Welcome to the RRC Newsletter
Hello again and welcome to the latest edition of the RRC e-newsletter. This edition includes articles on the vital role that safety culture plays in determining the effectiveness of health and safety measures and why you should take the issue of slips, trips and falls seriously, 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...
Podcasts
Another three podcasts are now available to download free from the website. The latest episodes cover the following topics:
February 2009: International Health and Safety
The English Jacobean poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island”. Though this is a statement of the obvious (most men are not in fact even remotely island-shaped), there was perhaps a deeper meaning. In today’s world, we cannot ignore the international scene. In this podcast we talk about the influence of organisations such as the ILO and the development of internationally recognised health and safety qualifications. Dee Arp of NEBOSH joins us to talk about what internationally relevant qualifications NEBOSH offer.
January 2009: Exam Help From Goldilocks
David Towlson persuades us that childrens’ stories have a particular place in training. He is joined by Dee Arp of NEBOSH as they attempt to convince the sceptical Toby Moore of the value of a closer understanding of Goldilocks and The Bears and exactly how it can help in exams.
December 2008: Noise In The Entertainment Industry
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations came into effect in April 2006 but there was a two year transitional period to apply the regulations to the music and entertainment sectors. This podcast is a glimpse into the world of entertainment and how the regulations now affect the business. David Towlson is joined by Pinky Blue. We look at what will change in her world and how she and her band Kafka's Five need to take the Control of Noise at Work Regulations into account.
These FREE podcasts are available at www.rrc.co.uk/Podcasts.aspx
News In Brief
The Health and Safety Executive has published online an updated version of its leaflet, Hand-Arm Vibration: Advice for Employees, at:
The Norwegian company, Fred Olsen Renewables, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bonheur and Ganger Rolf, announced in Oslo on 5th November 2008 that it had secured £303 million in debt financing for the construction of a 138-megawatt wind farm to be sited around 40 km east of Edinburgh and 10 km south of Dunbar. The fact that such a banking deal is still achievable in the current state of turmoil and uncertainty in the financial markets indicates that there is still an appetite for investment in renewable energy, and financiers recognise its importance.
Novel Materials in the Environment, a report by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, finds that nanomaterials are likely to kill people in the future, unless safety checks are put in place. If such emerging technology, incorporated in about 600 products, were to escape into the environment, damage would be caused. The Commission rejected a ban, however, because of the potential benefits of nanomaterials.
A survey for the Office for National Statistics shows that customer service staff take the most days off sick, while pilots, air traffic controllers and train drivers have the lowest sickness absence rates. The absence rate is higher for women than for men and higher in the public sector than in private companies.
A brewery at Magor near Chepstow was fined £30,000 by Abergavenny magistrates in November 2008 for allowing gallons of yeast to pollute a stream. Rare species of dragonfly breed there and the contaminated water had to be pumped out for purification and replacement.
East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire has been ordered by the High Court to pay damages of £73,250 to three residents in the village of Manby for noise nuisance. The judge ruled that they could not reasonably have been expected to bear the noise created by refuse lorries at 6.30 am. The Council must also pay the costs of the case.
A patient at a mental health unit in Harlow, Essex, was reported to have been trapped in a lift for 24 hours in November 2008 without the staff realising. They reported him missing to the police, telling them the next day that he had been found.
A community carer who suffered neck injuries after being assaulted by patients with learning difficulties is to receive £825,000 in damages in a settlement agreed with Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust. She has not been able to work since 1999.
A sea captain from the Ukraine who was bringing a vessel into the Thames with a 4,000-ton explosive cargo was unable to speak to the Thames pilots who boarded the ship as he was drunk. Snaresbrook Crown Court subsequently jailed him for two months.
Unannounced inspections by the Healthcare Commission of 51 acute NHS trusts in England found only five meeting all the requirements of a hygiene code introduced more than two years ago. Only 3% of the lapses represented an immediate risk but almost all the trusts were found to have more work to do. Some failed to keep wards consistently clean or to isolate patients to prevent infections spreading.
The Court of Appeal upheld a 14-month prison sentence imposed for commercial flytipping, ruling that a custodial sentence could be appropriate even where aggravating features such as depositing waste of a dangerous or offensive nature were not present. In R. v. Kelleher, the breach of S.33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was deliberate, repeated, large-scale, highly organised, financially motivated and highly profitable.
A revised Operational Circular on the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 has been published online by the Health and Safety Executive at:
- Western Power Distribution has been fined £200,000 with £70,000 costs over the death of a university Vice-Chancellor who was electrocuted by a fallen power cable while walking his dog. The company had been warned of the danger two hours earlier but it was logged as “low priority” by call-centre staff, with the result that no action was taken. The 11,000 – volt live cable had fallen in a gale and the victim brushed against it.
- The Health and Safety Executive has revised upward its estimate for the cost for an average case of ill-health, published in August 2008, to reflect the most up-to-date information available. The new figures read: human cost £6,700; lost output £2,700; resources cost £800; total cost £10,100. (Note: individual figures do not add up to total cost due to rounding.)
Police officers in Sheffield are acting as ‘minders’ to prevent traffic wardens being threatened and assaulted during their evening patrols. Four wardens patrol the streets five nights a week and it costs £56 an hour, paid by Sheffield City Council, for a police officer to protect them.
In December 2008, the British Standards Institution published a revised and updated version of ISO 9001 as BS EN ISO 9001:2008 Quality management systems. Requirements. This standard represents an established and widely used quality management framework, designed for use by all organisations and for management systems in general.
Security staff at hospitals in Plymouth have been fitted with miniature cameras in an effort to tackle abuse and violence. Each camera is linked to a hard drive able to record hours of footage and is worn as staff patrol wards, corridors, public areas and car parks. In the year 2007-08 there were 183 incidents, mostly involving attacks on doctors, nurses and security staff by patients and visitors in the accident and emergency department.
A pilot with more than 30 years’ commercial aviation experience was not qualified to land an aircraft in dense fog as he had “not yet completed the requisite low-visibility training”. As a result, a Flybe flight from Cardiff to Paris had to be turned back minutes before it was due to land in December 2008. When the aircraft took off, the weather at Charles de Gaulle airport had been clear.
- A jeweller in Devon was in the habit of sweeping up gold dust from his workshop floor and benches and selling it to a specialist dealer for about £2,000 a year. Torbay Council has ruled that the gold dust is commercial waste and the jeweller must prove that he disposes of it properly.
According to figures from the Conservative Party, the police were called to tackle violent incidents in schools on more than 7,000 occasions in 2007-08. The Shadow Schools Secretary commented that teachers should be given more authority to remove violent pupils from the classroom.
Guildford Crown Court sentenced an employer to eight months in prison in December 2008 for violence toward a worker. He had knocked the man’s teeth out and stabbed him with a pitchfork and admitted putting him in fear of violence.
A Russian circus acrobat died in December 2008 following an accident in which he fell 20 ft while performing a springboard stunt at Blackpool Tower Circus. He failed to land on a chair held by a fellow performer and suffered head injuries.
Homerton University Hospital in East London was served with an improvement notice in December 2008 when inspectors from the Healthcare Commission found significant breaches of hygiene standards. Bedpans and commodes marked as ready for use were dirty and the hospital had failed to implement changes to hygiene procedures recommended in July 2007.
A runaway horse gained access to the foyer of a cinema in December 2008 when the automatic doors opened as it approached. It cantered down a corridor before turning and fleeing the way it had come in. The incident occurred at Cineworld in Boldon, South Tyneside, and the animal was safely captured afterwards.
The Chief Constable of North Wales was accidentally hit in the eye with pepper spray when he was called to a domestic dispute in Wrexham in early January 2009. The pepper spray was fired by one of his own officers, who was testing it. A small amount of the spray was deflected from a riot shield into the Chief Constable’s face.
A man died at an exhibition at Filton airfield in 2004 when he fell through a gap between a gantry and a Concorde fuselage. Airbus admitted safety failings and was fined £200,000 by Bristol Crown Court in January 2009.
A wind turbine in Lincolnshire was wrecked during a spell of cold weather in January 2009. The chief executive of the company insuring the wind farm attributed the incident to probable mechanical failure brought about by the cold weather. He commented that “It does happen that a blade will sometimes just come off a machine”.
A funeral procession taking place in Portchester, Hampshire, in January 2009 had to be halted when two of the horses drawing a hearse slipped on black ice and bolted. The hearse collapsed with two of its wooden wheels dislodged. The coffin was undamaged and transferred to a motor hearse following behind.
http://hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/fod/oc/001-099/1_8.htm
Safety Culture - A Tale of Two Builders
By Alan Bessell BSc (Hons), DipSH, CFIOSH,CH&S Practitioner
The accepted definition of the term ‘safety culture’ talks of shared values and beliefs; alternatively the phrase often provokes a simple reference to ‘the way we do things around here’. I’m happy with these definitions but I don’t think either clearly expresses the absolutely vital role played by management, or perhaps more importantly, by the most senior person(s) in the organisation. This influence can best be understood by looking at groups and group behaviour.
I’ve always been greatly impressed by the work of Maslow as set out in his hierarchy of needs. As I’m sure you will recall (with the addition of “your Honour” this is often the curtain-raiser for a Barrister who is about to cite an obscure piece of case law - and I’m playing the same game!) Maslow considered physiological needs first.
Noticeboard
Slips, Trips and Falls
By Wendy Claxton BSc (Hons), Dip2.OSH, CMIOSH
Perception plays an important part in health and safety. If you asked most employees and indeed employers what the single most common cause of major injury in the workplace is then there may be a variety of answers including fall from heights, use of machinery, fire, manual handling etc. Most people would be surprised to hear that slipping and tripping is the most common cause of major injury in the UK workplace.
According to the UK Health and Safety Executive over a third of all major reported injuries each year in the UK are caused as a result of a slip or trip. This costs employers over £512 million in lost production and other costs.
Fast Track to a NEW Diploma in Management
RRC are delighted to announce that we are working with Manchester Metropolitan University and the Management Development Partnership to offer NEBOSH Certificate holders the opportunity to use their qualification as a starting point for a general management qualification.
This innovative online course allows NEBOSH Certificate holders to supplement their certificate by completing a number of work-based activities as part of a development log. This goes on to form a third of the new Diploma qualification. The remainder of the programme consists of two modules covering a range of management topics.
| Stage 1 – Development Log (20 Credits) | This involves responding to a number of questions that will demonstrate how you have developed your skills and knowledge gained from the NEBOSH programme. |
| Stage 2 – Management Modules(40 Credits) | Personal Effectiveness (20 Credits) Leading a High Performance Team (20 Credits) |
The programme is delivered through an online virtual learning environment and is available anywhere in the world so long as you have access to the internet. You can join the programme at any time and could complete in as little as 5 months.
For further information e-mail info@rrc.co.uk or call +44 (0)20 8944 3100.
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
Click the following link to find information about future exams:
As you are probably aware, the EU REACH Regulation came into force some time ago. Amongst other things it meant the removal and replacement of a number of directives that underlay some UK regulations (and therefore make them redundant). It also, importantly, required member states to put in place the legal mechanisms to actually enforce the provisions of REACH. The REACH Enforcement Regulations are therefore a combination of “what it says on the tin” as well as a tidying up exercise. Now, because REACH itself is a monstrously huge piece of legislation, these enforcement regulations are certainly not short. Here’s what it does in a nutshell:
- Allocates REACH enforcement duties and confers powers on various enforcement agencies (HSE, EA, SEPA, LA etc); these powers are essentially the familiar ones that they have had for many years to enforce the provisions of HSWA, EPA etc.
- Creates criminal offences and penalties.
- Allows enforcing agencies to pursue civil proceedings if they think a criminal remedy would be ineffectual.
- Makes provision for appeals against enforcement notices.
- Removes or amends UK legislation on issues which are now contained within the REACH Regulation. For example, the NONS Regs are wholly revoked, whereas CHIP is amended to reflect the fact that safety data sheets are now covered within REACH. Some items are subject to transitional provisions and do not take effect immediately.
If your course content is greatly affected by any of these changes we will notify you of the necessary amendments to your material.
For more information, please refer to your RRC Health and Safety Law Guide which has been updated accordingly and can be accessed via the online library as usual, by using your RRC login details.
Unit A
We have also recently written a new entry for the RRC Health and Safety Law Guide on the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008. Please note that the information in this new entry will affect some of the details in Element A7 of your course material, such as enforcement and penalties for certain offences.
Unit B - Element 2
We have recently restructured a short section in Element 2 on Epidemiology, including some additional diagrams to aid understanding. We have also updated the Summary at the end of the Element to reflect these changes.
When reviewing this section of the material we also amended other parts of this Element. There are several small, additional revisions to note, which can be found by clicking on the following link:
Small amendments to Unit B - Element 2
The full revised version of this Element can be found in the attachment below. You should substitute this Element in your notes to ensure you have the most up-to-date version.
Unit C – Element 10
We have recently updated this Element of our notes to reflect the introduction of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007; you should replace this Element in your notes with the following attachment.
You will notice that the Revision Questions contained in this Element (above) have been updated in-line with the introduction of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. The Suggested Answers to these Revision Questions have therefore also been updated to correspond with the changes in the material. You should replace the Suggested Answers to Element C10 with the attachment below.
NEBOSH National General Certificate
Click the following link to find information about future exams:
As you are probably aware, the EU REACH Regulation came into force some time ago. Amongst other things it meant the removal and replacement of a number of directives that underlay some UK regulations (and therefore make them redundant). It also, importantly, required member states to put in place the legal mechanisms to actually enforce the provisions of REACH. The REACH Enforcement Regulations are therefore a combination of “what it says on the tin” as well as a tidying up exercise. Now, because REACH itself is a monstrously huge piece of legislation, these enforcement regulations are certainly not short. Here’s what it does in a nutshell:
- Allocates REACH enforcement duties and confers powers on various enforcement agencies (HSE, EA, SEPA, LA etc); these powers are essentially the familiar ones that they have had for many years to enforce the provisions of HSWA, EPA etc.
- Creates criminal offences and penalties.
- Allows enforcing agencies to pursue civil proceedings if they think a criminal remedy would be ineffectual.
- Makes provision for appeals against enforcement notices.
- Removes or amends UK legislation on issues which are now contained within the REACH Regulation. For example, the NONS Regs are wholly revoked, whereas CHIP is amended to reflect the fact that safety data sheets are now covered within REACH. Some items are subject to transitional provisions and do not take effect immediately.
If your course content is greatly affected by any of these changes we will notify you of the necessary amendments to your material.
For more information, please refer to your RRC Health and Safety Law Guide which has been updated accordingly and can be accessed via the online library as usual, by using your RRC login details.
We have also recently written a new entry for the RRC Health and Safety Law Guide on the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008. Please note that the information in this new entry will affect some of the details in Element 1 of your NGC1 course material.
NEBOSH Construction Certificate
Click the following link to find information about future exams:
As you are probably aware, the EU REACH Regulation came into force some time ago. Amongst other things it meant the removal and replacement of a number of directives that underlay some UK regulations (and therefore make them redundant). It also, importantly, required member states to put in place the legal mechanisms to actually enforce the provisions of REACH. The REACH Enforcement Regulations are therefore a combination of “what it says on the tin” as well as a tidying up exercise. Now, because REACH itself is a monstrously huge piece of legislation, these enforcement regulations are certainly not short. Here’s what it does in a nutshell:
- Allocates REACH enforcement duties and confers powers on various enforcement agencies (HSE, EA, SEPA, LA etc); these powers are essentially the familiar ones that they have had for many years to enforce the provisions of HSWA, EPA etc.
- Creates criminal offences and penalties.
- Allows enforcing agencies to pursue civil proceedings if they think a criminal remedy would be ineffectual.
- Makes provision for appeals against enforcement notices.
- Removes or amends UK legislation on issues which are now contained within the REACH Regulation. For example, the NONS Regs are wholly revoked, whereas CHIP is amended to reflect the fact that safety data sheets are now covered within REACH. Some items are subject to transitional provisions and do not take effect immediately.
If your course content is greatly affected by any of these changes we will notify you of the necessary amendments to your material.
For more information, please refer to your RRC Health and Safety Law Guide which has been updated accordingly and can be accessed via the online library as usual, by using your RRC login details.
We have also recently written a new entry for the RRC Health and Safety Law Guide on the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008. Please note that the information in this new entry will affect some of the details in Element 1 of your NGC1 course material.
NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management
Click the following link to find information about future exams:
FC1
As you are probably aware, the EU REACH Regulation came into force some time ago. Amongst other things it meant the removal and replacement of a number of directives that underlay some UK regulations (and therefore make them redundant). It also, importantly, required member states to put in place the legal mechanisms to actually enforce the provisions of REACH. The REACH Enforcement Regulations are therefore a combination of “what it says on the tin” as well as a tidying up exercise. Now, because REACH itself is a monstrously huge piece of legislation, these enforcement regulations are certainly not short. Here’s what it does in a nutshell:
- Allocates REACH enforcement duties and confers powers on various enforcement agencies (HSE, EA, SEPA, LA etc); these powers are essentially the familiar ones that they have had for many years to enforce the provisions of HSWA, EPA etc.
- Creates criminal offences and penalties.
- Allows enforcing agencies to pursue civil proceedings if they think a criminal remedy would be ineffectual.
- Makes provision for appeals against enforcement notices.
- Removes or amends UK legislation on issues which are now contained within the REACH Regulation. For example, the NONS Regs are wholly revoked, whereas CHIP is amended to reflect the fact that safety data sheets are now covered within REACH. Some items are subject to transitional provisions and do not take effect immediately.
If your course content is greatly affected by any of these changes we will notify you of the necessary amendments to your material.
For more information, please refer to your RRC Health and Safety Law Guide which has been updated accordingly and can be accessed via the online library as usual, by using your RRC login details.
We have also recently written a new entry for the RRC Health and Safety Law Guide on the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008. Please note that the information in this new entry will affect some of the details in Element 1 of your NGC1 course material.
FC2 Guidance
It has come to our attention that some students may have the wrong Appendices attached to their FC2 Guidance document. The ‘Completed Fire Risk Assessment’ file attached below should replace these Appendices. You should check your copy of the FC2 Guidance document and if it contains Appendices A, B and C you should remove these (p.20-23) and replace with the following file.
Completed Fire Risk Assessment
NEBOSH National Diploma in Environmental Management
Click the following link to find information about future exams:
As you are probably aware, the EU REACH Regulation came into force some time ago. Amongst other things it meant the removal and replacement of a number of directives that underlay some UK regulations (and therefore make them redundant). It also, importantly, required member states to put in place the legal mechanisms to actually enforce the provisions of REACH. The REACH Enforcement Regulations are therefore a combination of “what it says on the tin” as well as a tidying up exercise. Now, because REACH itself is a monstrously huge piece of legislation, these enforcement regulations are certainly not short. Here’s what it does in a nutshell:
- Allocates REACH enforcement duties and confers powers on various enforcement agencies (HSE, EA, SEPA, LA etc); these powers are essentially the familiar ones that they have had for many years to enforce the provisions of HSWA, EPA etc.
- Creates criminal offences and penalties.
- Allows enforcing agencies to pursue civil proceedings if they think a criminal remedy would be ineffectual.
- Makes provision for appeals against enforcement notices.
- Removes or amends UK legislation on issues which are now contained within the REACH Regulation. For example, the NONS Regs are wholly revoked, whereas CHIP is amended to reflect the fact that safety data sheets are now covered within REACH. Some items are subject to transitional provisions and do not take effect immediately.
If your course content is greatly affected by any of these changes we will notify you of the necessary amendments to your material.
For more information, please refer to your RRC Environmental Law Guide which has been updated accordingly and can be accessed via the online library as usual, by using your RRC login details.
We have also recently updated a brief section of Elements 1 and 15 to reflect the introduction of the Climate Change Act 2008. Furthermore, we have developed a new entry for the Environmental Law Guide on this Act.
To view updates to course material please click on the following links:
IOSH Managing Safely
It has come to our attention that some students may have received an old version of the first Tutor- Assessed Assignment (TAA1) for Managing Safely; the current version of this assessment is attached below. You should check your existing version and replace it with this one if necessary.
IOSH Working Safely
IOSH have recently reissued their Working Safely Syllabus with a few minor amendments. After reviewing our course materials against the revised syllabus the only changes to note are in terminology. IOSH have changed the terms ‘remove and avoid’ to ‘eliminate and reduce’ respectively; this is to bring the terminology in their Working Safely course in-line with Managing Safely. As this does not affect the content of our materials we will not be reissuing students with any updated material or with a Supplement.
Please note that all Working Safely Assessments issued from 1st February 2009 onwards will be assessed on this new syllabus, and the new terminology will feature in these assessments.
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