Health and Safety / Risk Assessment Forms

Health and Safety /Risk Assessment Forms Martin Sharp Photonics in Engineering Research Group General Engineering Research Institute Liverpool John Moores University

Be Safe • Safety is everybody’s responsibility • It is YOUR responsibility as well • LEGALLY it is your responsibility • Risk Assessment is at the heart of managing safety • It identifies the risks to health and safety of yourself, your colleagues and the public • IT IS DONE TO PROTECT YOU • But the evidence of the written risk assessment can prevent prosecution and litigation

Risk Assessment • All activity conducted at LJMU should be risk assessed. • This is a legal requirement of the H&SaW act 1974 • And determined by the Management of Health and Safety at Work act 1992 • The University must comply and introduce the necessary processes to comply • THIS IS NOT BUREAUCRACY

Would you do something that endangers your health or kill you? • You might not think so, but many accidents occur or are more severe because people just don’t think it will happen to them • The risk assessment process is meant to avoid this attitude by giving a cold calculated view of risks and how to reduce them.

Risks • Life is risky! • In order to conduct risk assessment we need to be able to identify hazards and their likelihood, and the potential harm that would result. • We need to examine the tasks we have, e.g. experiments • We need to look outside of those tasks, e.g. what is going on around us. • We need to be broad minded about our activities.

Directives • Although risk assessment is central to H&S thinking, there are common areas that run through all enterprises that have been covered by separate “Directives”. These need to be complied with. • Certain activities that only occur in certain industries but carry the potential of great harm may also be covered by directives.

Directives, Risk assessments, COSHH, PAT, PPE,??????????? • Why should I bother, just leave me to get on with my research. YOU BOTHER BECAUSE IT IS YOUR SAFETY AND THAT OF YOUR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES! • But there’s so much of it, where do I start? • On the University web site: • http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HSU/index.htm • Or talk to me.

Guidance Notes • The Health and Safety site has a collection of guidance notes, for instance: • E.g. L1 Good Laboratory Practice L2 Microbiology Safety L3 Gloves, Surgical etc. L4 Non Ionising Radiation L5 Gene Modification L6 Personal Protective Equipment L7 Clinical Waste L8 Poisons L9 Overnight and Weekend Experiments L10 Fume Cupboards L11 Bio Safety Cabinets L12 Exhaust Ventilation L13 Spills/Leaks L14 Noise L15 Pressure Systems L16 Machines & Plant L17 Gas Cylinders • Lets look briefly at some of these:

Safety Codes of Practice SCP • The HSU website also has a series of codes of practice, including SCP’s on COSHH, PPE etc… • SCP’s take precedence over guidance notes • But there are differences e.g. Guidance Note on Children suggests that your own children can be brought on site, the SCP expressly prohibits it except for organised events.

Some important SCP’s • SCP3 Safe use of plant and equipment • Equipment procured by anymeans and put into use at the University must satisfy the current safety standards at the time of procurement • They must be risk assessed and comply with the PUWER regulations • Must be checked to be safe before use

SCP5 Electrical Safety • Outlines the requirements for electrical safety • Discusses Portable Appliance Testing • Portable appliance certainly applies to all equipment that plugs into a 13A socket • Equipment that has been tested must have a sticker – has yours been tested ? Does it have a sticker saying so ? • Let me know if you have equipment that does not appear to have been tested

SCP6 COSHH • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health • ANY material that you use should be assessed as to whether it offers a hazard and if so what control methods are required • Lens Cleaner (Alcohol) • Solder (N.B fume from process needs COSHH) • Laser Marking fume • Grinding coolant mist • Micro-organisms

SCP 9 PPE • Personal Protective Equipment • PPE IS LAST RESORT! • First use engineering controls • Then Management Controls • Only then PPE • Laser Safety Goggles • Make sure they are right (EN207) • Respiratory Protection (facemasks) • Make sure they meet your need

SCP 16 Ionising Radiation • Applies to us • Francis Lilley is our radiation protection officer

SCP 17 Manual Handling • Biggest cause of lost time injury is bad backs, and poor handling is one of the main causes. • DON’T BE MACHO! • Too often we are impatient too wait for assistance, or too embarrassed?? • Lift within your means or seek help • Risk assessment is required and plan your lift • Lifting equipment has to be inspected • A machine can be fixed or replaced or even done without. Back pain, crush injuries can last for life. If it “starts to go” GET OUT OF THE WAY! • Falling lasers kill! • A large water bottle for a chilled water fount is a 2 person lift

SCP20 Display Equipment ? Workstations • Are you sitting comfortably? • One of the first EU regulations to be enforced • You should be able to see your monitor clearly • No glare or reflected lights etc • You must be sitting comfortably • Not twisted, not looking to one side • Even if you feel more comfortable now, it may cause problems later in life • You must take breaks from sitting at the computer • short, frequent breaks are more effective than occasional, longer breaks. The minimum frequency and duration of breaks should be 5-10 minutes out of every hour. In addition, users should be avert their gaze and focus on a distant object (5 metres or more distant) approximately once every five minutes for a few seconds

SCP 21 Non-Ionising Radiation • Lasers! • Lasers need to be registered • Basic safety requirements enshrined in standards • Laser safety training available in LJMU • But not just lasers! • LED’s • UV lights

SCP25 Lone Working • Persons are to be considered working alone if they have neither visual nor audible communication with someone who can summon assistance in the event of an accident or illness • Certain activities are prohibited. Generally speaking operations involving rotating machinery, live working, powered equipment that is not intrinsically safe • Risk assessment is required for lone working itself • You must sign in and give location • You must be aware of escape routes • Someone must know where you are • Someone must check you are OK on a regular basis • You may be reading papers on the net or on SKYPE to folk back home. You head for the loo, trip over and hit your head, cut yourself badly, passing out unconscious. How long before someone finds you? Would you be alive?

SCP38 Working at Height • A place is “at height” if a person could be injured falling from it • If you are going up a ladder you are working at height • Ladders should only be used for short duration, infrequent work • Ladder Safety • Ladder falls kill 13 people a year at work on average

Risk Assessment • To complete a risk assessment you must make a conscious effort to identify the potential hazards of the activity you are undertaking • The review of SCP’s will hopefully guide you in considering the hazards • Use it as a checklist!

The RA form

Basic Information • Basically self explanatory: • Building e.g. James Parsons, Eng Workshop • School – GERI • Location – Grinding Lab, B1, Christies Hosp • Activity – Measurement of grinding wheel loading, laser texturing of composite etc. • Date – When you did the assessment • Carried out by – You? Signed – You • Persons Consulted. This should include all the people directly involved in the activity e.g. by working at the activity with you, by supervising you, by setting up the equipment for you, by doing some other activity in the region of your work. And all these people should agree with your assessment before you sign it off.

Hazards • Identify the hazards, use the SCP’s as a checklist, walk and look around what you are doing. Speak to other people, check for other risk assessments (but don’t copy and paste them – read them and write them up for your activity). Look for safety instructions in machine manuals.

Who could be harmed • Its not just about you: • Identify groups of people. • Staff and students are obvious, but please remember • People who may not be present all the time • How your work affects others if you share a workplace

Existing measures • What is already in place to reduce the likelihood of harm, or to make any harm less serious • And is it really being done?!

Further measures • What more can be done to reduce the hazard and / or its likelihood to cause harm? • Remember: • Engineering first • Management second • PPE final

Set Actions • A risk assessment is designed to identify what is required to minimise the risk to your health and others when you conduct the activity it covers. • If you have identified actions, then they need doing! • And they need checking that they have been done • And then they need checking that they remain done!

Most importantly: • Review! • Regularly • AND • When things change

How many risk assessments have you done? • The electronic copy of the risk assessment form will be circulated by email by Helen • Either you need to do a risk assessment • Or • You need to review an existing assessment • All should be copied by email to me • I expect to kept busy!

Talk to me • I will not come round and cut the plug of a piece of equipment because it hasn’t been PAT tested • I won’t stop an experiment that doesn’t have a risk assessment unless there is risk of immediate harm (but I will ask for the assessment to be done very quickly to allow it to continue!) • I am here to offer advise and promote safe working. I will point you to SCP’s, standards and directives and help you work safely and in compliance with university procedures and the law. • But I am not here to do the work for you.

Thank You Room 120 James Parsons Building X 2031 m.sharp@ljmu.ac.uk

Health and Safety / Risk Assessment Forms