Heath and Safety Flashcards
Health and safety at Work Act 1974?
the principal piece of legislation for occupational health and safety in Great Britain. Examples of what is includes are:
* Duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.
* Provision of information, instruction training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of his employees
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992?
Statutory instrument – covers a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues and apply to most workplaces (with the exception of those involving construction work on construction sites)
What is the Building Safety Act 1984?
Grants powers to enforce building regulations
What are the Building Regulations?
Minimum standards for design and construction of buildings. Supported by the Approved Documents which contain statutory guidance on how to meet the requirements of the Building Regulations.
List 5 approved documents?
- Approved document B – fire safety (burn)
- Approved document D – toxic substances (death)
- Approved document F – ventilation (fart)
- Approved document L – conservation of fuel and power
- Approved document M – access to and use of buildings
What is the Building Safety Act 2022?
- The primary focus of the Building Safety Act is on higher risk buildings (HRBs) that are at least 18 meters or seven stories high (however, there are certain provisions that relate to other types of buildings)
- HRB - Introduces explicit legal hold points first between a design being approved and building work starting.
- Gateway 1 – planning application, Gateway 2 – when the project applies for building control approval. Offence to start building work within application approved (this entails rigorous inspection by the Building Safety Regulator to ensure building regs will be met through design and construction), Gateway 3 – at the end of the project prioritises the safety of future building occupants and ensures the BSR has the required info to issue a completion certificate. Planning for gateway 3 starts with the building control process so the client can collect all of the necessary information. This is known as the golden thread of building information.
- Golden thread of information - The golden thread reports and logs critical information that allows someone to understand a building and how to keep it safe now and in future. Shows that the building was compliant with applicable regulations, requires information to be stored as structured digital information.
- Building Safety Regulator (BSR) – is the HSE
- Updates to Approved Document B – limits on combustibility of materials and provision for sprinklers.
- QS view - Failure to submit the required documentation at each hold point could lead to delays and increased costs.
What are the CDM regulations?
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations outline a number of steps that should be taken to ensure risk is effectively managed throughout construction projects. Health and safety responsibilities and project duties are divided between “duty holders”.
What are the roles under CDM regs?
- CDM client (domestic and commercial)
- Principal Designer (projects involving more than one)
- Principal Contractor (projects involving more than one)
- Designer
- Contractor
- Workers
What are the key documents under CDM?
- F10
- PCI
- Construction phase plan
- Health and safety file
What are the duties of the Principal Contractor?
- Liaise with the client and principal designer
- Plan, manage and coordinate H&S in the construction phase
- CPP - Producing construction phase plan
- Site inductions - Ensuring site inductions are provided to all workers and visitors
- Site welfare – ensure welfare facilities are provided throughout construction
What are the duties of a Principal Designer?
- Plan, manage monitor and co-ordinate H&S in the pre-construction phase of a project
- Help and advise the client in putting together the PCI
- Liaise with the principal contractor to help in the planning, management, monitoring and co-ordination of the construction phase
- Work with any other designers to eliminate/reduce/control foreseeable H&S risks to the project
Who is responsible for welfare provisions under CDM
Principal contractor, but client must also make sure they are provided.
What would you find in a Pre-Construction Information?
- Project details and dates
- Any significant risks or hazards identified within the design phase as well as suggested methods, sequencing or arrangements to mitigate them.
What would you find in a Construction Phase Plan?
- Names and contact details of client, PD etc.
- Who else is on site
- Where welfare facilities are
- Main dangers on site and ways of controlling them
What would you find in a Health & Safety File?
- O&M manual – operation and maintenance
- As-Builts
- Testing & Commissioning Documents
- Any residual risk
Can you tell me what an F10 is?
Notification of the project to the HSE
When is a project notifiable?
- 30/20 - If the construction works last longer than 30 working days and has more than 20 workers simultaneously on it
- 500 - or exceeds 500 person days
New change to CDM?
Additional duties to planning and Golden Thread – Building Safety Act
How can you manage Health & Safety in the office?
- RICS Surveying Safely includes a section on RICS Members Places of Work – it outlines considerations and steps to take to ensure safety in the office environment. (E.g., designated storage spaces, assessments of desk & computer arrangements, adequate natural light and fresh air, control over temperature).
- HSE publish an office based risk assessment template including slips and trips, manual handling of office equipment, display screen equipment, asbestos, lone working
What is HSE
The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. As a regulator, the HSE’s goal is to prevent workplace death, injury or ill health.
What powers do HSE have?
- Can visit site without notice
- Can provide advice
- Can impose sanctions including stop and improvement orders e.g. improvement notice and prohibition notice to stop immediately
- Can issue fines
What is a prohibition notice
Stop, cannot resume until remedial action is taken, remove or control the risk
What is the role of the ORR?
- Independent statutory body
- Regulates the rail industry’s health and safety performance
- Enforcement powers are established by UK and EU legislation
What is EARR 2006?
Enforcing Authority for Railways Regulations – EARR allocates enforcement functions to ORR and clarifies whether ORR or HSE is the enforcing authority for particular activities.
Atkins H&S policy?
We have a global HSE Blue Book, includes various processes around risk management such as step back (tool used to identify hazards prior to commencing a task or activity), incident management, working at height etc.
Network Rail policy on H&S
- Everyone Home Safe Every Day is Network Rail’s safety promise
- At the heart of safety policy are 10 lifesaving rules which include working with electricity and driving
- Safety arrangements in place such as sentinel
- Implement 3 lines of defence to review H&S
- 1st Management Control (inspection & everyday activity)
- 2nd Corporate Oversight (deep dives, internal policy)
- 3rd Independent Challenge & Review (e.g. ORR)
What H&S risk are their working on the railway?
- Struck by a train
- Struck by site vehicle or plant
- Electrocution – third rail or OLE
- Changes in conditions e.g. weather, darkness
- Trips or falls – lots of low lying equipment and infrastructure on rail corridor
What should you do if you are going on site on your own?
- Inform someone and provide your contact details
- Provide location and when you are expected to be back
- Arrange check in calls
- Consider any medical conditions
What is RIDDOR?
Reporting injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations 2013
What is a near miss?
Incidents with the potential to cause harm
What is COSHH?
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
RAMS?
- Risk assessment and method statements – produced to identify steps undertaken to carry out a specific task or activity in a safe manner
- NR projects use WPPs (Work Package Plans)
What do you know about Asbestos?
- Naturally occurring fiber that has brilliant properties such as heat resistance and strength but is hazardous to health and causes asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.
- Banned in 1999 and buildings after 2000 are unlikely to contain asbestos
- Older buildings can still contain it and need to be managed
Any types of asbestos survey?
Refurbishment & demolition and management
Different types of asbestos?
Main types are blue, white and brown (chrysotile or white asbestos was the most common type)
Asbestos legislation?
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
How is asbestos categorised?
Licensable and non-licensable
RICS guidance?
Professional Standard - Surveying Safely
What does surveying safely cover?
- Personal responsibilities including the safe person concept (organizational responsibility, PPE. Individual responsibility, being vigilant)
- Assessing hazards and risks – risk control hierarchy
- RICS members places of work (e.g., appropriate fresh air, adequate lighting)
Can you give an example of when you have reported an incident that was a near miss or seen a near miss that was reported?
- Reported broken cable troughing lid, reported through inndex
- Seen rubbish on scaffold that has been reported
Are all accidents reportable - what if an operative hits his thumb with a hammer and bruises it only?
- No
- Even a fracture to fingers, thumbs and toes is not reportable under RIDDOR
- Only types of reportable injuries are reportable including deaths, specified injuries and over 7-day injuries to workers, dangerous occurrences
How would you undertake a Risk Assessment?
- Identify hazards
- Assess the risks
- Control the risks
- Record your findings
- Review the controls
Difference between hazard and risk?
A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm to someone. The harm could be an injury or ill health. Risk is the likelihood (whether high or low) of the harm being realised.
What would you do before visiting site?
- Review nature of work before attending site
- Ensure I have the correct PPE
- Ensure correct visitor permits
- Attend site induction
- Review daily RAMs
- Sign in when arriving at site
- Refer to surveying safely for further guidance
