Thursday, 23 December 2010

5 Reasons Why First Aid Training is So Important

Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 need employers to supply first aid equipment, facilities and employees to make certain their own workers get medical assistance should they become ill or get injured in the workplace. Every single worker should be prepared and educated about health and safety just in case there was an urgent situation in the future.

Listed below are the highest 5 explanations why it's necessary to have first aid and Health and Safety Training at work:

1. Every place of work should have at least one employee that is fully trained in first aid and safety procedures. Somebody that is reliable in an emergency situation until the proper authorities or paramedics arrive.

2. Having your employees trained in health and safety is very important. They must be educated together for better co-ordination and less confusion. By having all or most of your employees skilled together they are able to work together as well as discuss information and there will be a much better response in the matter of an emergency.

3. Eliminate any kind of preconceptions or pre-judgments about first aid. Make clear any concerns employees could have when coping with an accident in your workplace.

4. Having your employees properly trained will not only help support them in work; but they will be able to acquire long-term understanding and expertise and put to use outside of the workplace. Having trained employees at work helps for a much better safe and secure working environment.

5. Confidence to health and safety in the workplace can make a huge difference. Taking up a common course of training allows for confidence to build and trust to be created at your place of work. Workers who have been given first aid training will also be more well-informed and think a lot quicker when dealing with certain situations that need emergency attention. 

It's your employer’s duty to protect the health and safety of their employees and make the workplace a safer place. If you want your employees and workers to have a proper working environment, then make sure that they are fully trained with first aid. Firsthand experience that comes from training from a qualified instructor either personally or through safety videos is essential, especially when tackling an emergency situation at work. With proper education and safety training; your employees and workers can be more confident and think faster when handling certain situations that require emergency care.

Promote a healthier, safer and risk-free environment at work. There are a variety of ways to promote safety in the workplace including health and safety DVDs, booklets, Safety Posters, software and E-Learning etc. If you want more information on health and safety training in the workplace, click on this link => http://www.SafetyMedia.co.uk

Friday, 3 December 2010

How and When to Work with Asbestos

 

Asbestos Regulations states that employers and self-employed are required to prevent exposure to asbestos fibers when working with asbestos or doing work that may potentially disturb asbestos in any way. When it is not reasonably practicable, the Regulations state that they must make sure that exposure is kept as low as reasonably practicable by any other measures other than using respiratory protective equipment. Also, further spreading of asbestos fibers must be prevented at all costs.

If the Control of Asbestos and Regulations enforcers, the HSE, know that you are potentially working with asbestos or your employees are exposed or working with it, they will go and specify the work methods and controls that should be used to prevent exposure and spreading of asbestos fibers.

Here are some airborne exposure limit, also known as Control Limits, that the Asbestos Regulations have set:

1. 0.1 fibers per cm3 - for all types of asbestos for four hours of exposure

2. 0.6 fibers per cm3 - for short term exposures lasting for ten minutes

Exposure and working with asbestos should require protective equipment so as to minimise risks as much as possible.

How to Remove Asbestos

HSE requires that only HSE-licensed contractors remove asbestos or asbestos-containing materials. However, decisions on whether a particular job or work needs a license depend on the RISKS that it involves.

Licensing is not required if:

1. The exposure that employees have to asbestos fibers are sporadic and of low intensity. But exposure is not considered sporadic or low intensity if the asbestos concentration in the workplace air exceeds 0.6 fibers per cm3, over a span of 10 minutes.

2. Risk assessment verifies that the employee won't exceed the Control Limit's exposure to asbestos. This usually means that the work involved is:

a. Maintenance activities that are short and non-continuous. This happens when the work involves only one person, and the activities last less than an hour, in a seven-day period. The total number of hours spent by all the workers to remove asbestos or asbestos material should not exceed two hours;

b. When the asbestos fibers in the material to be removed are firmly linked in a matrix. These materials include: asbestos cement, articles of bitumen, resin or rubber that contains asbestos, and plastic. Materials that contain asbestos for their thermal and acoustic properties, like vinyl floor tiles, roofing felt, and electric cables, and also insulation products that are used for high temperatures but have no insulation purposes, like gaskets, washers, ropes, and seals, are also included;

c. Encapsulating and sealing asbestos-containing materials in good conditions; and

d. Collecting and analysing samples for air monitoring and control.

In retrospect, under the Asbestos Regulations, employees who work on asbestos insulation, asbestos coating, or asbestos insulating board (AIB) requires a license issued by the HSE.

As an employer, it is your job to ensure that your employees get sufficient safety from asbestos. The inhalation of asbestos fibres is responsible for around 4000 deaths a year. Provide your employees with the essential information about Asbestos Safety and its dangers with this DVD => http://www.safetymedia.co.uk/asbestos-the-facts-dvd.html