HEALTH & SAFETY CLUB NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the first of our Health and Safety Club newsletter.  We hope you find the information topical and useful.  We will be running topical news information for you and a regular overview of the wide range of regulations affecting our health and safety obligations.  If you would like to see something added to this page then let us know at Elite HQ - 01405 860888 and we will discuss it with you. The topics we are highlighting are as follows:

Accident Investigations - Why bother?

HAV's or HAV's not? - Background to the new hand arm vibration regulations

Regulation Overview - Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA)

New Staff

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION - Why bother?

'If you think safety is expensive, try an accident'

(Chairman of Easy Group)

•    250 employees and self-employed people killed each year
•    150,00 sustain injuries that mean they are absent for more than three days
•    2.3 million cases of ill health are caused or made worse by work
•    40 million working days lost through work related injuries and ill health - at a cost of £2.5 bn

(Figures from HSE)

AS WELL AS THE OBVIOUS PERSONAL COST TO INDIVIDUALS

THERE ARE GOOD FINANCIAL REASONS FOR REDUCING ACCIDENTS AND ILL HEALTH

Investigation and analysis of accidents and incidents is an essential part of managing your Health and Safety

Learning the Lessons from what you uncover is at the heart of accident prevention

The findings of the investigation will form the basis of the action plan to prevent it happening again

It may find areas of your risk assessment that needs to be reviewed

The link with risk assessment is a legal duty!

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION - legal reasons?

Insured costs	Uninsured Costs
	Product & material damage Tool & equipment damage Legal costs Expenditure on emergency Clearing site Production delays Overtime working & temp labour Investigation time Supervisors' time diverted Clerical effort Fines Loss of expertise / experience

• Regulation 5 of Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 required employers to plan, organise, control, monitor and review H&S arrangements.  Investigations form an essential part of this process.
• You are expected to make full disclosure of the circumstances of an accident to the injured parties considering legal action. You must investigate to find out what went wrong.
• The fact that you investigate accidents demonstrates to a court that you have a positive attitude to health and safety.
•  Investigations provide essential information to your insurers in the event of a claim.
• RIDDOR - (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) 1995. Requirement to report certain categories of injury and disease sustained by people at work, together with specified dangerous occurrences, to the relevant enforcing authority which is usually the HSE. To see an overview of these regulations visit  www.hse.co.uk  if you have any concerns at all regarding reporting procedures contact us at Elite HQ 01405 860888

THE DECISION TO INVESTIGATE

The following table will assist in determining the depth of investigation that is needed - you must consider the worst potential of the event (there may not have been a serious injury involved but there was a potential for major or fatal injuries)

Likelihood of recurrence	Potential worst outcome of event
	Minor	Serious	Major	Fatal
Certain
Likely
Possible
Unlikely
Rare

Risk	....	Minimal	....	Low	.	Medium	.	High
Investigation Level		Minimal Level		Low Level		Medium Level		High Level

INFORMATION GAINED FROM AN INVESTIGATION

An understanding of how and why things went wrong.

A true snapshot of what really happens and how your work is really done (find out the short cuts that happen in your workplace and how work is made easier and ways that safety rules may be ignored).

Identifying deficiencies in your risk control management, this will enable you to improve and learn lessons which may be applicable to other areas of your organisation.

BENEFITS GAINED FROM AN INVESTIGATION

• Prevention of further events
• Prevention of further losses, disruption, stoppages, legal action.
• Improvement in employee morale and attitude towards health and safety, more co operative when they can see that problems are being solved or dealt with.
• Development of skills which can be applied to other areas of your organisation.

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THINGS

'TO GET RID OF WEEDS YOU MUST DIG UP THE ROOT.

IF YOU ONLY CUT OFF THE FOLIAGE, THE WEED WILL GROW AGAIN'

(HSG245)

• Identifying 'root causes' of accidents will prevent future failures
• Investigations should be conducted with accident prevention in mind, not placing blame.  Only after the investigation is completed is it appropriate to consider whether any individuals acted inappropriately
• It is rare that accident investigations conclude that operator error is the sole cause - there will usually be a number or underlying or 'root' causes such as
• Inadequate training
• Inadequate supervision
• Poor equipment design
• Lack of management commitment
• Poor attitude to health and safety
• Investigations should be thorough and structured to avoid leaping to conclusions.  A good investigation involves a systematic approach

CONTROL MEASURES

• Identify the risk control measures which were missing, inadequate or unused
• Identify additional measures needed to address the immediate and root causes
• Provide meaningful recommendations which can be implemented to redress the causes

ACTION PLAN

• Any action plan must have objectives that are:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Agreed
  • Realistic
  • Timescales
• Ensure that any plan deals with all the causes, not just the immediate ones, but also the underlying and root causes
• Review your risk assessment (any accident or incident should be a 'trigger' for assessment review)
• Communicate any actions to all relevant personnel (this will ensure all understand the outcome of the investigation and actions to prevent occurrences, it will help build up good relations within your workforce when actions are seen to be taken)

Click Hear to view a sample of our ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION TRAINING PROGRAMME if you need any further advice please contact us at Elite HQ - 01405 860888

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HAND ARM VIBRATION

In this newsletter we are outlining the requirements of the new Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. The main aim of the regulations, as with any of the regulations, is to reduce the risk of harm to the health of all employees within an organisation. If, after reading the following information, you require any further information please contact us at Elite HQ (01405 860888) and we will answer any concerns you may have.

• Potentially, 4.9 million workers are exposed to hand arm vibration (HAVS) 
• 1 million are exposed to vibration levels above the current HSE action limit
• 300 000 workers in the UK exhibit symptoms of vibration white finger (VWF)
• Industrial injury claims for hand arm vibration have risen from 3% of all claims in 1997 to 12% in 2000, with no sign of this figure falling

So, where does the problem arise?

The most well-known vibration related condition, vibration white finger (VWF) is caused by damage to the blood vessels feeding the fingers. This damage can be caused when working with hand-held power tools or hand-guided machinery, or when you are holding materials that are being processed by vibrating machinery. Vibration with a frequency ranging from about 2 to 1500 Hertz (Hz) is considered to be potentially damaging and is most hazardous in the range from about 5 to 20Hz (HSE - HS(G) 88). Regular exposure to vibrating equipment can cause these damaged blood vessels to go into spasm causing various symptoms such as:

• Painful finger blanching especially in cold and wet conditions
• Reduced sense to touch and temperature
• Numbness and tingling
• Stiff and painful joints
• Reduced grip strength
• Reduced manual dexterity
• Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, which is a nerve disorder of the hand, can also be caused by prolonged exposure to vibration. 

How is the problem caused?

A wide variety of commonly used tools and processes produce high levels of vibration on the hands and arms. Risks being dependant on a number of things: the amount of vibration transferred, how long the tool is used, how it is used and the working conditions. Individual susceptibility is also important.

Examples of vibration levels in commonly used equipment

Equipment		Typical vibration levels (in m/s2)
Hedge cutter		6.3
Flymo mower		3.0
Chainsaw		3.5-5.5
Blower (hand held)		7.7
Kango hammer		4 to 15 (depending on power/size)

Symptoms of VWF can be aggravated by cold conditions and by smoking. The first sign of VWF is often an occasional attack when the fingertips become white. If work is continued with vibrating equipment, the affected area can increase. Ultimately these symptoms will eventually limit the work that can be done. For example, working with vibrating equipment may no longer be possible, working in cold or wet conditions, do work requiring finger manipulation and ultimately it will affect your family and leisure activities.

Note:

All incidences of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome are reportable under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995)

Key requirement of the regulations

Risk Assessment

Regulation 5 of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations requires that 'an employer who carries out work which is liable to expose any employees to risk from vibration shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health and safety of those employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of these Regulations'.

The purpose of the assessment is to enable the employer to make a valid decision about the measures necessary to prevent or adequately control the exposure of employees to hand arm vibration. It enables the employer to demonstrate readily to others who may have an interest e.g. safety representatives and enforcement authorities that, from the earliest opportunity, the following have been considered:

• All the factors related to the risk;
• The practicability of preventing exposure:
• The steps which need to be taken to achieve and maintain adequate control of exposure where prevention is not reasonably practicable;
• The need for health surveillance; and
• How to put the steps you have decided on into action.

An assessment will be suitable and sufficient if it identifies:

• Where there may be a risk from hand arm vibration;
• A soundly based estimate of your employees' exposures and a comparison with the exposure action value and exposure limit value;
• The available risk controls;
• The steps you plan to take to control and monitor those risks; and
• A record of the assessment, the steps that have been taken and their effectiveness.

In most cases where the assessment evidence suggests that exposure is unlikely to exceed the exposure action value it is sufficient to record that fact, though you are still required to reduce exposure to as low as reasonably practicable. If exposure is likely to be above the exposure action value a more systematic assessment is required.

The employer is required to take action to control risks when the daily vibration exposure exceeds the Exposure Action Value (EAV).

The employer must prevent the daily exposure exceeding the Exposure Limit Value (ELV). If such limits are regularly exceeded, the employer must undertake health monitoring of the employee and maintain such records.

Exposure Action Value EAV 2.5m/s2

Exposure Limit Value ELV 5.0m/s2

Both EAV and ELV are quoted for an exposure period over an eight hour working day using the designation A(8).

Note:  We have a conversion matrix available to give usage times against the vibration level of equipment to work within the EAV.  Contact us at Elite HQ (01405 860888) for a copy of the matrix.

Prevention or control?

If the EAV is exceeded then the following hierarchy of control should be considered when determining what action should be taken:

1. Elimination or Substitution
2. Vibration control
3. Training information
4. Maintaining blood circulation
5. Health Surveillance

Purchasing new tools and equipment

When purchasing new tools and equipment, suppliers should be asked for information on vibration. The following list suggests some possible questions that you can ask.

1. Is the vibration of any handle or other surface to be held by the user likely to exceed and acceleration of 2.5 m/s², in normal use?
   • If the answer to question 1 is YES,
     
2. What is the frequency-weighted acceleration:
   a) Under operating conditions producing the highest vibration?
   b) Under typical operating conditions?
   c) Under other standard conditions?
   
3. Under what operating conditions were the measurements made?
   
4. If the tests were in accordance with a published standard, provide details and indicate the extent to which the vibration may differ from the quoted values under normal conditions of use.
   
5. What measures have been taken to minimise vibration?
   
6. Are additional vibration reduction measures practicable? Give details of any design changes, the additional cost and any production penalties.
   
7. What is the maximum frequency-weighted acceleration that the tool or equipment can be guaranteed not to exceed?
   
8. What tests would be carried out to confirm any claims made in answer to question 7?
   
9. What other measures are required to minimise the vibration hazard to which employees are exposed when using the tool or equipment in question? Give details of any special maintenance requirements.

Health Surveillance

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 requires employers to provide appropriate health surveillance where the risk assessment indicates that there is a risk to the health of his employees who are, or are liable to be exposed to vibration. Employers should therefore provide health surveillance if:

• Employees are regularly exposed to above the exposure action value.
• Employees are occasionally exposed above the exposure action value where the risk assessment identifies that the frequency and severity of exposure may pose a risk to health.
• Employees remain working with exposures above the exposure action value
• Employees have been identified as having the symptoms of hand and arm vibration syndrome.
• A link can be established between exposure and an identifiable disease or adverse health effect.
• It is possible that the disease or effect may occur under the particular conditions of his work.
• There are valid techniques for detecting the disease or effect. Employees whose health is at particular risk and are likely to be more sensitive to risks include:
• Pregnant workers.
• Workers with diseases of the hands, arms, wrists or shoulders.
• Workers with diseases affecting blood circulation, e.g. diabetes.

Pre employment questionnaire

It is vital that new employees complete a pre-employment questionnaire on induction.  This will inform the new employer if the applicant has any risk factors relating to hand arm vibration in their medical history.  The example included can form part of your overall questionnaire covering all aspects. Click here to view example.

Training

Regulation 8 requires that:

(1) If -

(a) The risk assessment indicates that there is a risk to the health of his employees who are, or who are liable to be, exposed to vibration;

or

(b) Employees are likely to be exposed to vibration at or above an exposure action value; the employer shall provide those employees and their representatives with suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training.

All employees should, as a base level, be given information on the following:

• What is VWF (vibration white finger)
• What effects can VWF cause
• The early warning signs
• Level of risk they are exposed to
• Possible health effects
• Associated legal requirements
• What can we do to reduce the Risk
• Employers' responsibilities
• Employees' responsibilities

What local rules are in place to manage hand arm vibration?

Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment is the last resort for protection against hazards at work, and should only be considered as a means of control after all other options have been exhausted. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to eliminate Hand Arm Vibration has two serious limitations. Firstly, it does not eliminate the hazard at source and secondly it cannot be guaranteed to work fully for every individual wearer. If the PPE fails and this failure is not detected, the risk increases dramatically.

As a general rule, where PPE is to be used, it must be appropriately selected, its use and condition monitored and where employees are required to use PPE then training must be provided. It is important to recognise that maintaining the body temperature improves blood circulation and therefore reduces potential long-term damage. It is therefore important to consider two issues. One is the protection against the cold and the other is protection against vibration.

'PPE IS THE LAST RESORT FOR PROTECTION'
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REGULATION OVERVIEW

Health and Safety at Work etc., Act 1974 (HSWA)

This is the first of our Regulations overview. This can be used as an aide memoir for information on health and safety regulations. If you need any further advice on any of the topics, please contact us at Elite HQ - 01405 860888

This Act implemented the majority of the proposals of the Robens Report. This gave the following:

• It established the Health and Safety Commission (HSC)
• It established the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• It gave accident prevention powers on the HSE inspectors
• It placed broad general duties on employers, employees and manufacturers of industrial products as well as on the self-employed and occupiers of buildings where people work
• It provided for participation of management and workers in the identification and monitoring of workplace hazards by the requiring the appointment of Safety Representatives from the workforce
• Requiring that changes  and improvements in Occupational health and safety be discussed at meetings of safety committees consisting of management and union representatives

THE FOUR CORNERS OF COMMON LAW DUTY OF CARE

(That the HSWA 1974 is based)

SAFE PLACE OF WORK

SAFE SYSTEM OF WORK

SAFE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

COMPETENT EMPLOYEES

Duties of Employers

HSWA sec 2(1) - It is the duty of every employer, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees. This includes:

• Sec 2(2)(a); the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are safe and without health risks
• Sec 2(2)(b); arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of health risks in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
• Sec 2(2)(c); the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of employees
• Sec 2(2)(d); the maintenance of any place of work under the employer's control in a condition that is safe and without health risk, including means of access and egress
• Sec 2(2)(e); the provision and maintenance of a working environment for employees that is safe and free from health risks, with adequate facilities and arrangements for employees' welfare

Health and Safety Policy

Employers must prepare and, as often as is necessary, revise a written Statement of Health and Safety Policy (HSWA sec 2(3). There is an exception to this requirement in the case of employers employing at any time fewer than five employees. But all employees must make arrangements for heath and safety even if it is not written down.

Duties of Employees

Employees, whilst at work, must:

• Take reasonable care for their own health and safety, and that of other persons (including members of the public) who may foreseeably be affected by their acts or omissions at work
• Co-operate with their employer so far as is necessary for him to comply with any duty or requirement under any of the 'relevant statutory provisions'
• Not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for the purpose of health and safety at work

In addition, employees owe employers a contractual duty to carry out their work with care and skill. Failure to do this can lead t dismissal as being in breach of a term of their contract of employment

CONSEQUENCES OF BREACH OF DUTIES IN HSWA BY EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES

Breach by employer

An employer who is in breach of his duties under HSWA can be:

• Prosecuted by an HSE inspector, and, if found guilty, made to pay a fine, or possibly sent to prison
• Sued for negligence at common law if the breach causes injury to an employee.
• Sued for constructive dismissal before an industrial tribunal by an employee if the breach constitutes a fundamental term of the contract of employment

Breach by employee

An employee who is in breach of his duties under HSWA can:

• Be prosecuted by an HSE inspector and made to pay a fine, if convicted;
• If his breach causes injury to himself or to other employees or to a member of the public, involving his employer in vicarious liability though, where the injury is to himself, his damages will be reduced on the ground of his contributory negligence
• Be dismissed from his employment for being in breach of the term of his contract of employment that he will carry out his work with proper care and skill. If the employer has gone through the necessary procedures (Disciplinary Practice and Procedures in Industry) an industrial tribunal may well declare such dismissal fair

 

NEW STAFF
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We welcome on board Mick Proctor as a new member to our Safety Adviser team.  Mick lives in Castleford, West Yorkshire. He has been involved with Elite Executives for the last 5 years as an associate but now joins to promote, and actively support, our health & safety clients on a day to day basis.

Professional background is wide ranging but has always been involved in some aspects of H&S.  His two major involvements have been with the chemical industry and the Fire Brigade.  He also stays actively involved in first aid that he has done for the last 25 years.

He has practical experience in emergency management, wide range of risk assessments, accident investigation and health and safety training over a wide range of subjects.  He has gained qualifications through NEBOSH and is at present studying for the level 4 diploma at Hull University. He is also qualified as an adult teacher for health and safety training.

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PRE-EMPLOYMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

General Health Section
Do you smoke?
		Yes		No
How long have you smoked?
Do you naturally suffer from whitening or numbness of the fingers when exposed to the cold?
		Yes		No