Health and Safety What is Health and Safety

Health and Safety

What is Health and Safety? § Safety, health, welfare and well-being. § Workers – employees, part-time, temporary, apprentices, work experience students and self-employed. § Public, customers, visitors and contractors. § Behavior of people, systems of work and the working environment.

The Health & Safety at Work etc. . Act 1974 § Duties (employers and the self-employed, employees, people in control of work premises, manufacturers, designers and suppliers). § Requirement to prevent harm to workers and others so far as is reasonably practicable. § Health and safety is a shared responsibility.

The Health & Safety at Work etc. . Act 1974? Specific regulations. § Management of Health and Safety at Work 1999 § Personal protective equipment regulat 1992, Protective clothing and equipment Risk assessments. Display screen equipment regulations § Workplace (health, safety and welfare) Regulations§ 1992 Use of display screen equipment, compu Temperature, Lighting, Heating etc. § Provision of work equipment regulations 1998 Standards for use of (Training), maintenance and inspection. § Manual handling operations regulations 1992 Handling stock, equipment and materials.

The costs of poor standards of Health & Safety § Fatalities, injury, disease and harm. An improvement notice will: • Specify the breach of law • Say what needs to be done and why • Give you a period of time in which to comply (min 21 days) § Increased absences, poor morale, high staff turnover. § Financial losses. § Reputation, prohibition and closure.

Reasons to investigate accidents § Legal requirement. § Identify the factors that contributed. § Insurance. § Enforcement authorities. § Prevent it happening again.

Risk Assessments § A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm. § A risk is the chance (or likelihood) of harm being caused. § Risk assessment considers: – how likely harm is to be caused. – the degree of harm. – the number of people who may be affected.

What are the 5 main steps in the Hierarchy of Control? Step 1: Design or re-organise to eliminate hazards. . Step 2: Substitute the hazard with something safer. . Step 3: Use engineering controls. . Step 4: Use administrative controls. . Step 5: Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) The hierarchy is arranged beginning with the most effective controls and proceeds to the least effective.

Manual Handling § Cause of highest number of safety days lost to workers. § Injuries account for over a third of all reportable acciden at work to the lower back and elsewhere. § Injuries – include ruptured discs, sprained ligaments, sprained and inflamed tendons, Muscular injuries, hernias, fractures, cuts and crushing.

Assessing Manual Handling Risks § The individual. § The load. § The task. § The environment.

Correct Lifting and Carrying Techniques Things to consider before: § Assess the size and weight of Load § Consider the best way to move the load § Consider the environment and surrounding area § Prepare the job § Plan the route § Use any PPE provided or required § Move loads safely How to Lift: § Bend at the knees § Keep feet apart § Keep back straight § Lift with your legs § Hold object close to body § Don’t twist your body § Put load down smoothly

COSHH § Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. Provides guidance on: - The safe use and handling. - Identification and Storage. - Disposal. - Environmental control of all substances hazardous to healt

Hazardous Substances § Any material or substance with the potential to cause illness or injury to people who come into contact with it. § A substance may be hazardous because it is explosive, flammable, harmful, irritant, corrosive, toxic, produces a chemical reaction or an allergic reaction

COSHH Symbols

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