Safety Management Advisory Service (SMAS) Worksafe accreditation every year. Under this H&S management system that meets the Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) Core Criteria, David Salisbury can remain in line with complying with current H&S legislation and demonstrates their high H&S standards.

Having this accreditation greatly supports the commercial side of their business as it has allowed them to take on larger-scale projects, such as a National Trust Property in Devon and the historic Cliveden Spa.

Being the ‘Helpful Safety Company’, it always makes us proud to see our customers and their business excel. Our core values are fundamental to our guiding principles and it is through our dedication that we genuinely enjoy working with our customers to keep their business’s legal and their employees safe. Our customers value the high level of service they receive and the increased level of reassurance they feel allows them to concentrate on running their business. No matter the size of your business, we can help.

If you have ever thought about taking the H&S management of your company more seriously, this is your sign.

What is a Principal Designer?

The Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) coordinator’s role was removed under the 2015 guidelines and succeeded by the Principal Designer role. Thus, all projects with more than one contractor are now required to have a Principal Designer rather than a CDM Coordinator post-2015.

The official definition of a Principal Designer under CDM is

a designer who is an organisation or individual (on smaller projects) appointed by the client to take control of the pre-construction phase of any project involving more than one contractor.

Principal Designers are required to have a comprehensive understanding of the work being undertaken and the pre-construction and design phases to ensure they can fully manage and coordinate the project. Additionally, they are important for influencing how risks to health and safety are managed throughout a project. Design decisions made during the pre-construction phase have a significant influence in ensuring the project is delivered in a way that secures the health and safety of everyone affected by the work.

When is a Prinicpal Designer Required?

Under CDM 2015, any domestic or commercial project with more than one contractor must have a Principal Designer involved from the start of the project. The regulations apply to all construction work and are a legal requirement. Every construction project must comply with CDM, and that includes appointing the necessary CDM duty holders.

Previously, duty holder appointments such as the Principal Contractor did not need to be made on domestic projects. Domestic projects being construction work carried out on one’s own home, or that of a family member, not connected with a business. Additionally, these appointments did not need to be made on non-notifiable projects (projects that didn’t need to be notified to the HSE). However, since 2015 Principal Designers need to be appointed on both domestic projects and non-notifiable projects.

What are the Responsibilities of a Principal Designer?

The duties of a Principal Designer, according to the 2015 update, were designed to mirror those of the existing Principal Contractor role, before construction starts. However, the responsibilities of this role do not end once construction starts.

According to the HSE, Principal Designers must:

• Plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase. In doing so they must take account of relevant information (such as an existing health and safety file) that might affect design work carried out both before and after the construction phase has started.
• Help and advise the client in bringing together pre-construction information, and provide the information designers and contractors need to carry out their duties.
• Work with any other designers on the project to eliminate foreseeable health and safety risks to anyone affected by the work and, where that is not possible, take steps to reduce or control those risks.
• Ensure that everyone involved in the pre-construction phase communicates and cooperates, coordinating their work wherever required.
• Liaise with the principal contractor, keeping them informed of any risks that need to be controlled during the construction phase.

If you’re in the market for a Prinicpal Designer, we’ve got your covered. Head over to our Prinicpal Designer website for more information on how we can help you keep you and your construction project legal!

The term manual handling covers a wide variety of activities including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and carrying. If any of these tasks are not carried out appropriately there is a risk of injury. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 are in force to protect everyone’s health and well-being and to make the work environment a safer place. The legislation applies to work which involves lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying.

Potential Risks

Every year, 300,000 people in the UK suffer from back pain due to manual handling accidents and it causes over a third of all workplace injuries. These include work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as pain and injuries to arms, legs and joints, and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts. Damage to the back, neck or spine can lead to extreme pain, temporary incapacity or permanent injury. Manual handling injuries can have serious implications for the employer and the person who has been injured. They can occur almost anywhere in the workplace and heavy manual labour, awkward postures, repetitive movements of arms, legs and back or previous/existing injury can increase the risk.

Employer’s Responsibilities

Employers hold a significant amount of responsibility when it comes to reducing the risk of manual handling accidents at work.

By law employers are required, among other things, to reduce the risk of injury from manual handling operations to “the lowest level reasonably practicable”.

Employers must also:

• • So far as reasonably practicable, avoid the need for employees to undertake manual handling which involves a risk of them being injured

• • Carry out a manual handling risk assessment prior to any manual handling tasks

• • Provide training and information including specific information about the weight of the load and its heaviest side if its centre of gravity is not positioned centrally the equipment and techniques to be used when carrying out manual handling tasks

• • Assess the layout, structure or nature of the work and the individual capability of staff to reduce manual handling risks

• • Retain accurate reports on any previous notifiable manual handling incidents and accidents

• • Give equal consideration to those working away from the employer’s premises

Employee’s Responsibilities

While employers are obliged to provide adequate facilities, equipment and training for employees to safely fulfil their work-related tasks, employeeshave a responsibility to use the information and resources given to them. Employees should participate in the risk assessment process, attend any relevant manual handling training and implement good manual handling techniques whenever they are carrying out such tasks.

You are required by Manual Handling Operations Regulations to make use of equipment and resources provided by the employer, in accordance with the training given. This also applies to work done away from the employer’s premises.

Technique and Posture

To safely lift a load:

• Place feet hip-width apart with one foot slightly in front of each other
• Moderate flexion of the back, hips and knees
• Grasp the load firmly
• Use the leg muscles to lift the load into a standing position.

Whilst holding the load it is important to remember to:

• Keep the back straight, avoiding twisting or bending
• Carry loads with straight arms
• Keep the head up and face straight ahead when handling a load
• Keep the load hugged in close to the body while moving.

Manual handling occurs in most industries and is a major area of concern when it comes to health and safety in the workplace. Providing adequate training and increasing awareness of the risks associated with poor techniques will help decrease the probability of injury occurring.

Employers and employees who do not effectively implement these requirements could be subject to a number of actions from the regulatory authorities, dependent upon the nature of the omission(s).

In 2019/20, an estimated 693,000 injuries occurred at UK workplaces and out of these, 65,427 were reported to RIDDOR.

Why are these statistics important you ask?

Well, RIDDOR or The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 is a piece of health and safety legislation that requires ‘responsible persons’ to correctly report and keep records of certain injuries and incidents that happen at work. It holds employers responsible for negligence and bad working behaviours but also encourages people to follow health and safety procedures. Therefore, employers or any individual in a position of authority should know what the law requires.

What is Meant by ‘Accident’ and ‘Work-Related’

It can seem a bit complicated when determining what classifies as an accident. According to RIDDOR, an accident is a separate, identifiable, unintended incident, which causes physical injury. This specifically includes acts of non-consensual violence to people at work and not injuries themselves, eg ‘feeling a sharp twinge’. There must be an identifiable external event that causes the injury, eg a falling object striking someone. Additionally, under RIDDOR cumulative exposures to hazards, which eventually cause injury (eg repetitive lifting), are not classed as accidents.

RIDDOR only requires you to report accidents if they happen ‘out of or in connection with work’. The fact that there is an accident at work premises does not, in itself, mean that the accident is work-related – the work activity itself must contribute to the accident. Employees do not have a legal responsibility to report incidents, but if an employee witnesses or experiences an incident that would fall under RIDDOR, they should report it to the appropriate person. An accident is ‘work-related’ if any of the following played a significant role:

• The way the work was carried out.
• Any machinery, plant, substances or equipment used for the work.
• The condition of the site or premises where the accident happened.

What Counts as a Reportable Incident?

In order to comply with RIDDOR, you will need to report certain types of incidents and injuries to the HSE, but not all accidents need to be reported. As a result, you may be uncertain about what incidents should be reported under RIDDOR. The bottom line is that a report is required when an accident is work-related and results in an injury of a type that is reportable. You can find a more detailed outline here that also has questions you can use to determine if an incident is reportable. Some basic examples include

• The death of any person (Regulation 6)
• Specified Injuries to workers (Regulation 4)
• Injuries to workers which result in their incapacitation for more than 7 days (Regulation 4)
• Injuries to non-workers which result in them being taken directly to hospital for treatment, or specified injuries to non-workers which occur on hospital premises. (Regulation 5)
• Catering and hospitality accidents

What Does Not Need to be Reported?

Reports are not required (Regulation 14) for deaths and injuries that result from:

• Medical or dental treatment or an examination carried out by, or under supervision of, a doctor or registered dentist
• The duties carried out by a member of the armed forces while on duty
• Road traffic accidents, unless the accident involved:
  • The loading or unloading of a vehicle;
  • Work alongside the road (e.g. construction or maintenance work);
  • The escape of a substance being conveyed by a vehicle
  • A train

Keeping Track

It is the responsibility of the employer to keep a detailed, up-to-date record of any incidents in an accident book or something similar. This information should then be used to inform future risk assessments and updated health and safety policies for the organisation. RIDDOR records must be provided when asked by the HSE or local authority and are required to be kept for a minimum of three years after the date of the last incident in the book.

How to Submit a Report

All reports are made to the HSE and can be reported online using the appropriate RIDDOR form. Once completed, the form will be submitted directly to the RIDDOR database and you will receive a copy for your records.

A telephone system also remains for reporting fatal and specified injuries only by calling the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923 (Mon-Fri 8:30am – 5pm).

Reporting out of hours

The HSE and local authority enforcement officers are not an emergency service; however, the HSE does have an out of hours duty officer. The type of circumstances where the HSE may need to respond out of hours are:

• following a work-related death;
• following a serious incident where there have been multiple casualties; or
• following an incident that has caused major disruption (e.g. closure of roads or evacuation of people).

If an incident fits one of these descriptions, the duty officer can be contacted on 0151 922 9235.

The construction sector is one of the largest users of global resources and contributors to pollution. While the ultimate goal is to help build a world that can improve lives. Therein lies a responsibility to find and implement sustainable practices that will lay the foundation for future generations and leave them the ability to meet their own needs.

There are plenty of ways to protect the planet without compromising on the ease or quality of work. Working sustainably shouldn’t be something to fear as it primarily involves meeting the demands of the expanding population all while finding ways to support the environment in the long term. This list will illustrate some of the steps that can be taken to get started on making your business more sustainable. However, it is advised to carry out more extensive research to find the best methods for you.

What is Sustainability?

Before proceeding to the list, it would help to define what the term sustainability means. It’s a broad term that encompasses the desire to carry out any activity without depleting resources or having harmful impacts in the short and long term. This terminology can be applied to a number of fields but is generally categorised into three main areas – environmental, social, and economic.

The UK government has claimed to be committed to investing in a low-carbon transition in order to steer the country towards net-zero carbon emissions to mitigate climate change. The full results of this plan have yet to be seen, but in the meantime, various industries could be seeing some level of transition in certain work practices, processes and production.

What You Can Do On Site

Switch to more sustainable materials

Almost everything we do has an ecological footprint, even the production of the most simple of building materials. A familiar example is that of concrete, which has been noted for being responsible for about 7% of the world’s CO2. With the current climate condition and the phenomena of global warming, there is a pressing need for the construction and other industries to adopt and introduce environmental friendly materials.

Recently, more and more sustainable alternatives have been developed and introduced that can be just as, if not more effective than traditional concrete. One such alternative is that of ‘green concrete’ which has been considered greener, stronger, and more durable. Some other alternatives can include recycled plastics or rammed earth but with all things, there are discrepancies that are dependent on circumstantial and external factors. For more examples on alternative build materials, click here.

Dispose of waste responsibly

It’s understandable that a waste-free construction zone is more of a pipe dream if anything. In order to build something up, you have to tear something down. However, it is what you do with those torn down materials that can make a significant difference. Believe it or not, you can possibly reuse or recycle certain materials without sending them to a landfill. Items such as masonry, plastics, metals, glass, lumber and more can be either recycled or reused in other projects.

When done properly, disposing of waste in an eco-responsible way can save money on materials and waste disposal in the long term. It can also show customers and the government that your company takes its environmental social responsibility seriously. For a list of recyclable items, you can click here.

Take steps to prevent run-off

It’s common knowledge that a poorly managed construction site can have the potential to lead to all kinds of dilemmas. One such hazard is the leakage of hazardous chemicals into the environment. In order to prevent this sort of thing from happening and to protect local water and soil, using things like silt fences to prevent soil from washing away and make sure that contaminants are kept well away from watercourses.

Improve transport efficiency 

Almost all industries use transportation in some form or another and they all have their own level of carbon output. With construction, the carbon emissions produced from transportation can add up quickly so it pays to manage your fleet and transport systems as efficiently as possible. Some simple measures that can be taken are choosing the most carbon-efficient routes to take from point A to point B, switching to a more eco-friendly fuel, making fewer trips, and keeping the fleet well-maintained. These can not only potentially save you money, but could make your operations more efficient and reduce environmental impact.

Consider going digital

Many companies in the UK have embraced the new technological innovations. In many ways, they have greatly improved the production and speed at which business occurs and construction is no different. With the latest advancements at the forefront of the industry in 2021, it’s easier than ever to switch to digital platforms. Investing in good construction management software can benefit you by saving costs on paper (which also means saving trees), make filing and organising documents easier, and improve the overall operation and efficiency of your business.

Conclusion

While there are clear reasons to invest in sustainable construction practices, there is even more reason in a business sense; especially with the direction the UK is planning to go. More sustainable companies will have a natural competitive edge over their less sustainable counterparts as it can be a major selling point for many people. There are a number of environmental, financial and social benefits that aim to fight climate change through sustainable methods that can improve the quality of life and health for many people.

Most of us at some point in time have experienced some level of stress whether from family, friends, work or just life in general. According to a recent study by the HSE, work-related stress accounts for 57%  of all working days lost to ill health. Especially in the last 12 months, where over 600,000 workers reported suffering from stress, depression or anxiety, caused or made worse by work.

The past 18 months have raised serious concerns about people’s overall mental health and wellbeing. There are a lot of fears and uncertainties surrounding the pandemic as it has not only disrupted everybody’s life, it also comes with a mountain of side effects such as decreasing the level of control people feel they have. Having conversations with your employees is an important part of developing actions plans and managing the risks of stress in order to not only protect them but comply with the law.

Signs of Stress

Some pressure at work can be motivating, but when it becomes excessive, it can eventually lead to something more serious. According to the HSE, stress is defined as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures and demands placed on them”. The effects of stress can present themselves in a number of physical, mental, or psychological ways, depending on the situation. In a professional setting, there are two groups where the adverse effects of stress will be the most prominent. The following points highlight some of the common signs of stress.

In Teams

• Arguments
• Higher staff turnover
• More reports of stress
• More sickness absence
• Decreased performance
• More complaints and grievances

In Employees

• Taking more time off
• Arriving at work late
• Being twitchy or nervous
• Mood swings
• Being withdrawn
• Loss of motivation, commitment and confidence
• Increased emotional reactions i.e. being more tearful, sensitive or aggressive

Management Standards Approach

There are procedures that can be carried out at work in order to gain a more introspective view on what and where the main sources of stress are coming from. The Management Standards Approach represents a set of conditions that can be evaluated not only through a risk assessment but by promoting open discussion.

Working in partnership with employees and their representatives can help determine practical improvements that can be made. If you choose to implement this method of managing stress, then it is important to understand how it can fit into your existing risk assessment process. (This can be further discussed with your safety advisor.) These 6 categories cover the key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health, lower productivity and increased accident and sickness absence rates.

Demands

Do employees have any issues related to their job?

• Are employees able to cope with the demands of their jobs?
• Are there systems in place locally to respond to any individual concerns?

What you should be doing:

• Provide employees with adequate and achievable demands in relation to the agreed hours of work
• Ensure that people’s skills and abilities are matched to the job demands
• Jobs should be designed to be within the capabilities of the employee
• Address any concerns employees’ have about their work environment

Control

How much say do employees have in the way they work?

• What systems are in place to locally respond to individual concerns?

What you should be doing:

• Where possible, allow employees to have control over their pace of work
• Encourage employees to use their skills and initiative to do their work
• Where possible, encourage employees to develop new skills to help them undertake new and challenging pieces of work
• Encourage employees to build upon and develop their skills
• Give employees a say in when they can take breaks
• Consult employees about their work patterns

Support

Include promoting encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line manager and colleagues.

• Do employees feel that they receive adequate information and support from their colleagues and superiors?
• What systems are in place to locally respond to individual concerns?

What you should be doing:

• Have policies and procedures to adequately support employees
• Have systems in place that enable and encourage managers to support their staff
• Have systems in place that enable and encourage employees to support their colleagues
• Ensure that employees know what support is available and how and when to access it
• Ensure that employees know how to access the required resources to do their job
• Ensure that employees receive regular and constructive feedback

Relationships

Includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour

• Do employees feel that they are not subjected to unacceptable behaviours, like bullying at work?
• What systems are in place to locally respond to individual concerns?

What you should be doing:

• The organisation should promote positive behaviours at work to avoid conflict and ensure fairness
• Employees should share information relevant to their work
• Agreed upon policies and procedures should help prevent or resolve unacceptable behaviour
• Systems should be in place to enable and encourage managers to deal with unacceptable behaviour
• Systems should be in place to enable and encourage employees to report unacceptable behaviour

Role

Do employees understand their role within the organisation and does the organisation ensure roles are not conflicting?

• Do employees indicate that they understand their role and responsibilities?
• What systems are in place to locally respond to individual concerns

What you should be doing:

• The organisation should ensure that the different requirements it places upon employees are compatible
• Information should be provided by the organisation that enables employees to understand their role and responsibilities
• The organisation ensures that the requirements it places upon employees are clear
• There should be systems in place to enable employees to raise concerns about any uncertainties or conflicts they have in their roles and responsibilities

Change

How is the organisational change managed and communicated?

• Have employees indicated that the organisation engages them frequently when undergoing an organisational change?
• What systems are in place to locally respond to individual concerns?

What you should be doing:

• Ensure the organisation provides employees with timely information to enable them to understand the reasons for proposed changes
• Ensure the organisation adequately consults employees on changes and provides opportunities for employees to influence proposals
• Make employees aware of the probable impact of any changes to their jobs, and if necessary, give them the training to support these changes
• Make employees aware of timetable for changes
• Ensure that employees have access to relevant support during changes

There is no one format that needs to be used for this approach as they are not prescriptive. However, organisations are legally required to keep a record of any actions they have taken during and subsequent to a risk assessment.

One of the first steps you can take is to ask an employer or line manager to hold one a week or once a month Management Standards meeting to focus on either a specific section or on all of them. The bottom line is, employers should ensure they have an effective framework in place to help them detect signs of distress and/or stress and support people’s mental health. For more detailed information on this approach, you can click the link here.

Noise-induced hearing loss is the most common occupational health hazard there is and the HSE estimates that around 17,000 people in the UK suffer deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work. In addition to damaging hearing, loud noise has the potential to impact your concentration, cause mental stresses, and break focus which can put your workers in danger.

Fortunately, protecting your employees and their hearing is easily done by simply removing or reducing the exposure to noise. This guide will provide you with some basic information regarding what to consider when it comes to workplace noise.

“Where there are reasonably practicable things you can do to reduce risks from noise, that are reasonably practicable, they should be done.”

What are some of the main sources of noise at work?

Although workplace noise is prevalent in some way in almost all workspaces, there are a few where it is more likely to occur. Examples include manufacturing, entertainment, agriculture, textiles, demolition or road repair, woodworking, construction, ship-building, and airport ground staff.

Examples of noise sources include:

• The use of heavy machinery
• Pneumatic tools such a drills, grinders, hammers, and riveting guns
• Workplace transport
• Electrical tools such as circular saws and cutter heads
• Production lines
• Loud music
• Electrical motors and generators
• Engineering processes such a metal fabrication

In order to assess whether or not you have a noise problem at work, you will need to determine how loud the noise is and how long people are exposed to it. If the noise is intrusive, makes employees have to raise their voices to carry out a conversation when about 2m meters apart or if power tools are used for more than half an hour each day then you will need to do something about the nose.

How is Noise Measured?

The unit of measurement used in order to measure noise levels and emphasise which pitches and levels affect human ears the most is decibels (dB). The scale is logarithmic which means that an increase of 3 dB results in a doubling of the sound pressure. An example of an instance with a lower decibel would be a quiet room at night (20 dB) whereas a higher one could include an aircraft taking off 25 metres away (140 dB).  As such, it is vital morally and legally, as an employer to assess the noise and reduce it where possible using special equipment to that reduce exposure to noise levels.

The level of noise that is likely to damage a person’s hearing varies depending on the individual and the duration, but there are guidelines in place to monitor this and legal maximums in place. For example, a worker can be exposed to a certain level of dB (A), but only for a certain amount of time.

• 85 dB (A) – 8 hours
• 93 dB (A) – 4 hours
• 96 dB (A) – 2 hours
• 99 dB (A) – 1 hour
• 110 dB (A) – 4m 44 seconds
• 140 dB (A) – 28 second

You will also need to include the need to wear hearing protection in your safety policy and are encouraged to appoint someone who has the authority to ensure employees are using hearing protection when required to do so.

What Are The Regulations?

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 require employers to do the following

• Assess the risks to your employees from noise at work
• Reduce the noise exposure that produces those risks
• Provide hearing ear protection if the noise exposure cannot be reduced enough by using other methods
• Make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded
• Provide workers with information instruction and training
• Carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health

However, these regulations don’t necessarily apply to instances where low-level noise is a nuisance but causes no risk of hearing loss.

For further information regarding noise monitoring services how we can help your business, you can contact us.

A lone worker is someone who works alone without close or direct supervision. They can fall into various categories, such as a social care worker visiting people’s homes to agriculture workers and engineers.

People who are lone working may be exposed to several kind of hazards in their work, such as:

• Accidents or emergencies arising out of work
• Inadequate provision of hygiene and welfare facilities
• Environmental dangers
• Abuse or assault

There are greater risks for lone workers working without direct supervision or anyone to help them if things go wrong.

Lone Working – Employer responsibilities

Employers are legally responsible for the health, safety and welfare at work of all workers. Whilst it can often be safer to work alone, the law does require employers to think about and deal with any health and safety risks prior to employees working alone.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers must manage the risk to lone workers. This includes training, supervising and monitoring them in addition to keeping in touch with them and responding to any incidents.

Also, employers must manage, assess and control any risks in the workplace. A risk assessment is required for businesses with five or more workers and it helps to:

• Identify hazards
• Consider how the employee could harm people
• Outline control methods for the risks

Whilst there is no legal requirement to conduct a risk assessment specifically for lone workers, employers have a duty to include risks to lone workers in the general risk assessment.

A risk assessment should help employers to decide on the right level of supervision for lone workers.

Employers must think about who the worker may come into contact with, the work they are carrying out and how this may affect the risk. Employers should ask themselves the following:

• How experienced is the worker?
• How experienced is the person working alone?
• Is the worker vulnerable? For example, are they young, pregnant, disabled or a trainee?

Employers should also consider the environment that the person is working in and the equipment that they are using:

• Is the work in a rural or isolated area?
• Does the workplace present a specific risk to the worker?
• Is the worker going into someone else’s home or premises?
• Does the worker have adequate means of communication?

If a lone worker is working at someone else’s workplace then they must ask that employer about any risks or control measures to ensure that they are protected.

Lone Working – Mental health and wellbeing

Lone working can also negatively impact mental health and work-related stress levels.  If communication is poor, workers may feel disconnected, isolated or abandoned. This in turn could affect their performance and contribute to their mental wellbeing.

If employers make regular contact and recognise signs of stress or mental health early on, they can put procedures in place to help lone workers.

In addition to this, lone workers should also be trained on emergency procedures and should receive guidance on who to contact in an emergency. A risk assessment should outline these details.

Lone Working – Employee responsibilities

Whilst the employer holds the main responsibility for protecting the health and safety of lone workers, employees are responsible for:

• Taking reasonable care of their own health and safety
• Safeguarding the health and safety of other people affected by their work
• Cooperating with the employer’s health and safety procedures
• Use tools and equipment properly in accordance with the safety instructions and training given
• Not misuse equipment
• Report all injuries, accidents, near misses and any other dangerous occurrences

If a lone worker is worried about any health and safety risks, they should raise their concerns to:

• Their employer
• A manager or supervisor
• A health and safety representative

Some employers use dynamic risk assessments for lone working situations. Lone workers use these types of risk assessments to make operational decisions based on risks that cannot be foreseen. It is worth noting that this is not a substitute for a comprehensive risk assessment.

Lastly, if a worker has to undertake a dynamic risk assessment, they must:

• Receive training on how to make the assessment
• Consider the range of possible control measures
• Consider what action to take
• Get support for their decisions

Whether you outsource your health and safety or manage it in-house, it is a legal duty to have competent health and safety support. Employers have a legal responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business.

Managing health and safety can be complicated. As there are many rules and regulations to comply with it may be more beneficial to outsource to us.

There can be several challenges with managing health and safety in-house. Detailed health and safety knowledge may be lacking, which is essential for ensuring that you are compliant. Moreover, it can be difficult to make sense of HSE legislation and regulations. Health and safety fines can be costly, and can seriously affect your bottom line. That’s why it is important that your workplace is safe and compliant so that you can avoid legal fees or costly compensation.

Benefits of outsourcing

Reduced risk

By outsourcing your health and safety to a professional organisation like C2 Safety, you will have a safer workplace. Outsourcing will give you greater clarity on real health and safety issues. We help you plan and reduce the risk of non-compliance.  

We work with you to reduce risks and hazards in the workplace, so nothing goes amiss. This helps to avoid potentially damaging consequences that come with non-compliance.

Reduced cost

If you are employing someone in-house, they need to fully comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They must be trained and dedicated on all thing’s health and safety, which can be costly to your business. An internal resource can add to your operating costs. It can be far more cost-effective to outsource. Here at C2 Safety, we are flexible to suit the needs of the customer.

Increased efficiency

C2 Safety can create, manage, review and modify health and safety documents as required. If there has been legislation changes that effect your work you may not always have the time to make amendments to your health and safety documents. It can be very time consuming to keep on top of legislation and to operate safely. By outsourcing to us you can focus on what you do best, increasing the efficiency of your business and those working within it.

Better reputation

Outsourcing your health and safety to a professional consultancy ensures that your workplace is safe and compliant. In turn, this generates a positive image of your business’s health and safety culture. It demonstrates how much you value having a safe and healthy place to work.

By promoting a safe culture at work, you also make your business a more desirable place to work which can help in recruiting top talent!

Better management and happy staff

If employees see that you are actively looking after their health and safety, morale will improve which will, in turn, improve business performance and productivity. It also helps to improve awareness of legal requirements and reduces the chance that you will commit any offences.

“77% of employees felt encouraged to raise concerns in a good health and safety climate compared to 20% who felt encouraged to do so in a poor health and safety climate”

Frees up internal resources

It goes without saying, but outsourcing your health and safety to us allows you to focus on the more important areas of your business. From our experience working with clients, many do not find managing company health and safety policies the best use of their time. They feel like their skills and time are better focused elsewhere.

Outsourcing to a team of health and safety professionals not only frees up internal resources within your business but also gives you peace of mind that everything is looked after. Plus, you do not have the worry of overloading your employees with a complex responsibility, allowing them to focus on their actual job role.