Complyatwork march 2014

Comply at Work

safety snippets&

business bytes

March 2014

Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503

New Recruits P2

Twilight Seminars P3

Upcoming Training P5

Crackdown in the Courts P6

Fire Safety - Extinguishers P7

Welfare Facilities P8-9

Competition Ain’t Nothing P10

Time Thieves P11

In the Spotlight P12

Comply at Work

New Recruits

P2 | Safety Snippets Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

We would like to welcome some new recruits to our Comply at Work Team:

Akshay Goenka who is our new Marketing Assistant Graduate and will be working closely with Mark Grosart, our IT support specialist from the Cloud Machine to firm-up our Marketing strategy and Shaneal Collier, our new Office Manager who will be supporting the Admin function and assisting with the day to day running of our Training Centre.

Both Aksahy and Shaneal will be joining the company from 1 April. Welcome to you both!

Comply at Work

FREE twilight seminars – limited places.

Comply at Work are offering Free technical seminars at their training centre in Horwich as follows:

Wednesday 9 AprilRisk Assessments & Method statements

Presentation on best practice combined with a workshop to assist you, so bring along some documentation for our Q & A

session

Wednesday 7 MayFace-fit testing

This is a legal requirement for most Respiratory Protection. Find out why fit-testing is so important and what you need to do to be

compliant.

Wednesday 11 JuneFire Safety

Our hot topic in flaming June is: ‘Fire Risk Assessment for the initiated’ with a few surprise bangs and pops!

All sessions start at 4 pm for approximately 1.5 hours. Places are strictly limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis so please contact us

soon to reserve yours.Handouts and Certificates of attendance will be

issued to all delegates for CPD purposesDon’t miss out, call us soon!

Safety Snippets | P3 e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk


Comply at Work

We have some superb facilities in Horwich Bolton. The venue has a training room which holds 15 seated at desking , plus extra seating if required. All desking and chairs are stackable and foldable to ensure the trainers can arrange the room to their specific requirements. This will be arranged for you pre-training.

We have a modern, ceiling-mounted projector, speakers, wi-fi and a large contemporary magnetic glass board, flip chart and several training aids.

We offer free refreshments – sparking and filtered water, mints, tea, coffee, herbal and fruit teas and biscuits throughout the day.

We can arrange very reasonably-priced high quality buffets delivered chilled from a local provider at your request.

There is a Reception/ break- out area available for syndicates, breaks and lunches. We have a designated smoking area on site and two toilets, one of which is an ambulant accessible toilet.

We can offer a photocopying or printing service at nominal cost.

There is free parking at the end of the block and across the road from the venue. We are close to local train stations, and to J6 of the M61 and on local bus routes. The town centre with all amenities is within 2 minutes’ walk away.

We are flexible and charge by the hour at a competitive price. We would be perfect for SMEs, board meetings, team meetings, interviews, workshops, networking, presentations and training.

Please call us now on 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503 to discuss your requirements.

ENTRANCE


BREAK-OUT AREA

TRAINING SUITE

RECEPTION

THE CONSULTANCY OF CHOICE

Compliance House, 5 Mason Street, Horwich, Bolton, Lancs BL6 5QP

Tel (01204) 772977 Mob 07792400503 E-mail: [email protected]

Very competitive rates by the hour for venue hire and for catering.


Safety

Snippets

Call us for further information and costings. Discounts are available for some of our courses.

Don’t delay as places are taken quickly!


Comply at Work

Monday 31 March

Construction Design & Management Regulations

2007 Half day course

Find out all you need to know about the various duties under

these important regulations and ensure that your company is

compliant.

Friday 11 April

Our popular pick & mix sessions:

Manual Handling Awareness

1 pm

Asbestos Awareness 2.45 pm

Discounts if both sessions taken together.

Tuesday 15th April

Fire Safety Awareness and Fire Warden Training

Half day

£65.00 + VATFire safety training is a legal

requirement – don’t be caught out!

Tuesday 29th April

CIEH Level 2 Award in Health and Safety

One day – Accredited course With Certification and course book

plus quality buffet lunchRecommended for all employees

and Supervisors, managers or Health and Safety Reps.

Tuesday 6 May

Emergency First Aid Level 2

One day – Accredited courseWith Certification and quality

Buffet Lunch£85.00 plus VAT

UPCOMING TRAINING


Safety

Snippets

ENFORCEMENT

Crackdown in the courtsTOUGH LINE. The government is keen to point out that it’s cutting red tape and making compliance easier. However, what has stayed out of the headlines is that since 2008 an increasing number of businesses and their owners have been prosecuted for breaching safety legislation. Fines are larger and more individuals are facing custodial sentences.

SUMMARY. A government report has identified that changes brought in by the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 have led to this tougher approach. To recap, this legislation meant that more cases could be heard in the lower courts rather than being referred to Crown Court. It did this by increasing the upper limit on fines from £5,000 per offence to £20,000. It also gave magistrates and sheriffs greater powers to send an offender to prison.

A change in approach regarding health and safety prosecutions has led to tougher penalties, including custodial sentences.

What could this mean for you?

KEY FINDINGS. THE REPORT IDENTIFIED:

• 86% of cases are now heard in the lower courts, compared with 70% in the period before the introduction of the Act

• average fines for breaches of health and safety regulations have increased from £4,577 to £7,310

• for breaches of both the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and health and safety regulations, average fines have increased from £13,334 to £16,730.

Warning. Based on the findings of this report, don’t expect to get off lightly if you’re caught contravening health, safety or welfare legislation. As these statistics show, if the offence is serious enough to land you in court, penalties are likely to be severe.

Tip. With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to get your house in order, especially if you’re expecting a visit.

Don’t fall for the government’s “reducing the burden” message. If you fail to keep staff safe, you’re likely to face tough sanctions. Getting your house in order is more important than ever. Please call us now to discuss your compliance requirements and ensure your peace of mind

Source: Indicator

Source: Indicator

e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Safety Snippets | P9

FIRE SAFETY - EXTINGUISHERS

Q. Some of the maintenance labels have been torn off our fire extinguishers. Does it matter?

A. Yes. Having the labels on the extinguisher is your proof that they’ve been checked and serviced properly. Tip. You will need to replace them as best you can. Include: the name and address of the maintenance supplier; initials of the servicing engineer; and date of the most recent service. Other technical information recorded by your engineer may well be lost but you could get in touch with them and fill in the gaps. If the problem is likely to be repeated, keep a central record of the information on the maintenance label of each extinguisher. This way you’ll have back-up details of the extended service date due, pressure, weight, etc.

If stickers are missing, you should replace them as they are your proof that your extinguishers have been serviced and checked. On the replacement record the date of the most recent service and the company who completed it.

Note: Comply at Work would pick up these issues during a fire risk assessment, which is a legal requirement. Our assessors are highly experiences and competent and our prices are competitive. Please contact us for advice and guidance and a no-obligation chat about how we can help.

Are missing stickers on extinguishers a problem?


Safety

Snippets

TIP 1. In the average non-healthcare workplace you don’t need soaps containing triclosan, e.g. those often marketed with a claim they kill 99.9% of bacteria. Similarly-priced products are available that don’t contain triclosan.

TIP 2. Evidence suggests that bars of soap are probably less hygienic, so it’s best to stick with pump-operated liquid soaps.

TIP 3. There are hand cleansing systems on the market for use in workshops, construction, industrial and other specialist settings. Degreasers, moisturisers and barrier creams can help to promote healthy skin and reduce the risk of dermatitis. In turn, this means less risk of hazardous substances entering the body through broken skin.

TIP 4. Though not a legal requirement, it’s still regarded as a good idea to provide alcohol-based hand sanitisers at entrances to prevent the spread of cold and ‘flu viruses, even if you’re not operating in a healthcare environment.

To summarise: The concern is that triclosan-containing cleansers may be detrimental to health in the long term. The legal requirement is simply to provide “soap or other suitable means of cleansing” in washing facilities. If you stick with traditional soap products, go for the pump-operated version.

Source: Indicator

e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

Safety Snippets | P11

Should you stop using anti-bacterial soap?Anti-bacterial soaps are due to undergo a safety review in the USA after

concerns were raised about their long-term effects. What’s the reason for this and what are the implications for workplace washrooms?

WELFARE FACILITIES

HEADLINE GRABBER

The US Food and Drug Administration has proposed that manufacturers should be forced to demonstrate that anti-bacterial soaps are both necessary and safe. If they can’t supply the data to back up their claims by the end of 2014 they may be required to reformulate and re-label their products.

WHY?

Research suggests that triclosan, the anti-bacterial agent used in these products, may contribute to bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Triclosan was invented in the 1970s for use in healthcare environments, such as operating theatres. But more widespread use may be counterproductive if it contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA. It’s also thought that it may cause hormonal changes in animals and humans.

Apparently, there’s little evidence that these products are better than plain soap and water in preventing the spread of germs in regular homes and workplaces. Unless there’s new data to suggest otherwise, a ban in the US seems likely, to be closely followed in other parts of the world.

Tip. These are early days and there’s no need to change your habits based on the results of the studies undertaken to date. There’s been no official word on the subject from UK regulatory bodies.

WHAT TO SUPPLY?

When deciding on the washing facilities to provide, the first consideration is the legal requirement. This is described within the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 . Regulation 21 states that “suitable and sufficient washing facilities” must be “provided at readily accessible places” and that“washing facilities shall not be suitable unless they include soap or other suitable means of cleaning” .

Although there’s information on the number of washbasins and showers needed, there’s no further guidance about the type of soap that should be supplied.

P12 | Business Bytes Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Business

Bytes

Imagine you work for a bank. Who’s your biggest competitor?

Another bank, yes?

Well no, not totally. Certainly not in your customers’ eyes. After all, they don’t only compare you to other banks. Because they never go in them! They do however visit other shops. So they might compare your branches to, say, the Apple Store, WH Smiths, Starbucks and so on. And compare your website to Amazon’s.

As Disney says “our competitors are anyone who our customers compare us to”.

And it’s the same when you communicate. Your recipient isn’t always comparing you to their alternatives.

Now that’s not to say you don’t have to be more compelling than them – you do.

But it isn’t enough.

You have to compare favourably to others’ communications they’ve seen – both the business ones (eg from their leaders, your colleagues, suppliers etc) and the non-business (in the media, adverts, and so on).

And, you also have to beat what’s often the biggest competitor of all: the option of them doing nothing.

So, this is all well and good; but what’s your action here? After all, you could read this Tip as “So, what you’re saying is this: you want me to be better than every communication by everyone, ever?”

Well, that might be too much of an ask! But, you could definitely be better. And, as is so often the case, one solution to improving is to learn from the people you think are brilliant.

Put another way: you might as well compare yourself to other communicators. Your audiences are.

Competition ain’t nothin’…

Action point

There are three steps here:

1. Identify 1-2 people you think communicate brilliantly (this could well be people outside your organisation)

2. Ask yourself: “why do I think they’re brilliant? And what 1-2 traits could I adopt to make me a better communicator?

3. Identify the first communication in which you’ll adopt these traits. Put it into practice.

Source: Andy Bounds

Business Bytes | P13 e-mail [email protected] www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

THIS TIP WILL ADDRESS BOTH.

Here are some extremely quick ways (they take only a few minutes each) to communicate much better:

#1 Stop doing pointless things

Think of all the communications you regularly send. Which would do zero harm if you stopped? You know, those communications that nobody would mind/notice if they didn’t get any more?

And, once you know what they are? Stop doing them.

#2 Pick the phone up

Email chains take ages, usually ‘cc in’ irrelevant people and achieve little. So call people instead.

Or – and I know this is wildly revolutionary thinking – walk to their desks and have a chat. One thing I see all too often: people complain that their leaders don’t have the time to show their face.

(By the way, here’s a rule of thumb for you: whenever you hear the phrase ‘don’t have the time to’, replace it with ‘don’t see it as enough of a priority to’).

#3 Reduce the length of your meetings

Never say meetings will last 60 minutes, or they will. Instead, say they’ll last a maximum of 45 minutes. Then they will. Similarly, make 30-minute meetings last “a maximum of 20”.

This is unlikely to cause you any problems. After all, you – and most of the other attendees – think they drag on anyway. So shorten them.

It would take virtually no time to implement these techniques – just a few minutes only. But it could save you – and others – hours.

Even better, if they’re pointless, stop them.

Or if a meeting is needed, but you don’t need to go, send your apologies and don’t. That’s an hour back for a start. You can always ask for copies of the Actions Arising.

So, which first?

Can you think of any good reason why you wouldn’t do this straight away?

If it helps, here’s a reminder of the rule of thumb: if you’re thinking you ‘don’t have the time to’, replace it with ‘don’t see it as enough of a priority to’).

Source: Andy Bounds

Time thieves…Here are two big ‘time absorbers’ with communication:

1. When it doesn’t work - all that chasing up, soul searching… not to mention all those feelings of regret; and

2. Spending ages de-briefing, and working out how to do things better next time

Action point

Spend 2 minutes looking at today’s diary. What communication is definitely going to take too long? What can you do now, to make sure it doesn’t later?

Here are just some of the things we have achieved and assisted our clients with last month:• All of our delegates attending our Emergency First Aid course

in February passed with flying colours! Our April course is fully booked and our next Course will run on Tuesday 6 May – don’t miss this one, places are filling fast!

• We have completed yet another Fire Warden Training course for a range of companies, with excellent feedback – don’t miss out on the next one taking place on Tuesday 15 April.

• Using our trusted, Occupational Health partners, we have assisted a large solicitors and a manufacturing company. Don’t overlook Occupational Health issues in your business. If you are unsure, we can advise.

• Practical Publishing, based in Stockport has commissioned a fire risk assessment of their offices and is now compliant.

• We have provided a Risk Assessment and Method statement coaching session for a long standing retained client. Look out for our next free seminar and workshop on Wednesday 9 April on risk assessment.

• Welcome to HEI Ltd of Wigan and Hyndburn Commercials Ltd of Blackburn two of our new retained clients this month.

Comply at Work

spotlight

the

This newsletter has been brought to you by...

Providing everything you need for promoting your business, from graphic design for print and web, to advanced marketing

for iPhone, iPad, tablets and smartphones

Working with (amongst others) ...

Graphic Design | Web Design | App Design | eCommerce | eMail Marketing

Give us a call to see what we can do for you on

0777 337 1020

www.thecloudmachine.co.uk

advert ise wi th us

for under £10 per month

Tel 01204 77 29 77

mobile 07792 400 503

e-mail [email protected]

www.complyatwork.co.uk

Comply at Work

ALFA JOINERY LTD

COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC

QUALITY SERVICE AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE

CONTACT RICK SCOTT ON

07808 162098e-mail:[email protected]

Complyatwork march 2014

Documents