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.

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.

Course Dates for RRC Middle East

We are pleased to announce new course dates for RRC Middle East. All dates given are for Block Release programmes.

News

• Six people, including a British tourist and a policeman, were injured in the streets of Albufeira, Portugal, in mid-April 2006 when an ox escaped from a bullring and ran for more than three miles through the town. Twenty cars were also damaged in the incident, which ended with the animal being shot by marksmen.

• On 20th April 2006, 11 out of 15 migrant construction workers on an overnight shift died in a sleeping cabin fire at a building site in the town of Pavshinskaya Poima, near Moscow. The fire broke out early in the morning, possibly caused by a short circuit or defective electrical system. The victims died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. In Russia, smoke alarms are not in routine use in such temporary structures.

• On 23rd April 2006, a gas explosion took place during a pressure release at a natural gas well in Forest Hill, near Fort Worth, Texas, killing one worker and injuring three others. The site was operated by XTO Energy. A three-mile flight exclusion and resident evacuation zone was established whilst the situation was brought under control.

• 27th April 2006, it was announced that an investigation was under way into a fatal crush accident at a commercial vehicle workshop in Bahrain, where an employee of AA Bin Hindi sustained fatal blunt force trauma to the chest after being struck by a tilting lorry cabin in the plant in Al Ma'ameer.

• late April 2006, around two dozen chimpanzees broke out of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which lies in woodland outside Freetown, Sierra Leone. They attacked and killed a local taxi driver and injured three American workers engaged in the new US embassy project in Freetown. Six of the animals returned later to the sanctuary of their own volition and the remainder were being sought by the police force.

• late April 2006, the owner of a small farm in County Mayo, Ireland, sustained fatal crush injuries when he was pinned against a wall by his own tractor and trailer, which rolled backwards down a gradient in the livestock shed on his property at Lavallyroe, Ballyhaunis. Farmers and farm workers are notorious for jumping down from their tractor cabs to perform other small tasks without immobilising their vehicles, which often weigh many tonnes.

• On 1st May 2006, an underground explosion took place in the Wayaobao coal mine in Zichang County, in the Shaanxi Province of northern China. Thirty miners were killed and two more were missing.

• An explosion and fire at a paper factory in Udham Singh Nagar in northern India at the beginning of May 2006 killed 15 people and injured at least 50 others. Hundreds more were trapped and had to be rescued by fire-fighters following the blast in a sodium tank, which was heard five miles away.

• A British tourist visiting the Old Town Square in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, in 2003 suffered a broken thigh and spinal and chest injuries when an 80-foot Christmas tree fell on him. In May 2006, a Czech court awarded him 2.5 million koruna (£60,600) in compensation, at the expense of Prague City Council and that of a company running a market in the square.

• The collapse of a railway bridge undergoing repairs in British Columbia, Canada, in 1997 resulted in the deaths of two workers. In May 2006, the contractor, Scott Steel, was fined C$70,000 in a court in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia; the company president was also fined C$15,000. The railway operator had previously been fined C$50,000 for failing to ensure a safe workplace.

• On 18th May 2006, the explosion of a boiler used for cotton-drying equipment at the Hachong Corporation facility in the Baroipara district of Gazipur, Bangladesh, killed a 22-year-old worker and injured eight others.

• A lorry driver died in Australia in late May 2006 when the cabin of his vehicle was crushed by a freight train at a level crossing. Two locomotives and 44 goods wagons were derailed in the incident, which occurred near Lismore, 170 km south-west of Melbourne. There are no lights, bells or safety gates at the crossing, only give-way signs. Pacific National, the rail freight company, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were investigating the collision.

• At the end of May 2006, investigators were seeking the cause of an explosion at an Airbus France factory in southern France, which injured at least five people, two of them seriously. The incident involved a hydraulic press, used for moulding sheet metal for aircraft wings.

• Following the capsize of a cruise boat in Bahrain in March 2006 (see the Spring 2006 issue), the owner and the captain of the vessel have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The incident left 58 people dead. Those charged are a Bahraini and an Indian national, who were due to appear in court during June 2006.

• Traditionally, sheepskin rafts have been used to cross the Yellow River in China's Gansu Province in the north west of the country. These have now been banned for safety reasons, although local people, craftsmen and workers in the tourism industry argued for their retention as part of the area's cultural heritage.

• On 16th June 2006, there was an explosion in a chemical explosives factory owned by the Dun'an Chemical Group Co. Ltd in Anhui Province, China. At least 16 workers were killed and another 24 injured, but the local authorities were unsure how many employees were in the two-storey building at the time of the incident. An initial investigation found that there were at least four tonnes of explosives in the workshop and the blast was probably triggered during powder mixing.

• China is considering a new Labour Contract Law which would strengthen safety and workplace inspections. The draft Bill also proposes reducing the working week to a maximum of 40 hours. At present, some Chinese provinces enforce a maximum working week of 50 hours, but many Chinese workers choose to work 60 hours or more.

• A sales executive died near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when he was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. He was using his mobile phone at the time. Similar incidents have been reported from China and South Korea and doctors have warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather.

• A ground engineer working at Johannesburg Airport in late June 2006 fell under a Boeing 747 which had just arrived from London. Both his legs were severed by the plane's landing gear and he had to be airlifted to hospital. British Airways is conducting an investigation into the accident.

• Hong Kong's trade office reported toward the end of June 2006 that China's Guangdong Province is to close more than 900 factories because they have failed to comply with new rules on producing dangerous chemicals. Guangdong borders Hong Kong and is at the centre of China's economic revolution.

• At least 41 people died and another 47 were injured when an underground train was derailed in Valencia, Spain, in early July 2006. Black box data showed the train to have been travelling at 48mph, twice the speed limit, through a curving tunnel. The driver is thought to have fainted or become otherwise incapacitated before the accident, in which he was killed.

• With effect from August 2006, travellers on public transport in Stockholm will be restricted in their use of mobile phones. Designated areas will be available on buses, trains and trams where use will be permitted, but travellers risk a fine if they use them elsewhere. The ban has been introduced partly for health reasons, as some people are hypersensitive to electromagnetic fields.

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