Click to Download PDF Sub-Contractor Questionnaire

Fit2Fit Scheme for Respiratory Protective Equipment -  Wednesday, 20th January 2010 All PPE must be of the correct fit to be effective, even down to boots, if they’re a size too big you may trip, yet people shove on a dust mask and expect it to protect them from all airbourne nasties.   The Fit2Fit Scheme is an industry regulated scheme developed by the HSE And the British Safety Industry Federation with the co-operation of the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA) to encourage the correct fitting of protective equipment.   To comply with the scheme, RPE should be fit tested by an accredited provider and the wearer given training on when and how to wear the equipment plus simple checks they can make to ensure it fits adequately.   The scheme is not yet compulsory but is certainly best practice.  Cost savings can be made on buying the correct equipment and insurance companies are keen for compliance as it can be used in claims defence if employees are provided with the most appropriate equipment and specifically trained on its use.  Check back next week for developments on this scheme

Fall from Telehandler Kills Polish Worker - Wednesday, 20th January 2010 Whilst working from an unsecured, or inadequately secured man basket on a telehandler, a worker sustained head injuries from falling on the kerb when the untrained operator accidentally nudged a lever in the cab.   This is a tragic death, but yet the practice is commonplace and another example of disregard of the dangers of working at height.   Ensure your agency plant operators are trained – see our resource page for how to check Ensure your foreign workers understand your safety instructions – use the contact form to request translation of your documentation.

Tower Crane Register - Wednesday, 20th January 2010 The HSE has decided that the register will only apply to traditional in-situ tower cranes on building sites and will not apply to self-erecting or mobile cranes.  The public consultation is now over and the proposals are to be put forward for ministerial approval. Requirements of the proposals: Notification to the HSE of conventional tower cranes erected on site; Thorough examination inspection information must be notified to the HSE within 14 days of the inspection; Notification of cranes already erected to be with the HSE within 28 days of the regulations coming into force; Notification via the HSE Website.   The regulations are due to come into force in April.

Icy Reception - Monday, 11th January 2010 The recent weather always brings questions of “if I clear the snow, will I be sued?”, “if I don’t grit, will I be sued?” or even “Shall I tell my employees I’m closed until the snow and ice go, so I don’t get sued?” Click here for full article on Resources Page

52 Steps to Good Safety Management - Monday 11th January 2010 This feature is now only available via our newsletter and won't be published on the website.  Any supporting documents listed in the newsletter for download will still be available on this website. The last two from last year are still available for the time being but will be gone by the end of the month. For businesses with less than 5 employees, the series has now been turned into an subscription product with work packs, training sheets and template documents along with our telephone support, weekly emails and 12 months of legally required, Competent Person to Advise on Safety Matters Service.  The product goes on sale today for £150+VAT per month but the first 20 new clients to sign up before the end of January will receive a 50% discount valid for the whole year!!  So that's only £75+VAT per month!! If your company is small enough to benefit from this service, contact Claire as soon as possible to ensure you get the product at the discounted rate.

Overloaded Scaffold Collapse Causes Fatality - Monday, 11th January 2010 A 40 metre high scaffold collapsed when 150 large cladding tiles each weighing 20kg were stacked on it.  A worker commenced works on the other side of the building, installing brackets when the scaffold collapsed trapping all three workers under the rubble.  One man was taken to hospital with leg injuries and later died of a pulmonary embolism.  Another suffered broken vertebrae and ribs plus a punctured lung and the other fractured both legs and one arm.   The HSE investigation visited the site earlier in the project and raised concerns about the size of the management team.  Scaffold inspections had also not be completed.   The CDM regulations demand that works are planned and that adequate resources are allocated.  The latest version of the regulations requires planning time to be given by the Client to the Principal Contractor before commencement for such planning.  Ensure you are up to date with the CDM Regulations for only £200+VAT in February. If your trained scaffold inspector is on holiday, book Infinite Safety to attend site to ensure you meet your statutory duty to inspect working platforms.  See January Sale for reduced site inspection fees.

Farm fined £65,000 with £27,500 costs for Fork Lift Working Platform Fatality - Monday, 11th January 2010 Working from telehandler buckets, or indeed from a pallet held on the forks, is absolutely NOT acceptable.  Although I’m sure it happens daily and companies do get away with it as no one is hurt and an inspector doesn’t see them, the risks of working in this way are immense.   A Farm in Gloucestershire regularly worked this way and were transported across the fields whilst standing in the bucket.  Whilst travelling across the field, the employee fell backwards out of the bucket and landed in front of the telehandlers wheels where he suffered serious crush injuries and died at the scene.  Working at Height Risk Assessments must be completed for all Work at Height, particularly habitual working at height.  It must be documented, communicated to staff and worked to.  Working at Height, 4 Hour in house courses are only £200+VAT in February, book now to train your staff and have assessments completed as part of the course. Click Here to Secure your Training Date

January Sale - 8th January 2010 Have you had your email detailling our special offers for the new year? Don't let another year slip by without being on top of your health and safety management and take advantage of our low prices. Offers include:  £150 per month off Service Level 2 for 2 years!!                      £40 off site inspections when booked in a block of 12                      All 4 hour Training Courses in February only £200+VAT Plus More! Subscribe to our newsletter today to receive your copy - and remember they are only valid in January!

Infinite Safety has “Got Your Back” - Friday, 8th January 2010 We’re on your side, we don’t advise you to take any action that is not necessary to protect your business.  We also appreciate how health and safety can be pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities.   To help you further, we’ve developed our “Got Your Back” scheme in addition to your current service.   Unless you have contracted us at Service Level 3, we cannot complete all your documentation or ensure you issue documents when you need to.   At the request of several clients, we have introduced our weekly reminder email programme which spreads all your health and safety tasks evenly over the year to ensure you keep on top of your paperwork and activities.  Emails are sent out on a Tuesday (as Monday’s are always hectic) morning and give no more than 4 health and safety tasks to be undertaken by the end of the week.  If you have not completed your tasks by close of business on Friday, we will do all we can to do the work for you.  We will also issue you with safety alerts relevant to your business with a three step action plan of what you need to do, as and when issues arise.  For example, HSE Inspection Targets, Activity in your area, Accidents and corrective actions, HSE Schemes, Free Information from Industry.   To join the “Got Your Back” Scheme costs £20.00+VAT per month in addition to your current charges.  Additional charges will occur if we visit site to keep you up to date but at a 20% Reduction to your usual hourly rate.  This can be a cost effective way to get the health and safety tasks within your company done.  Do not let them build up in 2010.  By following our programme for 12 months, you will meet many of the criteria to achieve accreditations and win awards.

SAFETY MINISTER PRAISES CHAS – Tuesday, 8th December 2009Safety Minister, Lord McKenzie has stated that SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement), of which CHAS is a founder member, has made a strong and sustainable start.  The SSIP Scheme has been successfully running for six months and is driving up standards, particularly in Small to Medium Sized Construction businesses.  50,000 suppliers are now registered giving access to clients, such as the NHS, Local Authorities and Major House builders, which previously would have insisted on their own, comprehensive pre-qualification checks being completed before tender opportunities would be announced to them.  Ensure your business is on the database and that you are seen where your competitors are – FREE CHAS Submission pack with Service Level CR1 – Download our Small Construction Company Guide to Health & Safety Documentation for further information Click Here to Download Free Guide

More CHAS Congratulations!! - Wednesday, 2nd December 2009 Another successful CHAS Approval is through!  Congratulations to Alexander Joinery Services in County Durham who have met the government-run standard and can prove their good safety management to their potential clients for the next 12 months. Owner Clive is sure to save time by now being pre-qualified so no more labourious developers health and safety questionnaires to complete.  Coupled with the time Clive saves by having us complete his site specific documentation packs as and when he needs them, he will now be able to devote his valuable time to winning more business. If you would like to see the benefits of attaining the CHAS standard, download our Question & Answer style leaflet.  It has been put together following many meetings with the owners of small construction companies and addresses what documents are required to meet the minimum legal standard and how a safety accreditation can be gained to help boost your business. Click here to Download our Small Business Guide to CHAS

DOCUMENTATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Plant Quick Hitch Devices Safety Checklist  - Wednesday, 2nd December 2009 Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge receipt of the documentation we have issued to you. Please complete the form below and we will update our/our clients records accordingly. Document Title: CPA Quick Hitch Safety Note Company Name: Contact Name: Email Address: I acknowledge receipt of the document above on behalf of my company I wish to receive Infinite Safety E-Newsletters Infinite Safety Ltd will not pass on your details to a third party.  Records are kept solely for the purpose of communicating Health and Safety Information from Infinite Safety Ltd only.

Protect Your Business - Thursday, 26th November 2009 For tips on how to protect your business from Personal Injury claims, read the feature by Claire Sheehan in the Nottingham Journal Business Brief. Thanks to Paula Gardner of "Do Your Own PR" (www.doyourownpr.com) for another red-hot PR lead! Click here to view article

Carbon Monoxide Awareness - Thursday, 26th November 2009 The Health and Safety Executive are promoting the awareness of Carbon Monoxide poisioning on their website this week. There is always the risk of carbon monoxide poisioning when using gas appliances both in the home and the workplace which is why they must be tested on an annual basis by a Gas Safe Registered Gas Engineer.  Carbon Monoxide gas is difficult to detect as is is colourless and odourless and can be present as a result of incomplete combustion of gas, oil, wood or coal. Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide (CO2) Poisioning: tiredness drowsiness headaches giddiness nausea vomiting pains in the chest breathlessness stomach pains erratic behavior visual problems Action to take to protect yourself and your family: - Ensure all gas appliances are serviced and certified as safe by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer (check at www.gassaferegister.co.uk) - Ensure good ventillation in the room containing the gas appliance - do not cover vents and ensure flues and chimneys are not blocked off - Don't use unflued heaters such as paraffin or cabinet heaters in bedrooms - Have an audible CO2 detector alarm - you are especially at risk when asleep, an audible alarm can save your life All new clients signing up before the 31st of December 2009 will receive a Carbon Monoxide detector to help safeguard their home and their family.

High Winds and Rain - Wednesday, 25th November 2009 I've just been down the prom with dog and I can't belive how windy it is! The bad weather has to be considered when working outdoors.  Working at height must be postponed and tasks such as material handling must be carefully considered.  For days like today when wind speeds are in excess of 60kph, risk assessments should be taken and adapted to account for this.  The basic principles of prevention should be applied: Eliminate - postpone the work until weather improves Substitute - can the order of works be re-arranged to postpone the working at height and outdoors? Reduce - If works have to be done, can it be done in short intervalls between rain showers and windy periods? Isolate - If work outside must be done, can work be arranged in sheltered areas? Control - Don't allow sub-contractors to persevere and risk their safety.  It's your responsiblity and safety record too. PPE - Wrap up warm, manual handling injuries are more likely when cold As well as actually working in the wind, consider your buildings and materials stored outdoors.  Are they safe? If they blow over can they cause injury? Will they break and cause additional hazards if they blow over, such as glass or chemical spills? For those businesses in seriously hit areas, do your staff have to come into the office?  Can work be done at home via an internet connection or by diverting phone lines?  Many road accidents are caused by bad weather and if it is possible for home working, I'm sure your staff will not only appreciate it now, but remember in the future how considerate their employer is! For a FREE toolbox talk on Working in Windy Conditions - use the contact form with WIND in the title.

New Health & Safety Law Poster - Monday, 23rd November 2009 The HSE have changed the beige Health and Safety Law poster which can be seen in every workplace.  Changes have been made to make the poster more eyecatching as research shows the beige poster was rarely read. The new poster with colour photographs is now on sale but your old poster is legal until the 5th of April 2014.  The leaflet version of the poster, which used to be an A5 size, 4 page leaflet is now a colourful pocket sized card. New posters can be purchased directly from this website.  Please visit our shop to purchase.