Blog - Risk Revolution

Reducing the Risks of Lone Working

June 1, 2014/0 Comments/in Health and Safety /by Risk Revolution

It’s vital that employers, farm managers and long serving staff all work together to give consideration to the risks isolated working can introduce.

These few simple steps could prevent or reduce the risk of a serious incident on your farm or estate:

Make sure all staff know where there is a reduced mobile phone signal.
Issue all seasonal and new staff with contact numbers in case of emergencies.
Staff should leave a copy of phone numbers with someone at home.
Mark all field plans with grid references in case the air ambulance is needed.
If you have staff who don’t speak very good English, make sure they understand where they are going and can telephone someone who will know where they are if they need help.
Try to have everyone checked in at the end of the day – make sure no-one is left unaccounted for.
Remind everyone regularly to keep in regular contact with each other throughout the day.

Construction Design and Management Basics

May 25, 2014/0 Comments/in Health and Safety /by Risk Revolution

The CDM Regulations are aimed at improving the overall management and co-ordination of health, safety and welfare throughout all stages of a construction project to reduce the large number of serious and fatal accidents and cases of ill health which happen every year on building sites.

A CDM Co-ordinator has to be appointed by the client if a project lasts more than 30 days or involves more than 500 person days of work.

There is a new duty on designers to eliminate hazards and reduce risks, as far as is reasonably practicable. They will also have a duty to ensure that any workplace they design complies with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

A Client will no longer be able to appoint an agent to take on their legal duties and criminal liabilities, thereby making the CDM Coordinator role more advisory in helping to fulfil their duties to comply with the Regulations.

To ensure that your business meets the CDM regulations, it is recommended that you have a CDM audit carried out by a third party. A CDM compliance audit provides an objective third party view of your company strengths and weaknesses in this area. The CDM compliance audit takes part in two separate stages. The initial approach is to gather information; this is followed by a detailed evaluation which will be presented in a formal report.

What is an employee handbook?

May 19, 2014/0 Comments/in Human Resources /by Risk Revolution

An employee handbook conveys what is important to you and what kind of behaviours you perceive most desirable within your business. A well written handbook establishes clear “rules” so your employees can easily understand the parameters of their place of work, their eligibility for company benefits, what kind of behaviours may result in termination and how to solve problems.

Recording Incidents Under RIDDOR

May 5, 2014/0 Comments/in Health and Safety /by Risk Revolution

Under RIDDOR it is vital that all ‘reportable’ incidents are reported to the Incident Contact Centre, but it is also very important that all incidents are recorded correctly. These records can help when conducting future risk assessments and can help to prevent further injuries.

Anything that is reported under RIDDOR needs to be recorded. You also need to record any occupational accidents that result in a worker being away from work for more than three consecutive days. (You only need to report these incidents if they result in an employee being away from work for more than seven consecutive days however).