Working at Heights – In 2005/06 falls from height accounted for 46 fatal accidents at work and around 3350 major injuries. They remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury. We can help you comply with the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The Regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. Noise – Do you have a noise problem at work? This will depend on how loud the noise is and how long people are exposed to it. As a simple guide you will probably need to do something about the noise if any of the following apply:
  • Is the noise intrusive – like a busy street, a vacuum cleaner or a crowded restaurant – for most of the working day?
  • Do your employees have to raise their voices to carry out a normal conversation when about 2 m apart for at least part of the day?
  • Do your employees use noisy powered tools or machinery for more than half an hour each day?
  • Do you work in a noisy industry, eg construction, demolition or road repair; woodworking; plastics processing; engineering; textile manufacture; general fabrication; forging, pressing or stamping; paper or board making; canning or bottling; foundries?
  • Are there noises due to impacts (such as hammering, drop forging, pneumatic impact tools etc), explosive sources such as cartridge operated tools or detonators, or guns?
We can help you with your noise assessments, measurements of noise and give advice on suitable control measures or strategies to manage the risks in a pragmatic cost effective manner Vibration – hand arm vibration – Do you have a hand-arm vibration problem at work? This will depend on whether your employees regularly and frequently work with vibrating tools and equipment and/or handle vibrating materials. It will also depend on how long your employees are exposed to vibration and at what level. As a simple guide you will probably need to do something about vibration exposures if any of the following apply:
  • Do your employees complain of tingling and numbness in their hands or fingers after using vibrating tools?
  • Do your employees hold work pieces, which vibrate while being processed by powered machinery such as pedestal grinders?
  • Do your employees regularly use hand-held or hand guided power tools and machines such as:
    • Concrete breakers, concrete pokers
    • Sanders, grinders, disc cutters
    • Hammer drills
    • Chipping hammers
    • Chainsaws, brush cutters, hedge trimmers
    • Powered mowers
    • Scabblers or needle guns.
Do your employees regularly operate:
  • Hammer action tools for more than about 15 minutes per day or
  • Some rotary and other action tools for more than about one hour per day.
  • Do you work in an industry where exposures to vibration are particularly high, such as construction, foundries, or heavy steel fabrication/shipyards?
We can help you with your HAV assessments, measurements of HAV and give advice on suitable control measures or strategies to manage the risks in a pragmatic cost effective manner Whole body vibration – What causes whole body vibration? Vibration transmitted through the seat or feet (known as whole-body vibration or WBV) Drivers of some mobile machines, including certain tractors, fork lift trucks and quarrying or earth-moving machinery, may be exposed to WBV and shocks, which are associated with back pain. Other work factors, such as posture and heavy lifting, are also known to contribute to back problems for drivers. We can help you with your WBV assessments, measurements of WBV and give advice on suitable control measures or strategies to manage the risks in a pragmatic cost effective manner. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Employers have basic duties concerning the provision and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) at work , do you have trouble selecting the correct type, getting staff to wear it? We can help you with your PPE selection, and give advice on suitable control measures or strategies to manage the use of PPE in a pragmatic cost effective manner. Respiratory Protective equipment (RPE) Employers have basic duties concerning the provision and use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) at work , do you have trouble selecting the correct type, getting staff to wear it? We can help you with your RPE selection, and give advice on suitable control measures or strategies to manage the use of RPE in a pragmatic cost effective manner. Electrical safety – Electrical safety at work. Electricity kills and injures people. Around 1000 electrical accidents at work are reported to HSE each year and about 25 people die of their injuries.Many deaths and injuries arise from:
  • use of poorly maintained electrical equipment
  • work near overhead power lines
  • contact with underground power cables during excavation work
  • mains electricity supplies (230 volt)
  • use of unsuitable electrical equipment in explosive areas such as  car paint spraying booths
  • fires started by poor electrical installations and faulty electrical appliances cause many additional deaths and injuries.
We can help you with your electrical safety issues, and give advice on suitable control measures or strategies to manage the use of electricity in a pragmatic cost effective manner. Fire safety and risk assessments Confused by what an fire risk assessment entails and how you do one and then what you do with them? We can provide a simple system to enable you to manage your fire risk assessments and communicate your key safety controls to employees in a clear straightforward manner Manual Handling – Confused by what an manual handling assessment entails and how you do one and then what you do with them? We can provide a simple system to enable you to manage your manual handling assessments and communicate your key safety controls to employees in a clear straightforward manner.