[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Organisations with 5 or more employees must (by law) have a documented health and safety policy. A policy usually consists of the following three elements:

  • A statement section that demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to health and safety, detailing how safety is managed
  • An organisation section that outlines your safety management system and allocates responsibilities across all staff
  • An arrangements section includes how specifics such as risk assessment, fire safety etc. are managed.

Be aware of policies you can buy online – these are often too generic and will not address all of your organisation’s risks. Our policies are constructed to fit your organisation, and will be legally compliant. We also stick to the rule of thumb that less is more!

Naturally, we can also help you with effective communication and implementation of your policy, another legal requirement – it’s not just about the paperwork!

Full health and safety audit

We take a microscope and look at all aspects of your business with a fresh eye. This audit addresses all aspects of health and safety across the organisation from documentation, contractor activities, and accident reporting and fire arrangements to physical inspections of the workplace. Following the audit, we give it to you straight, and more importantly we give you a clear and prioritised action plan to help you further develop your health and safety arrangements within your organisation.  If you are a contract client, support to implement the actions required comes as standard.

Devising / implementing health and safety management system

We can help you set up a robust system that helps you comply with health and safety legal requirements, you could then apply to obtain a management system standard such as ISO to demonstrate to all that your organisation takes these responsibilities seriously.

For those who have no need (or desire) or external accreditation, we can help you implement the HSE’s favourite model from their publication, Successful Health and Safety Management HS(G)65.

24/7 confidential health and safety helpline

This is one of our most popular services. How would you like to obtain access to health and safety advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (and the extra leap year day)? Anyone within your organisation can be given the number; you decide just how much flexibility/control you want.

Calls are answered by one of our friendly, fully trained, duty consultants. The vast majority of calls are resolved within the initial call; however, sometimes our staff will need to carry out a little research before providing you with a full answer.

The helpline is used in many different ways. Typically, organisations provide it for their staff as part of a contract so anyone can call if a query arises and there is no-one on site to ask, (way more reliable than googling). Sometimes it’s for the exclusive use of the person responsible for health and safety, and sometimes its run as a confidential helpline on behalf of the organisation to support other health and safety initiatives.

Your helpline – your choice.

Contract Appointed Competent Person provision

If you are in business, you must (by law) appoint sufficient competent person(s) to assist in meeting your health and safety obligations. This could be an individual or individuals appointed from your own team, or more often than not these people need a little help and that where we step it as your additional “appointed persons”. Of course if you have nobody internally able (or willing) to take it on – we can do the lot on your behalf.

Here’s where our service really comes into its own. We can supply this support in so many different ways:

Safety Support Service – ideal for those companies with no internal competent persons for health and safety

 Supplementary Support Service – ideal for those companies with existing competent persons internally, perhaps a Safety Manager or coordinator, who have identified a need for little extra assistance or another competent pair of hands for a specific project or period of time.

Flexibility and deciding who does what are the keys to success here.

Any or all of the services listed on this website can be provided via these contract types. Within the contract, you get the following:

  • Access to our 24/7 helpline (manned in the UK by people who will understand your business)
  • Unlimited advice by phone and email
  • Ability to pay by instalments
  • Newsletter delivered direct to your inbox
  • Discount on additional services purchased

Review of existing documentation

Your organisation may already have a policy, risk assessments, method statements and other safety documentation, but if the worst were to happen – are you confident that the documents would be deemed suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law? What is enough? Our review will highlight positive areas, indicate any short falls and suggest areas that need addressing, giving you a prioritised work plan and that all important peace of mind.

Noise assessments and surveys

Now listen –up, this is important….regardless of industry type, individuals exposed to levels of noise over 80dB may suffer long term hearing damage.

170,000 people in the UK suffer deafness, tinnitus (distressing condition that leaves a ringing in the ears which can affect concentration or sleep) or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work. Hearing loss is usually gradual because of prolonged exposure to noise.

Let us put your mind at rest to ensure your organisation meets the requirements of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. The aim of the regulations is to protect individuals from damage to their hearing from either sustained levels of noise or from high impulses of noise, which could instantly cause permanent damage.

You are likely to have a noise issue if any of the following apply within your organisation:

  • Do staff raise their voices to talk, when about 2m apart for at least part of the day?
  • Do staff use noisy power tools / machinery for more than 30 minutes each day?
  • Do staff ever suffer from temporary deafness in the noisy areas?
  • Do staff ever suffer from tinnitus (ringing, whistling, buzzing or humming sounds) in noisy areas?
  • Are there very sudden loud noises?
  • Do staff spend a lot of time in rooms such as workshops, print-rooms, boiler rooms, ventilation plant rooms or areas that contain air compressors?

Our consultants are also members of the Institute of Acoustics meaning you won’t find anyone who can give you better advice. Following a visit, we will provide you with a written report including supporting noise data obtained by using modern data logging sound level meters. The report serves as a risk assessment that will detail current situation, and provide action plan to help you achieve compliance with relevant legislation.

Now doesn’t that sound good?

As always, if you would like support implementing the action plan – you’ve got it!

Dust monitoring

Dust can be generated by a wide range of activities across many industries from building sites to bakeries. Dust sounds harmless, but when you consider that it can cause or trigger asthma, be explosive and cause a whole other variety of health and safety concerns, it’s an issue well worth addressing.

Like everything else, the reasons for monitoring dust and the methodologies used vary for example we can:

  • Take air samples to measure exposure to airborne substances to produce a risk assessment for occupational and workplace exposure. Many substances that create dust have been given workplace exposure limits that cannot be exceeded under COSHH.
  • Undertake dust monitoring to meet a requirement set by another body such as a local authority;
  • Validate suppression or extraction technologies;
  • Identify nuisance dust sources or hot spots.

Other occupational hygiene services

As you would expect, we can also help you with other occupational hygiene services including monitoring and measuring of fume, gas and vapour. To complete the set, we can also measure noise and vibration, hand-arm vibration and LEV testing.

Finally within this area we point you in the direction of any occupational health monitoring services that may be required, for example lung-function tests (often required if people work with wood and certain other substances) dermatitis checks (for persons working with a whole variety of substances) blood and urine testing (for example persons working with lead) and hearing and eye tests for drivers and persons working in a noisy environment.

 Residential Common Area Surveys (ResiDetail)

Our product, known as ResiDetail, provides services for residential managing agents (social and private) and landlords (big and small).

We all know how difficult you find it to visit each and every one of the properties in a large portfolio and take in all the relevant detail each and every time. That where this service comes in. We agree a detailed inspection regime with you, then we go to site and inspect. This provides you with up-to-date real time inspections (with photographic evidence) of either conditions or contractor works/progress at frequencies to suit you. So you have the information you need at the time you need it, not just after an incident when it is often too late to put things right. This service along with good old fashioned risk assessments leads to peace of mind and happy residents.

 Accident investigation

If an accident occurs, we can be there to support you. We can help you with the appropriate reporting, liaise with the enforcing authorities and undertake thorough investigations where necessary. We can also work with you should you receive an improvement or prohibition notice.

Our consultants have been employed by major insurers to investigate fatal accidents so can help you even if the unimaginable happens and there is a resultant prosecution.

Accidents can be costly; from the costs of employee not working, compensation, equipment damage, investigation time, employee morale to damage to public image. These costs can be truly astronomical – especially when you consider that not all of these costs are covered by insurance.

Understanding the cause of an accident can provide invaluable information, helping you improve procedures to avoid recurrence.

As well as undertaking investigations, we can also provide accident investigation training for those involved in accident or near miss (incident) reporting and investigations.

Health and safety management manuals

We have extensive experience in the creation or review of health and safety manuals that cover all of your organisation’s health and safety needs containing procedures to risk assessment forms. Manuals are always tailored to your organisation and we can advise you on which sections are necessary. They can be distributed electronically or in hard copies across your organisation. If required, a regular update service can be provided to ensure that your manuals remain up-to-date.

Assistance with customer requirements

You know you can do the work – but your potential customer doesn’t…yet. Let us help you complete the paperwork to get onto approved lists or H&S systems such as CHAS or Construction Line. We can help you describe what you have in place – and, most importantly spot, and help you fill in any gaps.

Method statements/safe systems of work

Many organisations rely on method statements and/or written safe systems of work to ensure that work is organised and planned properly. Often samples of these are required by client organisations when selecting competent contractors during the procurement process.

We provide a service that writes method statements on behalf of organisations as our experience has shown us that, being able to undertake the work safely, and being able to describe it on paper are two completely different skills. You, hopefully have the first, we have the second.

  • General safety (Health and safety policy, 24/7 confidential health and safety helpline, appointed competent person via a “Safety Support Service” or “Supplementary Support Service”, review of existing documentation, full health and safety audit, devising / implementing a health and safety management system)
  • Fire management? (Fire risk assessment, general fire training, fire warden training, fire control policies, fire evacuation plans and maps, fire risk assessment training)
  • Risk assessment (Task, premises, COSHH, display screen equipment (DSE), stress, noise, asbestos, and legionella assessments)
  • Training (general health and safety, fire warden, fire awareness, manual handling, risk assessment, health and safety for Directors and Managers, COSHH, accident investigation)
  • Additional services (accident investigation, health and safety management manuals, method statements/safe systems of work, noise assessments and surveys, dust monitoring, other occupational hygiene services, asbestos surveys and management plans, water management, CHAS / SafeContractor / Construtctionline and any other procurement system registration and application, DDA access audits)

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