GENERAL HEALTH & SAFETY INSPECTION OF WORKSHOP

INSPECTION CARRIED OUT BY KEVIN FORBES ON 9 OF FEBURARY 2005 AT 11.30AM

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INTRODUCTION
Inspection of workshop area to identify areas of good practice and to highlight hazards to health and safety The inspection was carried out using observation sheets and grouping hazards. Risks to health and safety were prioritised as follows. HIGH - Requires immediate attention MEDIUMRequires action within 1 month LOWRequires action within 6 months These risks were then prioritised according to timescale required for remedial action. IMMEDIATEMEDIUMLONG TERM1-3 DAYS 1-4 WEEKS 1 MONTH+

Many of the deficiencies identified have no cost implications since remedy would be within the scope of normal supervisory responsibility. Others may be expensive to

cure and in order to give some indication of the costs involved, the following guidelines have been adopted NO COSTSupervisory responsibility LOW COST- Under 100 MED COST- 100- 500 HIGH COST500+

The following abbreviations are used within the reportCOSHHControl of substances hazardous to health regulations 2002 MWSWRManagement of health and safety at work regulations 1999 WHS&WWork place health safety and welfare regulations 1992 H&SHealth and safety

At time of my inspection there was no one working in area so noise levels, crowding, dust and machinery movements could not be assessed. SUMMARY The inspection showed that overall H&S was lacking in several key areas, some of which require immediate attention as current H&S

legislation is being contravened, with serious risk of injury to persons. BREACH OF STATUTORY DUTIES CAN RESULT IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION & FINES UPTO 20,000

MAJOR ISSUE 1 HOUSEKEEPING Numerous examples of poor housekeeping were found & are listed on the observation sheets. They are producing trip hazards, fire hazards and hygiene issues & therefore the risk of injury to employees, visitors & contractors. The WHSWR require that the workplace be kept clean and tidy, also section 2 of Health & Safety at Work etc. act 1974 requires that employers provide a safe place of work. It is recommended that the workplace is cleaned & all waste materials removed immediately. Covered rubbish bins should be provided and a system of daily emptying should be implemented within 1 month. These represent low cost actions.

In the long term it is recommended that the possibility of employing a caretaker be explored. This would be effective in helping to maintain a safe, clean place of work, however this would involve significant cost & would require a cost/benefit analysis to be carried out. All employees should be trained on induction on general house keeping procedures including the correct storage of tools. This would involve little cost as it could be carried out in house by supervisors. MAJOR ISSUE 2 ELECTRICITY Evidence of poor maintenance of electrical equipment was observed together with trailing cables, which produce a tripping hazard. The risk of electrocution, fire or burns to staff is stressed & requires urgent action. Both to protect personnel & to comply with the electricity regulations and PUWER 1998 It is recommended that visual checks of all electrical equipment be carried out immediately and any equipment with frayed wires or any other damage, be removed from workplace, marked do not use and be quarantined. In addition a competent person (electricity at work regulations) should carry out PAT testing within 1 month. Annual testing should be carried out thereafter & a system of testing new equipment before use in workplace should be introduced. This would involve medium cost as external provision and training of competent person maybe required.

This will result in significant risk reduction. Cables need to be re-routed immediately as they pose a significant risk & a review of electrical sockets should be carried out within 1 month. Any additional provision of electrical sockets should be included in next years budget as it may involve high cost MAJOR ISSUE 3 HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES Examples of unlabeled & incorrectly stored substances were found as indicated on inspection sheets. All substances should be labelled according to CHIP regulations & storage of substances should be implemented within 1 month to comply with COSHH regulations. Any unlabeled substances should be investigated by a competent person to establish what they are, and then either labelled or disposed of safely. Action required within 1 week at low medium cost depending on availability of competent personnel and disposal requirements.

MAJOR ISSUE 4 FIRE A foam fire extinguisher was provided but its position was not clearly identified and it was located some distance from machinery producing sparks and heat. The only major hazard was a locked fire door that contravenes the fire precautions act 1971. The fire door must remain unlocked when workshop is in use and instruction for

there operation should be displayed. The door must be unlocked immediately and fire extinguisher re-located and clearly signed within 1 week. (The H&S, Safety Signs & Signals Regs 1996) Little cost is involved in these actions but significant risk reduction can be achieved. CONCLUSION My inspection revealed good levels of lighting and provision of PPE. However all the foregoing suggests that we are not even achieving the minimum standard of safety required by legislation. This may leave the company open to action to by the HSE either by means of an improvement or prohibition notice or even prosecution. In addition employees who are injured may have a good case for compensation under civil law. We should move from a position of reactive safety to proactive safety. I recommend initially a meeting with yourself & the workshop supervisor to formulate a milestone plan to achieve full safety compliance.

The following are the main recommendations arising from this inspection

1. Review supervision

the

level

and

quality

of

2. Review the general and specific training requirements within the department 3. Create proper storage facilities 4. Identify and control hazardous substances 5. Reinforce the importance of good housekeeping By improving H&S within the organisation you could increase staff moral creating a positive H&S culture, ultimately leading to increased production and a happy work force.