Susan Kelly

HSA Changes in the First Aid Standard

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The standard in relation to First Aid in the workplace is changing and it will impact on businesses in terms of cost of training. The Health and Safety Authority are the ones that are responsible for standards in relation to this. The standard is moving from QQI/FETAC to PHECC (Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council).

Currently training providers can take 10 participants on a 3 day Occupational First Aid Course (QQI) but this is now changing to 6 participants on a 3 day First Aid Responder Course (PHECC).   The Occupational First Aid Refresher Course is currently 1 day (with 10 participants) but this is changing to a 2 day First Aid Responder Refresher (with 6 participants).   This will impact on the cost of training, which will impact on the cost to businesses.

This change takes place on 1st September 2017.   In the meantime the existing Occupational First Aid standard will be effective until 31st August 2017.  Should anyone require any further information, please contact our office on 041-9822933.

HSA to begin inspection campaign to tackle vehicle risks at work

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The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will begin a nationwide work related vehicle safety inspection and information campaign on Monday (22 May). The campaign will last two weeks and will focus on four key sectors: Transport and Logistics; Wholesale and Retail; Waste and Recycling and Manufacturing.

The purpose of the campaign is to make sure that employers are aware of their legal responsibilities for managing vehicle risks, and to help them reduce the likelihood of accidents occurring.
Over the last 6 years, just under half (45%) of all workplace fatalities have involved vehicles. In the same period nearly one in five (18%) of all non-fatal accidents were vehicle related.
An analysis of HSA accident statistics indicates that the majority of these fatalities occurred during the manoeuvring, reversing or coupling and uncoupling of vehicles. Non-fatal injuries generally occurred during the manual handling of loads or as the result of falls from vehicles.

Deirdre Sinnott, Senior Inspector with the HSA says that the risks can be reduced by focusing on four key areas.
“Firstly, employers should have a vehicle risk management policy that covers all vehicle related activities in the workplace.  This includes not only vehicles operated by employees but also those visiting that need to be managed and controlled. It is also important that procedures are in place to eliminate and control known risks associated with:  driving for work, loading and unloading, deliveries and collections, parking, reversing and manoeuvring. Then safety information, instruction and training should be provided for all employees and finally, a method to record and learn from all incidents or near misses and take corrective action where necessary.”

There are free short on-line courses, aimed at helping employers to manage work related vehicle safety, on the HSA e-learning portal http://hsalearning.ie
Also, freely available guidance and resources can be found on the HSA website.

European Safety Week 24th – 28th October 2016

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European Safety week is taking place this year from 24th – 28th October and the theme for 2016 is “Healthy Workplaces for All Ages”.   It is organised by EU-OSHA – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and its partners.  The purpose of this year’s campaign is to raise awareness of the importance of a sustainable working life.   The campaign is spread throughout all 31 EU Members and is being supported in Ireland by the Health and Safety Authority.
“Special film screenings, social media events, conferences, exhibitions, competitions and training sessions are just some of the activities organised to celebrate the European Week. If you have an idea for an awareness-raising activity, or want to launch a longer-term safety and health project to tie in with the Healthy Workplaces for All Ages campaign, then the European Week could be the perfect time to make sure your event gets the attention it deserves”. (Ref: www.healthy-workplaces.eu)

The Health and Safety Authority promote European Safety Week and have the Healthy Workplaces “Good Practice Awards” the aims of which are:

“to recognise and highlight organisations making outstanding and innovative contributions to safety and health at work in the context of an aging workforce.  Work is part of the solution, not the problem, to Europe’s aging workforce. Has your organisation implemented age-sensitive policies? Do you have a good example of an intervention or tool for managing an aging workforce? If so you may want to consider submitting an application for the Good Practice Awards.

For more information, contact Annette Slater at annette_slater@hsa.ie or telephone (01) 7997800.” (Ref: www.hsa.ie)

EMS & Associates can help you put together a series of events that will focus on Healthy Workplaces for All Ages, which will create awareness and promote good practices amongst the workforce.  For more information, call us on (041) 9822933 or email info@emsandassociates.com

Sun Protection for Outdoor Workers

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Introduction

“This short guide is both for employers of outdoor workers and the employees themselves on sun protection. These include construction workers, farmers, agricultural and horticultural workers, fishermen, gardeners, postal workers, council workers, refuse collectors and couriers. The guide provides useful information on the topic of skin cancers which are much more common in outdoor workers than those who work indoors. It also outlines measures that employers should have in place to protect their employees.

Skin Cancer

Cancer is a disease of the body cells. The cells do not behave as normal and keep on growing to form a primary tumour. If a cancer is malignant, the cells can break away from the body part where they form and be carried by the bloodstream or lymph vessels elsewhere and form a secondary tumour.
Skin cancer is caused by abnormal growth of the cells nearest the skin, squamous, basal and melanocytes . Squamous and basal cells form non melanoma skin cancer while melanocytes cells which give the skin its pigment or colour form melanoma skin cancer. Basal cell cancers (BCC) are more strongly related to acute sun burn events in childhood and intermittent adult exposure while squamous cell cancer (SCC) is mostly a result of chronic long term occupational sun exposure.

Cases of Skin Cancer

Unfortunately the annual rates of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers are increasing steadily in Ireland. We are approaching nearly 1000 cases of melanoma and almost 10,000 cases of non-melanoma annually.
In 2012, there were 860 people diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer, 470 women and 390 men. Annually about 140 people die from this cancer, with more females 84 than males 56.
Non melanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland. It is most common in those over 60. Men are twice as likely as women to have BCC and three times as likely to have SCC. It is believed that men are more exposed to the sun from working outdoors and playing sport, and from not using sunscreen or wearing protective clothing. In 2012, about 9,400 people were diagnosed with it, with 5190 men and 4,210 women. Annually the death rate is about 50, with more males 33 than females 17.
The main cause of skin cancer is ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. Sun exposure is the best natural source of Vitamin D and is important for good general health. We can all enjoy the outdoors but we just need to think about how we protect our skin when outside. Outdoor workers are at higher risk than other workers.

Employer Protective Measures

There are a range of protective measures as follows:

  • If possible, plan outdoor work in sunny weather to limit duration and intensity of employee exposure to direct sunlight (1100 to 1500 sun rays are most intense)
  • Limit duration of exposure if possible when UV index is high (3 or above)
  • Give information to employees about dangers of sun exposure
  • Inform employees about the Sun Smart code
  • Educate and encourage employees to self-check skin for signs of skin cancer
  • Check UV index, if 3 or above greater risk www.cancer.ie/reduce-your-risk/sunsmart/uv-index
  • Ensure breaks are taken out of direct sunlight
  • Encourage employees to cover up, keep clothing on with sleeves down  and collars up, wear clothing with high ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), 15 or more, wear hat
  • Ensure employees do not strip off clothing when it is sunny
  • Provide sun screen, SPF of at least 30 and UVA label on bottle
  • Provide sun glasses

Sun Smart Code

  1. Seek some shade where possible
  2. Slip on some clothes
  3. Wear sunglasses
  4. Use sunscreen
  5. Know the UV index”

Useful Sites:

Irish Cancer Society at www.cancer.ie
Skinmama courtesy of the EU Health Program skinmama.eu/
Courtesy Of The Health & Safety Authority. 

Health & Safety Myths

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The Myth:

HSA Inspectors are just looking to catch people out and issue fines.

The Reality:

In 2014 less than 10% of inspections by the Health and Safety Authority resulted in formal enforcement action. Although The Authority has a duty to enforce workplace health and safety law, the primary focus of a Health and Safety Authority inspector is to promote and encourage safer workplaces by providing help and guidance.
The vast majority of inspections conclude with either verbal or written advice being given. The aim is not to catch out employers, but to improve awareness and reduce the number of fatalities, accidents and personal injuries in Irish workplaces.
You can find a detailed breakdown of the Health and Safety Authorities inspection and enforcement figures in our Annual Reports. The 2014 Annual Report can be found here.

The Myth:

Health and safety will cost me and my business money.

The Reality:

For most small and medium-sized enterprises, managing health and safety does not need to be expensive. Employers have a legal duty to control hazards in the workplace, but for many sectors (retail, office, service, commercial) the hazards are few and simple. In most cases managing workplace health and safety is straightforward and based on common sense.
There is no legal requirement to pay for an external consultant to manage health and safety. Employers in smaller firms often understand their workplace better than anyone – they are in the best position to identify workplace hazards, assess risks and produce their own safety statement. The HSA has produced a range of sector-specific guidance to help businesses do this, as well as BeSMART.ie – a free online risk assessment tool which allows employers to develop a comprehensive safety statement for their business.

The Myth:

Health & safety is just more red tape hindering business!

The Reality:

Keeping workers safe and healthy is not needless bureaucracy.  Red tape is usually described as tasks imposed on businesses that are costly, overly complicated and unnecessary. A sensible, common sense approach to managing workplace safety is none of these things.
For the vast majority of employers, ensuring a safe place of work does not need to be expensive – in fact evidence shows that it is good for business and will save you money. Research carried out for The Health and Safety Authority confirmed that occupational injuries and illness can cause significant financial losses for employers, including:

  • salary costs for replacement staff or overtime payments,
  • lost productivity,
  • compensation costs,
  • retraining costs, and
  • increased insurance payments.

Recent figures revealed an average cost per workplace accident of €9,000, while the average employer’s liability payout is over €32,000.
But while the business case for having a safe workplace is clear to see, we should also never forget the human cost of workplace accidents. Last year 56 people were killed in Irish workplaces and many others suffered serious injury. The devastating effects of these incidents should remind us all of the need to keep workers safe. Maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is not an unnecessary burden – it makes financial sense and is the right thing to do.

The Myth:

Manual Handling? You mean spending a day being told how to lift up a box? What a waste of time.

The Reality:

Manual handling training is not mandatory for all staff. Manual Handling Regulations only apply to a work activity that ‘by reason of its characteristics or of unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly of back injury, to employees.’ A worker who only lifts light loads at waste height, for example, would not be at risk – and sending this worker on a manual handling training course would indeed be a waste of time.
However, where manual handling does involve a risk of injury the employer needs to act. A third of all workplace injuries reported to the HSA are caused by manual handling activities, and those injuries are a leading cause of work disability.
The first option should be to remove or reduce the need for manual handling. Here’s some guidance explaining how that can be done. Just providing training will not reduce injury rates and will not protect anyone. Manual handling training needs to be specific and relevant to the tasks involved. So, if your job involves moving heavy barrels around a warehouse, the training should reflect this. In other words, you don’t need to be told how to lift up a box.

The Myth:

“So many things get banned because of health and safety. It’s the nanny state gone mad!”

The Reality:

We’ve all seen the signs, we’ve all read the stories – everyday activities suddenly prohibited ‘for health and safety reasons’. It sometimes seems as though ‘health and safety’ is about preventing anyone being exposed to any kind of risk, and it’s no wonder people often think it’s all gone too far.
In truth, health and safety law has nothing to do with trying to remove every single possible risk from people’s lives. It was introduced in this country to help address the high number of accidents in the workplace which over the years have resulted in hundreds of deaths and many thousands of very serious injuries.  It has absolutely nothing to do with wrapping everyone in cotton wool.
Unfortunately, health and safety is often used an excuse for all sorts of unpopular decisions.  It can be very convenient to put a difficult decision down to some vague “health and safety” issue rather than outline the real motivation – for example commercial pressures or fear of legal action.
The position of the Health and Safety Authority is clear – health and safety is not a reason to not do something.  If there are valid risks associated with a workplace activity these risks should be assessed and managed so that the activity can be carried out in a safe way.  Very rarely is the solution to simply not do it.

Courtesy Of The Health & Safety Authority.