Easy Guide to Health and Safety

307 Pages·2015·33.581 MB·English

by  Hughes, Phil, Hughes Liz

Easy Guide to Health and Safety
Do you need to get to grips with health and safety principles but don’t
have time to wade through reams of legislation and guidance? Do you
need practical step-by-step guidance on health and safety issues for your
small business? Then this is the book for you.
Building on the success of the first edition, this fully revised Easy Guide
to Health and Safety second edition introduces the health and safety issues
which the self-employed and managers, directors and staff with health
and safety responsibilities in small businesses face every day.
Written in plain English, this new edition will take you through the
principles of health and safety in a clear, jargon-free manner. Fully revised
and packed with practical guidance, the Easy Guide to Health and Safety
will ensure that you are well equipped to keep yourself and others safe in
the workplace.
●● Provides small businesses with the necessary information to under-
stand obligations and gain control of health and safety in the
workplace.
●● Packed with practical guidance and handy checklists and forms.
●● Also suitable for students studying towards IOSH Working Safely
and NVQ level 1 and 2 courses from City and Guilds and other NVQ
awarding bodies.
Phil Hughes MBE, MSc, FCIOSH is a well-known UK safety professional
with over 40 years’ worldwide experience. He was Chairman of NEBOSH
from 1995 to 2001 and President of IOSH from 1990 to 1991. Phil received
the RoSPA Distinguished Service Award in May 2001 and was a Director
and Trustee of RoSPA from 2003 to 2010. He received an MBE in the New
Year Honours List 2005 for services to health and safety.
Liz Hughes BA, MA is qualified in psychology, education and social
work and specializes in mental health. She has managed development
and training in the voluntary sector including the introduction of NVQ
awards. Her psychology and education background has enabled her to
present information in a way that is readable and easily accessible to
students. Liz is currently a trustee of Alive!, a charity in the health care
sector.
Easy Guide to Health
and Safety
Second Edition
Phil Hughes MBE
and
Liz Hughes
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Phil Hughes and Liz Hughes
The right of Phil Hughes and Liz Hughes to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Hughes, Phil (Phillip W.), 1946- author.
Easy guide to health and safety / Phil Hughes and Liz Hughes.
-- 2nd edition.
p. ; cm.
I. Hughes, Liz, 1945- author. II. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Accidents, Occupational--prevention & control.
2. Safety--standards. 3. Small Business--standards. WA 485]
T55
658.3'82--dc23
2014021753
ISBN: 978-1-138-80834-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74870-2 (ebk)
Typeset in ITC Stone Serif
by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
Dedicated to all those hardworking men and women running
small- and medium-sized companies while trying to keep their heads
above the flood of legislation and its requirements.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface x
Chapter 1 What is health and safety all about? 1
1.1 Introduction 2
1.2 Why is health and safety such an important topic? 4
1.3 What is health and safety at work all about? 7
1.4 Low-risk premises, working from home and the self-employed 8
1.5 Role and function of external agencies 11
1.6 G etting started: hazards, risk assessment and control measures 13
Chapter 2 Management 15
2.1 Organise the work so that it is safe 16
2.2 Consult employees 19
2.3 Health and safety assistance 19
2.4 Provide adequate supervision and safe systems of work 20
2.5 Provide information, instruction and training 21
2.6 Monitor and review health and safety performance 23
2.7 Major occupational health and safety management systems 24
2.8 Ensure adequate insurance has been arranged 26
Appendix 2.1 How do you comply? 27
Appendix 2.2 Example of a simple health and safety policy 32
Appendix 2.3 Example checklist for workplace audit/inspection 37
Chapter 3 Risk assessment 41
3.1 How do you make a risk assessment? 42
3.2 Identifying hazards 43
3.3 D eciding who might be harmed and how this could happen 47
3.4 E valuating the risks and deciding whether the existing
controls are suffi cient 48
3.5 Hierarchy of risk control measures 48
3.6 Risk matrix chart 49
3.7 Recording signifi cant fi ndings 50
3.8 Keeping your risk assessments up to date 51
Appendix 3.1 Hazard prompts 52
Appendix 3.2 Hazard-spotting examples 60
Appendix 3.3 Risk assessments – completed example,
hairdressing salon 61
viii • Contents
Chapter 4 Legal framework 65
4.1 Legal framework 66
4.2 What the HSW Act requires 68
4.3 Management regulations 71
4.4 Consultation and safety representatives 73
4.5 Safety signs and notices 76
4.6 Checklists for starting a new business 79
Appendix 4.1 Your health, your safety: a guide for workers 82
Chapter 5 Control of safety hazards 85
5.1 The workplace and basic welfare requirements 86
5.2 Movement of people and vehicles 94
5.3 Driving for work 96
5.4 Fire 101
5.5 Electricity 110
5.6 Work equipment 117
5.7 Working at height 124
5.8 Confined spaces 130
Chapter 6 Chemical and biological health hazards 133
6.1 Hazardous substances 134
6.2 Asbestos at work 143
6.3 Lead at work 149
6.4 Dermatitis 152
6.5 Drug and alcohol policies at work 157
6.6 Legionnaires’ disease 159
6.7 Control of sharps in health care 161
6.8 Personal protective equipment (PPE) 162
6.9 Smoke-free policies at work 166
Appendix 6.1 Suggested smoke-free policy 169
Chapter 7 Physical and psychological health hazards 171
7.1 Display screen equipment and computer workstations 172
7.2 Musculoskeletal disorders 176
7.3 Noise 185
7.4 Stress 194
7.5 Vibration 196
7.6 Radiation risks 202
7.7 Violence and bullying 206
7.8 Environmental concerns 208
Contents • ix
Chapter 8 Contractors and construction 211
8.1 Introduction 212
8.2 Contractors 212
8.3 Suppliers 213
8.4 What people need to know 215
8.5 Construction and maintenance jobs 216
8.6 Providing a health and safety method statement 218
8.7 Sub-contracting work 220
8.8 Safety rules for contractors 222
8.9 Working with a permit-to-work system 222
8.10 Construction hazards 222
Appendix 8.1 Sample safety rules for contractors 229
Appendix 8.2 Health and safety checklist for contractors 231
Chapter 9 Accidents and emergencies 235
9.1 Introduction 236
9.2 Accidents can cost a great deal 236
9.3 Emergency procedures 238
9.4 Accident book 240
9.5 Investigating accidents and incidents 241
9.6 Causes of accidents 242
9.7 Simple root cause analysis: the five whys 244
9.8 Reporting of accidents and incidents 245
9.9 First aid 248
9.10 Role and powers of enforcement officers 251
9.11 Insurance claims 252
Appendix 9.1 Example of a shop emergency procedure 254
Appendix 9.2 Typical fire action notice 256
Chapter 10 Sources of information and guidance 257
10.1 Some useful health, safety and fire websites 258
10.2 A few abbreviations used in health, safety and fire 264
10.3 Health, safety and fire sample forms 268
Acknowledgements 283
Index 287