International General Certificate

PART B THE PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT

Candidates Observation Sheet

Jim Moss Name of Candidate: 23 April 2006 Date of Practical Assessment: Observations List hazards, unsafe practices and good practice 1.Security perimeter fence has several holes at ground level. Unauthorised access has been gained by children. Priority/ Risk (H, M, L) Action To Be Taken (if any) List any immediate and longer-term actions required Temporary repairs to be carried out by property management department. H&S manager to liaise with local school. Fence to be fully replaced with new & warning signs to be attached. 2. Contractors arriving on site do not receive an induction brief for H&S. Candidate Number:

C007

Time scale (immediate, 1 week, etc) Immediate before end of play. Within 3 months. Immediate before end of play. Next meeting in 1 month.

H&S site department to issue a written brief.

Full policy to be written up on control of contractors & discussed at next H&S committee meeting. 3. Near miss observed with a cyclist nearly being hit by Main Entrance automatic barrier as it descended.

Security police to control flow of traffic at start of work, lunch periods & cease work until a safer system is provided. Warning signs & a traffic light system to be installed.

Immediately, before this lunchtime. Work to begin within 3 weeks. Immediate, before close of play. Within 1 week.

4. Zebra crossing at main crossroads has faded.

Temporary warning sign to be put up.

H
5. Several vehicles found to be exceeding the site speed limit of 10 MPH.

Crossing to be re-painted & maintained on an ongoing basis by the property department. Spot checks to be carried out by police with speed mobile cameras.

To start within 1 week. Within 1 month. Immediately. Within 1 week.

M
6. Several potholes found in site roads. Poses a risk to pedestrians & cyclists. 7. Several children observed

Sleeping policemen to be installed at all strategic areas by property department. Warning cones to be placed next to holes.

Holes to be repaired & road surface monitored on an ongoing basis.

Property department informed &

digging tunnels in sand heaps used for bunkers on site golf course. Risk of collapse & death.

Area to be fenced off & sand to be moved to a secure area.

immediate danger has been dealt with. Within 1 week.

H
8. Loose carpet at top of stairwell in main site headquarters. 9. Several pieces of electrical cleaning equipment belonging to contract cleaners found to be out of date for Portable Appliance Testing (PAT).

Sand to be permanently stored in bunkers in an enclosed area.

Stairwell cordoned off to prevent access & egress. Loose carpet to be repaired. Equipment taken out of service & quarantined.

Immediately.

PAT testing of equipment required before Bringing equipment back into service. Contract cleaner manager to review PAT procedures.

Ongoing

10. Several warehouse staff found to using incorrect lifting techniques.

Staff concerned were talked to & supervisor told of problem. Refresher training required for all warehouse staff.

Within 1 week.

11. Poor housekeeping in wood working shop, with dust deposits found around machinery

Deposits were cleaned up by staff immediately. Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) to be checked. Maintenance department to review procedures for LEV examinations.

Within 1 week. Ongoing

Within 2 days. Within 1 month.

12. Numerous fire-extinguishers in all departments found not wall-mounted.

All building custodians to check extinguishers are identifiable. All extinguishers to be wall mounted by property department

13. Several containers of chemicals in laboratory not identified.

Containers withdraw from use & locked away. Laboratory manager to review procedures for labelling of hazardous substances.

Within 1 month.

14. Personnel found taking shortcut through warehouse where Fork Lift Trucks (FLTs) are operating.

Personnel warned of their conduct & reported to supervisor of area.

Within 1 week

L warehouse staff to challenge any

Supervisor to review procedures & train Within 3 months

Re-design area to stop unauthorised access 15. Several Display Screen Equipment (DSE) workstations in the admin centre have not been assessed. Users of equipment briefed on good DSE practices & supervisor informed. Within 1 week. Within 1 month. Within 1 week. 16. Numerous trailing cables found in all areas. Trip hazard.

Supervisor to assess the workstations concerned. Procedures for assessment to be reviewed. . All cables to be covered with rubber ramps. Fitting of floor mounted sockets to be put in long-term costings.

Ongoing.

17. Toilets in many areas were being cleaned By mopping floors, without any warning signs outside. 18. Noise levels computer room suspected of being in excess of safe level.

Staff concerned were consulted & comments passed on to cleaning supervisor. Contract Cleaning manager to review procedures.

Within 2 weeks. Within 1 month. Immediately.

Noise assessment to be carried out by the H&S department. As a temporary measure, all staff to be issued with hearing protection.

19. Office personnel found walking into machine shop without wearing eye protection.

L Staff concerned were warned of their behaviour.

Within 1 month & ongoing.

20. Scratches found on several pieces of face visors in welding shop. Staff may be tempted to lift visor for better vision. 21. Standard of housekeeping generally throughout the site was excellent.

Welding shop supervisor informed & offending visors removed & destroyed. Procedures for correct storage of Personal protective Equipment (PPE) to be reviewed. Contract cleaning manager & his staff were praised by inspection team. Site manager to congratulate all cleaning staff personally.

Within 1 month.

Within 1 week.

22. All personnel on site showed a good awareness of H&S issues.

All staff concerned were praised.

MANAGEMENT REPORT
Jim Moss Name: Whole site Place Inspected: Time:10:00 to 13:00 Date of Inspection: 23 April 2006

Introduction
A H&S inspection was carried out on the whole of the site, to check the current standards of conformance with H&S standards. All work areas were covered, including the external traffic routes around the site. Several staff members were consulted & any measures that were seriously compromising immediate H&S were dealt with on the spot. The overall standard of H&S generally around the site was to a good standard, with many members of staff showing a good general awareness of H&S. There seems to be a good concept of risk assessment & safe systems of work, with all staff members aware of their personal responsibilities towards their own H&S & the safety of those around them. All staff consulted or challenged during the inspection were extremely helpful & showed that the site has a good H&S culture.

Summary
However, there were 5 issues of high risk (please see attached inspection report observations 1,2,3,5 & 7) that need to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. These matters could seriously undo all the good work the site has achieved over the last few years if not dealt with as soon as possible. The 5 areas for concern were: Breaches of security in the site fencing, allowing trespasser to gain unlawful entry & maybe injure themselves or other members of staff. Contractors arriving on site & not been given a proper H&S brief of all the possible hazard areas on the site. The main entrance automatic barrier just missed injuring a cyclist who wrongly tried to get through when they should have waited until the barrier had come down. This could have resulted in serious injury or even a fatality. Severe breaches of the speed limits by vehicles, mainly driven by contractors. There have been several reports of near misses with pedestrians. Finally, children have been seen playing in the sand piles used to re-stock the golf course bunkers.

Main Body

Observation 1 Under section 4 of the HASAWA 1974 the site could be prosecuted by the enforcing authority especially if someone came to harm from hazards on the site. Also under the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 we have a duty of care towards trespassers, who could also sue for compensation if injured whilst on site. The estimated cost to replace the fence in total would be approximately 25,000 pounds. Observation 2 The fact that contractors are gaining entry to site without any H&S brief whatsoever is in breach of section 3 of the HASAWA 1974. We need to ensure that they are notified of any hazardous areas on site. I would strongly recommend that this matter is discussed at the next site H&S committee meeting to discuss the way forward. No cost option. Observation 3 There was a serious near miss to a cyclist, which could have resulted in a serious injury or even a fatality. During periods of heavy traffic coming on to & leaving site at peak periods. Many vehicle drivers, including cyclists are not waiting for the barrier at the main gate to descend before being raised automatically again. Several near misses have happened during the last 12 months. This is in breach of the Workplace Regulations 1992. To rectify this problem the installation of a traffic light system, with warning signs & a separate route for cyclists is essential. Estimated cost 20,000 pounds. Observation 5 During the duration of the inspection at least 50% of traffic was significantly breaching the site speed limit of 10 MPH, showing a total disregard for safety of themselves or other drivers & pedestrians. The site needs the installation of sleeping policemen to restrict speeds on long straight stretches of road & warning sign. This is in breach of the Workplace Regulations 1992. Estimated cost 15,000 pounds. Observation 7 The recent death of a young child killed by drowning in sand on the local beach, highlights the potential for harm to the children seen playing in the sand waiting to be used on the site golf course. This problem need to be rectified immediately with the measures mentioned in the inspection report. This is in breach of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Estimated cost 10,000 pounds.

Conclusions & Recommendations

Site management have a moral duty of care to look after the health, safety & welfare of all the staff on site, including non-employees such as visitors, contractors & members of the public. In this day & age it is not acceptable for avoidable accidents & injuries to happen to personnel. The chances of prosecution by the enforcing authority is likely to be high for the 5 main areas of concern highlighted. With this can come a huge loss of reputation & affect our relationship with our customers & neighbours, resulting in loss of profits long-term for the company. Finally, the cost required to rectify these 5 high-risk problems is very small compared to the losses that would be incurred through serious injury, lack of moral etc.