• lost hillwalkers
• missing persons suffering from mental health or dementia
• injured persons who are in a location which is not easily accessible to the emergency services
• persons who are injured and need carrying to safety
• persons cut off due to flooding and many more

Arco Professional Safety Services Launches New Online Awareness-based Training with New System

Arco Professional Safety Services, the UK’s leading safety training company, has launched a new Learning Management System (LMS), offering over 50 e-learning awareness courses with the ability for customers to self-serve their health and safety training requirements. These courses, which can be completed remotely, are designed to provide a basic understanding of the various hazards that may be found in the workplace and are an ideal starting point to further, more in-depth training.

All employers have a legal obligation to ensure their employees are appropriately trained for the job they do. The Arco LMS offers a wider variety of training courses beyond the experiential training and classroom learning available at their training facilities, enabling more opportunity to implement training programmes for their workforce. Starting from just £20, courses available through the LMS platform include asbestos awareness, control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), emergency first aid at work refresher (EFAW), fire awareness, manual handling and risk assessment. Employers can review the e-learning courses available and select those most appropriate to their needs, efficiently and cost-effectively.

The system allows employers to create, view and manage appropriate training programmes suitable for specific individuals, roles or companies. This training can also be linked to a comprehensive offering including bespoke learning modules, videos, documentation, course booking options for assessing or practical application of knowledge and assessments, which can be set up by the Arco Professional Safety Services training team. View the elearning courses available at https://academy.arcoservices.co.uk/learn or contact us to arrange a bespoke training package.

Arco’s specialist instructors have a wealth of industry experience and can provide businesses with the most relevant training to help keep workers safe. Offering a wide range of courses, Arco Professional Safety Services cover training for the below disciplines, alongside the LMS system:

• Working at Height
• Confined Spaces
• Respiratory
• Health and Safety

Brian Grunes, Training Manager says: “We have a core purpose to help keep people safe at work and have developed this new Learning Management System to make it easy for business to choose, book and deliver the most appropriate awareness-based training courses for their employees. From Fire Awareness to First Aid and Ladder Safety, our comprehensive e-learning course offering is brought together in one, simple to use, online resource to help businesses maintain a safe working environment for everyone.”

‘I died twice’ – the story of a North Sea oil rig accident

‘I still feel like it happened to somebody else’, says James Ramsay ahead of his Safety & Health Expo ‘Survivor’s story’.

Falling seven metres headfirst, dying twice and mistaking his parents for royalty – James Ramsay’s oil rig accident and subsequent recovery is quite the story.

James, who will recount his experiences at Safety & Health Expo in London this week, had been unloading a barrel on a North Sea oil platform when a crane knocked him off his feet, his hardhat falling off in the process.

The then 21-year-old had to be resuscitated twice on that day in 1998 – once on the rig, once in the helicopter airlifting him to hospital. Doctors gave him a 2% chance of survival.

James recalls a disorienting return to consciousness upon awaking from a nearly three-week induced coma. “Two people were sitting there who I didn’t recognize – it was my mum and dad. I asked if I had school today. They started crying – which I thought was quite strange as I didn’t know who they were.”

The scene took a surreal turn on one occasion when he mistook his parents for Princess Charles and Lady Diana. When other visitors routinely embraced his parents he surmised that “they must be something special”.

Remarkable recovery

Although the accident left him blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, his recovery has otherwise been remarkable. James had to relearn basic skills like reading, writing and talking.

He’s fulsome in praising the surgeons who rebuilt his face after “one side of my face was totally crushed. I’ve got the NHS to thank for looking like this”.

James, who says the recovery is an ongoing process, now works at his family’s Midlothian-based firm, RTR Scaffolding. Outside of work he enjoys running and doing Brazilian Jui Jitsu – “it is like human chess with no hitting to the head”, he says.

So astonishing is the story that when he gave a talk to NHS staff, one attendee told James: “Your fantasy writing is amazing – and I said, ‘that happened, that was me!’”.

Even James himself is sometimes incredulous that he is the story’s main protagonist. “On 8 July this year it will be 25 years since it happened, and I still feel like it happened to somebody else.”

Drop in the ocean

James says the driver of the crane that knocked him over wasn’t appropriately licensed.

Following an investigation a court handed the oil company, which James declines to identify, the maximum possible fine – but that only totalled £20,000. “And they were making £1.5 million a minute,” says James. “That was a big dent in their profits,” he adds sarcastically.

James says the oil company hired a 12-strong team of Queens Council (QC) lawyers – “the best” in the business, his own lawyer acknowledged.

Safety improvements

oil and gasExtracting a volatile, combustible substance from the ground in often harsh weather conditions, oil rigs present an extremely high risk working environment.

The logistical difficulty of reaching the nearest hospital elevates the risk further still. “I was 130 miles away from Aberdeen – and when you have an accident, the first five minutes is the most crucial,” points out James.

Although James believes the enormous tax revenues the industry generates for governments is a huge disincentive for tightening regulations, he acknowledges that there have been meaningful safety improvements since his accident.

The UK Health and Safety Executive reported no fatal injuries at offshore platforms within its jurisdiction in 2021 and four fatalities in the previous 10 years

The worst oil rig disasters to date occurred earlier, many in the 1980s. The highest ever fatality rate, 167 deaths, resulted from multiple explosions on the Piper Alpha North Sea oil platform in 1998.

James says the introduction of Risk Assessment Method Statements (RAMS) in 2005 was a pivotal improvement. “If you do anything wrong and something happens, then you’re in breach of what you’ve just signed, which is a legal document.”

The father of three now conducts RAMS for RTR Scaffolding. “I don’t want anybody to go through what I went through,” he says.

‘No dress rehearsal’

James is also currently completing ominously named ‘survival’ training, now a prerequisite for working offshore, so he can deliver his talk to the offshore industry.

His near-death experience – “seeing my body just lying there like it’s going up to heaven” – has given James a healthy perspective on life. “I just treat life like there’s no dress rehearsal,” he says.

Minor ailments have also been put into a different perspective, he jokes: “When somebody phones me at half six in the morning and says ‘I can’t come in today, I’ve got a really sore head…’ Sore head? I’ll give you a sore head!

Accidents are “inevitable” – two fifths of construction workers believe

Over the last three years, on average there were an estimated 11,000 cases of hearing problems each year caused or made worse by work, according to the Labour Force Survey.¹

Noise levels can be a major factor in work-related injuries and long-term conditions, and it’s important to understand as an employer what you can do to reduce or remove the risk to employees.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 state that it is the employer’s duty to remove or reduce risks to health and safety from noise and use hearing protection zones where necessary, which are designated areas of the workplace where access is restricted and where hearing protection is compulsory.

The regulations require you as an employer to:

• Assess the risks to your employees from noise at work
• Take action to reduce the noise exposure that produces those risks
• Provide your employees with hearing protection if you cannot reduce the noise exposure enough by using other methods
• Make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded
• Provide your employees with information, instruction and training
• Carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health.

There are strict legal exposure limits with regards to noise levels at work. Short-term exposure to excessive noise produces varying degrees of inner ear damage that is initially reversible but can become permanent through regular exposure. The peak sound pressure anyone can be exposed to is 137 decibels, while there are daily or weekly exposure limits of 87 decibels² and exposure action values set at 80 and 85 decibels.

Whether your team work on a glass bottling line, with freezers or wheeled trollies or are involved in milling and sawing operations, the risk to health and hearing is clear, so it’s important to have a good idea of the noise hazards around them.

Once the noise risk has been recognised, formal measures are required to reduce exposure to it. They must be implemented whenever an employee’s exposure to noise is likely to exceed the upper exposure action values of 85 decibels for daily or weekly exposure, or a peak sound pressure of 137 decibels. But remember, hearing protection should only be used as a last resort where there are risks to health and safety that cannot be controlled by other means.

As a priority, establish whether the noise exposure can be prevented or reduced by:

• Using quieter equipment or a different, quieter process
• Bringing in engineering/technical controls to reduce, at source, the noise produced by a machine or process
• Using screens, barriers, enclosures and absorbent materials to reduce the noise
• Redesigning the layout of the workplace to create quiet workstations
• Limiting the time people spend in noisy areas
• Introducing a purchasing policy for low noise machinery and equipment
• Regularly maintaining the machinery and equipment that takes account of noise

While risk remains, an employer must make hearing protection available upon request to any employee likely to be exposed above the lower action value and provide hearing protection to any employee likely to be exposed above the upper action value.

For more expert advice on noise prevention, please visit: https://www.arco.co.uk/expert-advice/noise.

As experts in safety, Arco can offer noise and hearing solutions across the full hierarchy of control, including identifying they hazards with risk assessment support, workplace site surveys to assess and monitor noise, hearing protection products, noise awareness training and ear fit testing, helping you to ensure you are fully compliant.

Our online Noise Awareness training course is aimed at all levels of employees who may be exposed to noise or managing noise in workplaces and will give both managers and employees an improved awareness of the risks associated with noise and how these can be reduced or removed. View all our training courses here: https://www.arcoservices.co.uk/training

Sources:

[1] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm

² https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/employers.htm#noise

Article Originally Released in October 2020

Ben Haughton, technical director at Arco Professional Safety Services, says skills fade may lead to increased risks to health and safety in high risk industries

Everyone has a fundamental human right to go to work each day and come home to their loved ones safely. Nonetheless, statistics show that in the last year the Construction Industry was hardest hit by fatal injuries (40), followed by Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (20) and Manufacturing (15)¹. This in a year of normal work activity.

Ben Haughton, technical director at Arco Professional Safety Services, speaks out about the escalating dangers industries may face as businesses deal with the ongoing fall-out of COVID-19.
 

Which industries are in danger of becoming more susceptible to workplace risks?

Between April and June this year alone, over 32 million working days were lost to COVID-19 related absences². In addition, redundancies and fluctuating guidelines have made it increasingly difficult for organisations to provide their workers with training. Movement restrictions, company policies and lockdown have all contributed to a reduction of training over the summer months.

Businesses are doing their best to catch up but with the threat of a second wave and tighter restrictions coming into force, it is hard to see how they will keep up with training requirements. Reduced training and a reduction in task based activity (those who have extended time in furlough) will result in skills fade. The possible consequences of this in the high risk industries of confined spaces and working at height are plain. If we are to maintain skill levels in industry, we need to look at other ways of achieving it.
 

How can businesses manage rising threats to safety?

Alongside contingency plans and ‘back to work’ responses, health and safety training must be boosted to ensure that a restructured workforce can cope with high-risk environments and inevitable skill gaps that can occur.

It’s vital that this training provides workers with the right balance of knowledge and practical skills to be able to deliver their work safely. It is all too tempting for companies to provide their workers with theory only training when social distancing and movement restrictions are in place however the shortfall in practical skills could have severe consequences.

This is not to say that there is no place for training in the virtual world, there is a balance to be struck where it is safe to do so. The workforce needs the confidence to manage their day-to-day tasks safely but also not to be exposed to the increasing risk of contracting COVID-19 by receiving training in the normal classroom setting. We’ve launched several video conference courses and we are developing VR tools to help organisations keep its workforce safe whilst also maintaining the recommended social distances during COVID-19.

How has COVID-19 impacted training centres?

We understand that managing health and safety risks can be complicated, time-consuming and demand a level of technical expertise – and resources – that businesses may not have internally.  COVID-19 shouldn’t stop organisations reaching out for help, equally it doesn’t mean that training should stop. Providing practical skills is essential in high-risk industries and so we have adapted our centres to provide attendees with a safe learning environment and the reassurance they need to join critical training programmes.

We’ve introduced new precautions at all our training centres, such as pre-start COVID questionnaires, non-contact body temperature checks, staggered break times to minimise unnecessary people movement and mixing and the use of larger rooms equipped with enclosure screens to ensure adequate social distancing. Where the physical element is indispensable, in height rescue training, for example, we can still find ways to cut proximity and limit the time spent in close contact with trainers.

As a result of the pandemic has there been anything you’ve had to do differently?

There has been a stark increase in demand for all types of Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers and all first line Covid-19 responders, with a particular focus on Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). Working with this equipment requires face fit testing and for many, this will be a new procedure, but a critical one, as research has found mask protection can significantly improve with fit-testing and one-to-one training on mask use, providing all correct procedures have been adhered to.³

In normal circumstances our national network of face fit test providers can deliver testing at an organisation's site, dramatically reducing the amount of employee down time. However, during the current situation, our team has also been focussed on supporting the NHS, first line responders and other key workers, providing face fit testing, whilst adhering to social distancing and the revised HSE guidelines for providing this service.

We conduct two forms of face fit testing, qualitative and quantitative, both provide an indication on whether a fit has been achieved, the quantitative test being the more sensitive of the two tests. Matching an individual’s face shape with a compatible mask and  teaching wearers how to ensure a tight seal is achieved is significantly helping to protect frontline workers during this period. We are also looking to utilise some of our 44 retail stores as drop-in clinics to support care workers, dentists, ambulance crews etc with face-fit testing.  

[i] For further information, visit https://www.arcoservices.co.uk/

News Originally Released in March 2021

Mental Health Matters: Ten Recommendations to Help Managers Tackle Employee Stress

Mental distress across the nation is at an all-time high compared to pre-pandemic levels.[1] As individuals face grief, forced isolation, an economic slump and unfamiliar ways of working, organisations must make decisions that will strengthen, rather than harm, an already vulnerable workforce. Beyond the human cost, better mental health support in the workplace can save UK businesses up to £8 billion per year.[2] Arco Professional Safety Services helps businesses with mental health and wellbeing training, strategies, policy development and implementation. The safety expert is sharing a ten-point action plan to help managers support and improve mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

How much stress a team faces is dependent on factors such as resource availability, workload, corporate culture and the strength of their support system. Managers are ideally placed to help handle employee stress as they have a greater understanding of the people in their team, their roles and the stress risk factors. In as little as a day, Arco Professional Safety Services can help managers acquire the knowledge and confidence to manage mental wellbeing proactively. As part of its ‘Stress and Mental Wellbeing Training for Managers’ course, the safety expert recommends a ten-point action plan that can help managers support their teams more effectively. Key actions include:

• Move to a proactive culture rather than a reactive culture by having a company Wellbeing Strategy
• Utilise mental health and wellbeing policies, become familiar with internal processes and documents around this topic and make them easily accessible using company intranet links to enable fast access
• Identify and manage issues that are likely to cause stress before they become problematic and intervene immediately where stress or mental ill-health is identified, establishing whether the cause of stress is related to work, home or a combination of both
• If a person is absent due to ill-health, agree on a method and frequency of contact, discuss what she/he is comfortable speaking about, including what should be kept confidential, then actively engage as agreed
• Avoid giving advice; give support instead. Colleagues need to feel that they are being taken seriously, are listened to and supported.  Managers shouldn’t assume that they know how their employees feel; instead, they should ask how they feel.  If managers do not feel able to speak with their employees, it is important that they find someone who can, such as a mental health first aider
• Carry out Stress Risk Assessments based on the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) Stress Management Standards (HSG218) to establish and resolve the causes of stress in the workplace and use the HSE’s ‘Talking Toolkit’ to engage with individuals about the topic and make reasonable adjustments
• For non-work-related stress, managers can use a coaching approach (ask rather than tell) to help employees identify what is causing their stress, why it’s stressful to them, how they can tackle it and where they can go for help and support
• Encourage employees to complete a Wellness Action Plan (WAP), which can be used to promote wellness in already healthy employees and help those suffering or returning from a mental ill-health absence
• Reference any internal support services offered, such as employee assistance programmes, HR, Occupational Health ‘phone lines, websites or mental health first aid functions and, also, external support including websites, helplines and support groups
• Utilise phased returns, removal and gradual re-introduction of job-role elements; providing mentors and regular check-ins can all help to prevent relapse and increase the likelihood of a faster and full recovery

Mark Nixon, Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Consultant and Trainer at Arco Professional Safety Services, says, “I have been a passionate Occupational Health and Safety Professional since 1995, but something changed five years ago. I was fortunate enough to be able to stop a young individual from committing suicide. On hearing the phrase “you saved my life” I became instantly dedicated to improving my knowledge around the wellbeing and mental health of people, particularly the employees in our own and our clients’ organisations. I now deliver Arco’s suite of courses to clients and instruct the MHFA 2 Day Adult Mental Health First Aid course, the feedback for which is breathtakingly positive. Quite simply, these courses change lives and save lives.”

With the right support in place, positive mental health and wellbeing can be sustained. Arco Professional Safety Services offers specialist courses including Mental Health First Aid, Mental Wellbeing Awareness and Stress and Mental Wellbeing for Managers. Its highly experienced trainers can help build bespoke programmes to meet client needs, whether that means delivering training on the client’s site or at one of its national safety centres. The expert in safety can also provide training online via its specialist video conference service developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure businesses can continue training while maintaining social distancing.

For more information on the mental health and wellbeing training courses available, visit the dedicated course finder at Arco Professional Safety Services. Alternatively, to contact Arco Professional Safety Services call 0330 390 0822 or email info@arcoservices.co.uk.

Sources:

[1] https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/mind-warns-of-second-pandemic-as-it-reveals-more-people-in-mental-health-crisis-than-ever-recorded-and-helpline-calls-soar/

2 https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-mental-health-work

Background information Safety Alert Lessons Learnt Investigation
 

• A team of three operatives were working at a height of approximately 7-8 metres underneath a viaduct.

• The operatives were competent trained rope access personnel, working from a steel cable. Each operative was attached via a harness whilst installing brackets for ducting beneath the viaduct.

• One end of the cable was anchored using a carabiner that was calculated and adjusted to hold the correct weight. • The carabiner failed whilst the operatives were working causing them to fall to the ground.

• One operative landed in the canal, one suffered a broken ankle and one had a broken wrist and femur.

• All involved (including all site personal and family members) have been offered support from the contractor and Highways England. Failure of High Access Equipment 24 August 2021 HEi266

Investigation

• A rope specialist has been brought in to carry out a full investigation and to help us understand why the carabiner failed and help improve future operations that are conducted within the same way.

• Highways England are working closely with the contractor and HSE to establish all the facts and offer support where necessary.

• The investigation is ongoing and lessons learnt will be shared once all information is gathered.

Remember

• Follow an approved Code of Practice for rope working (in this case IARTA).

• When working on high level access equipment, ensure that a specialist is on hand to;

• Plan the works thoroughly and note within the RAMS. Ask your ropes specialist to review the RAMS paying particular attention to the provision of a separate safety line for each operative.

• Manage the works continually to follow the RAMS, any changes to be signed off by a supervisor.

• Monitor – ensure correct supervision of the job throughout the process.

• Assurance and audit systems – reviewed to obtain positive affirmation that that current risk assessments, procedures and processes are being followed correctly

Don’t Walk By

• If something doesn’t look right, or feel right, or you believe there may be a different /better way to do something, stop the job and speak up.

Download pdf of article here

Article taken from The Highways Safety Hub

REQUEST FOR INSPECTION FOR ROLLNLOCK

PLease click on image for PDF intructions on what to do

User Safety Notice

To all MSA Fall Protection Customers

MSA is issuing this User Safety Notice to inform you that MSA has received field reports of a limited number of Latchways Standard Self-Retracting Lifelines (SRL) in which some internal bolts came loose. MSA has not received any reports of injuries associated with this condition. However, we are requesting that you perform the actions outlined in this notice.
Over time, the loose bolts will be identifiable by the user as extraction of the cable from the SRL housing will no longer be possible. However, MSA’s investigation has determined that this may be preceded by a window of time in which a fall may not be arrested.
Our investigation has determined that a small percentage of the part

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR PDF OF DETAILS