healthandsafety-1

Law in action

Wellbeing

Risk

Good practice

Too much red tape

Prevention is better than cure

Missing the point

Sifting safety fact from fiction

Has health and safety regulation become an occupational hazard for today’s managers? | Page 7

Unhealthy attitudes to work are costing UK industry nearly £17 billion | Page 8

Assessment is a first step on the road to better safety at work. But too many firms treat it as an end in itself | Page 10

We all love those ‘elf and safety’ tales, but how many are true? | Page 11

April 2011

Distributed within the Sunday Telegraph, produced and published by Lyonsdown which takes sole responsibility for the contents

Health and safety gone mad Are tougher safety rules cramping your style?

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Foreword

Health and Safety – in this issue

3

The business of health and safety Promoting good health and safety in the workplace not only protects employees – it can be good for business too

By Howard Fidderman Health and safety is at a watershed. Reductions in public spending introduced by the coalition government have sparked major decisions about the future direction of regulation, all taking place against a changing industrial backdrop and shifting priorities.

At the same time, health and safety is more a part of the common vernacular today than at any other moment in memory – usually for negative reasons such as “elf and safety”, the “compensation culture” and “burdens” on business.

Part of this may, ironically, have its roots in complacency born from the successes of the past – for example, the number of employees killed at work fell by 84 per cent between 1974 and 2010, which equates to 500 fewer deaths in 2010. Over the same period, injuries fell by 75 per cent, meaning 250,000 fewer injuries by last year.

However, despite these improvements and record lows in all types of injury, in the year to 31 March, 152 employees were killed at work.

Over the same period, 27,096 workers suffered a major injury and 96,271 workers suffered an injury that required them to take more than three days off work.

It’s worth noting that under-reporting by employers means the real number of non-fatal

injuries is at least 50 per cent higher than the official figure, and the shift in our industrial base from manufacturing and heavy industry to the service sector accounts for a quarter of the reduction in the death toll since 2000.

Risk of injury isn’t the only danger in the workplace. According to government estimates, there were 1.26m people suffering from workrelated ill health in 2009-10 who had worked in the previous 12 months (186 workers in every 10,000), plus 800,000 sufferers who had not worked for a year.

More than 8,000 people die every year from exposure to work-related carcinogens, and 4,000 workers die annually from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by fumes, chemicals and dusts.

The shift towards the service sector has led to the emergence of other problems, notably stress,

Work-related injury and ill health costs society between £20 billion and £31.8 billion each year

which accounts for 31 per cent of cases of work-related ill health and 55 per cent of days lost. Musculoskeletal disorders are the other big concern, causing 53 per cent of cases and 37 per cent of days lost.

All this comes at a high price for those affected by injury or illness – and at a cost to society, too. Workrelated injury and ill health costs society of between £20bn and £31.8bn each year, with ill health twice as costly as injury.

So what is the future for health and safety?

Regulatory changes are likely to be more geared to addressing safety than health issues, with a lighter touch from cash-strapped enforcement bodies which are shifting their preven-tive activities to higher risk and hazardous workplaces.

At the same time, the good news in that there are more employers with positive health and safety cultures and low injury and ill-health records. Good health, wellbeing and safety, say these employers as well as trade unions and the regulators, is good business, not a restrictive burden.

Long arm of the law

7

Healthy and happy

8

Avoid the legal pitfalls

Use wellbeing to manage staff absence

A risky business

Develop a culture of safety

10

Contributors Publisher Bradley Scheffer brad@lyonsdown.co.uk

Production Manager Sarah Ostheimer sarah@lyonsdown.co.uk

Managing Editor Lucie Carrington lucie@lyonsdown.co.uk

Project Manager Sophie Mustarde sophiem@lyonsdown.co.uk

Editor Marc Beishon editor@lyonsdown.co.uk

For more information on any of our supplements please contact us: Telephone 020 8349 4363 Email info@lyonsdown.co.uk Online www.lyonsdown.co.uk

Creative Director Martin Nolan studio@lyonsdown.co.uk

Marc Beishon Marc Beishon is a technology, science and business journalist and editor covering healthcare, IT and sales and marketing for corporate audiences and consumers. He has a particular interest in workplace health, health promotion and health technology. Marc has worked on IT and healthcare magazines and on New Scientist. He has also worked for clients such as the Institute of Directors, Ovum, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, and the European School of Oncology.

Howard Fidderman Howard Fidderman is an editor, researcher and journalist who specialises in health and safety and industrial relations. Since 1992, he has edited and written for Health and Safety Bulletin, and last year he completed a publication for the British Safety Council, Transforming the culture of workplace health and safety, and a major

project for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the HSE on Worker involvement in health and safety in nonunionised organisations.

John Ballard John Ballard has been researching and writing on occupational health and disability issues for more than 15 years. He is editor of Occupational Health at Work, director of the At Work Partnership, honorary senior lecturer in occupational health at the University of Birmingham and an honorary fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine.

Cover photograph: PM Images/Getty Images

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eHealth 17.04.2011 For copies of this report email info@lyonsdown.co.uk

Business Reporter · April 2011

4

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view

Working at the heart of saving lives When illness strikes at work, first aiders find themselves in the front line. Help them develop life-saving skills, says the British Red Cross Everyone faces pressure at work sometimes.

The past few years, in particular, have been tough for the UK’s workers with the worst recession in decades making few jobs seem secure.

With pressure can come heart problems and it is estimated that stress at work is a major contributory factor towards cardiac arrest.

With a full cardiac arrest, unlike a heart attack, the victim loses consciousness and is not breathing. This could happen in any workplace at any time, and if the correct treatment is not given immediately the results could prove fatal.

The correct treatment, which is so vital in the first few minutes, is CPR and it is most likely to be the workplace first aider’s responsibility to perform this life-saving act. The recommended practice is a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths – more commonly known as mouth-to-mouth.

The British Red Cross understands more than most how important CPR treatment can be. Our people use it every day around the world to save lives, and we teach the techniques to thousands of people in workplaces across the country on a variety of training schemes.

However, recent research shows that it is the first-aid technique that even trained staff feel least confident about – mainly because the situation is life threatening and the technique is seemingly more complex.

Guidelines Part of our mission is to overcome these fears by providing training that simplifies the procedure and enables non-medical professionals to act swiftly in an emergency.

The British Red Cross approach is matched by the Resuscitation Council, which has recently released new CPR guidelines for untrained people.

The guidelines are designed to be easier to follow and remember, and therefore more effective when needed. They include: • The person performing CPR should first ask if a defibrillator (AED) is available.

• Chest compressions should be to a depth of 5-6cm at a rate of 100-120 per minute.

• The treatment should not stop until the victim shows signs of consciousness and/or starts breathing normally.

These new guidelines reflect the importance of uninterrupted chest compressions in saving lives. During the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, oxygen in the blood remains high and therefore ventilation (the kiss of life) is less important. Compression-only CPR is one way to eliminate pauses that can kill.

The method of choice for workplace first aiders is still to use ventilation and compression CPR together and the Resuscitation Council suggests that the teaching of ventilation should continue for those employees with a duty of care.

The Red Cross teaches CPR techniques every year to thousands of people in workplaces right across the UK. We can provide expert knowledge to your key people and help you to save lives in your workplace

With training centres around the country, the British Red Cross can provide this knowledge to your key people and help you to save lives in your workplace. Not only will you obtain first-aid training of the highest quality, but you will also be saving lives around the world by supporting our global charity.

To book a course, contact 0844 412 2737 or find out more about the organisation at

www.redcrossfirstaidtraining.co.uk

Trained first aiders save lives

Protecting everyone’s interests Ansell’s Guardian risk-assessment management tool shows how health and safety can go hand in hand with increased productivity Productivity and cost-effectiveness are high on every industrial company’s agenda these days.

Health and safety managers are often asked to actively explore ways to raise supply channel efficiency and cut costs, all without compromising occupational safety.

As an expert at adapting new technologies to hand protection solutions which make companies safer and more productive, Ansell understands like no other that performance and profitability go hand in hand. That is why it developed the Guardian management tool.

Picking the right glove for each and every worker is very difficult, but Ansell’s Guardian allows companies to make the right choices Many industries such as production and manufacturing are still built around employees who work with their hands. The products made by these companies will be all the better if their employees’ hands are allowed to work as best they can while being protected at the same time.

A major challenge, however, is the sheer diversity of the jobs that manual workers do,

and the equally diverse range of gloves that are available to them. Picking the right glove for each and every worker is very difficult, but Ansell Guardian allows companies to make the right choices based on in-depth analysis and tailor-made recommendations.

The Guardian risk-assessment management tool compares a company’s existing glove usage with its requirements and then draws up an optimisation plan. This has several benefits: standardised procedures and best practices; reduced and simplified order management and inventory; and substantial economies of scale.

After implementation, Guardian’s ongoing support will further track solution suitability ensuring that the search for productivity is not a one-off endeavour.

Integrated approach Guardian offers a customised, personal approach to maximising return on a company’s personal protective equipment investment. The assessment process is based on a proven methodology and includes five phases – analyse, benchmark, improvement, measure and commitment.

In a systematic and quantifiable way, the tool addresses many of the areas of cost savings and productivity improvements. These key areas are analysed and then integrated into the easy-tounderstand optimisation plan.

In addition, Ansell has identified different key areas that improve safety, and drive savings and efficiency gains within the business including

Staying safe, healthy and productive

injury prevention, cost performance, stockkeeping unit management and standardisation, employee training and productivity.

In 2008 we received outside recognition for our success when Frost & Sullivan handed Ansell the European Protective Gloves Customer Service Leadership Award for developing Guardian.

According to the global growth consulting company: “Ansell Healthcare is clearly leading the way for customer service as many glove producers do not deal with end users, and leave it up to the distributor. End users are usually bombarded by too many different types of gloves

and can therefore potentially select the wrong glove for a certain application.

“Guardian is eliminating this problem by offering a modern, rational approach to maximising return on a company’s hand protection investment. Ansell has identified a major industry challenge, and as a result has developed a highly integrated solution in order to maximise the benefits for Ansell customers.”

See www.ansell.eu for more information, and for case stories visit www.ansellguardian.com

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view

5

Making safety count Toyota is leading the way on health and safety for its employees – and those of other firms – through its innovative operator and supervisor training programmes on materials handling equipment Safety is a key driver in the material handling equipment world of any business.

Toyota believes that passionately and as a global supplier of warehouse and counterbalance equipment, Toyota Material Handling UK has a strong track record in safety and a focus on reducing accidents and damage in the workplace, which can lead to significant reductions in costs.

Operations director Tony Wallis says: “Some of the largest contributors to materials handling costs are the operators, through damage to equipment and goods, and accidents in the workplace.

“Helping raise awareness and support for good operator driving techniques will underline everything the Toyota brand stands for in terms of health and safety in the workplace.”

Providing adequate training for operators helps to reduce overall operating costs. It helps minimise damage to equipment, goods and the surrounding areas, as well as reducing fuel consumption. To help, the Toyota Training Academy can assist businesses to get the very best return on the investment they have made in material handling equipment.

Toyota now offers a manual handling course for all employees and customers from its awardwinning programme – crucial for businesses to consider as accidents from manual handling

have one of the highest incident rates in industry.

A recent report from the Health and Safety Executive found that there were more than 46,000 incidents in the UK where manual handling tasks caused an injury that led to a worker being absent for three days or more. This represents 41 per cent of all workplace injuries.

Providing adequate training for operators is not only a legal requirement – it helps to reduce overall operating costs and can reduce accidents and damage to equipment and facilities The Toyota courses are designed to increase awareness and give practical advice on manual handling to reduce injury, a must for any employee who has concerns about best practice in the workplace.

In addition, Toyota Material Handling offers a manual handling guide and Pride in Performance CD for Supervisors for free on its website

at www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk. It gives both employers and employees guidance on the safest ways to lift, stack and move items in the workplace and how they can improve safety in the workplace.

It includes the simple rules to remember when handling loads, recommended lifting weight guidelines and advice on material handling equipment that could help reduce the risk to employees.

Toyota Material Handling has been selected as an official partner for the Healthy Workplaces Campaign sponsored by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). It is joining forces with EU-OSHA to promote the importance of maintenance and safe maintenance practices across Europe.

The EU-OSHA campaign on safe maintenance aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintenance in workplaces and of the risks if maintenance is not carried out properly. EUOSHA’s goal is to lower the number of work-related accidents by 25 per cent by 2012.

As one of 30 official European partners for the 2010-2011 campaign – and the only partner from the materials handling industry – Toyota Material Handling will build on existing safety programmes to enhance awareness and use of safe maintenance practices among its own

Handle with care and avoid injury

employees. In addition, the company aims to work with business partners and other interested parties to promote safe maintenance.

For information on Toyota Material Handling UK, call 0870 850 1409 or visit: www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk

Business Reporter · April 2011

6

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view

The impact of behaviour on safety Setting the standard for behaviour at work is the best way to avoid accidents – and that takes good leadership, says Barbour Consulting Services We’re all human, and accidents and cases of occupational ill-health are commonly associated with aspects of human behaviour and the potential for error.

Behavioural safety is an emerging concept.

The key theory and practice behind the idea of keeping the workplace safe enables organisations to identify or tailor a suitable approach, or to enhance existing programmes for successful safety leadership.

It is important to tackle behaviour for two main reasons. First, there is always a direct link between the number of unsafe acts and the number of accidents. Heinrich’s famous triangle (below) suggested that there are on average 300 unsafe acts per accident, and recent Health and

Heinrich’s triangle

1 Major incident 29 Minor incidents 300 Near misses

Safety Executive figures suggest two million unsafe behaviours per fatality.

Arguing over the exact ratio does not matter though – because there will be one. For example, if the true likelihood of falling down the stairs is 100,000 to 1 and a million people use the stairs annually – with no-one holding the hand rail – then you will have 10 accidents a year.

If 90 per cent hold the hand rail, then it’s one accident a year, approximately. However, if we can get 99 per cent to comply, this reduces to one accident every 10 years or so, meaning “zero accidents” becomes a possibility.

For the typical company, though, most accidents will be the result of simple slips, trips, falls and “struck-bys” (being hit by an object) and there’s no hand rail or equivalent to help. That means that although process safety is essential, it is virtually impossible to have low accident figures without a behavioural approach.

The second reason for tackling behaviour is that the best definition of safety culture is “the way we typically do things around here”.

Vision statements and company values are vital in setting the direction and tone of a company’s health and safety culture but theyare not sufficient to enforce it. They may influence the culture but they are not

As in all walks of life, a handful of key behaviours will set the tone on safety in the workplace

it. Day-to-day behaviour is.

A handful of key behaviours will set the tone and the first thing we do in a new situation is to look around and see what is common practice. If we see half our new colleagues acting safely and half unsafely, we can do pretty much what we want and not stand out.

Key behaviours that make a difference could range from simple “hold the hand rail” through to a risk assessment or a safety brief.

To improve behavioural safety, be proactive.

Simply asking the workforce why an unsafe act is occurring curiously rather than aggressively, can transform a safety culture.

Even better is setting up workforce teams to ask the question: “Is there anything slow, uncomfortable or inconvenient about doing this job safely?” These teams already know what is happening and why, and workers will be more honest about the corners they cut.

Management’s role is simply to action all genuinely high-impact, low-cost solutions, taking every opportunity to praise the people involved. And, if appropriate, consider highimpact but high-cost solutions to create a safer workplace for all.

Contact Barbour Consulting Services on 01344 899310, barbourconsult@ubm.com or www.barbour-ehs.com

Health and safety highs Bravi UK has established itself as a leading specialist in the provision of working at height solutions From its headquarters in Leeds, Bravi UK supply a full range of equipment and support services throughout the UK and Ireland. Managing directors Stuart Honeywood and Andrew Fishburn have a combined experience of more than 50 years in the industry, so the team is well placed to help improve safety and productivity in the workplace. Their unique consultative approach allows them to penetrate a wide range of sectors

The Caddy: reduces manual handling

with clients in retail, plant hire, petrochemical, engineering, construction, the NHS and local government. This dedication to partnership working also extends to product development.

For example, upcoming equipment includes a platform designed with major retail clients, for whom visual merchandising, cleaning and maintenance are essential for sustaining growth.

More and more organisations understand the benefits of using powered access equipment in the workplace, thanks in the main to the Health and Safety Executive’s Work at Height Regulations 2005. They realise that by employing powered access equipment and making minor changes to the way their employees work they can eliminate unnecessary risks for workers and improve productivity – even in the current economic climate.

Traditional methods of access, such as stepladders, scaffolds and podiums do make up a large part of the equipment currently used in the workplace (circa 1.9m units are used daily).

However, these tools have limitations in terms of productivity, often increasing the amount of time spent on relatively simple tasks. Applications vary and can include cleaning, maintenance and even construction; many applications are repetitive and account for a large part of the worker’s day.

Time and motion studies show that replacing traditional methods of access with the newer breed of lightweight, super manoeuvrable and ultra-compact powered access platforms can reduce time spent on the job by up to 50 per cent.

The Leonardo is one such machine; small

enough to fit in a regular passenger lift, yet still enabling the operator to drive at heights of up to 4.9m. Because of its unique drive and steer system the Leonardo can operate in any area where regular wheelchair access is available, making this a simple solution for offices, shops, manufacturing plants, public buildings and business premises. Weighing less than 500kg,

Employing powered access equipment and making minor changes to the way people work can minimise risks and increase productivity the Leonardo can even be used on raised access floors of the type found on bank trading floors, in schools, offices and so on. In construction it is currently being used on many high-profile, state-of-the-art sites including the Olympic Park and the Shard in the City of London.

The Caddy has been designed specifically for picking and carrying stock at up to 5.35m. Ideally suited to retail and warehousing environments, and recently adopted by one of Europe’s leading DIY providers, it offers the ultimate in safety and productivity with a powered cargo shelf that greatly reduces manual handling.

Bravi Lite, seen recently on The Gadget Show, offers even more manoeuvrability and will

The Leonardo: lightweight and compact

drive at heights of 4.2m, yet impressively weighs less than 400kg.

The future for the company is bright with an ever increasing customer base and new products in development.

For more information visit

www.bravi.uk.com

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Regulation

7

The perils of risk and regulation Health and safety law has evolved over the past 35 or so years, but change is in the air – for both employers and regulators

By Howard Fidderman The bedrock of our health and safety system remains the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

This changed a highly proscriptive approach based on rules and requirements to one that places general duties on employers and the self-employed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and members of the public. The act includes some specifics, such as the duty to have a safety policy, but essentially gives employers discretion as to how they discharge their general duties.

Over the years, the act has been supplemented by a rolling series of regulations – currently totalling about 200 – covering specific issues, activities and workplaces, and also allowing for the implementation of a raft of legislation from the European Union from 1992 onwards. In recent years, there has been little new legislation of note to affect employers’ duties – most has been fine-tuning previous requirements.

The most notable regulatory development was that, from 1993, the concept of risk assessment became an explicit duty on employers and, to all intents and purposes, the starting point for implementing their preventive actions.

When employers complain about the myriad of legislation and guidance they are faced with, it is usually some of these regulations – particularly those derived from the EU – that they have in mind. But in recent years, two acts of parliament have generated a great deal of publicity, much of it misleading.

The best known is the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which introduced a new offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate homicide in Scotland). There are two widespread misconceptions here. First, the act does not introduce any new duties – it applies only to the most serious of failures, and an employer addressing workplace risks adequately before the act has nothing to fear. Nor can any individual be charged (or imprisoned) under the act: the clue is in the title – it is about the corporation.

The second new law is the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 which, for most offences, raised the maximum penalty that magistrates can impose to £20,000. It also allowed most cases to be heard or sentenced in the crown court where there is no limit on a fine, and increased the number of breaches for which an individual could potentially go to prison.

The reality of sentencing is that magistrates rarely sentence anywhere near the maximum and crown court judges seldom avail themselves of the opportunity to make an offender, as one Court of Appeal judge said, “sit up and take notice”.

The average fine imposed in all courts in 2009-10 was just £15,817 per offence prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive, while that for local authorities – which regulate health and safety in about half of all UK workplaces – was just £8,102.

Small firms often face sanctions in the region of £10,000 to £30,000 which may wipe out their annual profits, but larger firms experience a sixfigure fine as little more than an occupational

hazard: of the 110 fines of £100,000 or more handed down between 2005 and 2010, only seven amounted to more than one per cent of the offender’s turnover.

There has been just one corporate manslaughter conviction so far, resulting in Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings being fined £385,000 in February – 115 per cent of its 2007-08 turnover.

The notion of jails full of directors is wide of the mark, too. A custodial sentence is a rare sanction for even the most negligent of individuals – it has been used on just 40 occasions for manslaughter (a different offence to corporate manslaughter) and 35 times for health and safety offences in the past 35 years. To put that in context, courts have heard more than 1,000 cases a year over that period.

And none of these 75 cases involves a senior manager or director of a large corporation – they are, instead, owners and directors of very small companies, gas fitters and the like.

New challenges The UK has a mature body of law and regulation that has withstood 35 years of experience and reviews. Since the change of government in 2010, however, this consensus is being challenged as at no time before. Labour moves to shift health and safety towards a more pro-business stance amounted to little more than tinkering, but David Cameron said things would be different under a Conservative administration and, shortly after his coalition arrived in Downing Street, he commissioned a major review of health and safety and the “compensation culture” from Lord Young of Graffham.

Reporting last October, Young came up with a curate’s egg – some eminently sensible suggestions to focus attention on the risks that matter and reduce the fees that lawyers were charging for taking compensation claims, but also a raft of recommendations to address problems that, on closer scrutiny, were mostly matters of myth or irrelevance. This included an end to prosecutions of hero firefighters for safety breaches, for example, even though Young was unable to find a single instance of such a prosecution. No matter, he said, “perception is reality”.

Despite Young’s resignation just weeks after his report appeared, the government has pressed ahead with implementing his recommendations with a sense of purpose unprecedented for health and safety. Young set a hectic pace for reform and the government has more or less adhered to his target dates.

Employers are already able to benefit from selecting advice from a register of accredited safety consultants who have pledged not to overegg the risk-reduction pudding, while smaller businesses now have access to bespoke guidance, Health and safety made simple, available online.

At the same time, cuts in public spending left the Health and Safety Executive having to cope with a 35 per cent reduction in the money it receives from government over the next four years. Then, in March, came an announcement from employment minister Chris Grayling, who took over from Young, that is likely to shake the safety establishment to its core.

Lord Young’s review came up with some eminently sensible suggestions but also a raft of recommendations to address problems that were mostly matters of myth

Building on Young’s report, it paves the way for the end of preventive inspections in so-called low-risk workplaces and in sectors where they have proved ineffective (some of which, notably agriculture, are among the most dangerous of all sectors). This could be a loss of 75,000 inspections by the HSE and local authorities every year.

The plans could also lead to the HSE reversing 35 years of practice and charging on a fee-for-fault basis – essentially, for all the costs of an inspection or investigation that reveals a serious breach, together with the cost of any follow-up work.

Finally, there will be an independent review to “simplify” the regulation of health and safety in Britain.

Lord Young of Graffham: taking a pro-business stand on health and safety law Getty Images

Business Reporter · April 2011

8

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Occupational health

Promoting good health in the workplace Sickness absence costs the UK billions each year but a good occupational health policy can really pay dividends for employers

By John Ballard Looking after the health and wellbeing of employees not only makes good business sense – it helps ensure employers comply with their duty to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of staff.

Wellness and wellbeing are broad concepts that encompass protecting the physical and mental health of staff from work-related risks, and using the workplace to promote better health. Doing this doesn’t have to be complex or costly, but does require top-down, board-level commitment and leadership. And there are a lot of resources, many at no cost, available to businesses of all sizes.

Employers already know the high cost of sickness absence. The CBI says UK employees take an average of 6.4 days of sick leave a year – that’s 180m days across the economy, at a direct cost of £16.8bn.

But research in both the public and private sector demonstrates the dramatic difference between the best and worst performing organisations. The best quartile in the CBI’s annual survey shows absence levels of 2.1 days per worker per year (1.1 per cent of total working time), while the worst quartile shows 10.1 days (5 per cent of working time).

UK employees take an average of 6.4 days of sick leave a year – that’s 180m days at a direct cost of £16.8bn

The best-performing companies are invariably those that: have good management systems; talk to, and respect the views of, staff; offer flexible working; address issues such as bullying and unfairness in the workplace; and ensure that work is designed and organised so employees are not exposed to risks to their physical and psychological health.

Occupational health (OH) used to focus on recognising and preventing occupational diseases – and of course it is important to remain vigilant in preventing exposure to toxic chemicals, noise and other hazards – but it has expanded to include the wider implications of health on work, and of work on health. It is now well recognised that being in good, stable employment is actually beneficial for both physical and mental health.

There is much interest, therefore, in using the workplace to promote general health, through initiatives that tackle stress, obesity, poor nutrition and lack of exercise, smoking and help employees improve their work-life balance.

Why should employers be bothered? It’s simple – healthy employees are likely to be more productive, more engaged in their work and take less sickness absence.

New measures The coalition government has restated its commitment to the work started by the previous administration following a pioneering review led by Dame Carol Black into the health and wellbeing of Britain’s workers. She noted the £100bn cost of ill health in the working age population (through lost production, sickness absence and healthcare costs), and stressed the importance of supporting people who become ill to remain in work, and to do more to help people with long-term conditions get back into work.

She also called for a “fundamental change in the widespread perception around fitness for work – namely that it is inappropriate to be at work unless 100 per cent fit and that being at work normally impedes recovery”. In other words, work should be part of the recuperation process.

This message is underpinned by research that demonstrates categorically the long-term benefits to the employee and employer of encouraging return to work following absence.

Getting people back early helps overcome the psychological and social obstacles that can mean a slide towards permanent incapacity rather than a return to good health and productivity.

In response, the government has launched a range of measures, including replacing the old GP sick note with a fit note, which focuses on what a worker is capable of doing – not what they cannot do – as part of a phased return to work. The note was launched in April 2010 and an online version is expected later this year.

The government has also launched Fit-for-Work services – multidisciplinary services bringing together a range of expertise to help employees who become ill to stay in or return to work (11 pilot services are in operation around the country, and the government has announced renewed funding).

Other initiatives include occupational health advice lines to offer free health at work advice to small businesses and managers, and a free Workplace Wellbeing tool, to help businesses get a handle on the specific health and wellbeing issues within their organisation – employers can benchmark their own sickness absence and turnover data against other companies, learn where and how to make improvements, and carry out cost–benefit analyses of investing in workplace wellbeing.

Occupational health Most large employers already have an occupational health service, either in-house or outsourced to one of the many private sector providers, or indeed to NHS organisations selling OH services under the “NHS Plus” banner.

These offer a range of services, including: assessing fitness for work; return-to-work assessment and advice; health surveillance in more hazardous work environments; advising on workplace adjustments for employees with disabilities; and developing strategies to prevent ill health and promote better health.

An occupational health service typically employs nurses and doctors who are highly qualified in workplace health, as well as allied professionals such as physiotherapists, ergonomists and occupational psychologists.

It doesn’t make economic sense for a small business to employ its own OH professional, but most providers will offer tailored services, or can be contacted when the need arises.

And, of course, some free advice is already available from the OH advice lines.

Deciding which OH provider to engage should not depend simply on cost. Employers should think carefully about exactly what services they need and get recommendations from other employers in their area or sector.

The process has been streamlined with the launch in December last year of the UK’s first ever accreditation scheme for occupational health services. The Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Service (SEQOHS) accreditation scheme is being managed by the Royal College of Physicians.

To be accredited, services will be assessed for compliance against various quality standards.

By February 2011, 159 OH services had already registered interest and it is expected that most reputable OH services will seek accreditation over the next 12 to 18 months.

For more information about SEQOHS see www.seqohs.org.uk

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Occupational health

9

Absence makes the heart grow fonder Average direct cost of absence by economic sector (%)

Reasons for long-term decline in absence (%) 80 Closer monitoring and management of absence by companies/managers

381 Manufacturing 500 524 595

27 Advances in medical treatments and medicines

602

25 Shift to more non-manual work

All Other services Public sector 400

600

800

0

20

40

0 60

80

100

Respondents by workforce size (%) 0-49 13

50-199 22

500-4,999 36 200-499 15 Source: CBI absence survey, 2010

Screening for stress at work Perhaps through the changing nature of work, or because there is less stigma around admitting to being stressed, more people than ever are taking sick leave attributed to work-related stress.

Stress is a natural response to fear and pressure, but prolonged, unceasing stress is what leads to people becoming ill. Prolonged stress can lead to poor cardiovascular health, can be associated with obesity and unhealthy coping strategies such as alcohol and smoking, and can lead to clinical conditions such as depression and burnout.

Initiatives to improve workplace wellbeing can help reduce the negative health effects of stress. Emphasis should be placed on improving management style, better communication, positive feedback – appreciating the work of employees goes a long way – good job design and encouraging work-life balance, including through sensible working hours.

But it also pays to assess the risks of stress, just like any other hazard at work, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) management standards for work-related stress should be the first port of call.

When it comes to wellbeing in the workplace, it might be tempting to think organisations can screen out unhealthy workers, or somehow avoid employing them in the first place. Many employers spend considerable resources on pre-employment health screening, but is it worth doing?

The simple answer is that unless you are dealing with very specific jobs where there are special health – and sometimes statutory – reasons for assessing fitness for work (food handlers, pilots, surgeons and offshore divers, for example) detailed medical checks and examinations at recruitment do not bear fruit in terms of productivity, safety or the prevention of future ill health. The NHS recently carried out a detailed

review of research in this area and found little evidence of any benefits.

Pre-employment screening can even be unlawful.

New provisions under the Equality Act 2010 mean that it is generally unlawful to ask health or disabilityrelated questions before making a conditional job offer. Once a conditional job offer is made, it can be lawful to ask health questions, but any decision to reject an individual at that point must be justified – a failure to justify the decision would amount to unlawful disability discrimination.

The proper occasion for obtaining employees’ health information is when it is genuinely relevant to the work, or where the individual may need some adjustments to the work or workplace to overcome a disability. Occupational health services and the OH advice lines can help, but bear in mind that confidential health information should only be handled by health professionals.

Some employers may feel it worthwhile to offer some form of health screening as part of a general health promotion programme and some simple screening tests can form part of providing advice on men’s or women’s health, obesity and general fitness. However, this kind of general screening will only benefit employee health if it is entirely separated from personnel records and carried out by competent health professionals.

Screening for alcohol and drugs is very controversial, and is rarely justifiable unless there are safetycritical or reputational reasons – competent advice must be sought before this is considered.

For information abut the HSE’s management standards go to www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards

95 95

Minor illness (colds, flu etc)

52 57 Non-work related stress/anxiety/depression

Back pain

46 34 Other musculoskeletal disorders

45 39 Non-work related stress/anxiety/depression

63

20 Manual

40 Non-manual

44

37 28 Non-work related injuries

41

Cancer

Source: CBI absence survey, 2010

5,000+ 14

37

34

21 Lower workplace injury rate

784 200

Back pain

36 Changing workforce culture

Private sector

Illnesses causing short-term absence (%)

56

36 Greater investment in occupational health

Professional services

0

Illnesses causing long-term absence (%)

60

80

100

0

20 Manual

40 Non-manual

60

80

100

Business Reporter · April 2011

10

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Risk assessment

In search of excellence A firm commitment to health and safety can bring benefits to both employers and workers, as several leading organisations have found out the minds of the employees. Actions at the Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey following the earthquake-induced problems at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station are a good example. Fred Brookes, the environment, health, security, safety and quality manager at the site, says there were no concerned questions from staff as the crisis developed – which he attributes to the health and safety culture at the power station, “particularly the knowledge of the staff and their confidence in the management and systems”.

By Howard Fidderman Successful businesses, goes the mantra, need a good health and safety culture. But what does that mean?

“It’s simply the way we do things around here,” says Highland Spring’s Jonathan Neale. It “involves attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviours and how they all interlink. It is about people taking care of their own safety, and other people’s safety, in a systemic way.”

The important thing, says Bill Cross, the former health, safety and environment adviser at Diageo Packaging in Runcorn, is “to develop a safety culture that has at its heart the notion that everyone makes a personal commitment to safety, no matter what their position in the organisation”.

Peter Kinselley, health and safety manager with corporate lawyer firm Linklaters, adds: “Communication is key to health and safety culture.”

There is a clear consensus from these committed industry players and others about what makes a good safety culture: engaged directors; trained, competent, involved and empowered workers and managers; relationships between managers and staff that are mutually trusting and open; and a system for managing health

Jonathan Neale: looking for a simpler way

and safety, just as there would be for managing other vital aspects of the business.

Although health and safety culture is never a finished product, it needs to become embedded in an organisation and take on a life of its own in

Action At the heart of an employer’s management of health and safety is the risk assessment. In principle, it should usually be a simple approach of first identifying the hazards, then working out the risks and consequence of things going wrong.

The employer should then act to prevent or reduce the chances of such unwanted incidents, and check that everything is working as it should.

In practice, however, risk assessments have sometimes become bureaucratic and unwieldy processes. “Risk assessments can be very confusing,” says Kinselley. “They should be simple and focus on accountability and action, and shouldn’t overcomplicate things.”

Highland Spring’s health and safety manager Neale agrees. “Risk assessment has become too

complicated,” he says. “We went for the simplest method, with just three categories of risk: high, medium and low. The principal part is the doing part. We have allowed people to understand it; we have everyone on site do a risk assessment to prove they can do it.”

Health and safety needs to become embedded in an organisation and take on a life of its own in the minds of the employees Cross took great pains to ensure that the risk assessment process at Diageo Packaging is “simple to use and looks at each control measure against the hierarchy of control”. The risk assessment process can become an end in itself for some companies, he warns.

“The crucial thing is to improve the control measures where the risk assessment shows this to be necessary and to develop safe systems of work to protect workers from the residual risks,” he says. “It is no use carrying out risk assessments only to have them hidden out of

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Risk assessment

11

Debunking myths

Putting theory into practice LINKLATERS The global law firm is headquartered in the City of London and employs about 4,800 people worldwide.

Facilities and initiatives in London include a fitness centre, healthy eating, occupational health nurse and roadshows, plus health and safety is integrated into the firm’s business support services.

Preventive ergonomic risk assessments have reduced the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, which are the largest work-related cause of absence. Sickness absence rates have fallen from five days per employee in 2006-07 to 3.85 in 2008-09.

WYLFA POWER STATION This nuclear power station generates 40 per cent of the electricity needs of Wales and has just under 900 staff and contract workers.

Initiatives include stopping work for site standdowns six or so times a year to allow the site director to address the workforce, sponsorship by the five senior managers of two error-prevention tools each, 300 workers trained as behavioural safety observers, and the use of theatre to deliver safety messages.

Sickness absence rates are around six days a year per worker, which is lower than the industry average, and there have been just three incidents in the past three years which resulted in any lost time.

HIGHLAND SPRING The Highland Spring brand is bottled at source in the Ochil Hills in Perthshire. The company has 289 employees at its Blackford site and initiatives include widespread engagement and training of the workforce, which has resulted in various improvements in the production process, competitions to raise awareness and improved employee relations in general.

Workers now exert peer pressure on colleagues to act safely and the workforce reports 250-300 potential safety issues a year, which means that problems are nipped in the bud and there are far fewer accidents – a drop of 50 per cent in the past two years.

the way in the safety manager’s office – they must be made available and be interpreted for the people who work in the area or carry out the task to which they relate. Indeed, workers must get involved in actually carrying out the risk assessments.”

The Health and Safety Executive is reviewing its approach to risk assessment along similar lines. It has already produced simple model risk assessments for more than 30 types of workplaces and, following Lord Young of Graffham’s health and safety review last year, has implemented his recommendation for online assessment tools for low-risk workplaces. It is now looking at simplifying its approach and emphasising the importance of action.

Benchmarking Companies benchmark their health and safety performance in different ways – and for different reasons. At Linklaters, Kinselley benchmarks internally as well as externally with Business in the Community and the British Safety Council. He does so because the law firm operates “in a field where it is sometimes difficult to

quantify in a low-risk enviroment why our approach to health and safety is good for business. So I look for ways of demonstrating the benefits. How effective are our systems and processes, for example?”

He adds: “Benchmarking is a persuasive tool internally and a way of highlighting our performance to insurers and having it taken into account in premium setting.”

Benchmarking at Wylfa, according to Brookes, “is one way of avoiding complacency” in such a heavily-regulated industry. “You can always learn from others,” he says, adding that Wylfa’s latest initiative to “steal with pride” saw the plant send 20 staff to the USA to bring home lessons from five of the country’s best power stations. He also benchmarks outside the nuclear industry, including an ongoing health and safety ideas swap with Toyota.

And while Highland Spring benchmarks with companies in similar businesses such as Diageo and United Distillers, staff also visit different types of manufacturers and are set to visit Longannet power station in Fife. Neale says: “For Highland Spring, it is about idea generation, not scores.”

Diageo Pac k ag i ng i n Runcorn benchmarks internally against the other Diageo sites and externally against the safety performance of similar organisations. “We are always willing to learn from any source,” says Cross.

Everyone knows the stories – “bonkers conkers”, hanging baskets, egg and spoon races – but few appreciate that most are either not true, or are the product of an overzealous official simply getting it wrong.

In 2007, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) started publishing a myth of the month, and later a calendar, debunking the myth and explaining the reality. Dr Paul Almond at the University of Reading’s School of Law, produced a report in 2009 that traced the genesis of some of the myths and warned that while an individual story is “unlikely to do much lasting damage to the HSE, the cumulative effect of many such stories is more significant”.

Refuting a story, he cautioned, can often enhance its perceived truth.

The problem is that these myths have taken hold in the popular consciousness, not least because they are propagated by politicians and journalists who really should know better.

And once they have taken hold, they can become corrosive. Many of us have also been on the receiving end of a schoolteacher or a train company citing health and safety as a spurious justification for action or inaction.

Most businesses acknowledge that the public perceptions of health and safety can be problematic at work, but most also insist that their workplace health and safety culture helps ignore the spurious and focus on what matters.

“Most people at Wylfa recognise a myth as a myth because we do so much to communicate real health and safety to them,” says Fred Brookes, “Culture helps people understand.”

Peter Kinselley of Linklaters agrees. “There are some people who see health and safety in this oldfashioned sense, but if you can show the value and disprove the myth, and help them through education and training, they understand by the end,” he says. “It is a little like the police: at that moment when you need them, you discover they are pleasant and helpful people.”

Jonathan Neale at Highland Spring admits to policing myths “robustly”. He says: “Myths inevitably do the rounds, circulated by the media. They can be very damaging, but are easily combated with communication, education and information.”

Compensation claims

Many people – and not just trade unions – would argue that one of the biggest of all myths is the so-called “compensation culture”, which was also the subject of Lord Young of Graffham’s health and safety review last year.

Despite several independent reports and sets of official statistics that all rejected the notion of such a culture, the view of employers on the ground is more mixed.

Diageo’s Bill Cross, for example, says: “It is all too easy to make a claim against the company following a workplace injury as a worker need only fill in a form via their trade union and the rest is almost automatic, most often resulting in a payout.”

Fred Brookes, however, can’t remember the last time he had a compensation claim from a member of staff at Wylfa, although he does attribute the “odd claim” from a contractor to the so-called compensation culture.

The experiences of Kinselley at Linklaters and Neale at Highland Spring are somewhere in the middle. “There are a few pockets,” says Kinselley, “but only a few and there is much more emphasis in press reporting than the reality.” And Neale believes that while the number of claims is increasing, “it is still very low.”

There is, however, agreement that the solution lies in an organisation’s approach to health and safety and a culture that prevents injuries arising in the first place, and also how it then handles the effects through a firm but fair absence management policy which looks after people with regards to their health, rehabilitation and sick pay. In this, the education, training and engagement of the workforce, as part of the organisation’s wider health and safety culture, are prerequisites.

Business Reporter · April 2011

12

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view

Mutual assistance through knowledge sharing Developed countries can lead the way on safety and responsibility in the new global marketplace, says the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management The impact of globalisation of business and the opportunities for increasing profitability, whether through the expansion of markets or by the creation of low-cost labour pools, is a hot topic.

But we don’t often hear about the responsibilities this expansion places on these businesses for the health, safety and welfare of employees who may be working thousands of miles away.

While corporate social responsibility is much talked about, we still often see different standards applied in different markets. But help is at hand from the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM), which has members in 80 countries.

Health and safety is fundamentally the same picture everywhere, although it may be in a different frame The institute’s international perspective, together with the commitment to knowledge sharing embodied in our educational remit, has led us to focus on ways in which the knowledge and

experience gained by organisations in those countries and cultures where health and safety management is well established can be used for the benefit of workers in developing countries.

There is an awareness of the responsibilities in these countries, and the will to improve.

For example, the institute is encouraging its overseas members to establish local branches and two of them, Libya and Nigeria, have very quickly taken the initiative to share knowledge and experience.

Many of our initiatives have been based on the belief that issues needing to be addressed in developing countries are common throughout the world and have been addressed elsewhere.

Health and safety is fundamentally the same picture everywhere, although it may be in a different frame.

To support this view we have encouraged organisations that are well respected for their attitude to health and safety to contribute case studies based on particular issues which were of concern to them. They have described the problem, how they developed and implemented interventions and the measurable benefits for both the business and the workforce.

World view – IIRSM chairman Keith Scott (six from left) in Busan, Korea, for the 1st International Conference on Accident Prevention

We have been able to include a contribution on integrating health and safety into business from a major company in the Middle East – a good demonstration that here in the UK we don’t hold a monopoly on good ideas.

Another opportunity for the institute to share knowledge globally has been through technical forums, one of which is being planned for the Middle East. Through links with the Manchester Business School, the attendees at the inaugural event included many overseas MBA students who demonstrated a ready grasp of the topic and some innovative thinking.

However, if we are to help share knowledge it is

essential that this be carried out by practitioners with an assured level of competence. That’s why the institute has launched a training accreditation scheme which has attracted interest from overseas organisations, as has the corporate membership scheme which will allow companies to demonstrate their commitment. These initiatives clearly demonstrate that health and safety has no boundaries.

For more information, contact IIRSM at Suite 7a, 77 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA, on 020 8741 9100, at info@iirsm.org or visit www.iirsm.org

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view

13

Better safe than sorry Regulation, avoiding disruption or simply showing you care. There are many reasons to prioritise health and safety, says our panel of leading industry figures

Graham Jukes

Anne McColl

Brian Nimick

What are the most pressing issues in health and safety, and how can you help businesses deal with them?

What are the most pressing issues in workplace health and safety today?

Why are occupational health and safety issues especially important for migrant workers?

UK workplaces are some of the safest in the world, but still too many people are injured or killed at work. Some of the biggest global brands have fallen foul of health and safety legislation.

Yet in the UK media, health and safety stories are almost entirely about over-zealous inspectors stopping activities such as school egg-and-spoon races. In reality, health and safety is about common sense, saving lives and protecting people.

I am against imposing unnecessary burdens on business, but we need robust regulation. We make no apology for supporting a rigorous health and safety framework.

Ensuring your employees have the right training. The first employee at the scene of an accident should be willing and confident to act.

Employees need initial first-aid training and regular refresher sessions to ensure they have that confidence.

We support our training with an annual skills update, delivered online or through a half-day course.

Many migrants fill “three D jobs”: those that are dangerous, dirty and demanding. This puts them at higher risk of accidents and unhealthy working conditions. Worse, many know little about UK health and safety laws, and things are made more difficult if workers have limited English.

A quarter of UK migrant workers have either been involved in an accident or seen an incident involving a migrant worker, suggesting a much higher level of incidents than for UK workers as a whole.

A study showed that a third of migrant workers have received no health and safety training. The rest simply received short sessions during their induction. Many lacked knowledge of basic health and safety procedures, few knew their health and safety rights, and many of those questioned said that they did not report incidents, fearing that they would be seen as a risk and would be sacked.

The IIRSM wants to see: • A system to measure numbers of migrant workers introduced, with data being collected on incidents involving them.

• The Gangmasters Licensing Authority’s remit extended to include all industries likely to employ migrants.

• An occupational health and safety information system aimed at migrants.

• Employers and industries with high levels of migrant workers targeted to ensure they conform with legislation.

“Some of the biggest brands have fallen foul of health and safety legislation” How can CIEH training prevent potential risks and accidents?

We have helped businesses reduce risk and prevent accidents for 125 years – our members, who are environmental health practitioners, enforce workplace health and safety. We are the UK’s largest provider of accredited health and safety and food safety qualifications, which are recognised and valued by businesses up and down the country and around the world.

Can CIEH services be tailored to suit particular sectors, businesses or countries?

All 50-plus CIEH qualifications are developed with our diverse customer base in mind. We operate in 23 countries. For example, last year the CIEH secured an agreement to provide health and safety training to the Municipality of Chongqing, China – the first of its kind for any UK public health organisation. We are also expanding into the Middle East.

How can CIEH training improve an organisation’s performance and profits?

Quality health and safety training is an investment. Just one incident can have consequences ranging from damage to your reputation to business failure. Our updated health and safety products will help organisations – big or small – improve performance and profitability, comply with legal requirements and adopt internationally-recognised standards.

Graham Jukes is chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

Are there times where Red Cross Training has averted a potential fatality?

Absolutely. We receive many stories from delegates we have trained. For example, Graham, a buildings administrator, found a man collapsed behind a delivery lorry. The man had multiple injuries, he was unconscious and fitting, was surrounded by broken glass and had a gash to his head. Graham made the area safe, then dressed the head wound.

He later said: “In 15 years as a first aider this has been one of my worst cases. I am glad I continued to update my skills with Red Cross Training so that I felt confident enough to act.”

How can first-aid training benefit the bottom line?

It makes business sense to provide trained first aiders. It is a legal requirement, but it also shows employees that you care.

First-aid training prevents minor accidents and illnesses becoming major ones which could disrupt business, cost money and have a negative impact on your reputation. It also builds employees’ confidence. Almost everyone trained on one of our courses said they left with more confidence and motivation, and are thankful to their employer for giving them the chance to learn life-saving skills.

“The first employee at the scene of an accident should be willing and confident to act” What about ongoing services?

Everyone who attends a workplace first-aid course gets free membership of our Safe Hands programme, an online resource that allows them to refresh their skills, test their knowledge and question our experts.

For employers, Safe Hands helps cut through the red tape of health and safety regulation, provides legislation updates, and dispels common myths.

“A third of migrant workers have received no health and safety training” How does prioritising health and safety for migrant workers benefit businesses?

Employers should protect employees regardless of their origin.

Benefits include higher productivity, reduced staff turnover, better morale, lower sickness and absenteeism, and less down-time resulting from accidents.

There is also less possibility of unwelcome visits from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or local authority inspectors, less chance of fines, a reduced likelihood of loss of business, and of corporate manslaughter prosecutions.

What help can IIRSM give employers with health and safety protection or training for migrant workers in particular?

We provide support and information to corporate members to ensure that they are aware of migrant labour issues.

www.cieh.org

Anne McColl is general manager of Red Cross Training, the division of the British Red Cross that delivers HSE-approved workplace first aid courses.

Brian Nimick is chief executive of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM), which is calling for more protection for migrant workers.

www.redcrossfirstaidtraining.co.uk

www.iirsm.org

Business Reporter · April 2011

14

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view and classified

Reducing road risks

A career protecting others

DrivingMonitor is a web-based risk management tool that uses the latest technology to minimise accidents in fleets, reduce insurance premiums and cover health and safety obligations. It covers: • driver risk assessment • online e-learning • licence checks • accident reporting/management • vehicle safety checks (MOT, tax, insurance) • full audit of data stored for drivers • on-road driver training

Looking to start or fast track your health and safety, or environmental management career? Find out about the NVQ Level 5 Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice, which will take you towards IOSH Chartered status - CMIOSH.

DrivingMonitor covers these checks in one web portal, allowing you to get on with running your business.

Our country-wide training programme includes NEBOSH Certificates, IOSH, SMSTS, SSSTS and our unique IEMA Associate Certificate by Applied Learning.

Visit us at the NEC S&H Expo, 17-19 May 2011, Stand P72 in Hall 2 or contact CRS on 01283 509175, advice@crsrisk.com or at Clay House, Horninglow Street, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1NG. www.crsrisk.com

Visit www.drivingmonitor.com/trial for your FREE online trial or call 0845 500 4505.

Are YOU future proof?

Manage your people safely

On the 21st birthday of 1990 EU display screen directive will you be ready for the UK Display Screen Equipment regulations by 2013?

Rivo Software Ltd provides leading organisations such as Silver Spoon, Thames Water, Barclays and Experian with safety, health and environmental management and compliance solutions. With Rivo you can: • capture data and report on compliance and performance • enforce process and pre-empt problem areas • demonstrate a proactive risk management culture • deliver return on investment for your organisation Rapid and flexible configuration alongside industry best practice results in the answer to all your health, safety and environmental management requirements.

As the last lot of legislation failed to make any difference to operators and left up to 50% at risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), the EU is considering a specific MSD directive.

Just as well that Eye Science is launching a Screen Fatigue Detection, risk assessment and mitigation tool-kit at the NEC Health & Safety Expo.

Tel: 01926 622328 Email: Stacey.henson@rivo.co.uk Visit: www.rivosoftware.com

www.screenrisk.com

Protect and survive Even a small amount of alcohol can affect the speed of our reactions and put others at risk Approximately 18 per cent of all fatal road accidents are caused by drivers who have been drinking.

Most drivers and machine operators do not realise that even a small quantity of alcohol can upset their co-ordination, reactions, vision and concentration. They mistakenly tell themselves: “I’ve not drunk much, I’ll be OK.” The majority of us like a social drink and there is nothing wrong with that as long as we don’t expect to drive or operate machinery afterwards.

The problem is that once we’ve had a drink we can’t all be trusted to make the right decision.

This is where Alcolock GB can offer help. We distribute the Lion DS-10 Ignition Interlock System which will only allow your vehicle or equipment to be started if a breath sample is provided that is below the alcohol cut-off level which you have specified. The unit is derived from Lion’s police breathalysers as used by the majority of UK forces, and is fitted easily within the space of about 90 minutes.

For the business user who needs to monitor their drivers

Breathalyse before you drive

closely, we can offer a web-based management system which also offers instant SMS alerts to samples found to be above the cut-off value.

So whether Alcolock GB is for your company drivers, machine operators, your son or daughter or even you, it makes sense to keep them and the public safe from the consequences of drink-driving.

Call Alcolock GB now for further information or see us on stand L54 at the Safety and Health Expo.

Business Reporter · April 2011

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the sunday telegraph

Industry view

15

At the heart of saving lives Sudden cardiac arrest is the scourge of the developed world, killing more people than any other health condition. Defibrillation can make the difference between life and death Each year around 90,000 people lose their lives in the UK to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Many of these deaths occur in public places, including the workplace.

SCA is caused by a malfunction in the normal electrical activity in the heart. It strikes without warning and can affect both young and old.

Normal electrical activity in the heart is vital as it regulates the action of the heart in pumping oxygenated blood around the body maintaining life. Any interruption to this process can cause

Defibrillate or die?

sudden collapse and certain death unless the victim receives appropriate treatment.

SCA can have many causes: coronary heart disease, drug abuse, electrocution and drowning to list a few. Young children are particularly susceptible to a condition known as commotion cordis where a blow to the chest can cause the electrical system in the heart to go into an abnormal rhythm and thus cause sudden cardiac arrest.

SCA is not the same as a heart attack. The latter occurs when a blockage or narrowing of

the coronary arteries in the heart prevents the flow of blood, and therefore oxygen, to the heart muscle itself. This causes the heart muscle to die and the patient will exhibit signs of severe chest pain that may radiate down the left arm and up the neck, excess perspiration and nausea.

If the heart attack is serious enough the patient may subsequently suffer a sudden cardiac arrest characterised by a loss of consciousness and respiration.

Unless treatment is carried out immediately the patient will die.

The only effective treatment for sudden cardiac arrest is defibrillation at the earliest possible opportunity. For every minute defibrillation is delayed, the chance of survival falls by 10 per cent. Waiting for an ambulance to arrive is not an option as response times can be, at best, between eight and 10 minutes. Fortunately the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest has developed greatly over the past few years with the introduction of the automated external defibrillator (AED). This intelligent and easy to use device is designed for non-medics to use in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest occurring and can be an inexpensive lifesaver within the workplace.

The AED is designed to take the rescuer through the steps required to defibrillate the patient using voice prompts to instruct the rescuer

every step of the way. The AED analyses the victim’s heart rhythm and, if in sudden cardiac arrest, automatically charges itself and instructs the rescuer to press a shock button that delivers an electrical shock into the patient’s heart.

Training to use an AED is also easy and straightforward. It involves a simple four -hour training course that covers the operation of the AED and the technique involved in carrying out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

The placement of AEDs in public places and the workplace has seen survival rates in the UK rise from around 1 per cent to over 25 per cent in the past few years.

For more information visit

www.cardiacscience.com