Health and Safety Regs

[Checkers]

Hiya Aaron,
Here in the USA, we have the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A. on a federal level), Department of Environmental Protection (D.E.P., state level) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (O.S.H.A., federal & state) plus, a miriad of county and local agencies to deal with. And they all have their own set of rules that I must abide by.
The main parties that I, as a small business business owner, have to deal with are EPA & DEP. Their biggest concern is the environmental impact my business has and how am I controlling and disposing of what they consider to be toxic wastes. Their other concern is knowing and being able to easily identify the chemicals I use. To manage that, I’m required by law to keep and carry material safety data sheets (M.S.D.S.) in the shop and with me for any chemicals I may bring on to a jobsite. Without these sheets, I can get into big trouble and I can face fines and imprisionment.
OSHA really doesn’t apply until your company reaches a certain size (number of employees) or unless you’re doing a specific type of work that is classified as hazardous.
I would assume that there are similar agencies that you would have to deal with. So it’s just a matter of tracking them down and asking the right questions and fixing the issues before they find you and make life miserable.

Good luck,

Checkers

[Ryan]

H&S policy, on view and designated responsible persons listed
COSH assesments (for any substances speak to suppliers)
Fire risk assessments (speak to fire brigade they are helpful)
Fire Extinguishers (certified and record of checks they are ok, monthly)
Risk assessments for all tasks (if you work for the bigger companies)
RIDDA forms for accident reporting (check H&S executive website)
First Aid box
First Aid trained member of staff
Public Liability Insurance
PASMA certification for working at height (feet above 3m)
IPAF certification for working off/with hydraulic platforms
Another one if you own access equipment, cant remember name
16th edition certification if working with electrics, NIC reg sometimes
PAD testing (I think) to show regular testing of all electrical equipment
CSCS registration & membership for working on some sites

Not much as you can see! For a small local company you can always recruit the help of a H&S consultant who can provide guidance to you and put most of these things in place.

[Ivan Morley]

Hi

The regulations which apply will depend on the work you do.

The HSE is a good source of information, and the local office can be very helpful if you get in touch (before any accidents / incidents).

There are free leaflets to download here (Adobe PDF):

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/leaflets.htm

The following are just some of the main regulations you may need to comply with (there are to many to list in full):

Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974
Workplace Health Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1998
Fire Precautions in the Workplace Regulations 1997
Working at Height Regulations 2005
The Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981
Health & Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

Small businesses usually can not afford to employ somebody full time to advise them on health and safety, and consultants can work out very expensive and provide too much irrelevant information. I would suggest enrolling on the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health (or similar), at your local college.

It is also worth enquiring if the lecturer also acts as a consultant. My lecturer at Stoke on Trent College did undertake such work on behalf of the college at very reasonable rates.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for.

Good luck.

Ivan

[John Childs]

Can of worms.

:banghead:

[Aaron & Chris]

wow…. 😮 … cheers peeps.

Not sure what to make of all that. Cheers for the info!

One of those questions is it? 😕

Thanks anyway, i’ll mill through it and use your pointers.

Aaron.