Here is a summary of interesting stories that have been in the news recently, which relate to health and safety, education and visitor management.
Free Electrical Safety iPhone App
The Electrical Safety Council (ESC) has released a free “safe isolation” iPhone App. This is designed to help electrical engineers and electricians to access information based on its Best Practice Guide No. 2 and offers step-by-step instructions in order to ensure their own safety, as well as the safety of those around them. The information is presented in picture form, illustrating simple and straight forward guidelines for safe isolation.
Martyn Allen, the ESC’s Head of Technical Development, said:
“There is no excuse for inappropriate live working, or inadequate safety precautions. By routinely and invariably following a simple, step-by-step approach to safe isolation, injuries and fatalities can be prevented. The ESC’s Safe Isolation app has been developed to remind everyone working on, or near, electrical equipment how to work safely.”
The ESC hope that this app will help to avoid breaches of the Electricity at Work Regulations and avoid accidents. To get hold of it for your iPhone, search for “safe isolation” in the App Store.
Safety for Employees is Good for Business, New Study Finds
An American study has shown that random, unannounced safety inspections are helpful to businesses. The research has contradicted the idea that Health and Safety rules are bad for businesses, because companies who were subject to random checks had a
“9.4% drop in injury rates and a 26% reduction in injury costs (compensation, etc). No evidence was found that these improvements came at the expense of employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival”.
This study shows that providing safe conditions for employees is good, not bad for businesses. Peg Seminario from the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations said,
“[The study] tells us that protecting your workers on the job and keeping them safe is good for workers but also good for business. What's too costly is not addressing injuries and illnesses. We can't afford not to protect people.”
Free Health and Safety Seminars in Bolton
The British Safety Council (BSC) are holding free health, safety and environmental seminars at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton in October. The seminars will be run by top experts in their field. The BSC explain that,
“The topics range from key health and safety policy, management and legal updates to sessions on leadership, competence and workforce involvement”
The seminars are taking place at the Health & Safety North show on the 10th and 11th October 2012.
Further information can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.
And Finally...
And finally, the HSE has responded to one of those inevitable “elf 'n' safety gone mad” local newspaper stories, refuting the Suffolk Free Press's allegation that Jubilee bunting had been banned for health and safety reasons. Needless to say, this was not actually the case.