HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY
The Printhaus ltd
PART 1 - General Statement of Policy
1.1 The Printhaus ltd acknowledges and accepts its legal responsibilities for securing the health, safety and welfare of all its employees, of sub-contractors working on its behalf, its members and all others affected by their activities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
2. The Company will provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions so far as reasonably practicable.
The Printhaus ltd will ensure, so far as is reasonably practical:
the provision and maintenance of the studio and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health
arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety at work of its employees, of sub- contractors working on its behalf and its members
so far as is reasonably practical as regards any place of work under the organisations control, the maintenance of it in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks
the provision and maintenance of a working environment for its employees, sub-contractors working on its behalf and its members, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.
We will provide adequate control of the Health and Safety risks arising from our work activities.
The organisation ensures that all its employees, sub-contractors working on its behalf, its members and all others are competent to carry out their tasks and given adequate information, instruction, training and supervision.
The Company will encourage all employees to be actively involved in maintaining safe operating conditions and practices.
This policy will be regularly reviewed to ensure that these standards of health and safety are maintained.
PART 2 – Organisation and Responsibilities
Jude Lau has overall responsibility for health and safety in the Company, and will:
Ensure suitable financial provision is made for health & safety obligations;
Provide a safe working environment for employees, of sub-contractors working on its behalf, its members and others who may be affected by the work activities;
Ensure that the health and safety policy is effectively implemented throughout the company;
Provide appropriate training, information, supervision and instruction
Ensure work is planned to take into account health & safety issues
Provide adequate welfare facilities for their employees in accordance to the Workplace, (Health, Safety and Welfare) regulations 1992
All employees shall at all times take reasonable care of themselves and have due regard for the health and safety of others who may be affected by their work activities.
Responsibilities for Organisation
Name Jude Lau Responsibilities : - Day to day responsibility for Health and Safety
Name Tom Whitehead Responsibilities: - Maintenance of plant and equipment
PART 3 – Arrangements
Health and safety is considered in all aspects of our work. The following, outlines the principal ways in which we implement health and safety:
Communication.
The contents of this policy are brought to the attention of all employees, of sub-contractors working on its behalf and its members and are directly consulted on any matters that may affect their health and safety.
Training.
Training needs will be identified and employees, of sub-contractors working on its behalf and its members will be given training appropriate to their responsibilities. Training is specifically provided for work with hazardous substances, use of equipment, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and manual handling.
Additional training required because of new work activities and the use of new equipment or substances will be provided when needed. Training achievement of all employees will be recorded.
Risk Assessments.
Risk assessments are a legal duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Regulation 3 states: -
Every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work;
Every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of persons not in his employment arising out of, or in connection this, by him or his undertaking.
The objective is to examine all work areas and procedures to assess or determine if a risk or potential risks exist, categorise the severity of the risk with a view to elimination, substitution, reduction or control of the risk to help create a safe working environment.
The head of the Company ensures operators are provided with appropriate instruction and training on risk assessments.
Assessments are reviewed annually or when the work activity changes, whichever comes first.
Display Screen Equipment (DSE)
Display screen operators may suffer from postural difficulties and visual fatigue, in addition to the other hazards of the workplace, such as tripping over cables or carpets, lifting injuries picking up boxes of paper, etc. Although display screen equipment does produce some radiation, the levels produced are no more than those from the environment in many areas.
Postural hazards result from poor ergonomics and working environment. The following may produce fatigue-related conditions:
sitting in an immobile position for long periods
high rates of repetitive finger movements, with the wrists bent
poor circulation to the legs
pressure from the seat/chair upon the thighs caused by incorrectly adjusted seat.
Visual fatigue may result from the following:
poor screen display, such as low contrast or flickering
high levels of ambient light compared to the screen display
reflections or glare
the need for a document holder.
These can produce eye strain, headaches or other related symptoms.
It is our policy to exceed, where possible, the minimum health and safety requirements of the law. We aim to provide a working environment that is both comfortable and maximises the effectiveness of employees. Although the Regulations only apply to DSE users or operators (an operator is a self- employed DSE user), we will try to apply the principles to all DSE workstations regardless of the category of user.
In order to achieve our goals, we will put in place arrangements and procedures for the assessment of risks from the use of DSE. The risk assessment will be followed by the provision, maintenance and monitoring of appropriate control measures to minimise any risks identified.
Emergencies.
Employees always familiarise themselves with client procedures and fire exits when first attending other sites, and co-operates and participate in any drills.
Welfare
Welfare arrangements are provided in line with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Printhaus Ltd ensures that the Workplace Approved Code of Practice is met by ensuring that the minimum number of sanitary conveniences is provided in line with the figures below.
Where toilets are used only by women or jointly by men and women the minimum number of facilities provided will be:
Where facilities are used only by men the minimum number of facilities shall be:
Arrangements at remote sites utilise client facilities whenever possible.
Equipment.
All equipment is subject to routine maintenance, taking into account various factors, including:
statutory testing
type of equipment
amount of use
consequences of failure
Personal Protective Equipment
The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 requires employers to supply suitable and sufficient PPE to their employees wherever there are risks to health and safety that cannot be adequately controlled in other ways. PPE is provided as appropriate for the work activities. It should always be considered as the last resort and used only where other precautions cannot adequately reduce the risk of injury. Every employee has a duty to use the PPE provided and to report any loss of or obvious defect in the equipment.
Hazardous substances.
The law requires employers to control exposure to hazardous substances to prevent ill health. They have to protect both employees and others who may be exposed by complying with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).
The risks associated with hazardous substances are considered for all work activities by obtaining information from the relevant Safety Data sheets where possible. Alternative, less harmful substances are used if available. In case of risks to health, PPE is provided and used by employees. Unidentified potential hazardous substances, such as asbestos, encountered during the course of a work activity are referred to the client and/or advice taken from the H&S adviser, as appropriate.
Any substances hazardous to health that are encountered by employees e.g. cleaning agents such as bleach are assessed using appropriate COSHH assessment forms.
First aid & accident reporting
A basic first aid kit containing recommended minimum materials is kept on the premises. An appointed person is selected from within the office to maintain the contents of the first aid kit and to phone for emergency assistance if required.
All accidents are reported to the office and those defined in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) are reported to the appropriate enforcing authority or to the incident contact centre on telephone number 0845 300 9923.
Manual handling.
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 state:
Each employer shall -
so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk to their being injured.
Each employer shall:
(b) where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured:
make a suitable and sufficient assessment of all such manual handling operations to be undertaken by them.
take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to those employees arising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
take appropriate steps to provide any of those employees who are undertaking any such manual handling operations with general indications and, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, precise information on: (a) the weight of each load; and (b) the heaviest side of any load whose centre of gravity is not positioned centrally.
If employees are required to use any manual handling equipment they should, as a minimum, be shown how to use it safely and warned of any dangers. If the equipment is complex or the risks are higher, then such information should also be conveyed in writing. This could be done, for example, by providing staff with a copy of the suppliers' operating instructions.
The main aim of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations is to avoid injury to employees, this can be achieved by avoiding moving loads altogether, but in most circumstances this will be impracticable. The second stage in the hierarchy of control is to try and automate or mechanise the manual handling operations i.e. by using forklift trucks, conveyor belts etc. Lastly if this is not possible the employer will be required to carry out a manual handling assessment, this may be a simple assessment or it may require a more detailed assessment.
A detailed assessment needs to take into account of:
The Task
Is there twisting, stretching, stooping etc involved
The Individuals capability
Does it require unusual height, strength, training etc?
The Load
Is the load, hot, heavy, sharp, difficult to grasp etc?
The Environment
Are there slippery floors, stairs, confined spaces etc?
Our employees are advised not to manually handle loads, which they feel incapable of moving safely.
Fire safety.
Exposure to fire can result in burns and inhalation of smoke, either of which can be sufficiently serious to be fatal. Fires can cause massive destruction to the building structure, services, equipment, goods in storage, also information and records can be destroyed or damaged. We are legally obliged to safeguard our employees against exposure to the hazards associated with fire.
For these reasons, we undertake to put in place arrangements for the assessment of risks from fire and appropriate control measures to minimise the risks identified. These measures will include the following arrangements, procedures and controls:
inspection of the structure of the premises for fire safety annually
fire detection equipment to be installed and inspected regularly
Any fire alarms will be regularly tested
fire suppression apparatus will be inspected regularly
emergency lighting will be provided as appropriate
fire extinguishers will be placed at clearly labelled fire points
emergency exit routes and signs to be kept clear at all times
we will train staff in the use of extinguishers, procedures for fire drills and evacuation
Records of training, induction, drills, alarm tests, fire certification to be kept on the premises and up to date in the fire log book.
supervision and monitoring of visitors, including contractors will be carried out by Jude Lau & Tom Whitehead
These arrangements will be reviewed at least annually and on any significant change in the business or the premises.
Employees are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to inform their manager of situations where they see serious and imminent danger to health and safety, OR any matters where they see a shortcoming in our arrangements for health and safety protection.
Sub-contractors.
Sub-contractors are taken through a selection process which includes the assessment of their health and safety policy, procedures and risk assessments. They are given a copy of the client’s rules and emergency procedures. Sub-contractors are continuously monitored throughout the term of contract.
Public safety.
Members of the Public who may visit our site are informed of any specific hazards that may exist on the premises and adequately supervised whilst they are on the premises Procedures for evacuation in the event of a fire are also made known as well as the exits pointed out.