Safety Wise Advice Services

In the last hazard of our What is a Hazard series, we look at what an Organisational hazard is.

Organisational Hazards are associated with behaviour, workload, time constraints and deadlines.

They have the potential to lead to stress in the workplace and may be more commonly known as psycho-social hazards.

Some examples are as follows:

shiftwork
overtime (expected or unexpected additional hours) on a consistent level over a long period of time
interpersonal issues within a team
interpersonal issues with supervisors
organisational structures
poor maintenance
nightwork
aggression and violence
lack of training
lack of information
unsafe systems
Can you identify any Organisational hazards in your workplace?

If you would like some more information or assistance with Organisation hazards in the workplace, please contact us.

Following on with our "What is a Hazard?" series, up next we have an Environmental Hazard.

An Environmental Hazard is a condition or an event that has the potential to affect the environment and adversely affect the health of a person.
Environmental hazards can be any of the following:
- dust and particles
- noise
- poor lighting
- unreasonable temperatures

These hazards come in various forms and are often unnoticed until an accident occurs. Taking necessary precautions and having a good understanding of environmental hazards in the workplace, can help prevent accidents.

Can you identify any environmental hazards in your workplace?

Contact us if you would like assistance with managing environmental hazards in your workplace.

“What is a Biological Hazard?” is number 4 in our series of What is a Hazard categories.

A biological hazard can be

Bacterial
Viral
Fungal or
Parasites
These are organic substances or micro-organisms that pose a threat to the health of humans or other living organisms. Toxins produced by organisms are also included. People working in laboratories with micro-organisms are at higher risk of exposure. However, other occupations are also at risk of exposure for example:

working with animals (farmers, vets, veterinary nurses, dog groomers)
working with people who may be infectious (nurses, doctors, paramedics, childcare workers)
handling waste materials (cleaners, waste disposal handlers)
working in an environment or with equipment that could be contaminated (construction workers and all of the above mentioned)
Some examples of common occupational infections that can occur in the workplace are:

leptospirosis – weils disease (rodents carry this in their urine)
hepatitis B and C (humans)
anthrax (farm animals)
Have you identified any biological hazards in your workplace?

Contact us if you require assistance with managing Biological hazards in your workplace.

What is a Chemical Hazard? Our third category in our hazard series identifies chemical hazards in the workplace. Even if you are not producing, manufacturing, storing or distributing large volumes of very hazardous chemicals as part of your services or products, you will still find some chemicals are present in your workplace e.g. cleaning agents, oils, lubricants paints, adhesives, printer ink.

Chemical hazards have intrinsic properties that can cause harm to humans, property or the environment. Some chemicals occur naturally such as radon and others are manufactured for commercial and/or home use.

Presentation of Chemical hazards can appear in two ways:

generated during work activities such as soldering and welding fumes and;

used directly in substances such as cleaning agents, paints adhesives etc.

The level of harm caused by chemicals in the workplace depends on the route of entry into the body and also the speed of entry into the body. Route of entry can be 1. absorption through the skin 2. ingestion through the mouth and 3. inhalation to the lungs

Harmful effects experienced by the body can be:

Blood poisoning

damage to specific organs

cancer and birth defects

diseases of the skin

diseases of the respiratory system

asphyxiation

disorders of the central nervous system

Harm can occur due to a single exposure of short duration to the chemical (acute) or it can only become apparent after prolonged and /or repeated exposure (chronic).

The environment can become polluted if chemicals escape into land, water and air systems. It is important to check local environmental protection regulations in relation to the use, storage and disposal of chemicals used in your workplace.

In the Republic of Ireland, "for buildings built since 1st July 1998 in High Radon Areas the installation of a radon membrane is required". More information can be found at the EPA website.

Can you identify any chemicals in your workplace?

If you need assistance in preparing a Safe Use of Chemicals Policy for your workplace, please contact us

What is a physical hazard? Continuing on with our collection of “What is a hazard?” posts, we now focus on the second category of hazards – physical.

Physical hazards can be substances or conditions that may harm a persons physical safety such as poor housekeeping, electricity and fire.

Some specific examples of a physical hazard are as follows:

Slips, trips and falls
Falling or moving objects
Obstructions or projections
Confined spaces
Fall from a height or on a level
Access and egress
Can you identify any physical hazards in your workplace?

If you would like assistance in managing physical hazards in your workplace, please contact us.

What is a Mechanical Hazard? Following on from our previous post "What is a Hazard?" in which we identified what a hazard is and the categories of hazards, we will now focus on mechanical hazards in the workplace.

A mechanical hazard is created by the operation of machinery, tools or equipment. The power for these can be electricity/battery power, human or motorised.

Mechanical hazards can be machines with moving parts that are not guarded, plant machinery used in moving soil and lifting operations. Vehicles can also be a mechanical hazard.

Mechanical hazards themselves can be further categorised according to the type of injury caused by them:

Entanglement

Friction/Abrasion

Cutting and Severing

Shearing

Stabbing/puncturing

Impact

Crushing/drawing in or trapping

Ejection

High pressure fluid injection

Can you identify any mechanical hazards in your workplace?

Contact us if you would like assistance with identifying and managing hazards in your workplace.

What is a hazard?

A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm. Common hazards exist in every workplace. It is important to be able to recognise them and take the necessary precautions to eliminate and/or reduce the risk(s) that they pose, so far as is reasonably practicable.

While it is imperative that Employers inform and educate employees about the hazards in the workplace, employees must also familiarise themselves with how they can be harmed by hazards and be able to implement control measures.

Hazards can be categorised into six main groups:

Mechanical

Physical

Chemical

Biological

Environmental and

Organisational

Over the next few weeks, we will look at each hazard category in more depth.

Contact us if you would like assistance with identifying and managing hazards in your workplace.

TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final

Best of luck to the Leitrim Ladies who are taking on Tyrone in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final on Sunday August 4th at 1.45pm, Croke Park, Dublin!

Before booking a child on a camp, activity or at an event, please ask the following questions of the Organiser:

– Insurance cover, do they have any for the event/camp/activity?
– Health and Safety Plan specific to the event, is there one?
– Training for Committee members and Volunteers, is everyone involved in organising and running the camp/event/activity aware of their responsibilities in doing so? Have they attended any training on managing safety at public events?
– Child safeguarding/Garda Vetting, is this is place and in date?

“Parent Lead” Groups are required to have Insurance and safety systems in place for running events. A very good article on Parent Groups and their health and safety responsibilities can be read here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/parents-groups-urged-to-get-insurance-1.1130069.
Although this article speaks of School Parent Associations, the same requirements apply to Parent Support Groups in the community. The Organiser of any event must ensure the safety of all those who attend it, after all, the attendee is paying a fee to the Organiser for entry.

Some events can be sponsored and promoted by one or more Public Bodies and/or State funding bodies. Examples of these bodies are as follows: the HSE, County Councils, Local Sports Partnerships, Local Development Companies, Local Sports Hubs, Family Resource Centres, Local Childcare Committees, and other state funding bodies. It cannot be taken for granted that the Sponsor has fully checked that the Organiser has all of the necessary requirements in place. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, due diligence is not always carried out, even in large well known bodies.

A huge lack of safety knowledge, awareness, responsibility and accountability still exists in Ireland, which is quite frightening.

If the Organiser replies that they do not have any Insurance etc in place, it may be worth contacting the Sponsor(s) and Promotor(s) to ask them if they are taking responsibility for all of the above.

If the answer is still no, then, consider the risks involved in going to or partaking in the event. If a fatality or a serious injury occurred as a result of negligence on the part of the Organiser, it is important to be able to bring a claim for personal injuries in order to financially help, care for or support the injured child and/or their family.

If there is no thought being put into managing Health and Safety at the event, then, is it safe to book and send the child to the camp/activity/event?

Enjoy your Summer and stay safe ??

Your Safety Statement – is it working for you?
While a lot of businesses have a Safety Statement document, it is important to check; is the document actually working well for the Business?
Some businesses pay an external Health and Safety Consultant or Advisor to prepare a document for them, while others prepare their own document using the FREE online BeSmart tool on the Health and Safety Authority website.

Whichever route you take, the document needs to be an integral part of the day to day running of the business. It needs to be read thoroughly by Senior Management and have the input of the employees. The Safety Representative is an ideal person for consulting with employees and bringing their ideas and opinions to Senior Management.

I have a document – am I covered?
The document itself needs to accurately reflect the business operations, organisation (from top down) responsibilities and policies and procedures that are carried out in reality.

Audits, inspections, reviews and additional training on the safety management system also need to be carried out.

Make your safety statement work for your business! It can potentially save the business money in terms of reducing lost work time due to work related illnesses and injuries and costly insurance claims and premiums and legal fees if the business had to go to court either as a result of a prosecution of a personal injury claim.

And, most important of all, the moral aspect of keeping everyone safe and healthy in the workplace.

This morning a special national commemorative ceremony will be held at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin to mark Workers' Memorial Day (April 28th). It’s the date every year when trade union and employer groups worldwide, as well as individual organisations, remember those who have been killed or injured in work-related incidents.

According to the Health and Safety Authority, "In Ireland the figures are staggering. 461 people were killed in work-related incidents over a ten-year period from 2013-2023. In the first quarter of 2023 (January 1st – March 31st) five people have been killed in work-related incidents".

It is a staggering thought that in this day and age, work related fatalities and serious injuries are still occurring at such a high statistical rate.

May They Rest In Peace.

Does your manual handling training consist of lifting a box containing reams of photocopying paper?

Does your daily work involve lifting boxes containing reams of photocopying paper?

If the answer is no, then it is time to reconsider the manual handling training course currently being delivered in your workplace.

Manual handling in the workplace is covered by health and safety legislation: the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 Chapter 4 of Part 2: Manual Handling of Loads.

According to the Health and Safety Authority, manual handling training is not mandatory for all staff. Manual Handling Regulations only apply to a work activity that ‘by reason of its characteristics or of unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly of back injury, to employees.’ A worker who only lifts light loads at waist height, for example, would not be at risk – and sending this worker on a manual handling training course would indeed be a waste of time. 

However, where manual handling does involve a risk of injury the employer needs to act. A third of all workplace injuries reported to the HSA are caused by manual handling activities, and those injuries are a leading cause of work disability.  

The first option should be to remove or reduce the need for manual handling. Just providing training will not reduce injury rates and will not protect anyone. Manual handling training needs to be specific and relevant to the tasks involved. So, if your job involves moving heavy barrels around a warehouse, the training should reflect this. In other words, you don’t need to be told how to lift up a box.

An example of a court case resulting from the delivery of manual handling training that was not relevant to the loads handled in the workplace is  Meus v Dunnes Stores | [2014] IEHC 639 | High Court of Ireland | Judgment | Law | CaseMine

Mary Carolan of the Irish Times wrote the following report on the case:

A Dunnes Stores worker who injured her lower back while loading a trolley with heavy boxes has been awarded €85,000 by the High Court.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr said Justyna Meus suffered a significant injury which has adversely affected her work and social life.

Ms Meus (39), who has since returned to her native Poland, had sued Dunnes Stores as a result of the accident in the chain's store in Newbridge, Co Kildare on April 6th, 2007.

Mr Justice Barr said Ms Meus was required in her work as shop assistant to fetch a number of large boxes from the storeroom. The boxes weighed between 13 to 15kg and contained a number of suitcases of varying sizes.

Ms Meus said, on the day of the accident, the boxes in the storeroom were stacked high above her head and she had to knock them off the top of the pile and let them fall to the ground before putting them on a trolley. She suffered her injury while loading her second trolley, the judge said.

He said Ms Meus lifted a box to her thigh level and then raised her right knee to give the box an extra lift so she could put it on the trolley top shelf. It was while performing this manoeuvre that she hurt her back.

Mr Justice Barr said there was a large dispute between the parties on whether Ms Meus received any manual handling training on the day of her induction in to Dunnes Stores in 2006.

He said Ms Meus struck him as a truthful witness. She had said she was given a tour of the premises, a uniform and a handbook and was told to sign the record card.

The judge found Ms Meus did not receive adequate training in respect of the duties of her employment.

Even if he was wrong on that, the judge said he considered the training stated to have been given to Ms Meus inadequate. A demonstration with a box of A4 paper was not remotely comparable to the lifting exercise Ms Meus had to do in the course of her duties in the store’s men’s department, he said.

The judge said there was also no proper follow up to the training. If this had been the case, Dunnes Stores would have learned Ms Meus was using an incorrect and dangerous method of lifting items. This should have been spotted and corrected, he said.

Mr Justice Barr said Ms Meus has fairly constant pain in her back and he awarded €60,000 in general damages, €20,000 damages for pain and suffering in the future, and €5,000 agreed damages and costs.

He granted a stay on his order in the event of an appeal by Dunnes Stores, on condition €20,000 is paid out immediately to Ms Meus.

We strongly advise that each company devises and documents a Manual Handling training policy specific to it s workplace. Devising this policy involves identifying the loads handled by each employee in the company, assessing if there is a risk of injury posed by handling these loads, avoiding manual handling if at all possible by introducing mechanical aids and/or changing the operation process, and simply trying to elimi

If the answer is yes, then it is important to ensure competency to carry out the role. We deliver an Online Management Duties of the PSCS training course. Alongside skills, knowledge, awareness and experience, our training course will increase your competency to manage the project in a safe and efficient manner.

Clients must appoint a competent PSCS (Project Supervisor Construction Stage) along with a competent PSDP (Project Supervisor Design Process). As part of the pre appointment process, the Client will assess the competency and (as mentioned above), a PSCS training course will form part of that assessment process.

Our Online Management Duties of the PSCS Training Course is pre-recorded and is delivered by Geraldine McGovern who holds Chartered Fellowship of IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health). She has been working in the construction industry since 2002. The course will detail your obligations in managing and directing a safety management system as a PSCS during the construction phase of a project.

Advantages of completing the course online
24/7 Access, Anytime, Anywhere: Learn at your convenience, 365 days a year. Access the course material at your pace and on your schedule without downtime off-site.
Flexibility is Key: Complete the course on your terms, at your pace. Whether it’s on your home PC or mobile device, the choice is yours.
No Travel Hassles: Say goodbye to long journeys to course venues. Learn from the comfort of your preferred environment.
For more information on the course and to book directly click on the following link:https://safetyadvice.ie/pscs-training-course-online/

In this post, we will give a brief outline of the duties of the Client in Construction Projects. The Client is the most important person in relation to the safe management of a construction project. It is the duty of a client to appoint a competent and adequately resourced Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP) and a competent and adequately resourced Project Supervisor Construction Stage (PSCS) prior to the commencement of any works, this includes the design of a project.

The Client must notify the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), in writing, of the appointment of a competent PSDP before the design process starts. This can be done on an AF1 Form which is free to download on the HSA Website. If the PSCS is known at this stage, the Client can include their details on the AF1 form also.

The client is a person for whom a project is carried out. If the construction stage of the project is likely to be more than 500 person days or 30 working days, then the client must ensure that the project is notified to the HSA. This can be done on the AF2 form which can be competed and submitted by or on behalf of the PSCS. Both the AF1 and AF2 form can now be completed and submitted online.

Other duties of the client include the following:

Co-operate with the project supervisor and supply necessary information for the safe design and completion of the project

Keep and make available the safety file (provided by the PSDP) for the completed structure. The safety file contains information on the completed structure that will be required for future maintenance or renovation.

Provide a copy of the safety and health plan prepared by the PSDP to every person tendering for the project. In the case of projects on a domestic dwelling it is sufficient for the Client to provide the plan to the PSCS when they have been appointed.

If you are thinking of building a new construction, carrying out major renovations and extension to your home and/or a commercial project and need help and guidance, please contact us and we can assist.

We also provide an online Management Duties of the PSCS training course which can be accessed on our website at this link: https://safetyadvice.ie/pscs-training-course-online/