Why should you train your staff?

• It’s The LAW
• A trained and competent operator is less likely to have an accident, do something wrong, operate equipment incorrectly or endanger others.

European Directives

EEC Directive 89/655/EEC A7
The employer shall take measures necessary to ensure that workers given the task of using work equipment receive adequate training including training on any risk that may entail.

EEC Directive 95/63/EEC A5
The employer shall take measures necessary to ensure that workers given the task of using work equipment receive adequate specific training including training on any risk that may entail.

United Kingdom Legislation and Regulation

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 
Part 1. 2 (2) (c) General duties of the employer; the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees.

Work at Height Regulations 2005 – Reg 5. Competence

Every employer shall ensure that no person engages in any activity, including organisation, planning, and supervision, in relation to work at height or work equipment for use in such work unless he is competent to do so or, if being trained, is being supervised by a competent person.
(competency = sufficient and adequate training / theoretical knowledge / practical experience).

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 Reg 9. Training

(1) Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be undertaken.

(2) Every employer shall ensure that any of his employees who supervises or manages the use of work equipment has received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be undertaken

Falls From Height – Still A Problem

Despite a steady decline, falls from height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality. In 2010/11, a total of 38 workers died and 4,327 employees suffered a major injury as a result of a fall from height in the workplace, with a further 10,232 employees suffering an ‘over 3 day’ injury.

Many of these incidents could have been avoided by people with the right training using the correct equipment that had been properly inspected and maintained.

LADDER ASSOCIATION Assumes Responsibilities For Ladder Exchange Scheme

WITH immediate effect, the Ladder Association, the trade body representing the ladder industry in the UK and Ireland, has assumed responsibility for delivering the annual Ladder Exchange. Since it was first launched in 2007, it has been responsible for removing over 10,000 broken, bent or damaged ladders from the workplace with the message ‘Don’t let a dodgy ladder shatter your life’.

Actively supported by the Ladder Association and its members who, throughout, have made a firm commitment to work in partnership with HSE and the access industry, the Exchange has also contributed to raising awareness and understanding of how to use ladders and stepladders safely. Under the scheme, suspect ladders can be exchanged, at a discount, at participating partners.

The Ladder Exchange is a great example of how everyone in the health and safety system can share responsibility and work together towards a common goal; namely, reducing falls from height.

Comments Cameron Clow, the new chairman of the Association: “By entrusting the running and management of the Ladder Exchange to the Ladder Association, HSE is acknowledging the increasingly important role that the Association and member organisations of the Access Industry Forum (AIF) now play in advancing safety and best practice in the work at height sector.”

“The Ladder Association is the natural and logical new home for this landmark initiative, which, at launch, created a benchmark in collaboration between the industry trade body, ladder manufacturers and suppliers, and the regulatory body. As an organisation committed to advancing knowledge, skills and safety, we are proud and delighted to have the opportunity of taking over and developing this initiative.”

Paul Cook for HSE says: ”It is widely recognised that trade associations such as the Ladder Association are well placed to promote safety in their industries, given their long established cross-sector membership and contacts. We look forward to the Ladder Association making a real success of the Ladder Exchange as it develops in future years, helping to reduce serious risks that can cost people their livelihoods and  their lives.”

The 2012 Ladder Exchange will begin on 1 September and run until 30 November 2012. Full details will be posted on the Ladder Association’s website from 1 May. In the interim period, anyone wishing to register their interest in becoming a participating partner should contact jill.couttie@ladderassociation.org.uk

More Ladder Exchange details will also be available from the Association’s stand in the AIF Information Centre at this year’s Safety & Health Expo, 15-17 May, at the NEC, Birmingham.

BAF Highlight Safety Shortcomings

New accreditation scheme sets standards for abrasives safety training

The leading manufacturers of abrasive products fear that proper training in their safe use is being overlooked. It is often the result of confusion due to changes in legislation that have affected the burden of responsibility on both users and distributors of abrasives. Inadequate training from specialist providers is also an issue.

The British Abrasive Federation (BAF) states that its members’ products meet or exceed the highest worldwide safety standards. However, despite the huge effort, that goes into the design and production of safe abrasives, when technical staffs from manufacturers are called into investigate accidents involved their products, they find that the cause is often due to poorly trained operators and products being incorrectly mounted or used.

In an effort to resolve the problem, BAF has decided that clear guidelines are required on who should be trained and to what standard if accidents involving abrasive tools are to be reduced.

Chairman of the BAF, Dr Bill Gilmour, said, “Unless purchasers of abrasives are given the correct information as to their obligations to train not only operators and users but also specifiers and buyers, then the incidence is unlikely to reduce.”

The next step is to ensure that the training being delivered dramatically improves and to that end, BAF has brought together a group of leading experts within the abrasive industry. Using guidance from the Health & Safety Executive and PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment regulations 1998), together with its combined experience of recorded accidents, the team has devised a standard stipulating the content and delivery to which all abrasives safety training programmes should adhere.

Kentec are proud to have been granted accreditation by the British Abrasives Federation to provide operator training courses in the safe use of abrasive products. We see this as a step closer to abrasive wheel training been facilitated in a structured, effective and professional manner.

Respirator/Face Mask Fit Test Service

The COSHH Regulations and the associated Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) recommend that the initial selection of tight fitting respiratory protection equipment  should include a fit test. This is to ensure that the selected respiratory protective equipment has the potential to provide adequate protection for the wearer.

Kentec are pleased to offer the Moldex fit testing service in cooperation with Moldex, a leading safety product manufacturer. This fitting service offers two main benefits, firstly to make sure that the respirator itself is suited for the wearers particular face shape, and secondly to make sure that the respirator is fitted correctly to get a tight seal and ensure safety against hazards in the workplace. It is important to remember it is the suitability of the respirator that is being tested.

You should carry out a pre-use check every time you put on your respirator. Always check that it is fitted according to the manufacturer’s instructions, e.g. ensure that the straps and strip for moulding the respirator around your nose are correctly adjusted, then hold the mask in place and breathe in or out sharply. You should readjust the respirator if you detect any leakage around your face or your glasses steam up when you breathe out.

FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3 are designed to filter out dust only. They must not be used where there is an oxygen-deficient atmosphere or harmful gases and vapours. You should discard most non-reusable disposable respirators at the end of the shift or sooner if they are heavily contaminated. Never hang up a respirator in a dusty place for use later on.

If wearing a respirator interferes with spectacles, hearing protection or head protection, a powered visor may be more suitable. Some retailers also sell products known as nuisance dust masks or comfort masks that look like dust respirators but are not marked with CE or with any standard. They often have only one head strap. These are not intended for use when a respirator should be worn. You should never use a nuisance dust mask instead of an approved respirator when working with construction dusts, fibres, grain dust or mouldy hay, straw, grain or other material that could cause occupational asthma or in any way harmful to lung. Packaging for these masks might be labelled, ‘This product does not provide respiratory protection’, or something similar.

Full face masks cannot be tested because the test hood is not large enough for the mask fitted with a filter. For testing this product it will be necessary to use the Quantitative method (discussed below). Qualitative Fit Testing can be used not only as a test method to ensure your employees are properly protected; but also as a very effective way of training them in the correct way of fitting a mask. Dust and half masks commonly fail to do the job they are intended to do because of poor fitting and care by the user. The seal between the face and the edge of the mask is the most common problem area. You will also see users using a mask after having kept it on their head or hanging round the neck.as a test method to ensure your employees are properly protected; but also as a very effective way of training them in the correct way of fitting a mask. Dust and half masks commonly fail to do the job they are intended to do because of poor fitting and care by the user. The seal between the face and the edge of the mask is the most common problem area. You will also see users using a mask after having kept it on their head or hanging round the neck.

The test employs a hood to create a small test chamber around the users head, and a test solution.This test solution has a bitter taste. It is the same type of solution that is put on childrens toys and fingernails to stop them chewing them. As the test uses these two consumable parts and is designed to be carried out by the employer; it is a very cost effective solution for assessing the ability of the selected Respiratory Protective Equipment and the training given to protect the employee.

New Senior IPAF Instructor

We are proud to confirm the recent appointment of our Managing Director, Steve Booker to Senior IPAF Instructor status. Steve’s new IPAF status in addition to our existing IPAF senior Instructor, James Carter, means that Kentec have two full time Senior IPAF Instructors providing the full range of IPAF Training Courses.

• IPAF Operator Training
• IPAF Demonstrator Training
• IPAF Instructor Training
• IPAF PAV Training
• IPAF Harness Training
• IPAF MEWPS for Managers

Don Aers and Stuart Hopkins appointed PASMA Directors

PASMA’s technical manager, Don Aers, and training scheme manager, Stuart Hopkins, have both been appointed directors of the Association with effect from 1 January 2012. They become technical director and director of training respectively.

Don Aers joined the Association in January 2010 from the Youngman Group. After graduating in engineering from Brunel University, Aers worked for Pye, BOC and Alcatel in various design and development roles, including a spell as chief
design engineer with Cinevision Services in London and Tokyo. He joined the Youngman Group as technical manager in 1995.

He is a well-known figure in the access industry. As well as being a member of the BSI B514 (access and support equipment), B514/24 (mobile access tower) and B514/41 (fixings) committees, he sits as a UK representative on CEN technical committee TC53 (temporary works equipment) and TC53 working group 4 (mobile towers).

He is also a past chairman of the Ladder Association, a member of the BSI B512 Ladder Standards Committee and sits as a UK representative on CEN TC93, the European Ladder Standards Committee.

PASMA’s new director of training joined the Association in 2008 from HSS where he was group senior trainer having previously held various positions including branch manager, area manager and national training manager.

He holds the certificate in training practice from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, the RoSPA safety instructor’s certificate and was chairman of the IPAF training committee 2004-2005.

Comments chairman of the Access Industry Forum (AIF) and PASMA’s managing director, Peter Bennett: “Both Don and Stuart are well known and respected throughout the industry and are two of the most experienced people in the access and work at height sectors.”

“Their advancement recognises their respective contributions to the Association and provides the necessary platform for them to support the work of the various committees, liaise with the relevant regulatory bodies and provide advice and guidance to PASMA’s 300 plus members in the UK and Ireland.”

Don looks after the PASMA Technical and Hire & Assembly Committees and Stuart is responsible for the PASMA Training Committee.