School HSA Inspections

It seems that in recent weeks and months the Health and Safety Authority Inspectors have been visiting a lot of schools. This is along the lines of the normal HSA Modus Operandi in that they will typically concentrate on a particulr sector for a series of visits.
Most of the schools I have been hearing from performed well but its important to note the typical items the inspectors were looking for:
1) Chemicals were high on the list. Schools need to ensure that all lab substances are properly labelled, correctly stored and in date.
2) As fire could be a disastrous event in a school, the fire safety precautions came under very close scrutiny.
3) One of the other hot topics was the issue of maintenance and housekeeping staff and how they are supported and trained.
There were of course various other issues that arose on a school by school basis but these 3 were among the most common.

Amusement Arcade Safety Statement

Back on the Safety-Statements.ie website we have just the one new Safety Statement Template going up this week. We've had several requests for an Amusement Arcade Safety Statement Template so that's the one we've compiled.
This new Safety Statement Template has all of the common hazards and policies such as Fire, Bullying, First Aid, Welfare and Responsibilities, as well as specific hazards such as Noise and Sound Systems, Cash Handling and Robbery, Amusement Machines, Floor Monitoring and others. A Preview of the Amusement Arcade Safety Statement Template can be viewed from a link on the homepage @ safety_statement_blog_Oct 11

Intoxicants at work and the HSA.

One of the biggest things to hit us when the 2005 Health, Safety and Welfare at Work act came in to force was the section on intoxicants in the Workplace. "Great" we all thought, or at least those of us working in H&S who were used to seeing forklift drivers under the influence or machine operators with pupils as wide as their corneas.
We waited patiently for the regualtions in 2007 but lo' and behold the section on intoxicants was not regulated for. Nobody could say why but an opportunity was missed.
This week the HSA published an FAQ on intoxicants that does clear up some of the confusion but also very clearly states that there is no regulation on the horizion. Bloody shame.
http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Occupational_Health/Intoxicants_at_Work_Information_Sheet.html

Driving for work

22nd September 2011Instead of telling you about our Safety Statement Templates this week, we want to promote some excellent free seminars from the HSA. Driving for work is a very important part of many peoples jobs and as such we include it in most of our Safety Statement Templates. Starting from Wednesday the 12th of October the HSA are running free Driving for Work Seminars around the country. Just go to www.drivingforwork.ie to sign up.

Bomb Disposal Squad in Coláiste Iosaef in Kilmallock

Most of you are probably aware at this stage of the controlled explosion that had to be carried out on Wednesday in the Sec­ondary School in Kilmallock. Just in case you are not aware, the science teacher discovered that a chemical called Dinitro­phenylhydrazine had crystallised. This chemical is normally in a liquid form. In its crystalline state it is very unstable and is sensitive to heat and friction. While we not aware of the ex­act condition of the chemical when it was located, it is safe to assume that it had been previously opened. Again we would not be aware of the expiry dates in this particular case but  there would have been one stamped on the bottle/label.

Given that many schools use this chemical, it is prudent for the science teachers to check their stocks and make sure your school does not have a similar situation. All schools should definitely check for Dinitrophenylhydrazine but should also go through all other chemicals and make a list of anything that has expired or is not stored in a suitable container with corre­rect labelling. Any expired substances should be disposed of.

A spokesperson for the Bomb Disposal Squad stated that it was the 167^th call out for the squad so far this year and the 17^th call to deal with a “substance of concern”. This event is bound to pique the curiosity of the HSA inspectors so don’t be surprised if you hear of them out and about.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Safety Statements on Blogspot!

7th September 2011Well, we're getting a bit more serious about our blogging so we've set up this Safety Statement Template Blog on Blogspot as well. From today you will be able to find us here as well as here on our own page www.safety-statements.ie .

5th September 2011Just the one new Safety Statement Template going up today. Following some recent requests we developed a Safety Statement Template for a Bakery. As well as all of the usual polices such as Welfare, Bullying and Young Persons, this new Safety Statement Template has sections on Knives, Mixers, Ovens, Cookie Formers, Muffin Depositors, Bakery Specific Manual Handling, Slicing Machine, Cream Cookers and much more. The Preview of the Bakery Safety Statement Template can be viewed here.
As we always say if the Safety Statement Template you need is not there just send us a request at the webpage www.safety-statements.ie