The Design of Health and Safety Control Systems - Assignment Example

?Operation The main danger here is to the workmen who will be sealing the cracks in the sewer system. As the farmer uses the field to graze his cattle and sheep and the sealant fumes are toxic, there is some possible danger to these animals and those who consume their products. There are two main types of harm that could occur from this operation. Firstly, the sewer chamber must be accessed via a manhole and stepladder. Falling off this stepladder into the chamber could cause severe physical damage or even death. Additionally, as the fumes are toxic and can cause drowsiness, these could cause injury also. The design of any equipment used at work is controlled and measured by various legislation, with the supply of machinery (safety) regulations 2008 covering the stepladder involved in this operation (Policy Group STSU, 2008). The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 cover the stepladders usage and maintenance throughout the operation (Policy Group STSU, 1998). This PUWER legislation requires that the equipment be ‘suitable for the intended use’ and ‘maintained in a safe condition’. Regular checks are required by this legislation, and all checks should be recorded to ensure that the equipment is in the best possible condition to prevent health and safety issues. Additionally, all employees concerned in the operation are required to have adequate training. To verify the competence of these employees, the PUWER legislation requires that all equipment must be used by those who have received adequate information with which to use the equipment safely. In this case, to ensure that all employees are competent, they must be shown the correct use of the ladder prior to the operation despite any prior training. For the chemicals, the correct safety procedure should be carried out and the employees should be familiar with the packaging to ensure they know the risks and signs. The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmopsheres Regulations 2002 (Disease Reduction Programme Office, 2002) requires that all substances that are flammable are controlled, and employers should ‘find out what dangerous substances are in their workplace and what the fire risks are’, as well as ‘put control measures in place to remove [or] remove’ the risks. Employees should be properly informed about and trained in the usage of these chemicals. The sealant, in this case, is the dangerous substance and the employees involved should be informed of the risks and training in its use. Finally, the welfare of the employees is also a concern in enclosed spaces. The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 should be followed stringently to ensure that work in the enclosed space is safe, healthy and poses no risk to welfare. Checks Hazard Control Measure Results What else can be done? Safe? Spray Sealant Ensure all employees using this substance understand the risks of the substance and the emergency proceedures involved Spray Sealant Ensure all employees are provided with masks to prevent any damage to health from the sealant Ladder Ensure that ladders safety information is up to date and appropriate checks have been carried out Ladder Ensure all employees are trained in the proper usage of the ladder Ladder Ensure all employees are provided with hard hats to prevent damage to the head in the case of a fall Transport Ensure all employees have clean drivers licenses and are aware of the dangers of driving down private lanes (as well as normal driving dangers) Risk Assessment What are the hazards? Who might be harmed and how? What are you already doing? What further action is necessary? Action by who? Action by when? Done? Ladder The employees using the ladder to access the sewer Ensuring that training and equipment is safe and in place. None Spray Sealant The employees in the confined space in which the sealant is being used Ensuring that all fire risks are assessed and removed as much as possible. All employees are aware of the evacuation procedure for this task. All employees have the appropriate equipment for this task. None Enclosed Space The employees in this enclosed space Ensuring that regular breaks are taken and the employees are rotated to ensure that welfare is good Transport The employees going to work on this operation Ensuring that all drivers have clean drivers licences and appreciate the dangers of driving on private roads Operation 2 The main person in danger here is the employee concerned with tidying the hedgerows in question. There may be additional danger to road users when the ride on lawnmower is driven on the public highway. There are several risks involved in this operation. Firstly, the employee is required to clean up any litter present at the site, and drug users may have been operating here. There is a danger of infection from such hazardous materials. There are also hazards associated with other litter. These are covered in the Biosafety and Microbiological Containment information provided by Pollitt & Warne (2010). Secondly, there is severe transport danger as the council depot is 2 miles from the site, the lawnmower has to be driven there on a public highway and the highway involved is a major transport route. This information here is covered by the Workspace Transport Programme (2007). Another risk is in the possible use of the MEWP, which is covered in the HSE Falls information (2010). The other main risks are in working near a busy route with no pavement separation from the roadside and the use of electrical equipment. These are covered by information in HSE Electricity information (2010) and PG road safety information (2002). Checks Hazard Control Measure Results What else can be done? Safe? Biohazardous Materials Ensure all employees understand the dangers of working with these materials As the operation needs to be repeated on a monthly basis, training needs to be repeated and equipment needs to be thoroughly checked. Biohazardous Materials Ensure all employees are provided with the correct vaccinations if applicable “ Biohazardous Materials Ensure that all employees are provided with the correct equipment, i.e. gloves “ Tractor Ensure all employees are trained to use a tractor and understand the risks of using these vehicles on public roads “ Ride-On Lawn Mower Ensure all employees have been trained to use this machine and understand the dangers of using these vehicles on public roads “ Ride-On Lawn Mower Ensure all employees are trained in using electrical equipment safely at work “ MEWP Ensure all employees using this device have been properly trained “ MEWP Ensure all employees using this device are fitted with the correct equipment i.e. safety harness and hard hat “ Road Ensure all employees working on this operation are provided with and required to wear fluorescent safety jackets as required by the Work Related Road Safety Legislation “ Chainsaw Ensure all employees are trained in the use of chainsaws and are aware of the dangers of electrical equipment in the workplace “ Chainsaw Ensure that the machine has relevant safety checks up to date MEWP Ensure that the machine has relevant safety checks up to date Tractor Ensure that the machine has relevant safety checks up to date Ride-On Lawn Mower Ensure that the machine has relevant safety checks up to date Chainsaw Ensure that all employees are provided with the correct safety equipment to deal with noise and vibration concerns Risk Assessment What are the hazards? Who might be harmed and how? What are you already doing? What further action is necessary? Action by who? Action by when? Done? Chainsaw Chainsaw user; physical injury i.e. cuts, electrocution Ensuring that training and equipment is safe and in place. Ensure that all safety information is provided and up-to-date Tractor Tractor driver & passengers (if any), road users; road accident, electrical fault Ensure that the driver has a clean license and is properly trained in tractor usage None Ride-On Lawn Mower The employees using the lawn mower and those in the vicinity; road accident, electrical fault Ensure that correct training and equipment is in place and the lawn mower users are aware of road safety in the workplace MEWP The users of this machine and those in the vicinity; fall from a height, being landed on Ensuring that safety harnesses and hard hats are good quality and safe and used at all times Operation 3 The people that may be harmed in this operation are the female cleaning staff and the pupils at the school. The harm to these people may occur in a variety of ways. The cleaning staff may be infected with something picked up during cleaning, and this is covered by the Biosafety information (2002). The staff are all women and as such are more at risk of sexual predation or assault. Information on protecting the welfare of these women can be found in the work related violence page (2003) and the corporate responsibility page (1997). Additionally, any cleaning staff who are pregnant must be advised on and follow the rules proved by the health and safety for new and expectant mothers information (Freeman, 2007). The staff may also be at risk from any of the electrical equipment found in the school and must be trained and informed of the relevant guidelines, and all equipment should have up-to-date safety checks in place. Additionally, the staff may be at risk from the manufacturing equipment found in the school and must have relevant safety training in the use or avoidance of this machinery. The children at the school are part of the young people risk group, and all cleaning staff should have up-to-date CRB checks when there is any chance they will be contacting these young people. Checks Hazard Control Measure Results What else can be done? Safe? Biohazardous Materials Ensure all employees understand the dangers of working with these materials Biohazardous Materials Ensure that all staff who may contact this material have the appropriate vaccinations Biohazardous Materials Ensure that all workers have regular health checks Mechanical Equipment Ensure that staff are training in the use of this equipment Electrical Equipment Ensure that staff are trained in the use of this equipment All equipment All equipment should be within EU guidelines for their safety and should all be checked regularly to ensure that their quality is of a good standard Children Children are a risk group and anyone contacting these individuals needs an up-to-date CRB check Risk Assessment What are the hazards? Who might be harmed and how? What are you already doing? What further action is necessary? Action by who? Action by when? Done? Rubbish The cleaners and the pupils; infectious disease risk Ensuring that staff are provided with gloves, training and vaccinations to lower the risk of infection Electrical Equipment Staff; accidental physical injury or electrocution Ensuring that all equipment has been safety checked and that all staff have training Mechanical Equipment Staff; physical injury Ensure that these are out of the way as much as possible and staff are informed of the possible dangers arising from these objects All Operations All operations share some risks. For example, if any young people are involved then the employer needs to follow the guidelines about ‘young people at work’ (FOD, 2006) which ensures that anyone with a lack of experience and maturity gets the assistance they need. All operations need to be aware of the guidelines for corporate manslaughter, corporate responsibility, disability, diversity, drugs and alcohol, economics, human factors, maintenance, migrant workers, moving goods, noise, risk education, slips and trips, societal risks, temporary workers, transport violence and health advice, for with the legislation is expansive and too detailed to be covered in a short report. References (L Pollitt) S Warne, 2010. HSE - Biosafety. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Anon, The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1713/regulation/3/made [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Disease Reduction Programme Office, B., 2005. Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/dsear.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. FOD, M., 2006. Young people at work – health and safety in the workplace. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Freeman, J., 2007. Health and safety for new and expectant mothers. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/mothers/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Health and Safety Executive, C.D.S., 1997a. The confined spaces website. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/confinedspace/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Health and Safety Executive, C.D.S., 1997b. The homepage of the Health and Safety Executive website. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/corporateresponsibility/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. HSE, 2010a. HSE - Electricity. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. HSE, 2010b. HSE - Falls. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. J Sharman, 2008. Chemicals at work - health and safety in the workplace. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/chemicals/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. PG, B., 2003. Work related violence - health and safety in the workplace. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. PG, S., 2002. Work related road safety – health and safety in the workplace. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/roadsafety/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Policy Group STSU, D., 2004. Work equipment and machinery. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/equipment/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Workplace Transport Programme, D., 2007. Vehicle and transport safety at work. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm [Accessed May 30, 2011]. Read More