Health and Safety in Golf Course Management and Maintenance

Transcription

1 GTC is supported by: Health ad Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace AUTHORS JON ALLBUTT, JOHN DAVIS. Developed i associatio with:

2 Cotets Sectio Title Chapter Page umber INTRODUCTION About this guide MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE 2.0. THE GOLF COURSE AS A SPORTING VENUE AND A PLACE OF WORK SECTION 3.0. MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT SECTION 4.0. WORKING AT HEIGHT SECTION 5.0. MANUAL HANDLING SECTION 6.0. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES SECTION 7.0. WORKING IN CONFINED SPACES SECTION 8.0. WORKING ALONE Golf idustry priorities 4 Eforcemet of health ad safety law What to expect whe a health ad safety ispector calls Idetifyig the employer the role of the proprietor; club committee Roles ad resposibilities - committees, members ad employees Cosultig employees Dealig with accidets, icidets ad ijuries: providig a first aid service for employees ad golfers The risk assessmet how to do it Employig ad traiig staff Employig voluteers ad casual part-time staff Employig childre ad youg persos Employig cotractors ad maagig cotracted works Workig i the field of play The golf course safety ispectio Golf touramets ad crowd cotrol Access to the golf course the public, walkig golfers, users of trolleys ad golf carts (buggies) 2.5. Esurig adequate provisio for staff welfare: Appedix to sectio 3.0 Priority o the golf course Appedix to sectio 3.0 A golf course safety ispectio checklist - example 3.1. Itroductio to golf course machiery ad equipmet Workshops ad maiteace facilities Hadlig ad storage of fuel ad oil Noise Vibratio Workig o slopes usig ride-o, self propelled, ad pedestria operated work equipmet Tractors ad power take off (PTO) equipmet Mowers Workig i, o or ear water The use of persoal protective equipmet (PPE) Electricity ad usig electrical equipmet The cotrol of substaces hazardous to health (COSHH) Usig plat protectio products (pesticides) Maagig asbestos l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

3 Foreword About this Guide Peter Dawso, Chief Executive, The R&A. I am very pleased to write this Foreword to the revised Guide, Health ad Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace. The R&A, through its support for the Greekeepers Traiig Committee, was istrumetal i promotig the co-operative veture with the Health ad Safety Executive to produce the origial editio i The success of the origial Guide is uquestioed maily due to its active promotio throughout the idustry by the GTC ad others. The icrease i the popularity of golf has put pressure o maagers ad staff to preset our golf courses to eve higher stadards i spite of greatly icreased play. Golf clubs are aware of the eed to avoid slowig play ad puttig staff at risk from beig ijured by golf balls, as well as the ever-preset wide rage of hazards arisig durig work activities. It is commedable that may clubs, through their skilled professioal staff, have maaged to achieve these high stadards through appropriate traiig ad by raisig the awareess of all ivolved i maagig ad usig club facilities. Foreword by: Jae Willis, Strategic Programme Director, Public Service Agreemet Delivery Health ad Safety Executive The Health ad Safety Executive welcomes this guidace, which replaces HSE s well-received publicatio Health ad Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace (HSG79). Icreasigly HSE is workig i partership with others to produce guidace that outlies sesible health ad safety precautios. I cogratulate the Greekeepers Traiig Committee for takig the iitiative to update the origial guidace o behalf of the golf idustry ad to tailor it to their particular eeds. It icludes relevat legislatio ad guidace itroduced sice HSE first published HSG79 i 1994 ad this updated guidace will help those ivolved i maagig ad maitaiig golf courses to protect their employees, club members, visitors ad others from risks to their health ad safety. It is also relevat to others ivolved i the ameity, sports turf ad groudcare sector. Followig this practical guidace will help to reduce ijuries ad ill health caused by work activities. I 2004, The R&A revised the Etiquette sectio i the Rules of Golf to give greater protectio for both golfers ad greekeepers. It is importat that golf clubs esure that their local rules reflect these chages ad brig them to the attetio of golfers ad staff alike. Ackowledgemets Throughout the project we have received advice ad support from may idividuals ad orgaisatios i our idustry. The project has bee co-ordiated by Mr Jo Allbutt whose expertise ad that of his colleague Mr Joh Davis is truly appreciated by the GTC. We are particularly grateful to Ala Plom, Toy Mitchell (HSE) ad Graham Robertso (Aberdeeshire Coucil) for their patiece, their careful readig of the may drafts, ad i particular their techical advice o health ad safety matters; the members of the GTC Techical Committee ad the GTC Board for their support. We would also like to thak Royal Lytham ad St. Aes Golf Club (frot cover); the maagers ad staff at The Grove Hotel; Northwood Golf Club, Pedham Place Golf Club, The Wisley Gardes (RHS); Dale Hill Hotel ad Golf Club (illustratio page 10)for permittig us to take photographs of workig situatios; ad also New Hollad for providig photographs of their equipmet. The project has bee fuded by the GTC: David Goldig Educatio Director, The Greekeepers Traiig Committee November 2007 Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 3

4 Golf idustry priorities Golf is uique i sport, i that the greekeeper remais i the field of play durig the game. The traditios of maagig a golf course esure that the greekeeper carries out essetial daily preparatio work as early as possible so as ot to iterfere with play. With the itroductio of the Health ad Safety at Work Act (HSWA) i 1974 these traditios cotiued but with a greater awareess of the eed to reduce the risks of ijury to the greekeeper maily from beig hit by golf balls. The golfer must also be protected from risks of ijury from maiteace activities a statutory duty uder Sectio 3 of HSWA. However there will be a umber of maiteace, ad costructio, activities that must cotiue to be carried out durig the workig, ad golfig, day. The challege to maitai high stadards o our golf courses, whilst workig i a icreasigly busy field of play, ot to iterrupt the flow of golf, ad protect both greekeepers ad golfers, must be a priority for staff, maagers ad employers. This guide cotais details of how a safety maagemet system ca achieve this with iput from the Health ad Safety Executive ad idustry experts. I 2000 the Govermet set atioal targets to reduce accidets, ill health ad work days lost. These are equally relevat to the golfig idustry. Ay accidet or case of ill health, apart from causig pai ad sufferig to the idividual cocered, affects the ruig of ay busiess ad ultimately its profitability. All those resposible for the ruig of a golf course would be wise to cosider this guide carefully as a itegral part of maagig their busiess safely. Golf has a excellet safety record with few fatal or serious accidets beig reported. However i order to maitai high stadards we are usig icreasigly complex machiery, more frequetly, o what ca be hazardous terrai, sometimes i difficult groud coditios. It is here that the greekeeper is at greatest risk of serious ijury; prevetig this must be our highest priority. We must therefore maitai high levels of traiig from iductio of ew employees right throughout their workig lives to esure they acquire ad maitai high levels of competecy. Eforcemet of health ad safety law What to expect whe a health ad safety ispector calls Who eforces health ad safety law? Health ad safety law is eforced by ispectors from the Health ad Safety Executive (HSE) or by ispectors from your local authority Evirometal Health Departmet. Private members ad proprietary golf clubs will be ispected by your local authority; however HSE would ispect those golf courses maaged directly by a local authority. Health ad safety ispectors have the right to eter ay workplace, at ay reasoable time, without givig otice, though otice may be give where the ispector thiks it is appropriate. O a ormal ispectio visit a ispector would expect to look at the workplace, the work activities, your maagemet of health ad safety, ad to check that you are complyig with health ad safety law. The ispector may offer guidace or advice to help you. He/she may also talk to employees ad their represetatives, take photographs ad samples, serve improvemet otices ad take actio if there is a risk to health ad safety which eeds to be dealt with immediately. Your local ispector is more likely to pay more frequet visits to the golf club i respose to complaits or where there is evidece of poor health ad safety maagemet. This might be reflected by the lack of a up to date Statemet of Safety Policy ad clearly outlied resposibilities ad arragemets for maagig health ad safety; iadequate or o existet risk assessmets; poor facilities; ad i particular if the site has a poor safety record. Eforcig health ad safety law Ispectors may take eforcemet actio i several ways to deal with a breach of the law. I most cases these are: Iformal Where the breach of the law is relatively mior, the ispector may tell the duty holder, for example the employer or cotractor, what to do to comply with the law, ad explai why. The ispector will usually write to cofirm ay advice, ad will distiguish legal requiremets from best practice advice. Improvemet otice Where the breach of the law is more serious, the ispector may issue a improvemet otice to istruct the duty holder to udertake improvemets to comply with the law. The ispector will discuss the improvemet otice ad, if possible, resolve poits of differece before servig it. The otice will detail what eeds to be doe, why, ad by whe. The time period withi which to take the remedial actio will be at least 21 days, to allow the duty holder time to appeal to a Idustrial Tribual if they so wish (see Appeals ). The ispector ca take further legal actio if the otice is ot complied with withi the specified time period. Prohibitio otice Where a activity ivolves, or will ivolve, a risk of serious persoal ijury, the ispector may serve a prohibitio otice prohibitig the activity immediately or after a specified time period, ad ot allowig it to be resumed util remedial actio has bee take. The otice will explai why the actio is ecessary. The duty holder will be told i writig about the right of appeal to a Idustrial Tribual (see Appeals ). Prosecutio I some cases the ispector may cosider that it is also ecessary to iitiate a prosecutio. Health ad safety law gives the courts 4 l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

5 cosiderable scope for puishig offeders ad deterrig others. For example, a failure to comply with a improvemet or prohibitio otice, or a court remedy order, carries a fie of up to 20, 000, or six moths imprisomet, or both. Ulimited fies ad i some cases imprisomet may be imposed by higher courts. Appeals A duty holder will be told i writig about the right of appeal to a Idustrial Tribual whe a improvemet or prohibitio otice is served. The appeal mechaism is also explaied o the reverse of the otice. The duty holder will be told: how to appeal, ad give a form with which to appeal; where ad withi what period a appeal may be brought; ad that the remedial actio required by a improvemet otice is suspeded while a appeal is pedig. The work activity that is subject to a improvemet otice ca ormally be permitted to cotiue durig the appeal; however a work activity that is subject to a prohibitio otice must cease durig the appeal. Iformatio to employees The ispector may wish to speak to employees regardig his/her ispectio ad/or their decisio to issue eforcemet actio. The ispector may also wat to esure that the employer has adequate arragemets for cosultig with employees ad is able to provide the details of correspodece ad/or eforcemet otices. This iformatio should be displayed o staff otice boards at the place of work e.g. a otice board i the greekeepers rest room. Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 5

6 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE Chapter 1.1 Idetifyig the employer the role of the proprietor, club committee, or board of directors Achievig a healthy ad safe workplace at a golf club is the resposibility of all from directors through a maagemet team dow to all the employees icludig part-time ad voluteers. I a golf club there ca be differeces i owership ad the maagemet structure; it is importat that legal duties ad resposibilities are clearly idetified. A proprietary golf club should have a clearly idetifiable ower/ director who is resposible for health ad safety; or if it is part of a leisure group there should be a clear structure that shows the chai of commad where idividuals roles ad resposibilities are defied. The situatio ca be less clear i a members golf club where the employer role may be shared betwee a group of committees each with its ow separate members ad chairma. The traditioal structure of a members golf club could have a geeral committee where the chairma of each committee sit ad act as the board of directors. Typically accordig to the costitutio of a golf club the officers would be elected for a specific term of office at a club aual geeral meetig. Some members golf clubs have ow moderised their structure reducig the umber of committees with a Board of Directors elected for a term of office. This moder structure ca improve decisio makig ad commuicatio with employees. Ay officer of a golf club who is ivolved i the preparatio of policies ad has a role for cotrollig the directio of the club ca be deemed to be a employer/director, ad a resposible perso, for his or her period of office. Members of a golf club who are cosiderig puttig themselves forward for electio as officers should receive guidace e.g. based o HSE Free Guide INDG343 Directors Resposibilities for Health ad Safety. Where this guide uses the term Director, this icludes the ower of a proprietary golf club, a committee member, chairma, captai or other officer of the club who has sole or joit resposibility for policies ad procedures. Chapter Roles ad resposibilities committees, members ad employees The Committee, Proprietor The Employer A golf club is a busiess that employs staff to provide a service to golfers. This meas that a golf club comes withi the Health ad Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) which places duties o the employer to protect the safety of employees, o employees, icludig golfers ad members of the public who may be affected by work activities o the golf course. I practical terms these duties ca be summarised as:- To prepare ad sig a up to date Statemet of Safety Policy (see HSE Guide INDG 259) that has at the frot a summary of the club health ad safety policy ad sets out the structure of the busiess icludig the arragemets i place for maagig health ad safety, ad the roles ad resposibilities of key positios. To esure there are sufficiet local rules, guidace ad practical arragemets for the safety of staff ad golfers, icludig disabled persos whe o the golf course. To esure there are adequate arragemets for dealig with foreseeable emergecies e.g. fire, storm, fog, flood, sudde illess or accidet to iclude closig the golf course ad evacuatig of the site. To esure that the busiess does ot put others (cotractors, visitors, users of public footpaths, bridleways, or earby residets) at risk. To employ competet persos to fill key maagemet positios ad esure they have the ecessary skills for the duties they have to perform. To develop a safety culture ad high levels of awareess throughout all levels of the employee structure. To esure that health ad safety matters are discussed at committee ad board level as appropriate. Depedig upo the structure of a golf club busiess these duties ca be delegated to maagers (maagers ca be employed or cotracted). Where the maagemet of the busiess is cotracted out it will be ecessary to esure that these arragemets are clearly documeted ad uderstood by both parties. The Maagemet Team (Employees) The seior maager (Secretary/Maager/Geeral Maager) should esure that his/her maagemet ad supervisory team have sufficiet iformatio ad traiig to eable them to carry out their duties as directed by the employer (Committee/ Director). This will ivolve providig iformatio, traiig ad supervisio for those uder their commad. The maagers should either collectively or idividually esure that they cosult with their staff o ay relevat health ad safety matters. 6 l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

7 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE The maagers should be resposible for The Staff Team (Employees) Geerally maagig the safety of the golf course maiteace operatio; set the stadards ad safety culture; be a example of safe work practices; set the safety rules e.g. wearig the PPE provided, seat belts (if fitted); ot hadlig mobile phoes, or usig CD players, i-pods etc. whe operatig work equipmet. Makig regular reports, ad where ecessary recommedatios, to the relevat committee or board of directors. The preparatio, implemetatio, review ad, where ecessary, revisio of risk assessmets ad other documetatio to show the effective maagemet of the health ad safety of the busiess. Orgaise ad keep records of staff traiig; ispectio, maiteace, ad where ecessary testig, of work equipmet; safety ispectios of premises. The arragemets for dealig with foreseeable emergecies o the site icludig the evacuatio of premises, closig the golf course, ad the provisio of first aid persoel. A importat part of this is to establish a effective meas of commuicatig across the site (mobile phoes, two-way radios) ad to have cotact details for key persoel e.g. the persos who are traied ad competet to take charge i a emergecy, duty maagers etc. Providig safety iformatio for golfers ad the public. The directors of the club will eed to satisfy themselves that maagers have the skills to perform these tasks ad, have take the ecessary steps to eable the maagers to be traied ad be competet for their duties. The maagers role could also be filled by the proprietor of a privately owed golf club; i this situatio the maager could be both the employer ad employee. A employee ca be ay perso who carries out a work related activity whether for paymet or ot. Golf club voluteers (icludig artisas) who carry out specific tasks (divotig, gardeig) are deemed to be employees ad should receive the same treatmet, particularly i respect of their traiig ad provisio of protective equipmet. Club directors have duties to esure that their staff teams have received the ecessary traiig ad provisio of protectio to eable them to carry out their duties safely. The golf club staff have duties to carry out the reasoable requests of the employer as delegated to the maagers. These ca iclude:- assist with the preparatio ad implemetatio of risk assessmets. use work equipmet strictly i accordace with their traiig, levels of competece, ad the maufacturers Operator Maual. ot to use aythig uless specifically authorised to do so. wearig such persoal protective equipmet (PPE) as is required to safely carry out their duties. they must ot iterfere with, alter or adjust, aythig that is provided for them for their protectio. they must report to their supervisor/maager ay icidet or other situa tio that could put their safety, or the safety of others, at risk. observe courtesy to golfers where practicable ad try ot to iterfere with play. Golfers Amateur golfers are geerally outside of the strict cotrol of HSWA as they are ot at work. However they do have a geeral Duty of Care ot to put others at risk as a result of their actios. They are also costraied by the Rules of Golf, ad probably also local Club Rules, that require them to observe etiquette ad courtesy to others. A golfer should wait util the way is clear before playig a shot. The golf club may also have local rules for priority o the whole or part of the golf course either geerally or at particular times of the day. Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 7

8 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE Chapter 1.3 Cosultig employees The directors of a golf club have duties (see HSE Guidace INDG 232) to cosult with their employees (icludig part-time) about:- Ay chages that are plaed that may substatially affect their health ad safety at work such as chages to work equipmet to be used, chages to the desig ad layout of the golf course, chages to the yard, sheds ad welfare facilities. Ay proposals to chage the arragemets for gettig a competet perso to assist with complyig with health ad safety laws such as a health ad safety advisor. The hazards ad risks associated with their work as a result of carryig out risk assessmets, ay chages eeded to reduce those risks, ad what actio they should take if ew hazards are discovered such as reportig dagerous icidets or situatios that are hazardous to themselves or golfers. The plaig ad preparatio of safety traiig to update their skills or to use ew equipmet. Cosultatio is a two-way process where iformatio is give ad received by both employer ad employee. The directors of a golf club must choose the most effective method to cosult with their employees. The method chose will deped upo the size ad structure of the busiess activity ad could rage from a formal health ad safety committee (for larger sites) to a more iformal arragemet. Health ad safety cosultatio should iclude ay other associated busiesses based o the site such as the club professioal, food ad beverages caterers. Chapter 1.4 Dealig with accidets, icidets ad ijuries: providig a first aid service for employees ad golfers A accidet ca be described as a sudde uplaed evet resultig i oe or more persos beig ijured. A greekeeper slipped dow a damp bak whe usig a rideo mower. The mower did ot roll over ad there was o ijury, but the greekeeper realised that he could have bee ijured by the mower, ad/or slipped ito the earby buker ad sustai serious ijuries. If this had bee a ijury accidet ad had occurred i a remote part of the golf course early i the morig, or at a weeked, the cosequeces could be eve more serious as there was o meas of callig for assistace. Where risks of accidets ad icidets are foreseeable ad have bee idetified i a site specific risk assessmet there eeds to be a pla that will effectively reduce the likelihood that it might occur see Chapter 1.5 below for details of the risk assessmet process. Accidets at work must be recorded i the Accidet Book (Form BL 510). Uder the Reportig of Ijuries, Diseases ad Dagerous Occurreces Regulatios 1995 (RIDDOR) certai accidets, ijuries, ill health ad dagerous occurreces, which occur at the workplace whether as a result of work activities or ot, may be reportable. (RIDDOR Explaied HSE 31 (Rev 1). I geeral terms the followig should be reported:- l A death or major ijury to employees, a cotractor workig o your site, a member of the club or visitor, you should otify the eforcig authority as soo as possible. l A over three day ijury if a employee or self employed perso is off work (or uable to perform their ormal duties) for three workig days as a result of a accidet at work this should be reported withi 10 days. Two greekeepers were uloadig some sad from a trailer towed behid a tractor. The trailer had bee tipped half way but the sad would ot flow out, oe of the greekeepers wet roud to the rear of the trailer, climbed oto the back ad started to shovel the sad out of the rear. The driver of the tractor could ot see his compaio ad did ot kow he was o the trailer, he drove forward to shake the load by stoppig suddely. The sudde brakig caused the trailer to lurch ad topple over, throwig the secod greekeeper to the groud causig ijuries to his shoulder ad back. A icidet is also a sudde uplaed evet but i this case obody was ijured; however it may be that i the view of the persos ivolved there was a high potetial for a accidet if the icidet were to re-occur. 8 l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

9 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE l A Reportable Disease if a doctor iforms you that a employee is sufferig from a reportable work related disease. Reportable diseases iclude: certai poisoigs; some ski diseases such as occupatioal dermatitis, ski cacer, chrome ulcer, oil folliculitis/ace; lug diseases icludig occupatioal asthma, farmer s lug, peumocoiosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma; ifectios such as leptospirosis, hepatitis, tuberculosis, athrax, legioellosis ad tetaus; other coditios such as: occupatioal cacer, certai musculoskeletal disorders, decompressio illess ad had-arm vibratio sydrome. eforcemet officer should be o the Health ad Safety Iformatio Poster this could be the local authority Evirometal Health Officer or HSE (if the site is owed/maaged by the local authority). The full list of reportable diseases, ad the work activities they are related to, ca be foud i the detailed guide to the Regulatios ad i the pad of report forms; or simply rig the HSE Ifolie to check. l A dagerous occurrece - a accidet or icidet with a high potetial to cause death or serious ijury that ivolved liftig equipmet, pressure systems (irrigatio pipes, air lies), electrical circuits that fail ad cause a fire or explosio, escape of a dagerous substaces ad other situatios that are listed i the above HSE Guide. To report a accidet, icidet, disease or dagerous occurrece cotact: Icidet Cotact Cetre Caerphilly Busiess Park Caerphilly CF83 3GG By Telephoe: (8.30 am 5.00 pm) By Fax: By iteret: riddor@atbrit.com Ivestigatig Accidets ad Icidets It ca ofte be helpful to look ito a accidet i more detail i order to see if there is aythig that ca be doe to reduce the risks of it happeig agai, possibly with more serious results for your staff, members or visitors. The results of carryig out your ow iteral ivestigatio could trigger a chage to a geeral site specific risk assessmet carried out uder the Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios. Havig a system for ivestigatig accidets, icidets ad ear misses ca ofte provide importat iformatio that could prevet a reoccurrece ad more serious outcome i the future. Keepig a record of your iteral ivestigatio could also be very importat to assist a official accidet ivestigatio, or complait, by your local health ad safety eforcemet officer. The ame ad cotact details of your local Providig a First Aid Service Golf course employers have duties to provide adequate umbers of first aid persoel ad first aid equipmet accordig to the umbers employed ad the results of a assessmet of the risks to all employees. There is o statutory duty to provide a first aid service to o employees e.g. golfers ad the public. However the HSE ecourage employers to cosider o employees whe cosiderig the umber of first aid staff eeded o a site ad most golf clubs iclude providig first aid to members ad guests i their policies ad procedures. Calculatig how may first aid staff would be eeded is a importat part of the risk assessmet process; however i geeral it is good practice to aim to have at least oe first aid perso o duty at all times whe the site is ope for busiess. Employers: have sufficiet traied first aid persoel ad appropriate first aid equipmet who ca be available i the evet of a accidet keep a record of all accidets that take place at work report all accidets, ijuries, icidets ad ill health required uder RIDDOR ivestigate accidets, ad icidets, idetify causes ad take actio to prevet the same thig happeig agai make sure that employees uderstad that they must report all accidets ad icidets ad iform their maager of dagerous situatios Employees: report all accidets ad icidets co-operate with your employer i ivestigatig ad prevetig accidets Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 9

10 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE Referece Material: Ivestigatig Accidets ad Icidets (HSG 245) HSE Books A guide to the Reportig of Ijuries, Diseases, ad Dagerous Occurreces Regulatios 1995 (L73) HSE Books RIDDOR explaied (HSE 31) HSE Books RIDDOR Reportig What the Icidet cotact cetre ca do for you (MISC 310) HSE Books Chapter 1.5 The Risk Assessmet how to do it Maagig risks o a golf course must ivolve a orgaised cosideratio by all ivolved of the likely hazards ad what risks are foreseeable this is the core activity of a risk assessmet. Risk assessmets ow form the basis of most moder legislatio ad while the cotets of a risk assessmet ca be differet, the basic approach to carryig out a risk assessmet are the same see the HSE Guide 5 Steps to Risk Assessmet (INDG 163 (rev 2). Sigificat risks should be recorded; this helps iductio traiig of ew staff ad provides a guide for periodic review. A file of up to date site specific risk assessmets is a essetial part of your safety policy ad safety maagemet system the followig is a suggested format for a risk assessmet file :- Sectio 1 The golf club Statemet of Safety Policy ad the specific arragemets for maagig health ad safety, icludig the structure showig the health ad safety roles ad resposibilities. Sectio 2 The Geeral Risk Assessmets for the yard, buildigs, work equipmet ad golf course (a specific hole by hole assessmet). This is a opportuity to assess the risks for those hazards you have idetified that are uique to your workplace ad ot covered by other specific regulatios e.g. slopes o their ow but also ear hazards such as ditches, bukers, lakes; crossig the highway; golf ball hazards; crossig holes etc. Where you idetify a hazard that is covered by aother more specific regulatio the refer to that risk assessmet to see the details. Sectio 3 The COSHH Regulatios - (see details of these regulatios i Sectio 5.0) this sectio should cosist of a up to date ivetory of all hazardous products ad substaces used by employees; a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each item o the ivetory together with a risk assessmet. Remember that greekeepers are at risk of exposure to dust ad biological agets such as Tetaus, Weil s ad Lymes Disease, Legioella, ad some poisoous plats. Sectio 4 Risk assessmets uder the Maual Hadlig Operatios Regulatios. The emphasis i these regulatios is to avoid the eed to carry out uecessary maual hadlig by good Woode steps to tee wor by studs Steep baks to right ad rear of the gree Irrigatio Pod with steep baks from right of the gree Above: Dale Hill Hotel ad Golf Club Old Course Hole 7 Sigificat Hazards workplace desig ad the use of mechaical equipmet; this approach is also likely to icrease the efficiecy of may tasks such as hadlig fertiliser bags ad rolls of turf. Traiig ad follow-up supervisio is importat to esure staff have the skills ad have made chages to workig practices that avoid traditioal maual hadlig. Sectio 5 Risk assessmets for oise ad vibratio (see also Sectio 4.0, Chapters 4.0 ad 5.0). This sectio should iclude data from maufacturers, local moitorig ad guidace by HSE ad others. This sectio will also eed to cotai, or refer elsewhere to, a system for recordig ad moitorig exposure. Sectio 6 Risk assessmets carried out uder the First Aid at Work Regulatios ad Code of Practice. Sectio 7 Risk assessmets carried out uder the Work at Height Regulatios 10 l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

11 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE Chapter Employig ad traiig staff The process of advertisig, iterviewig ad employig a ew member of staff should iclude clear descriptios of the duties of the positio, the qualificatios eeded ad the traiig that will be made available to develop ad ehace existig skills. A Job Descriptio is a very good way of esurig that you have covered the mai duties but make sure that it cotais the ecessary site specific iformatio, i particular the types of equipmet that will be used. Soo after your ew employee commeces employmet he/she should receive iductio traiig that gives essetial health ad safety iformatio such as: A tour of the workplace where ay hazards will be poited out. Iformatio o what work equipmet ca, ad caot, be used. A copy of the Geeral Statemet of Safety Policy. Details of the arragemets for health ad safety o the site. Copies of the risk assessmets relevat to the work to be udertake. Details of the iitial ad subsequet traiig that will be provided. This will be the commecemet of the developmet of a Persoal Traiig Pla that should be updated at each aual appraisal. Iductio traiig for a ew employee is a good opportuity to carry out iitial assessmet of their levels of skill. This is particularly importat where they claim to be competet i certai tasks cotaied i the Job Descriptio ivolvig the use of work equipmet, pesticides ad ay other complex ad/or potetially dagerous work. This could ivolve a short check test o a typical item of equipmet followed by agreemet o whether further traiig is ecessary. Experiece shows that carryig out complex tasks usig rideo work equipmet, ofte o udulatig golf course terrai i poor groud coditios, by poorly traied employees poses a high risk of ijury accidets. Esurig that your staff are competet to carry out their duties is oe of the biggest challeges i effective health ad safety maagemet. Traiig should be a ogoig process ad ever somethig that oly happes at oe poit i your employees workig life. Greekeepers eed to be multi-skilled ad a great deal of the skills they eed will be leared at work. Prove competece is a key factor i reducig risks of accidets at work; it is very importat therefore that the perso i charge of the o the job traiig is a competet perso who is usig a recogised structured system for achievig the appropriate level of skill. The more Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 11

12 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE advaced ad complex skills may eed to be taught by attedig courses ru by specialist istructors either at work or off-site. You should aim to moitor the competece of your staff, especially as a lack of job kowledge ad skills could make them more vulerable to havig accidets. Special attetio may eed to be give to employees who deputise for others. Their skills are likely to be uderdeveloped ad they may eed more traiig especially if they are usig work equipmet ad/or workig aloe. You should aim to provide your employees with the kowledge that uderpis their skills e.g. a approved local college providig NVQ qualificatios. This combiatio of o the job traiig for skill, together with, attedig a college for the uderpiig kowledge ad relevat additioal specific traiig courses, is geerally ackowledged withi the idustry as the priciple route to achievig ad demostratig competece. Your detailed site ad task based risk assessmets may also idetify idividuals or groups who are especially at risk; these may iclude people who work aloe for sigificat periods, youg people, ad those employed o a casual basis for short periods each week, e.g. artisas ad golf caddies. Your risk assessmets may also idetify hazardous situatios, which may require specific traiig, examples could iclude; workig o slopes, ear ditches, lakes ad pods, ad workig i cofied spaces such as drai pits ad irrigatio taks. Some Defiitios Traiig: Competece: Certificates of Competece: the process of brigig a perso to a agreed stadard of proficiecy, by istructio ad supervised practice by a competet perso havig sufficiet kowledge, skill, experiece ad uderstadig to eable a perso to carry out a task to a agreed stadard certificates issued by a awardig body followig assessmet idicatig that the cadidate has achieved the required stadard Note: Certificates of Competece may be a statutory requiremet, or specified i a Approved Code of Practice, for example; Certificate of Competece i the Safe Use of Pesticides, Chaisaws ad Forklift Trucks. Others may be o-statutory evidece that show a sufficiet level of traiig has bee achieved. Further iformatio ad advice o traiig ca be obtaied from: The Greekeepers Traiig Committee (GTC); British ad Iteratioal Golf Greekeepers Associatio (BIGGA); Local Learig ad Sector Skills Coucils who will be able to provide advice o Natioal Vocatioal Qualificatios. I Scotlad, Local Eterprise Compaies ad Scottish Vocatioal Qualificatios; Local traiig providers; LANTRA; Natioal Proficiecy Tests Coucil (NPTC); Colleges of further educatio. What you eed to do: prepare ad implemet a iductio programme for ew employees provide adequate iformatio ad traiig for all staff provide updatig traiig, for example whe staff chage jobs, whe ew machiery is itroduced, or whe legislatio chages keep traiig records (the GTC Wallchart ad BIGGA Machiery ad Work Equipmet Traiig Maual could form part of this process) review traiig eeds o a regular basis Refereces: HSE leaflet Trai to survive1, which provides geeral advice o traiig. Chapter 1.7 Employig voluteers ad casual part-time staff Voluteers ca make a valuable cotributio to achievig a high stadard of presetatio o the golf course. A voluteer could be a member of a golf club offerig his or her services for a few hours a week, or a member of the Artisas Sectio of the golf club who i recogitio of a reduced membership fee agrees to carry out work activities. Some golf clubs also employ local persos o a part-time paid basis to assist the staff team at busy periods of the year. Ay perso who carries out work for your golf club should be icluded withi the existig health ad safety structure for full time employees. This is particularly so of the iductio ad iitial assessmet ad traiig process. Uskilled voluteer ad part-time employees will eed more supervisio ad may well be better workig alogside ad assistig a competet member of the full time employed team. Risk assessmets may eed to be adjusted to take accout of the employmet of voluteers ad part-time staff. It may be that separate risk assessmets are eeded for work set aside for this group. Chapter 1.8 Employig childre ad youg persos Childre: Childre are those who have ot yet reached the official age at which they may leave school (the miimum school leavig age (MSLA), usually 16 years of age. I additio to health, safety ad employmet regulatios ad guidace there will also be local 12 l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

13 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE restrictios o the hours a child ca work ad also the type of work that ca be udertake. I additio to the guidace for Youg Persos below, there may well be additioal work to do before employig a child so equiries should be made of the local authority before a child starts work whether for paymet or ot. Accidet statistics for the agriculture sector show a umber of serious accidets ad deaths to youg persos ivolvig work equipmet; this icludes work o golf courses. Youg persos could be employed to work o a golf course as placemet studets from a local college, they could be still at school ad be udergoig works experiece, or they could be employed full time by a golf club as appretices. The followig are key factors i esurig the safety of youg persos at work o a golf course:- There may be circumstaces where a golf club could have childre i the workig eviromet: A juior member of the golf club playig golf without paretal supervisio. A child udergoig work experiece o the golf course uder the supervisio of the school ad the golf club with paretal permissio. A child employed to work o the golf course o a part time basis. I these circumstaces there ca be restrictios o the umber of hours worked ad the times whe a child ca be employed. Before employig a child the followig arragemets must already be i place: Paretal permissio must be obtaied. As part of this process the golf club will eed to provide details of the work that will be carried out ad the arragemets for supervisio. No work ca be carried out ivolvig potetially dagerous work equipmet or dagerous substaces. A child must ot carry out ay heavy physical work such as liftig ad carryig heavy objects. A child must ot be permitted to work aloe. There must be a agreed programme of work structured to take accout of a youg persos eed to lear at their ow pace ad their physical ad psychological capacity. There must be thorough iductio traiig that icludes prohibitios for the use of some work equipmet, chemicals, work at height ad other potetially dagerous tasks. Separate risk assessmets for key tasks carried out by youg persos must be prepared ad regularly reviewed as ofte as is ecessary to esure they are relevat to the work. There must be a omiated perso who will be a competet supervisor, metor ad role model for youg persos at work. Supervisio of a youg perso will require a great deal more time workig with them withi sight ad soud util such time as they are siged off as beig competet to carry out specific tasks. Traiig i the use of ay work equipmet will be followed by supervised practice util such time as the youg perso is siged off as beig competet to operate a particular item. Chapter 1.9 Employig cotractors ad maagig cotracted works A cotractor could be a large busiess orgaisatio or a sigle haded self-employed perso employed to work o a golf course to carry out a specific task. These ca rage from large scale buildig costructio works to routie maiteace activities. Golf clubs also employ cotractors to work alogside them for a period of time to assist the busiess activity e.g. frachise caterers, cleaers, golf professioals. I order that all the above arragemets are i place a competet perso must complete a detailed risk assessmet that is agreed by all ivolved with resposibility for the safety of the child. Youg Persos A youg perso is regarded as beig betwee the ages of Youg persos at work are regarded as a vulerable group of employees due to their lack of physical ad metal developmet. Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 13

14 SECTION 1.0 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON A GOLF COURSE Where the cotractor is a busiess employig five or more people you will eed to establish the followig key factors before employig them: A up to date Statemet of Safety Policy for their employees that icludes workig o the site of aother employer. A adequate risk assessmet for the specific work that you are cosiderig askig them to carry out. Evidece of relevat traiig ad competece for their employees. Suitable arragemets for dealig with accidets ad emergecies whilst workig o site. Where you are cosiderig employig a sigle haded self-employed perso or a small busiess with less tha five people you will eed to cosider the followig: Are they aware of their health ad safety duties ad resposibilities to themselves ad to others? Are you i a positio to provide them with iformatio o your ow arragemets for maagig health ad safety icludig the arragemets for o employees workig o your site? Regardless of whether the cotractor is a large or small busiess, a golf club has duties ad resposibilities to protect them:- ad materials that will ot preset a hazard to staff ad golfers. This may require that specific haul routes across the golf course are agreed; possibly ivolvig the eed to close some golf holes to protect the cotractor from risks of beig hit by golf balls. Iclude the cotractor i your arragemets for dealig with emergecies. Have arragemets for regular meetigs to discuss progress ad ay health ad safety problems. Major Costructio Works It may be that major costructio works o the golf course could come withi the Costructio Desig ad Maagemet Regulatios 2007 (CDM 2007). These Regulatios deal specifically with costructio works that last more tha 30 workig days ivolvig more tha 500 perso days (e.g. 50 people workig for over 10 days) Further advice ad guidace is i the Approved Code of Practice Maagig Health ad Safety i Costructio (L144) (available from HSE Books). The key aim of CDM2007 is to itegrate health ad safety ito the maagemet of the project ad to ecourage everyoe ivolved to work together to: Have a formal agreemet that states clearly the works to be carried out. Have a formal iductio/cotract start procedure that allows both sides to discuss ad uderstad the works to be carried out, the work areas, aspects of site safety, site cotact details ad commuicatio procedures. Provide iformatio o ay hazards that you kow to be o the site e.g. locatio of asbestos, gas ad electrical supplies. Provide a safe place of work ad esure that your work activities do ot put the cotractor at risk. Provide a safe meas of access ad egress from the work site icludig safe arragemets for delivery ad storage of plat a. Improve the plaig ad maagemet of projects form the very start; b. Idetify hazards early o, so they ca be elimiated or reduced at the desig or plaig stage ad the remaiig risks ca be properly maaged; c. Target effort where it ca do the most good i terms of health ad safety; ad d. Discourage uecessary bureaucracy. This Approved Code also gives guidace o the health ad safety maagemet of a costructio project eve it the works do ot qualify uder CDM l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace

15 SECTION 2.0 THE GOLF COURSE AS A SPORTING VENUE AND A PLACE OF WORK Chapter 2.1 Workig i the field of play The icreasig popularity of golf has brought chages to the workig eviromet for greekeepers ad others who have to work o a golf course. To meet a icreasig demad, some pay ad play golf courses ow offer golf from daw to dusk. This has resulted i some sites recordig a throughput of golfers i excess of sixty thousad rouds per year. This high frequecy of play ca create problems for maagers whe orgaisig essetial daily maiteace work to reduce the risks of greekeepers beig hit by golf balls, but also avoids iterruptios to play. The situatio ca be less serious for greekeepers workig i a private members golf club where playig frequecy is likely to be less ad the club should have more cotrol over whe play commeces each day. Workig o a golf course is uique i sport as the greekeeper (or cotractor) must carry out the work while the golf course is i play. This situatio creates potetial hazards for both the greekeeper ad golfer: You may be workig i areas of the golf course, withi rage of a golf shot but usee by the golfer e.g. o the blid side of a hill. I this situatio the greekeeper ca be vulerable to beig hit by golf balls. You may also be workig o adjacet golf holes ad at risk of beig hit by a wayward golf shot. Despite beig i view of the golfer, you may be vulerable to beig hit due to a lack of uderstadig of the Rules of Golf, or local rules o priority. Some golf courses share paths, bridges ad other pich poits betwee golfers ad greekeepers. I some situatios this ca create coflict betwee work (tractors, ride-o mowers) ad owork traffic (golfers with trolleys, golf buggies). Despite good work plaig you may have to iterrupt play that ca result i cofrotatio with golfers. You may be at risk of beig hit by work equipmet whilst playig o the course. The golfer may be at risk of cotamiatio by dust or pesticides whilst playig o the course. It is usual for a golf course to remai fully or partly ope for play durig costructio works. To reduce the likelihood (the risk) of accidets to either party, the followig are accepted safe practices that you should iclude i your golf course geeral risk assessmet:- Make a local rule that gives priority to greekeepers for a agreed period, usually i the early morig, or make a local rule that gives priority to greekeepers at all times, but with a istructio to greekeepers to give way wheever it is practicable to do so. Maagers (clubhouse, golf professioal ad greekeeper) to keep i regular cotact to make sure they kow what evets are plaed for the golf course so that the course ca be prepared safely ad o time. You should pla to start work early to get ahead of play. Pla the work to clear the holes most likely to be i play first e.g. the frot ie, or other holes that may be used to start a competitio. Idetify holes that are potetially dagerous whe i play e.g. blid tee shots or blid approach shots to a gree. To reduce the risks of accidets these holes to receive priority for maiteace work. For importat maiteace operatios that are potetially disruptive for play e.g. hollow corig followed by top dressig ad over seedig, have a agreed period whe the course will be closed, or tee off times are suspeded, say for 30 miutes. This gives the greekeepers a opportuity to work safely ad efficietly without iterruptio or risk of ijury from golf balls. Whe plaig costructio works idetify haul routes ad work areas where there is a eed to shorte or close some holes to reduce the risk of accidets. Chapter 2.2 The Golf Course Safety Ispectio A golf course is part of our livig eviromet ad coditios ca chage, sometimes at short otice, resultig i a icreasig risk of ijuries to staff ad golfers. A importat part of the arragemets for maagig health ad safety for both employees ad golfers should be to have a flexible system for ispectig the golf course as ofte as is ecessary to eable decisios to be made regardig potetially hazardous coditios such as: Heavy rai that has created usafe groud coditios particularly o slopes where work equipmet is to be used, or golf trolleys ad golf carts will be drive. The oset of fog that could restrict the view of golfers whe preparig to play. A high wid that threates to brig dow trees or damage other structure. A violet storm with the risk of staff ad golfers beig struck by lightig. Heavy rai that creates a rise i water levels threateig to cut off parts of the golf course, icreasig the risk of drowig. Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace l 15

16 SECTION 2.0 THE GOLF COURSE AS A SPORTING VENUE AND A PLACE OF WORK A woodlad fire i hot, dry weather that threates to egulf the golf course. A specific feature of the golf course that has become dagerous e.g. a bridge, steps, viewig tower or eroded river bak. The above situatios ca be described as foreseeable for most golf courses; you may eve thik of some more that are uique to your site ad are also foreseeable. Your site specific geeral risk assessmets should iclude these hazards ad cotai details of the arragemets for reducig the risks of ijury. Page 20 cotais a format for a ispectio checklist for a typical 18 hole golf course with space for you to make additios. be orgaised by your club, or you may be hostig a evet by your Couty Uio or aother orgaisatio. May atioal ad iteratioal evets are orgaised ad ru by professioal evet orgaisers who take resposibility for much of the work ad also the safety of the site. However the host golf club must esure that the roles ad resposibilities of both parties are clearly uderstood; for example it could be that the host remais resposible for the work activities to prepare the golf course for the evet. Followig the golf course ispectio it may be ecessary to make urget decisios about the safety of the site for greekeepers ad/or golfers. This may require closig all, or part, of the site util coditios improve or util remedial works have bee carried out ad the area made safe. This could iclude a decisio to restrict or prohibit golfers usig golf buggies ad/or trolleys o the grouds of safety. If such decisios are eeded the it is reasoable to state the legth of the ba, this could be:- a) Util further otice b) Util the ext ispectio i a hour c) Util repairs are completed estimated to be i the ext xx hours. The arragemets for maagig safety o the golf course (see Sectio 1.0) should iclude the ability to commuicate across the site quickly ad efficietly usig whatever practical meas are provided. This could be issuig ad traiig i the use of two-way radios combied with ear defeders fitted with microphoes to eable hads free operatio ad miimisig oise whe workig ear to golfers. The arragemets should also iclude a pla for givig rapid access to parts of the golf course by cotractors ad emergecy services via paths ad possibly alterative gates givig access from the highway. Chapter 2.3 Golf Touramets ad Crowd Cotrol A golf touramet is a opportuity to gai prestige ad valuable publicity for the golf club by attractig spectators, may of whom are likely to be golfers, possibly from other clubs. The evet may A touramet o the site ca chage may of the existig arragemets for maagig health ad safety: Accordig to the wishes of the evet orgaisers there may eed to be chages to the way the golf course is prepared ad preseted; this could iclude additioal workig i ew areas of the golf course usig differet work equipmet. Check your golf course risk assessmets to see if there is a eed to make chages or add ew sectios. You may eed to employ additioal staff, ad voluteers to deal with the extra work. You will eed to esure all additioal staff receive iductio traiig ad a skills check, possibly with additioal traiig prior to usig work equipmet o your site. You may eed additioal temporary welfare facilities to cater for the extra staff. There could be others workig o the site, possibly erectig gradstads, marquees, televisio towers see Sectio 1.0, Chapter 1.9 Employig cotractors ad maagig cotracted works. The evet may attract large crowds who will wat to watch the touramet o the golf course, require car parkig, toilets ad refreshmets. You will eed to esure there are clearly marked viewig areas, crowd lies ad access paths with sufficiet stewards (voluteers) available to esure effective crowd cotrol ad security. Your existig arragemets for first aid, icludig equipmet ad emergecy respose, may be isufficiet to cope with the icreased umbers, work activities ad risks of accidets. You may eed to cotact the Red Cross, St. Joh Ambulece or other agecies who ca provide the ecessary 16 l Health & Safety i Golf Course Maagemet ad Maiteace