Welcome to the RRC Newsletter
Hello again and welcome to the latest edition of the RRC international e-newsletter. This edition includes articles on how you can measure your effectiveness as a health and safety practitioner and the advances in technology with regard to improving the learning experience, plus all the usual news and views.
Remember too that we have added another three podcasts to our website since the last edition of the e-newsletter. Later, we’ll take a look at the topics under discussion.
As ever, don’t forget to look at the Student Focus for important course updates if you are currently studying with RRC.
Best regards
David Towlson
Lead Tutor
What’s New on the Web...
Roundtable Events
Many thanks to all those who attended our recent roundtable discussion on issues facing those in the construction sector.
With delegates including Kenneth Dodd (Group Health and Safety Manager, Manchester Airports Group), Stephen McCarthy (Group Safety Manager, Duffy Group), Brian Ormiston, (Head of HSQE, Warings Construction,part of the leading French organisation Bouygue Group), and Davie Faulds (Group Health & Safety Director of P.C. Harrington Contractors), the event proved invaluable for providing insights into opinions, attitudes, concerns and advice from those working on the health and safety coalface.
A full copy of the report is available free to download from the Resource Centre of the RRC website (www.rrc.co.uk).
Following on from our successful construction roundtable event earlier in the year, we also held a similar event on 17th November for the transport and logistics sector. The subjects for discussion included: tiredness, stress, 'better driving' schemes, practicalities and ethics of drugs/alcohol testing, environmental impacts, violence and driver welfare facilities. A report will be available in January 2009.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the report when it is complete, please e-mail Milena Migunova for further details.
Podcasts
Another three podcasts are now available to download free from the website. The latest episodes cover the following topics:
November 2008 – Health and Safety Expert Witness
David Towlson, Director of Training at RRC Training, is joined by Dr Ivan Vince, a health, safety and environmental consultant, who talks about some of his recent projects. They include suspected chlorine poisoning at a local health club, hazards to the ecosystem from missile testing for the Ministry of Defence, the polluting effects of cremations for The Anglo Hindu Sikh society and explosive investigations for the Buncefield inquiry. He discusses the whys and wherefores of each case and the outcomes.
October 2008: Choosing a Training Provider
Can anyone deliver NEBOSH training and how do you know it's going to be any good? Matt Powell-Howard and Dee Arp from NEBOSH join David Towlson of RRC and discuss what NEBOSH is looking for in training providers wishing to deliver NEBOSH courses.
September 2008: Improving Your Training
This month's podcast is about how to improve your training and enhance student learning. We are joined by (fictitious) Educationalist Judith Morrissey who believes that the path to teaching excellence is self-reflection, talking loudly and a firm hand. Whilst this could work, we explore more liberal approaches...
To download the podcasts, and review previous episodes, simply visit www.rrc.co.uk/Podcasts.aspx.
NEBOSH News
NEBOSH National Certificate in Environmental Management Pilot
The first group of RRC students have recently completed the NEBOSH pilot for the new National Certificate in Environmental Management qualification. RRC were one of only five centres invited by NEBOSH to offer this new pilot and we are delighted that over 150 of our students have now completed the programme.
This pilot gave us the opportunity to trial not only this exciting new NEBOSH qualification but also RRC’s new virtual classroom – the e-Zone. Many thanks to all those students who took part and provided us with valuable feedback.
In the meantime, NEBOSH will be reviewing the new Environmental Certificate over the next few months before making a decision as to whether to roll it out nationwide.
News In Brief
In a bizarre accident on 11th August 2008, three shipyard workers were killed and 12 injured after they were used as onboard ballast at the test launching of a ship’s lifeboat in the Gysan shipyard, located in the Tuzla shipyards of Istanbul, Turkey. When the rope securing the lifeboat to the ship snapped, the boat overturned and fell into the water, crushing or drowning the men. A total of 19 workers participated in the test run. The Maritime Undersecretariat said that a technical and criminal investigation into the incident had been started.
A gold mine near Boussoukoula in Burkina Faso collapsed in mid-August during heavy rain, killing 34 miners. A ban on working until October had been introduced to avoid the dangers of the rainy season but the miners ignored it.
A psychiatrist in Switzerland is being sued for negligence following the murder of a taxi driver by one of his patients. On the psychiatrist’s recommendation the patient had been discharged as being no longer a danger but ten days later attacked the taxi driver.
Human Rights Watch has called for an investigation into the number of immigrant maids dying in Lebanon. At least 95 have died since 2007, most of them by suicide or in attempts to escape abuse.
A 78-year-old woman passenger misunderstood the check-in instructions at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport in late August and was whisked down a luggage chute. She lay down on the belt and ended up in a handling area but was not injured.
The 12th Bureau of China Railway Construction Corporation reported on 29th August 2008 that the collapse of the Ketu railway tunnel, which is under construction in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haibei, had buried 11 workers. Four of the workers were killed and seven injured, two of them critically. The tunnel project is part of the double track line of the Xining-Golmud Railway, which is a part of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The line operator, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation and the Qinghai Safety Supervision Bureau began an investigation into the accident.
An investigation was initiated after three workers were killed when 2.5 tonnes of gunpowder exploded in the store at an explosives factory owned by the defence company MKE in the Kirikkale province of central Turkey. MKE is the main supplier of the Turkish armed forces. The incident took place on 29th August 2008 at a time when much of the factory was unmanned. Two of the dead were painters who were employed to repaint the premises. Several dozen others were injured. Kirikkale is also the location of a state-run weapons plant that exploded in 1997 and caused a fire that raged for days.
A leakage of hydrogen sulphide gas at the Petron Corp. Bataan oil refinery complex north of Manila in the Philippines killed one worker, an operations technician, and left another chemical engineer unconscious in a critical condition. The incident took place on 1st September 2008 during the drainage of a collecting drum at the sour water facility; the victims were discovered by a technician. The Bataan petrochemical plant is the largest in the Philippines, with a capacity of 180,000 barrels per day.
Ten workers were killed when a recently-built water tank collapsed on a construction site in Bass Haria, Haryana, India on 4th September 2008. They were buried under concrete rubble and bricks and seven others were injured. At the time the workers were off duty in a kitchen area of the new office building site, being developed by Era Infra Engineering Pvte Ltd. The authorities announced that charges may be preferred under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code, as a preliminary investigation found that the structure was defective and gross negligence was suspected.
Commuters in Argentina, angry over delays during the morning rush hour, set fire to a train in early September and hurled stones at the ticket office. The train was engulfed in black smoke and flames. The incident occurred at Merlo station in the western suburbs of Buenos Aires.
A young British researcher suffered a broken leg while on an expedition to a remote part of Russia in early September. She had fallen from a horse on a volcanic ridge in Kamchatka Nature Park in the east of the country while working on a project involving nine British and Russian academics. A beacon was activated and the signal received by RAF Kinloss in Scotland, enabling her to be rescued by a Russian helicopter.
In South Korea, a cat that had been raised in a petrol station by the workers employed there wandered into the path of a road tanker. The person with the duty of looking after the cat's welfare made an attempt to rescue the animal by signalling the driver to stop. The tanker driver was unaware that the worker then went underneath the HGV to retrieve the cat. The vehicle began to move and the worker was crushed to death. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled on 16th September 2008 that it was an industrial accident and therefore the victim’s family should be compensated.
On 22nd September 2008, it was reported that a lion had eaten a missing local worker at the Metehara sugar factory in eastern Ethiopia. The man was in a nearby cane plantation when he was attacked by a hungry lion that had wandered from the Awash Game Park, which is located around 225 km east of the capital, Addis Ababa.
A fireworks stunt at a nightclub in China went wrong in late September, causing a fire in which 43 people died. Another 88 people were injured in the blaze in Shenzhen.
Two pilots employed by the Hawaii airline Go in the USA fell asleep during a flight in September and had to be woken by air traffic controllers. They had already passed their destination and had to turn back. Both pilots lost their jobs and had their licences suspended by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has published its Annual Report 2007: Bringing Safety and Health Closer to European Workers. The report gives an overview of its activities in 2007. It can be downloaded as a PDF document from:
It was reported on 27th September 2008 that a Sri Lankan worker who was taking a short sleep during his meal break was killed by a road roller at his workplace near Interchange 17 on the Abu Samar highway in Abu Nakhla, Doha, Qatar. The man lay down in the shadow of the vehicle and was unnoticed by the driver when he started the machine. The sleeping worker was run over twice before the operator became aware of his presence.
Police in Sharonville, Ohio, USA, reported that at the end of September 2008 an incident took place at the Cincinnati Preserving factory which involved an employee who was wiping down a piece of equipment while it was still spinning. His clothing and right hand became snagged on a spindle and he was drawn into the machine up to his shoulder. Other employees in the area were able to shut down the machinery, but not before their co-worker suffered extensive trauma to his hand and arm. The injured employee was transported by helicopter to the nearest hospital. The factory makes canned fruit pie mixes and fruit fillings.
A stampede at a disco in the remote Tabora region of Tanzania at the beginning of October killed 19 young people. The disco was held to mark the end of Ramadan. Managers responsible for the event were questioned by police and two were later arrested.
One welding worker died and three others were injured on 6th October 2008 in an explosion during hot metal work on a 9,500-gallon fuel oil storage tank at a waste oil processing plant on the Campbell Industrial Park in Honolulu, USA. According to police reports the welder was tacking a metal footbridge. The explosion took place when he stopped and asked a co-worker to adjust the feed on the welding equipment. He was thrown 30 metres from the tank and died instantly. Most of the workers were contract employees.
Fairgoers near Daytona Beach in Florida, USA were left stranded in the air when a ride came to a halt in early October. A mother dropped her toddler from a height of 30 ft into waiting arms below. She was also rescued after being left dangling by one hand.
The Chinese Government announced in mid-October that it planned to reinstate the clean air measures introduced for the Olympic Games. A pollution index of 300 will trigger the closure of building sites and factories in Beijing and the banning of half of its cars from the roads.
http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/annual_report/2007full
Health and Safety Motivations
By Alan Bessell
Seeking Motivation
Had a good day, dear?
So how do you answer that question if you’re a safety practitioner? I’m not talking here about the social interaction with colleagues nor about the standard performance measurements, but I am interested in measuring my effectiveness, my accomplishments and achievements; the things which at the end of the day give me the motivation (or not) to go back for more.
Noticeboard
Technology and Learning
By David Towlson
The last quarter-century or so has seen rapid advances in technology. Much of this has found its way into the classroom. We have witnessed the widespread adoption of personal computers (of impressive capability, connectivity and portability) and enormous growth in Internet bandwidth. The latter has enabled such things as remote access to learning materials, the realistic ability to stream rich media (such as recorded and live video feeds), hosting of low-cost remote live web seminars (e.g. Webex), incorporating interaction, assessment and a multitude of other useful features. Virtual learning environments (e.g. WebCT) are now widely used in further education colleges.
Exciting New Partnership to offer Specialist Asbestos Training
RRC are delighted to announce that we are working in partnership with Environmental Management Solutions Group Holdings Ltd to offer a range of asbestos courses, including the following:
| Course | Intended Audience |
| Half-day Asbestos Awareness | Anyone responsible for building maintenance, such as building managers and caretakers. |
| One-Day Asbestos Awareness | Anyone responsible for building works and/or overseeing asbestos remediation contractors, such as facility management. |
| One-Day Duty to Manage Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises | Anyone responsible for maintaining and repairing all or part of a property, or who has control of a building. |
For further details of the courses, including dates and fees, please contact an Advisor on +44 (0) 20 8944 3100 or e-mail info@rrc.co.uk
RRC Middle East Course Dates 2009
Please click the following link to access RRC Middle East course dates and fees for 2009.
Student Focus
This is the section of the e-Newsletter where we focus on any important updates to your course. Please review the following carefully for anything which may impact your studies.
NEBOSH National Diploma
Unit B
Element B2
We have recently updated Element B2 of our NEBOSH National Diploma course notes to reflect changes to the notification of new substances following the revocation of the Notification of New Substances Regulations 1993 and the introduction of the REACH Regulations. The following information will update you with regard to this issue:
The Notification of New Substances Regulations 1993, have been revoked. This is because the regime has been brought within the REACH Regulations (EC 1907/2006).
Though there are exceptions, in general most substances manufactured or imported into the EU in quantities above 1 tonne per year per manufacturer must be registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
The registration process involves submitting a dossier of information on that substance. In essence, the registrant must:
- Gather together any existing available and relevant information on the substance.
- Identify what actual information is required to be submitted.
- Identify any information gaps.
- Generate new information or propose further testing for filling those gaps.
N.B. Proposals for further testing on animals are seen as a last resort. Indeed, Article 13 of REACH requires that human toxicological information shall be generated wherever possible by means other than vertebrate animal testing – alternatives such as in vitro testing, QSAR modelling and “read across” from structurally related compounds should be explored instead.
In certain circumstances the ECHA may direct the registrants to undertake the proposed further testing (including animal testing) on the substance because insufficient data is available to properly and reliably characterise its hazardous nature. The relevant test methods supporting Article 13 of REACH are now held within the Test Methods Regulation (EC 440/2008).
The Test Methods Regulation describes physico-chemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological tests in detail. In terms of toxicological testing, we have a number of methods, including those for:
- Acute toxicity (oral, dermal, inhalation, dermal irritation/corrosion, eye irritation/corrosion).
- Skin sensitisation.
- Repeated dose (28 days) toxicity.
- Sub-chronic repeated dose (90 days) toxicity.
- Chronic toxicity.
- Mutagenicity (bacterial as well as mammalian).
- Carcinogenicity.
- Reproductive toxicity.
These are just a selection of the many test categories. The test protocols can be downloaded from http://ecb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/Element B7
We have recently updated our course notes for Element B7 of the NEBOSH National Diploma to reflect the guidance recently issued by the HSE regarding the application of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 to the music and entertainment industry. This update should be added into your Element B7 course notes after the heading entitled ‘Factors Affecting the Degree of Protection Afforded by Hearing Protectors’.
Control of Noise in the Music and Entertainment Industry
Noise is usually perceived as unwanted sound. However, in the music and entertainment industry the generation of sound (and sometimes very loud special effects) are an essential element of an event. Performers and other workers are as likely to suffer the adverse effects of excessive noise as workers in other industries and so all of the fundamental principles in terms of the law and means of compliance as discussed earlier in this element apply.
The HSE publication ‘Sound Advice’ HSG260 (published in 2008) details how the 2005 regulations apply to music and entertainment. This section summarises the general issues in respect of the music and entertainment industry. HSG260 includes a broad range of case studies.
Planning
The need for good planning at the risk assessment stage is emphasised and where appropriate the following should be considered:
- The nature of the event.
- Site layout.
- The likely noise map.
- Where there may be a risk and who is affected.
- Expected sound levels and durations.
- Selection of loudspeaker types.
- Suitable control measures.
- The need for adequate rehearsal time to identify and control any unforeseen risks before harm is caused.
Planning is especially important when taking a production on tour and should involve a generic assessment before the tour and a review at each venue to ensure the controls are suitable.
Communications
An event often involves several employers as well as the self-employed working temporarily together. The guidance advises that all of the employers should agree at an early stage which employer is to co-ordinate the measures required by the regulations and this should ideally be incorporated into any contractual arrangements.
Control Methods
The usual hierarchy of control applies, namely:
- Eliminate the hazard (e.g. avoid sound system checking while others are working near loudspeakers).
- Control at source (e.g. reduce the volume).
- Reduce the noise in the transmission pathway (e.g. providing physical barriers, such as using a sound booth in recording studios).
- Reduce exposure.
- Provide hearing protectors if the above are not adequate.
In common with more typical industrial noise, a combination of controls may be needed.
Immediate Risks
Some noise hazards may cause immediate harm and so require the provision of hearing protectors as an interim solution. A good example would be explosive noise created by fireworks.
Recovery Periods
It is important to allow a person’s ears to recover following exposure to a significant dose of noise. The time required depends on the noise level and the duration of exposure.
Hearing Protectors
Hearing protectors may be a necessary control measure. It is recognised that wearing hearing protectors does require some acclimatisation (to ensure that people do not give up wearing them). It is important to ensure that suitable protectors are chosen that provide the correct attenuation but also do not distort the sound. For example, compressible earplugs are usually unsuitable for singers and players of brass instruments because they distort the sound. Custom moulded earplugs or earplugs with vents can resolve the issue.
NEBOSH National Diploma in Environmental Management
Element 11
Catchment Management Plans
We have recently revised our NEBOSH National Diploma in Environmental Management course notes to provide more details on Catchment Management Plans. The following additional content should be added into Element 11 in the section entitled “Framework in Which Water is Managed”, under the heading “Catchment Management Plans”.
“The main aim of catchment management planning is to encourage the partnership of key organisations and individuals to work together for the benefit of a whole catchment area. It is a voluntary process and attempts to:
- Record the state of the catchment, including:
- Water quality.
- The status and extent of habitats and species.
- Key land management activities.
- Review the main impacts on the water quality of the river.
- Identify where issues may need to be addressed in different areas of the catchment.
- Identify appropriate long-term objectives for the catchment.
There are a number of catchment management plans throughout the UK, including, for example, the Loch Lomond Catchment Management Plan which was developed in 2001. The plan supports the partnership approach of the Water Framework Directive and aims to involve statutory organisations, local businesses, research institutions and other groups with an interest in the catchment.
The objectives of the plan relate to:
- Water resources.
- Water quality.
- Aquatic habitats and diversity.
- Riparian zone management.
- Cross-cutting issues, such as climate change and cross-party communication.
For further information a copy of the Loch Lomond Catchment Management Plan can be found at:
http://www.sepa.org.uk/
pdf/consultation/closed/2002/catchments/llcmp.pdf
September Supplement
Also, please note that there was a small error in the recent supplement issued to our NEBOSH National Diploma in Environmental Management students in September. In the supplement, we informed you that the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 were repealed in their entirety. In fact, whilst in all practical respects in relation to England and Wales these regulations were largely repealed (and replaced by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007), some small sections remain in force.
Our entry on the Environmental Permitting Regulations in the RRC Environmental Law and Case Law Guide is correct, as are your course notes.
Please note that this supplement was only issued to students enrolled on the programme before 5th September 2008. If you enrolled on the programme after this date, the supplement is not relevant to your studies and would therefore not have been sent to you.
NEBOSH National General Certificate
NGC2
Please note that RRC have recently updated information on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM) contained in Element 8 of NGC2. The amendment to the material can be found below, and should be substituted in your copy of the Element to ensure that you have the most accurate and up-to-date information on this topic.
Management Controls
Due to the nature of both the risks involved and the practice of using multiple contractors and subcontractors in construction work, the basis of safety lies very much with management control. This is addressed by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM), which replace and consolidate earlier regulations. The regulations comprise 5 parts. Parts 1 and 5 deal with the usual legal pre-amble and tidying up issues such as definitions used within the regulations and revocation of previous regulations. The main requirements are in Parts 2 – 4:
- Part 2: General duties applicable to all construction projects
- Part 3: Extra duties only applicable to notifiable construction projects
- Part 4: Practical requirements applicable to all construction sites
These are fairly obvious good management principles. As regards the client, these duties include such things as: appointing competent people, allowing enough time for the project, providing information to the construction team, ensuring the team communicates and cooperates, ensuring the project will be managed properly (from start to finish). These even apply to construction work on domestic premises - domestic clients do not have duties under CDM but those who work for them on the project will have.
Notifiable projects (defined in Part 1) are those that are likely to last more than 30 days or involve more than 500 person days of construction work. As far as the client is concerned, the extra duties include things like: appointing a CDM co-ordinator and principal contractor, ensuring there is a health and safety plan in place. These appointees (and others) then have imposed duties.
This part covers practical things such: site security, safety in excavations, demolition work, use of electricity, traffic routes and vehicles.
The Regulations have an associated Approved Code of Practice, L144.
NEBOSH International General Certificate
NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management
NEBOSH have recently introduced a new syllabus for the NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management which will take effect for those taking their examinations in March 2009 and beyond. We are currently working on a supplement to update you with any new content and hope to be able to release this within the next few weeks.
In the meantime, you should be aware that NEBOSH have changed the requirements for the practical assessment (Unit FC2). Details of the new ‘Practical Application’ unit follow.
Please note that the new NEBOSH syllabus only takes effect for those sitting their examinations in March 2009 and beyond. If you are completing your assessment in December 2008, these changes will not affect you.
NEBOSH Construction Certificate
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