Mow hauliers can save life and limb
Page 69
Page 70
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
lealth and safety
y Les Oldridge, TEng :El) MIMI, AMIRTE
Employers' responsibility
HE Health and Safety at fork etc Act 1974 was mssed following the report F the Committee of Inquiry ilich Was set up, under the iairmanship of Lord obens, to look into the proem of injuries and diseases iffered by workers.
The report said: "The toll of .,ath, injury, suffering and ;onomic waste from accidents work and occupational dis3ses remains unacceptably gh."
In fact every year nearly 003 people are killed at work id well over 500,000 are jured badly enough to be off ork for more than three days.
Before the passing of the H id S Act there were many Acts -id Regulations already in iistence to protect people at ork; the Factories Act and the ffices, Shops and Railway Preises Act are just two with hich the readers of CM are (el y to be involved. These ts, and many other Regula)ns, remain in force and must ill be complied with, the new 3t being superimposed on is existing legislation.
Eventually, the old laws will replaced by an improved and )dated system of Regulations id Codes of Practice prepared oar sultation with industry.
Now how does the Act affgct nployers in the Transport inistry? What should they do to imp y with the Act?
Section 2(1) of the Act quires employers to ensure, as r as is reasonably practicable, e health and safety at work of I his employees. After this :neral statement Section 2(2) ts I've specific duties that an nployer has to carry out for his nplcyees. He must Provide and maintain plant id systems of work that are fe and without risk to health.
Make arrangements to ense safety and absence of risk to :alth in connection with the use, indling, storage and transport articles and substances. 3, Give information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure the health and safety at work of all his employees.
4, Maintain every place of work in a safe condition and without risk to health. Entrances and exits must be kept safe.
5, Provide and maintain a working environment which is safe and without risk to health and with adequate facilities for the welfare of his employees.
To comply with these requirements the manager of a transport undertaking must make a positive check of the workshops, traffic office, yard, warehouse and every other part of his premises to ensure that they are in such a condition that no danger is caused and that no health risk is present. Trade union representatives will be carrying out inspections of premises, but more of this later.
The second paragraph of requirements listed above is one of great importance to fleet operators, particularly those carrying dangerous substances. Radio-active materials, poisonous waste, flammable, corrosive and explosive substances are already dealt with by separate regulations but here we have an all embracing law. The section is. not concerned exclusively with dangerous substances; badly stacked cartons in a warehouse might contravene this section.
Training of employees is required by Paragraph 3. Motor vehicle apprentices receive safety training when they attend City and Guilds courses at technical colleges, but this training should be supplemented in the workshop.
A refresher course for the older workmen should be considered and any information concerning safety which arrives on the manager's desk should be circulated to everyone.
Section 2(2) requires every employer to prepare a written statement of his general policy with respect to the health and safety of his employees and to bring it to their notice. This is statutory requirement; there is no way of avoiding it.
There is no guidance as to the form the statement must take, but it would seem necessary for every employer to carry out an inspection of all the operational areas in his establishment to make an assessment of all the hazards and then to draw up a detailed document.
The Act is mainly concerned with "People at Work— so it is the workplace with which we are concerned.
For most of the time a lorry, driver's workplace is the cab of his lorry, a bus crew's place of work is their bus. There are ample traffic regulations dealing with the safety of vehicles.
The Construction and Use Regulations and the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment and Use) Regulations lay down very strict standards of mechanical fitness for vehicles so that they are not dangerous and one would not expect the Health and Safety at Work Act to be used in this connection.
Drivers still come under its protection, however, especially in connection with the provision of such things as toilets, washing facilities and canteens at depots Section 3 of the Act imposes duties on employers and selfemployed persons towards persons other than their employees. Every employer must conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure that persons not in his employment are not exposed to risks to their health or safety. Proper precautions must be taken, for instance, where a fork-lift truck has to pass over a pavement, to see that pedestrians are not put at risk.
Employees have certain duties under the Act. Every employee must take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions. He must co-operate with his employer so far as is necessary to perform any duty or to comply with the law.
A mechanic who flouted a rule contained in the employer's written statement of safety policy, say for example by refusing to wear goggles when sharpening tools on an abrasive wheel, would be guilt';' of an offence under this section.
Manufacturers, designers, importers and suppliers are req
uired to ensure that articles they supply are safe and without risk 10 health; they must adequately test such articles and provide information concerning them.
Inspectors have very strong powers under the Act. They may enter premises at any reasonable time and if of the opinion that a dangerous situation exists they may enter at ANY time whether reasonable or not. They may take constables with them if they think they may be seriously obstructed in the execution of their duty.
An inspector may make any examination and investigation he considers necessary. He may take measurements, photographs and recordings and take samples of any article or substance found on the premises. He may require any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be able to give any information relevant to any examination or investigation he is making to make a statement. to him and sign a declaration as to its truth.
If an inspector believes a person is committing an offence against one of the safety laws he may serve the employer with an
—improvement notice'' requiring him to remedy, within a specified period, that which is causing the contravention.
If the inspector considers what is being done involves a serious risk of personal injury he can serve a "prohibition notice" on the employer which means that work to which the notice refers must cease.
An employer served with either of these notices can appeal to an Industrial Tribunal, which may either cancel or affirm it.
If an inspector finds an article or substance in premises and he has reasonable cause to believe it is the cause of imminent danger of serious personal injury, he may seize it and render it harmless. This power includes the authority to destroy the article.
On October 1, 1978, the Safety Representative and Safety Committee Regulations, 1978 become law. Regulation 3 of the Regulations provides that recognised trade unions may appoint safety representatives There is nothing the employer can do if he objects to the representatives, for once notified in writing, by the trade union, of the names of the persons appointed and the group or groups of employees they represent, they are fully
operational.
They have the following functions.
• To investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences at the workplace; • To investigate complaints made by employees concerning matters of health and safety; • To make representations to the employer on matters arising from his inspections and on general matters affecting the health, safety or welfare of the employees; • To make inspections (o; which more later); • To represent the employees in consultation with inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive and any other enforcing authority.
Employers must allow safety representatives time off with pay to carry out their duties and to undergo training which is reasonably necessary The Regulations give safety representatives power to inspect workplaces which they have not inspected within the previous three months after they have given written notice to the employer of their intention to carry out an inspection. If there has been a substantial change in the working conditions or if new information has been published by the Health and Safety Commission relevant to the hazards of the workplace they may carry out an inspection even though three months have not elapsed since the last inspection.
Inspections may also be carried out after a notifiable. accident or dangerous occurrence or notifiable disease has been contracted, provided it is safe to carry out the inspection and the interests of the employees for which the safety representative is responsible are involved.
All these formal arrange ments may be desirable in a large factory, but I question whether the small haulier with a workshop with two or three fitters needs this sort of formal arrangement. Nevertheless if the trade union wants this set-up then the employer must cooperate.
With the larger undertakings it may be useful for the employer and the safety representative to plan a programme of formal inspections in advance and to carry them out jointly, but this must not prevent the safety representative carrying out an independent inspection if he so desires.
When two or more safety representatives request the employer to form a safety committee, he is obliged to do so within three months. The employer must post a notice in a place where it may easily be read by the employees stating the composition of the committee and the workplace or workplaces covered by it. The corn-, mittee must be formed in consulation with the trade union and management members of the committee must not exceed the trade union members.
The Health and Safety Commission publishes a very useful guide to the Safety Representative and Safety Committee Regulations; it is priced at 3.5p and is obtainable from HM Stationery Office. The Guide suggests that serving on the committee on the management side, should be a representative of line management, the works engineer, personnel manager and supervisors.
Quite obviously, in smaller firms these posts will be filled by. one and the same man so, presumably, he will sit on the com mittee and represent the varyi interests.
The size of the committ and the frequency with whic1 meets will vary according local conditions.
It is suggested that it be r on formal lines, agreed minu. should be kept and a cc circulated to each member the committee and to the saf representative. Copies of .1 minutes should be sent to 1 most senior executive respo ible for health and safety and I board of directors should kept informed about the gene work of the committee.
The implementation of th( Regulations is going to be pa cularly difficult for fleet ope tors. In workshops, offices a warehouses safety represE tatives and committees c function fairly easily, but I cause drivers are oft operating hundreds of mil from base, under conditio which are constantly varying is difficult to see how the ni regulations will affect them.