NEBOSH General Certificate Essay

A rubber followup was completedThe workplace is an A listed expression with historical signifi potfulce and c everywheres three storeys and a basement. It is made up primarily of offices however the Museum of run off forms a large come come issue of the shew floor, with the basement argona used for exhibit archiving and storage.47 staff atomic number 18 employed in the building, 1 of which is registered modify. They work various patterns passim the day succession between 8am 6pm performing popular administration duties, whilst a small spell of staff also provide museum guided tours to members of the public. On occasion thither ar visitors who attend meetings in the building both in dirt floor conference rooms and throughout the three storey premises. at that place ar 4 cleaning staff who work in the building between 6 am-730 am. Cleaning staff vacuum, dust and clean the toilets at heart the building.Most staff pee dedicated work stations, however approximately staff are required to hot desk. in that respect are cardinal photocopiers inside the building which are used throughout the work day.During my unhazardousty inspection a occur of safety issues were differentiated and have been compiled in this motif. I recommend you dissect this report carefully and take none of the issues that I have raised and take swift action to guard amends. Financial costs to implement these requirements are explained in my recommendations.EXECUTIVE analysisBreaches were entrap with regard to the following health and safety issues1.Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 blockade exhaust exits, ignescent substances found in protected escape routes, wretched evacuation procedure for the evacuation of disabled employees. 2. employment (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 propel contingencys were determine throughout, insufficient lighting in basement area may manoeuvre to disfigurement and employees using vehicular access routes as shortcuts in to building chip in collision hazard. 3.Manual Handling Operations regulations 1992 Lifting equipment has non been provided to assist employees and incorrect manual(a) handling techniques displayed by staff. 4.Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 DSE assessment findings non actioned and procedures non followed for new employees. 5.Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) Employee safety effectivenessly compromised through piteous disposal of printer ink cartridges and inadequate ventilation in outgrowth floor photocopier room.MAIN FINDINGS OF THE INSPECTIONFire (Scotland) Act 2005The majority of health and safety law breaches were found under this piece of legislation. Two squirt doors were found to be blocked during the inspection with one universe locked entirely. toss out combustible substances were determine within protected escape routes and attached to potence ignition sources. Fire doors were discovered to be wedged percipient throughout the building with the justification offered by some staff that we operate an open door policy. A major concern identified was the overleap of provision for the safe evacuation of disabled employees or visitors to the building. Disabled employees and visitors can gain access to the building by using the lift provided within the central stairwell. This provide not be accessible in the feature of a fire and some other means of evacuation impart be required. The organisation has purchased an evac-chair however at the time of the inspection this was locked by and staff had not been trained in its use. There are weighty flaws in the personal evacuation plan for the employee located on the outgrowth base floor. A defective fire extinguisher was also identified.Flagrant do by for Fire Safety is putting your employees at risk, which may result in your organisation facing financial penalties, with senior management facing the voltage for custodial se ntences. This may affect your companys study resulting in lost business. Most of the issues I have identified in this report can be dealt with immediately. Management can ensure that procedures are being followed by the initiation of a quarterly safety inspection programme.Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992Although access to the basement is limited to a small number of employees, a number of areas for concern have been identified. Freedom of movement in the basement corridors is virtually impossible due to stored museum artefacts and world(a) clutter presenting trip hazards. Access to the basement is via a steep stone staircase, on that point is no handrail provided presenting the potential for slips, trips and falls. The lighting within the basement is inadequate and there is the potential for injury by coming into contact with low piping at head aggrandisement throughout this area.The disabled employee located on the first floor shares an office with two other able incarnate employees. The disabled employee has limited mobility and uses a walking stick. Free movement roughly this office was found to be difficult due to the presence of boxes and general clutter. There is the danger of trips within this area with subsequent injury.At the time of the inspection unseasonal snow showers had led to slippery conditions at the main entrance. There was no provision for clearing this area and gritting icy surfaces, no employee had been detailed with this responsibility.At the time of the inspection employees were observed taking shortcuts through the vehicular access routes to the car parking area. This accompanied with the weather conditions presented a hazard where a pedestrian may come into contact with vehicular merchandise sustaining serious injury.Manual Handling Operations regulations 1992Two main issues were identified during the inspection, which raised concerns over manual handling. The first is that employees appeared t o be unaware of safe lifting and handling techniques, poor lifting techniques may lead to injury. Additionally, management has not provided fitting equipment to allow boxes to be safely stored on top of cabinets, the provision of a suitable step ladder or suitable lifting equipment should be considered. rearward injuries can potentially be serious and may affect the item-by-item for the rest of their lives. The cost of suitable manual handling training is minimum compared to the cost of compensation claims by employees following injury. This can be considered part of your moral duty to your employees.Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992Initial inspections were carried out by your organisation, this could have been considered to be good practice, however the findings of the inspections have not been actioned. There was evidence of employees improvising to mitigate the effects of issues which were identified during DSE inspections. There has also been a fa ilure to incline out DSE inspections with new employees.Introducing a DSE inspection procedure exit cost the organisation very little as adequate training has already been provided to managers. It was intimated that excessive workloads were preventing managers from finding time to carry out adequate DSE inspections.The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations 2002 (as amended)In general your workplace can be deemed to be low hazard, however two breaches of the COSHH regulations were observed. A used printer cartridge was left discarded following to the printer in the first floor main office area. This contained counterpoise ink and had the potential to expose staff to hazardous chemicals. The photocopier on the first floor is located in a confined space. This presents the hazard to exposing employees to ozone as the area did not have suitable working ventilation. Exposure to ozone will result in employees becoming ill.These issues can be rectified at reasonably smal l cost. You have a duty under the COSHH regulations to not install your employees ill, and breaches of this regulation, if taken to court, could lead to fines and custodial sentences.CONCLUSSIONSThis report has shown that there are a number of serious health and safety breaches within LBFRS headquarters. The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 has been dangerously ignored through fire exits being blocked, combustible materials being discarded in protected escape routes and serious concerns over the evacuation procedure for disabled employees and visitors. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations have been do by with corridors being blocked in the basement, unguarded obstructions at head height and the potential for falls down access stairs due to the absence seizure of a suitable handrail. Trip hazards located in areas frequented by your disabled and other employees are also a concern. Employees taking shortcuts through vehicular traffic routes also have the potential for serio us injury. Incorrect manual handling techniques can lead to permanent injuries, currently management is not meeting its obligations by providing suitable training and lifting equipment to negate this hazard. Although initially carried out the findings of DSE assessments have not been actioned and new staff have not been include in the procedure. These findings can impact proscribely on employees and hold the potential to affect productivity as well as resulting in injury through long term exposures. There were also breaches under the COSHH regulations which have the potential to lead to illness and injury of employees. First aid equipment was found to be out of date.If the recommendations detailed within this report are not actioned then your organisation may be at risk of negative publicity, with breaches of health and safety law leading to a poor reputation which can have a direct effect on animate business relationships affecting your companys financial stability. Employee abse nce will also have financial implications for your organisation as retraining, recruitment and litigation costs may prove to be substantial. Management must make an effort to improve health and safety in the workplace, failure to do so is likely to impact of employee morale and may have a direct effect on productivity.The recommendations following my inspection of your organisation are detailed in the table below. I strongly recommend that these findings are actioned and that all suitable changes are introduced to your workplace.RecommendationsRecommendationLikely resource implicationsPriorityTarget dateUnblock fire exits and ensure they can be opened in an emergency evacuation. 1 hour for two employees. Financial cost of purchasing secure fragmentize glass point to house basement fire door central and time costs of organisations joiner to fit box securely onto wall adjacent to door.