Level 2 - Health and Safety, Fire and Compliance

Question 1

What is a responsible person?

Answer 1

Health and Safety regulations stipulate the formal appointment of a Responsible Person (although the actual title may vary to include, ‘Appointed Person’, ‘Person in Control’, ‘Nominated Person’ or similar).

Where an appointment has not been made in writing (as is generally required) the Law and HSE will try to identify who that individual (or the members of the Right to Manage Company (RTM) and Residents’ Management Company (RMC)) should be and will treat them as if they had been formally appointed.

Question 2

What is required when a responsible person is appointed

Answer 2

1. the appointment is made (in writing).
2. the person appointed is adequately competent and fully comprehends their duty(ies), responsibilities and accountability.
3. the person appointed understands the duties and responsibilities they are accepting.

Question 3

What legislation governs management of asbestos?

Answer 3

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

Question 4

What does COSHH stand for

Answer 4

COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002)

Question 5

What does LOLER stand for?

Answer 5

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998

Question 6

What are permits to work?

Answer 6

Permits to work are a specific tool used to as an extra control method when high-risk work activities are being undertaken.

Question 7

Give examples of works which would require a permit to work

Answer 7

work at height

hot works

work with hazardous materials

work in confined spaces

roof work

work with electricity, which should include a power isolation process unless a highly competent authorised electrical engineer needs to work on live power

work with gas

Question 8

Key factors to a permit to work

Answer 8

are time limited

are developed/written by an identified competent person

identify the competent individual/individuals who will undertake the work

identify the date, time, exact location, and address of the work

will be signed off both at the start of the permit time and when the permit expires, by someone competent to do so

Question 9

What legislation sets out the obligations for Working at height

Answer 9

Work at Height Regulations 2005;

Question 10

What height does working at height regulations manage?

Answer 10

any height

‘height’ can be below as well as above the floor surface you are working on. As well as considering working at height from ladders and scaffold etc, you must consider and risk assess the potential to fall into holes, voids, manholes, or over balcony railings, etc, particularly in part-constructed works.

Question 11

What is governed by the HSE L8 publication ‘Legionnaires’ disease?

Answer 11

Water hygiene management

Question 12

How does legionella bacteria grow?

Answer 12

The temperature of water stored in one location for a long period may encourage bacteria to grow; the hazard band is between 20°C and 45°C. If sediment, rust, sludge or scale is in the system, this feeds the bacteria.

Question 13

What are the water hygiene management responsibilities?

Answer 13

Water hygiene management responsibilities will be determined by the lay-out of the cold and hot water systems. Often hot water is delivered from a boiler in the common parts and delivered as a common system to all accommodation units.
In such cases the law requires that the duty holder arranges for a ‘water hygiene risk assessment’ to be undertaken by a competent person, almost always an expert third party.

Question 14

what is a fire strategy

Answer 14

The records of floor plans, escape calculations, occupancy rates compartmentation and other technical matters; see PAS 911 ’Fire strategies – guidance and framework for their formulation’.

Question 15

what is a fire manual

Answer 15

The record of all the fire related assets and instruction as to what is required to service, maintain and test them (SFG 20).

Question 16

What is a fire log book?

Answer 16

The record as to how all the service, maintenance and test arrangements relating to the fire related assets in the manual, have been delivered, often by third party contractors; these records should be legible, dated and in adequate detail to be able to audit those undertaking the tests, and will be admissible documents in the event of any enforcement action by the relevant authority.

Question 17

What are emergency plans?

Answer 17

Evacuation/invacuation plans for the evacuation, ‘invacuation’ (where the building is appropriate for such) in case of bombs and other threats, and details of how occupants should respond to an alert/alarm; ’invacuation’ is a term used where the safest place to shelter from the threat is to remain inside the building, away from windows (flying glass), and would be subject to assessment as not all buildings are suitable.

Question 18

What are the two types of evacuation policies?

Answer 18

stay-put/defend in place: when there are automatic smoke extraction units in the property it may be necessary to have (and monitor) smoke detectors in common areas, to initiate the opening of the smoke extractions units; sounders will not be used as the intent will be for occupants to remain within their safe compartment; they may however be necessary within any plant or office areas which do maintain an evacuation strategy.

full evacuation: if there is an evacuation policy it will be necessary to install (and monitor) heat detectors and sounders in the entrance lobby of each unit, to detect a fire and alert all occupants in the rest of the block.

Question 19

What is a PEEP

Answer 19

Personal emergency evacuation plans

Question 20

When do you require a PEEP

Answer 20

Wherever the duty holder (or person in control) is an employer, part of their safety risk management will include the development of individual personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for anyone who is disabled in the widest sense, including those who may be temporarily incapacitated due to recent injury or perhaps surgery.

Question 21

What is the consequence of not taking necessary action to protect people from avoidable dangers at work.

Answer 21

This is a criminal offence (under the HSAW). Charges may be brought against both the employer organisation, the directors/partners and in certain circumstances individual managers and employees.

An accident does not have to happen before enforcement action is taken for non-compliance: merely exposing someone to risk is sufficient to breach the law.

Question 22

What is the max fine that the HSE can issue?

Answer 22

Fines are unlimited. The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 means that imprisonment is also an option for almost all offences, limited to six months in the magistrates’ court and two years in the crown court.

Question 23

What is the consequence to Directors for breaches of health and safety law?

Answer 23

Directors can also be disqualified for breaches of health and safety law for up to five years in the magistrates’ court or 15 years in the crown court.