HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDANCE

Transcription

1 HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDANCE Health and Safety Guidance for Students on Work Placement Workplace Health and Safety has improved in the 21st century as a result of public awareness following major accidents with the resultant regulations enforceable by law. Management, whatever the place of work, is required to comply with regulations and ensure that the workplace is safe. "Safe" is where risks have been controlled to a level required by specific regulations, or so far as is reasonably practicable if there is no specific regulation in place. It is important for those embarking on a career to become aware of their responsibilities for themselves and others, and become knowledgeable concerning health and safety for when they are employed in a management position. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1992 (MHSW) are concerned with the management of health and safety and cover all places of work. At The Workplace Dependent upon the employer there will be either a formal or informal induction. Information will be given to you within this on health and safety. The complexity of the work will determine whether you will be given written and/or verbal instructions which must be followed. Failure to follow instructions from management that are connected to health and safety could lead - in the case of accident, to employees as well as employers being held liable. It is useful to remember when you are in a management position later in your career, that you will become responsible for health and safety omissions for those whom you are responsible, even though these people are themselves also responsible for their own omissions. If you have any concerns for your own safety, or for others, you should, in the first instance, approach your immediate supervisor for clarification. If this concern cannot be resolved, then you should follow the standard workplace procedures for raising health and safety problems which could include the local safety advisor. You must inform your Brunel University work placement supervisor of all unresolved health and safety problems. Emergency Procedures Because of the wide variety of work that is carried out and the possible complex layout of various buildings, it is neither possible nor desirable to produce a set of emergency instructions to cover every situation that may arise. You should make yourself aware of your own employer's emergency instructions on taking up your work placement. These will be similar to the University's emergency instructions, a copy of which will be available on the resources webpage. Accidents All employers will have procedures for the reporting of accidents or "near miss" incidents. These procedures must be complied with and you must inform your University work placement supervisor of any workplace accident you are involved with. It is a requirement under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) to report to the enforcing authority accidents which result in serious injury, and also to report when an employee is not available for work for over 3 days duration as a result of a work related accident. Risk Assessment Many of the recent health and safety regulations require risk assessments and this process of risk assessment identifies control measures that prevent harm, meet statutory requirements and often result in a procedure for work. These procedures range from standard operating procedures (SOP's) for laboratory work to procedures for conducting surveys of the general public to ensure that the employee and others are safe. It therefore follows that you, as an employee must follow these laid down procedures, and deviation could put you at risk. You may be faced with a task to be carried out that has not had a risk assessment carried out. This generally occurs when there is something new or out of the ordinary for the company for which you work, and

2 you will have to consider producing a risk assessment yourself. Help and assistance will be supplied by your employer with their method of carrying out these risk assessments, but all risk assessments follow the same pattern of careful examination of the element of the work which could cause harm and is carried out before work commences. It is advisable to note your employer's risk assessment method, as this may become of use to you in your career. The nature and complexity of the risk assessment will vary with the type of activity undertaken. Health and Safety at Work etc; Act, 1974 (HASWA) The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974 covers general duties for health and safety. General duties of employers Employers are required, as far as reasonably practicable to: ensure the health and safety and welfare of employees provide safe plant and systems of work ensure safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances provide information, instruction, training and supervision maintain a safe place of work and safe means of access and egress General duties of employers to employees The effect is to make criminally enforceable the common law duty to take reasonable care for the safety of employees. This includes the requirement, as far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure: employees know the risks employees know the precautions the precautions are available employees know the precautions available Duties of Employees No levy on employees is permitted for the provision of statutory protective equipment. Employees must: take reasonable care for themselves and others cooperate with the employer and use safety appliances not recklessly and wilfully interfere with safety appliances If you are in doubt concerning any aspect of the work activity, you should ask. Your Health and Safety will be protected by complying with the workplace regulations and your own common sense.

3 Summary of the University s General Policy on Health and Safety at Work General The Council and Vice-Chancellor have overall responsibility for health and safety at Brunel and are committed to best practice, and to continuous improvement, in assessing and minimising any risk. The effective management of health and safety is integral to the good management of university activities in general. Student and staff health and safety are of prime importance in all we do. We are committed to: making health and safety integral to the education we provide providing safe and healthy systems of work, plant and equipment, premises, access and egress allocating the necessary resources, taking action to assess and then manage all significant risks providing information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure that management, staff and students have the competence and knowledge to work safely and without risk to health To meet these commitments, we will continue to: set and continuously develop appropriate policy maintain the organisation necessary to achieve policy objectives plan how to achieve our objectives and implement our plans continuously measure achievement and audit and review the cycle as a whole University organisation and arrangements for health and safety Reporting to Council, the Health and Safety Committee consists of employer, staff and student representatives. The Committee ensures effective consultation; encourages staff and student involvement; co-ordinates codes and procedures; and monitors, audits and reviews our progress. Heads of department are responsible for health and safety within their departments and, in particular, for ensuring adequate risk management. When appropriate to their work, they maintain departmental procedures and establish departmental or specialist committees. Responsibility for implementing university and departmental policy extends through management and supervisors to each member of staff and each student. The normal channel for a health or safety query or concern from staff or students is by reference to their supervisor or manager. The university employs the services of a properly resourced Health and Safety Department and an Occupational Health Service on campus. Staff and student responsibilities for health and safety Staff and students are required to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others. They are expected to co-operate with the university on all matters of health and safety; to comply with university instructions on health and safety; to promptly report any university-related accident, hazard or instance of ill-health; and to adopt a responsible attitude overall. Staff should in particular carry out routine on-site risk assessment, ensuring that equipment and facilities are safe and fit for purpose; take any necessary action to manage risk; properly use protective equipment; seek

4 assistance when any necessary control measure is unavailable; and participate fully in training programmes, consultation, and periodic health and safety initiatives. This is a précis of the Brunel University Statement of General Policy on Health and Safety at Work, approved by Council full details of all Health and Safety policies are available on: EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FIRE ACTION Operate the nearest fire alarm call point. Leave the building by the nearest available exit. Do not use a lift. Dial 999 for the Fire Brigade (9-999 from an internal extension). Report to the person in charge of the assembly point. Do not re-enter the building until authorised to do so. NB Additional instructions apply in Halls of Residence. For AMBULANCE or POLICE assistance Dial 999 (9-999 from an internal extension). IN ADDITION, at Uxbridge, inform the Security Office (extension 555) that you have called so that they can direct the emergency service to the correct location on campus. HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICE The University Health and Safety Office is responsible for advising management, staff and students on all aspects of health and safety at work in order to ensure a safe environment.

5 Emergency Evacuation Procedure People with Special Needs To maximise the safety of all occupants, special attention should be given to people with special needs. This includes not only those with a permanent disability but also those with temporary disabilities. 1. Wheelchair users and others who cannot use stairs In no circumstances are lifts to be used when emergency evacuation is required. Therefore, to reduce the level of risk, it is advisable - whenever possible - for people who cannot use stairs to be accommodated on the ground floor. In the event of a need for evacuation from an upper floor, wheelchair users and others who cannot use stairs should make their way - either accompanied or on their own - to a designated refuge or other place of safety on the same floor, e.g. a closed staircase landing. They should inform their supervisor, a colleague or other available person that they will remain in that place of safety and wait for assistance. The supervisor or other person informed should in turn inform the incident officer, a security officer or the fire brigade that there is someone awaiting assistance at the location(s) concerned. As back-up to the procedure described above, those waiting in a place of safety should also report their presence by telephone to: Uxbridge internal extension or direct line In most cases - false alarms, pan fires, burnt toast and the like - it is not necessary for disabled people to leave the building. In these cases, once the all clear has been given, the security officer, other person in charge at the scene, or relevant supervisor should ensure that any disabled persons waiting in the building, and any others who are accompanying them, are informed of the all clear without delay. In any event, unless there is an immediate threat to life, no attempt should be made to carry a disabled person down (or up) stairs to a fire exit. Where there is no such immediate threat, it is safer for a disabled person to remain in a place of safety. Any subsequent evacuation of disabled people should be with their consent and may require abandoning wheelchairs and other equipment. On arrival at Brunel, wheelchair users and others who cannot use stairs will be shown the locations of designated refuges and other places of safety in each of the buildings they are likely to frequent. 2. People with less limited mobility For people with limited mobility who can manage stairs, but only slowly, it is safer to use a staircase which is not crowded. They should make their way to a staircase landing and should wait there until the main body of people have gone down before starting to go down themselves. Staff and students should be aware of colleagues and visitors with limited mobility and should be prepared to help them make their way down stairs, to emergency exits and on to assembly points. 3. People with impaired vision

6 Staff and students should be similarly aware of colleagues and visitors with impaired vision and, in the event of emergency evacuation, should be prepared to help them make their way down stairs, to emergency exits and on to assembly points. 4. People with impaired hearing Alternative provision is made where necessary in halls of residence to alert people with impaired hearing who might not hear the standard fire alarm. Similar provision may need to be considered for staff in their place of work. In all locations, staff and students should be mindful of people nearby who have impaired hearing and should ensure they are alerted to any need for evacuation. 5. Roll calls It is not usually possible to take a roll call for a university building, where the number and identity of occupants can vary greatly and will not be known at any specific time. However, it is important to account for anyone with special needs who, as above, may have difficulty in evacuating or in getting to know of the need to evacuate. Staff and students who know that there are people with special needs in the building at the time of alarm should confirm that they have evacuated and, if in any doubt, should inform the incident officer, a security officer or the fire brigade.