RRC's NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate

RRC Training are pleased to announce that we will be offering the NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate by distance learning soon.

The Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate has been designed for anyone with fire safety responsibilities such as managers, supervisors and employee representatives. It is also appropriate for those who are just taking on such responsibilities. On successful completion of the course Certificate holders should be able to carry out fire risk assessments and review fire prevention and protection measures.

This Certificate is structured in the same way as the NEBOSH National General Certificate, with two exams and one practical assessment. The first exam/section consists entirely of information from the National General Certificate, and students who have achieved a pass in the NGC or paper A1 of the NGC within the last five years are exempt from studying that part of the course. This means that it is possible for those students to obtain a new qualification by completing only 53 hours of study!

We are confident that students studying with us for the NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate will enjoy the experience. We will be offering the course by block release and e-learning by the end of the year.

If you are interested in enrolling for this course, please contact a Customer Service Adviser on 020 8944 3100 or e-mail info@rrc.co.uk.

Health and Safety Responsibilities of Directors

Dr W. Richard Griffiths PhD, MSc (Env Man), MEd, GRSC, Cert Ed, FRSH, FRIPH, CMIOSH, MIIRSM

There are three different types of director (Executive, Non-Executive and Shadow directors). There is no definition of 'director' in the Companies Acts, but it is referred to as including any person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called. That is to say, directors can only be recognised by their function, and not title. Similarly, any liability that exists lies with the authority and responsibility that they have within the company. Many business decisions by boards of directors may have implications for health and safety. Directors in this respect must recognise their personal responsibilities and liabilities under health and safety law. Increasing such responsibilities would possibly raise the profile of the health and safety agenda in organisations, as early studies have shown that only 30% of UK firms comply fully with health and safety regulation. The HSC and HSE have no specific publications regarding directors' obligations to abide by health and safety law. Directors, however, have responsibilities outlined in the form of guidance notes and health and safety law.

Tutor Viewpoint - Stress in the Workplace

Wendy Claxton BSc (Hons), Dip2.OSH, CMIOSH

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), nearly five million workers in the UK find their job either very or extremely stressful. Over half a million of them have reported experiencing work-related stress to an extent that made them ill. A total of 12.8 million working days were lost due to stress, depression and anxiety in 2004/05. So, if you are experiencing any of these feelings, then you are certainly not alone.

What is Stress?

The HSE defines stress as:

"The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them."

We all need a certain amount of pressure to keep us motivated at work, but excessive pressure can lead to stress and illness. In turn, this affects business performance and is costly to employers.

RRC's Institute of Acoustics Certificate of Competence in Workplace Noise Assessment

In April 2006, RRC launched its first Institute of Acoustics Certificate of Competence in Workplace Noise Assessment programme to provide a background of basic acoustics, combined with 'hands on' practical experience of industrial noise measurements and associated assessment of workplace noise exposure.

The Institute of Acoustics is the UK's professional body for those working in acoustics, noise and vibration and this five-day Certificate course has been designed for those concerned with the prevention of hearing damage at work, including safety professionals, managers, consultants and environmental health officers.

Participants will be able to assess the noise hazard in the workplace, identify means of reducing exposure and advise and assist employers in meeting legislative requirements and successful completion of the course satisfies requirements for competency in workplace noise assessment.

The range of interests of members within the world of acoustics is wide, embracing such aspects as aerodynamics, architectural acoustics, building acoustics, electroacoustics, engineering dynamics, noise and vibration, hearing, speech, underwater acoustics, together with a variety of environmental aspects.

Our next course is scheduled for 6-10 November 2006 and will take place in Loughborough so enrol now to reserve your place. Please contact one of our Customer Advisers on +44 (0)20 8944 3100 or e-mail info@rrc.co.uk to register your interest.

News

• On 8th April 2006, an explosion at the Corus Aluminised Products Plant in Port Talbot resulted in the death of one employee. Production at the plant, which employs around 75 people, was halted and police and the Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation. A major explosion at the same plant in 2001 killed three employees.

• A Cardiff man was ordered off a no.9 bus in the city in mid-April 2006 because he was carrying a tin of paint, a "hazardous article". According to new rules, it should have been "carried in two containers, i.e. a sealed pot and a bag, and . not left unattended on a parcel shelf where it could slide and tip, burst open and spread across the floor".

• A nine-year-old boy was killed at a housing development in Poole, Dorset, in mid-April 2006 when he was crushed by electronic gates. His mother and sister were unable to stop them opening and the boy suffered fatal head injuries.

• A smoking ban is to be introduced for judges away on circuit. Under new rules instigated by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, they will not be permitted to smoke in their rooms or their official lodgings.

• A baby girl aged ten months was in the care of the Just Learning Nursery in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, on 19th April 2006 when she choked to death on a piece of apple. The nursery was closed following the incident and police are investigating the child's death.

• Two workers suffered back injuries when they fell 70 ft from a tower crane in Tinsley, Sheffield, at the beginning of May 2006. The incident occurred when a steel rope holding a cable snapped. The men's fall was broken by the roof of a portable building.

• An attendant at a RoadChef site near Bothwell, Lancashire, issued a £60 parking ticket to a lorry driver as he lay dead inside his vehicle. The attendant was prevented from seeing inside the cab as the curtains were drawn. The ticket was subsequently withdrawn.

• A new ride at the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth became stuck for six minutes in mid-May 2006, leaving visitors dangling upside down 60 ft above the ground. One woman needed hospital treatment after the incident and 16 other people were rescued unharmed. The HSE has begun an investigation.

• In a private prosecution brought by a fisherman at Exeter Crown Court, the Environment Agency and a contractor were fined £35,000 in mid-May 2006 for polluting the River Barle in Devon. Hundreds of fish died from the pollution and the charge was admitted by both parties. The private prosecution was the first against the Agency.

• Attacks on couriers carrying passports are said by the Home Office to be happening "all the time". The delivery company, SMS, now uses two people in a van on high-risk routes rather than an individual on a motorcycle.

• Eight thousand litres of orange juice concentrate leaked from a soft drinks factory into a ditch in Bridgwater, Somerset, in mid-May 2006, killing dozens of fish. Gerber Foods had to use three tankers to remove the spillage to prevent the juice from contaminating the River Parrett, to which the ditch is linked.

• When the tea lady at the offices of East Hertfordshire District Council in Bishop's Stortford was made redundant, the council recruited consultants to carry out a risk assessment. Their brief was to determine the best way to make a cup of tea without getting hurt. They produced a 17-page report, costing taxpayers £200.

• An employee at Auto Recoveries, a road vehicle breakdown and recovery firm of Willowholme, Carlisle, died on 23rd May 2006 when a piece of industrial machinery fell on him. The incident was being investigated by Cumbria Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

• Staff were evacuated two days running from a potato chip factory in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in late May 2006 when war debris was discovered in potatoes. McCain Foods had imported the potatoes from former battlefields in France and Belgium and they were found to contain a shell tip and a grenade.

• In a case in the High Court, the Department of Trade and Industry has been held responsible for the health of dockers who unloaded cargoes in England and Wales in the 1950s and 1960s. This gives former dockers the right to sue the Government for compensation for asbestos-related illnesses. However, the Government has leave to appeal to the House of Lords.

• A suspected chemical leak at the Westbourne pub in Bournemouth at the end of May 2006 caused the evacuation of 40 customers. One member of staff and four customers were treated at the scene for sore throats and respiratory problems and nine fire engines attended the incident.

• Two youths were able to cycle into a marshalling yard, climb onto a locomotive, start the engine and set off down the track while dozens of railway employees were working nearby. The incident took place in Sheffield at the end of May 2006 and is being investigated by British Transport Police.

• A Welsh farmer needed seven hours of surgery for his wounds after being mauled by one of his pigs. He had been trying to move the 47-stone animal into its pen when it pinned him against a tractor and bit him on the legs, back and arm. The farmer was rescued by his wife, who turned a hose on the pig.

• A shop worker in North London suffered serious stab wounds at the beginning of June 2006 when he followed suspected shoplifters out of a store. He had been working as a supervisor for Moss Bros. at Wood Green Shopping City for only two months when the incident occurred.

• Staff at an Age Concern day centre in Barnstaple, Devon, would not permit a 96-year-old client to eat a slice of home-made birthday cake specially prepared by a friend for the occasion. Under their policy, it would have been acceptable if it had been bought in a shop. The elderly man eventually enjoyed the cake at home.

• The High Court in Newcastle upon Tyne awarded compensation of £70,000 to a fire-fighter at the beginning of June 2006, for damage to his hearing occasioned by pumping equipment. The man had worked for the County Durham and Darlington Brigade for 31 years, using the equipment.

• Torbay Council in Devon has decided to ban the planting of any more palm trees in Torquay, amid concern that their spiky leaves pose a danger to passers-by. Potentially less hazardous species of trees have been selected for a new harbourside development, although there is no record of anyone being hurt by a palm tree.

• A Plymouth primary school teacher, who suffered two years of bullying at work by the school's head before resigning, was awarded compensation of £56,000 by an employment tribunal in June 2006. She was the deputy head of the school and the award was made on the basis that she would be unable to work full-time for a year.

• The East of England Development Agency carried out a study into the effects of the Buncefield oil depot explosion last December and found that 25 local businesses were seriously affected. Sixteen of them were forced to relocate. Overall, the explosion cost local businesses more than £70 million in lost stock, lost revenue and relocation expenses.

• There have been reports from different parts of the world of people being struck by lightning while using mobile phones. A sales executive in Malaysia died as a result and there have been similar incidents in China and South Korea. Doctors have warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather.

• Two coastguard officers were injured as they took part in an attempt to rescue a cabin cruiser at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, in late June 2006. Their vehicle fell 15 ft over a cliff and a helicopter had to take them to hospital. The cabin cruiser, with three adults and a child on board, was eventually towed to safety by a fishing boat.

• A mixture of light and heavy industry oils escaped from an abandoned sewage works near Plas Menai in late June 2006, creating a nine-mile-long slick off the Menai Strait and threatening wildlife in an environmentally sensitive area. The leak was traced to an exhaust pipe at the disused works, which are owned by North Wales Police.

• When a thief stole a motorcycle worth £1,200 at the end of June 2006, Avon and Somerset police told the owner that they were unable to pursue the culprit for "health and safety reasons". The thief was not wearing a helmet and could sue the police if he fell off and was injured. According to the Association of Chief Police Officers, most forces follow similar guidelines.

• Smoking in the workplace is banned in Scotland. A taxi driver from Tayport, Fife, was fined £200 at the beginning of July 2006 for smoking in the car he uses for work. He was off duty at the time.

• A farmer from Beaminster, Dorset, died in August 2005 when his quad bike crashed at 55mph. He was carrying posts which slipped and jammed the throttle and he suffered fatal head injuries. A verdict of accidental death was recorded in July 2006.

• The fine imposed on Balfour Beatty following the Hatfield rail crash was reduced from £10 million to £7.5 million by the Court of Appeal in July 2006. Unions responded by calling for a proper corporate manslaughter law and the TUC urged the Government to impose new safety duties on directors.

• A maintenance worker was crushed to death by a tenpin bowling machine at the Hollywood Bowl in Barking, East London, in July 2006. Youths are suspected of throwing a ball down the lane where he was working, triggering the machine into action and trapping him.

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