Author: Les Jones

Face Fit Testing should not be your first line of defence against dust. The dust extraction systems you can purchase today are brilliant and it is far better to remove the dust at source than hope a good fitting face mask will do the job. I recommend face fit testing is carried out but it should be to support the dust extraction methods you have in place. Not as I see on a daily basis the only means to try and prevent dust entering your lungs.

I have been delivering SSSTS and Health and Safety Awareness most weeks for the last 6 months. The CITB courses are specific to the construction industry and full of H&S content and good practice.

I have been carrying out a lot of Fire Risk Assessments lately. Travelling into London and to Ipswich.

I have been delivering Manging Safely the last 6 months for various training providers. It is a great first step into the world of health and safety for managers.

Carried out a Hand and Arm vibration assessment yesterday.
To get started I used the HSE hand and arm vibration exposure calculator to give me the Exposure Action Value and Exposure Limit Value of the tools I was assessing. It is not difficult and gives a small company a starting point.

Equipment Current average daily exposure Vibration Value EAV, ELV:

• Bosh Impact Driver GDR 10.8 – LI 15mins 10.5 m/s2 27 mins 1hr 49mins
• Dewalt Impact Driver- DCF 815 15 mins 9.2 m/s2 35 mins 2hrs 22mins
• DeWalt Cordless Jig Saw-DCS 331 10mins 13.5 m/s2 16 mins 1hr 6 mins
• Bosh Cordless Jigsaw-GST10 10.8V-LIW 30mins 7 m/s2 1hr 4hrs
• Mirka-Belt Sander -9404-1 30mins 4 m/s2 3hrs 12hrs
• Bosh GKS 10.8 V-LI 30mins 2.5 m/s2 8hrs 24hrs

I have been delivering IOSH Managing Safely courses back to back in the month of March. This is an excellent course for managers who need to manage  health and safety on a daily basis.

I have delivered a few half day Fire Marshal training courses over the past month. They  provide delegates with an all round knowledge of what to do in the event of a fire, a clear understanding of the responsibilities and duties of a fire marshal and practical hands on experience of in how to use a  fire extinguisher. The courses have really helped staff understand that being prepared for a fire can really help save lives.

The aim a risk assessment is to help you decide what you need to do to ensure the health and safety of your employees who are exposed to hand and arm vibration.

Your risk assessment should:

• Identify where there might be a risk from vibration and who is likely to be affected;
• Contain a reasonable estimate of your employees’ exposures time and;
• Identify what you need to do to comply with the law eg whether vibration control measures are needed, and, if so, where and what type; and
• Identify any employees who need to be provided with health surveillance and whether any are at particular risk.

The findings of your risk assessment must be recorded. An action plan should be developed which details what you have done and what you are going to do to comply with the law and protect your employees from ill health.

You will need to review your risk assessment if circumstances in your workplace change such as the hand tools used, the amount of time they are used for or how they are used.  Even if it appears that nothing has changed, you should not leave it for more than  two years without checking whether a review is needed

Last week we delivered Fire Safety Training to several organisations . It is a legal requirement for staff to have an adequate level of fire safety training. The level will vary depending on the size of the company and the risks within the workplace. Depending on the fire risk assessment and the subsequent fire policy / emergency plan, selected staff (competent persons) will be required to be trained to a particular level. 

There were 2,595 mesothelioma deaths in 2016 and over 5000 deaths in total from asbestos related diseases.

Every employer must make sure that anyone who is liable to disturb asbestos during their normal work, or who supervises those employees, gets the correct level of information, instruction and training so that they can work safely and competently without risk to themselves or others.

Over the past few months we have been delivering Asbestos awareness training.

Asbestos awareness is intended to give workers and supervisors the information they need to avoid work that may disturb asbestos during any normal work which could disturb the fabric of a building, or other item which might contain asbestos. It will not prepare workers, or self-employed contractors, to carry out work with asbestos-containing materials. If a worker is planning to carry out work that will disturb ACMs, further information, instruction and training will be needed.

Examples of those affected are listed below. There will be other occupations where asbestos may be disturbed in addition to those listed:

• General maintenance workers
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Joiners
• Painters and decorators
• Plasterers
• Construction workers
• Roofers
• Shop fitters
• Gas fitters
• Heating and ventilation engineers
• Demolition workers
• Telecommunication engineers
• Fire/burglar alarm installers
• Computer and data installers
• Architects
• Building surveyors

Information, instruction and training about asbestos awareness should cover the following:

• the properties of asbestos and its effects on health, including the increased risk of developing lung cancer for asbestos workers who smoke
• the types, uses and likely occurrence of asbestos and asbestos materials in buildings and plant
• the general procedures to deal with an emergency, eg an uncontrolled release of asbestos dust into the workplace
• how to avoid the risk of exposure to asbestos