Practical health and safety management for small businesses

Part A Context 1 Introduction 3 Where to start? 3 Motivation – Why are you doing this at this time? 3 An inspector has visited 3 An accident or near-miss has occurred 4 The insurance broker or provider has asked to see evidence of the health and safety policy 4 A major client or tender for contract requires it 5 Employees or workers have asked for some action 5 There are business benefits from taking action 6 The eight Ps of health and safety risk management 6 1 Your business 8 1.1 The context 8 1.2 The product or service – a description of what you make or sell 8 Checklist 1.1 – Details about the business 9 2 The premises 11 2.1 Site plan 11 Plan A – Outline plan of the site 11 Sample plans 12 Checklist 2.1: Site plan A – Summary list of site features 16 2.2 External features 16 Plan B – External features 16 Sample plans 17 Checklist 2.2: Exterior plan B – Summary list. External features in relation to visitors, vehicles, pedestrians, and other features/security of site and premises 22 2.3 Internal features 25 Plan C – Main internal features 25 Sample plans 26 Checklist 2.3: Internal plan C – Summary list 31 3 Processes and movement of goods through the business 33 3.1 Arriving on site 33 3.2 Storage 36 3.3 Reception – meeting and waiting areas 37 3.4 Progress through the firm 37 Checklist 3.1: Movement of goods through the business 38 3.5 Procedures 39 3.6 Activities in each area 40 Checklist 3.2: Activities in each area 42 Part B Controlling Safety Risks 43 4 Safety and security hazards 45 4.1 Vehicles 45 4.2 Machinery 46 4.3 Sharp tools and objects 47 4.4 Heat 48 4.5 Electricity 48 4.6 Working at heights 49 4.7 Confined spaces 49 4.8 Compressed air or LPG 49 4.9 Slips, trips and falls 49 4.10 Lifting and carrying 50 4.11 Repetitive strain injuries 51 4.12 Chemicals 51 4.13 Personal safety 52 4.14 Travel 52 Checklist 4.1: Safety hazards on site 53 5 Assessing the safety risks 54 5.1 Who could be harmed? 54 5.2 The severity of harm 55 5.3 Likelihood that harm or injury will occur 55 5.4 Priorities for taking further action 56 Risk Table 1 – Assessing the risks 57 Checklist 5.1: Assessing the risks 58 6 Controls in place to reduce risks 59 6.1 Possible types of control already in place 59 6.2 Required order of actions to be taken to establish effective and sufficient controls 62 6.3 Summary 66 Checklist 6.1: Controls in place 67 Part C Controlling Health Risks 69 7 Health hazards 71 7.1 Manual handling/back pain 71 7.2 Noise levels 73 7.3 Lighting levels 73 7.4 Temperature levels 73 7.5 Air quality 74 7.6 Use of computers and visual display units (VDUs) 75 7.7 Micro-organisms and airborne contaminants 75 7.8 Radiation 76 7.9 Use of chemicals and other substances 76 7.10 Use of materials and fibres 76 7.11 Smoking 77 7.12 Work organization 77 7.13 Summary 78 Checklist 7.1: Health hazards on site 79 8 Assessing the health risks 80 8.1 Who could be harmed? 80 8.2 Severity of harm 81 8.3 Likelihood that harm will occur 81 8.4 Priorities for taking further action 81 Checklist 8.1: Assessing the health risks 82 9 Health controls in place to reduce the risks 83 9.1 Possible controls already in place to reduce risks 83 9.2 Required order of actions to be taken to establish effective and sufficient controls 86 9.3 Summary 89 Checklist 9.1: Controls in place 90 Part D Controlling Fire Risks 91 10 Fire hazards 93 10.1 Plan D – Site plan to show fire hazards and preventive measures in place 93 10.2 The fire triangle 98 10.3 Summary 101 Checklist 10.1: Fire hazards on site 102 11 Assessing fire risks 103 11.1 Who is at risk? 103 11.2 Severity of harm 104 11.3 Likelihood that a fire will occur 105 11.4 Priorities for taking further action 106 Risk Table 2. Classifying and giving a value to the fire risks 106 Checklist 11.1: Assessing the fire risks 107 12 Fire controls in place to reduce risks 108 12.1 Existing controls 108 12.2 Further controls that may need to be introduced 109 12.3 Summary 112 Checklist 12.1: Fire controls in place 113 Part E Effective Management of Fire, Health and Safety Risks in the Business 115 13 Managing the risks 117 13.1 Priorities 118 13.2 Plan of action 119 Checklist 13.1: Managing the risks 119 13.3 Keeping records 121 13.4 Informing and involving staff 122 13.5 Competent people 123 13.6 Keeping up to date 123 14 Your policy 125 14.1 Drawing up a Policy Statement 125 14.2 Other Policy Statements to include 126 15 Conclusion 128 15.1 Have you achieved what you wanted from this book? 128 15.2 Relevance to your business 130 Part F Industry-specific Hazards and Risks 133 16 Case study examples 135 16.1 Office based businesses 135 16.2 Small retail premises 137 16.3 Hairdressers, beauticians and similar types of business 139 16.4 Textiles, dressmaking, furnishings 141 16.5 Mobile services such as chiropodists, hairdresser, dog grooming 142 16.6 Repairers such as jewellery, watches, dental, or shoes 143 16.7 Crafts and pottery 145 16.8 Dentist 147 16.9 Vets and animal establishments 148 16.10 Agriculture and horticulture 149 16.11 Florist 151 16.12 Forestry 152 16.13 Carpenter and joiner, and furniture manufacturers 153 16.14 Roofing 155 16.15 Window cleaner 156 16.16 Construction (general points) 157 16.17 Butchers 158 16.18 Catering 160 16.19 Hotels, guest houses, etc. 162 16.20 Pubs and bars 163 16.21 Vehicle repairs 165 16.22 Engineering (see also Vehicle repairs) 168 16.23 Petrol filling stations and car wash facilities 170 17 Sources of advice and guidance 173 17.1 Government departments 173 17.2 Industry groups 174 17.3 Health and safety professionals 175 17.4 Other bodies and organizations with an interest in fire, health or safety 175 17.5 Media and other providers of guidance or support 176 17.6 Training providers 176 17.7 Publications 176 17.8 Other contacts 177