Health & Safety Flashcards
What is the purpose of RICS Surveying Safely Guidance Note 2018?
- Effective from Feb 2019
- Sets out basic, good practice principles for management of health and safety for RICS regulated firms and RICS members.
- For those engaged in built environment as property professionals.
- Includes health and safety responsibilities at corporate level and level of individual RICS member.
- It sets out the ‘Safe Person Concept’ – RICS considers concept of ‘safe person’ to mean that each individual assumes individual behavioural responsibility for their own, their colleagues’ and others’ health and safety while at work.
How is Survey Safely structured? (POWAFS);
1) Personal responsibilities for RICS members and firms
2) Assessing hazards and risk
3) Workplace health and safety
4) Occupational hygiene and health
5) Visiting premises and sites
6) Fire safety
7) Residential property surveying
8) Procurement and management of contractors
What is the key advice set out in Surveying Safely?
- RICS regulated firms must ensure they provide:
o Safe working environment
o Safe work equipment
o Safe work systems
o Competent staff - Concept of ‘safe person’.
- Seeks to ensure individuals accept responsibility for own actions and have tools they need to do job safely.
- Employer’s liability insurance and public liability insurance.
- Legal considerations and duties for employers and employees
o Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
o Equality Act 2010
o Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 - Advice on health, well-being and mental health
- Updated advice on fire safety
- Audit template provided to assist members
- Assessing hazards and risks
- Occupation health (to include stress and bullying)
- Visiting premises and sites (lone working and PPE)
What does Surveying Safely recommend when visiting a site?
- Tell someone where you are going and when and when you expect to be back
- Tell someone when you leave the building / site
- Wear appropriate protective clothing such as a high visibility jacket, steel toe capped boots, hard hat, goggles, gloves, ear defenders
- Sign in or out of a building construction site and make sure you receive an induction. Do not just enter.
- Consider whether safe to inspect alone and observe special lone working arrangements
- Check dated tag if going on scaffolding
- Wear non-slip protective shoes
Can you name a significant health & safety incident and RICS advice following it?
- The Grenfell Tower fire June 2017
- RICS working with other bodies to provide advice and support for Government and professionals following tragedy.
- Has advised members of the importance of owners, landlords and managers having robust fire assessments for their properties and issued advice to surveyors from July 2017 onwards
- RICS issued guidance on existing high-rise buildings’ fire safety in Oct 2017 and there is other info regularly being updated on RICS website regarding such issues as ban on high rise combustible cladding.
What is the relevant Health & Safety legislation?
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
- ‘Duty of every employer to ensure, so far as reasonably practical, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees’.
- Policed by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a criminal offence – with fines and / or imprisonment.
- Must report injuries and dangerous occurrences.
- A hazard refers to anything which has potential to cause harm (such as wet floor).
- The probability / likelihood that someone will be harmed is called a risk (such as the risk of falling over on the wet floor).
- Detailed H&S info to be held on site, usually in operations or maintenance manual.
Health and Safety at Work Act Summary?
- Duty to every employer to, within reason, ensure safety of employees.
- Must report injuries and near misses
- H&S info held on site
- Undertake regular reviews and risk assessments
- Hazard – anything that can cause harm
- Risk – probability of someone being harmed
What is a risk assessment?
- It is a legal requirement for organisations employing more than 5 staff to carry out documented H&S risk assessments of all their significant hazards. A risk assessment is therefore a mandatory assessment of all the potential risks and hazards within the work premises.
What are the steps of a risk assessment?
There are 5 steps recommended by the HSE:
1) Identify the hazards present.
2) Identify all those with potential of being harmed / at risk from the hazard
3) Evaluate the risk, considering likelihood and severity of any accidents. Existing controls in place should be identified and evaluated.
4) Record findings on suitable form.
5) Review the risk assessment regularly.
What is a method statement?
- Document that details way in which a work task or process is to be completed to be prior approved.
- Should outline hazards involved and include step by step guide on how to do job safely.
- Must also detail which control measures have been introduced to ensure safety of anyone who is affected by task or process.
What do we mean by public liability insurance?
- Covers cost of claims made by members of the public for incidents that occur in connection with your business activities.
- Copy of contractor’s all risks and public liability insurance also needed before work is commenced.
How should a Health & Safety policy document be prepared? (CORI)
- Required for all employers who employee 5 or more employees
- Written document which must contain the following 4 points:
o Policy setting out firms’ commitment to Health and Safety
o Details of organisation’s H&S structure, with roles and responsibilities for organising H&S
o Risk assessment setting out risks within workplace and preventative measures in place
o Details of planning, implementation of the H&S policy and control measures.
What is the ‘six-pack’ of H&S regulations?
- Group of 6 regulations introduced in 1993, popularly known as the ‘six-pack’.
- Cover various key aspects of H&S compliance.
- These regulations implement various European directives on H&S and clarify how employers must comply with their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
- The regulations are:
o Management of Health & Safety at work
o Display screen equipment
o Manual Handling Operations
o Personal Protective Equipment at work
o Provision and use of work equipment
o Workplace health, safety and welfare
What is the legislation in relation to fire risk in Scotland?
There are two pieces of fire safety legislation Scotland must follow.
Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
* The Act specifies who has responsibility for fire safety in non-domestic premises in Scotland. Details of requirements with regard to Fire Risk Assessments and fire safety measures are set out in the regulations.
* The Act introduces a new fire safety regime based on risk assessment, and places a duty on employers, employees, managers, owners and others in relation to fire safety.
* In general, the Act seeks to ensure the safety of persons in premises from harm caused by fire, by setting out fire safety responsibilities. These are identified in terms of seven general requirements:
- Conducting a fire safety risk assessment of the premises;
- Putting in place fire safety measures identified as necessary after a risk assessment has been carried out;
- Implementing these fire safety measures through reducing risks;
- Establishing arrangements for the continuing control and review of the fire safety measures;
- Complying with the fire safety regulations;
- Keeping the fire safety risk assessment and the result of that assessment under review; and
- Maintaining records
Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006
Additional regulations in association with the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Employer responsibilities include:
* To plan, organise, monitor, control and review fire safety measures and to record the arrangements in writing if the employer has 5 or more employees,
* To provide appropriate means of fighting fire,
* To provide adequate means of escape and to hold drills
* To maintain facilities and equipment in good repair
* To provide employees with relevant information and training
What is the requirement in relation to reporting injuries?
- Relevant legislation is Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
- Trigger date for reporting injuries is over 7 days incapacitation.
- Such an injury must be reported to HSE within 15 days from date of accident.
- All employers must also keep a record of all 3-day plus injuries.
- This info can be kept in accident book which must be kept for min. 3 years after occupational accident or injury.
