Top10 NEWS MAY 2017 of health and safety, fire protection & environmental protection

Qualifications required when operating machines and other technical equipment for earthwork, construction and road works after 1 April 2017.

On 1 April 2017, amendments to the Regulation of the Minister of Economy of 20 September 2001 on health and safety during the operation of machines and other technical equipment for earthwork, construction and road works were brought into effect, aiming to adapt the list of machines and equipment to the requirements that arise from technical progress and the reduction of obligatory trainings for operators of construction, earth and road machinery (Journal of Laws 2017, item 134).

According to the current Regulation, neither specialized training nor a positive exam result for the 24 machines identified as "simple" is any longer required. In case of 15 machines the number of qualification classes has been reduced. There are also certain facilitations concerning machines that will still require a passed exam to be operated.

For example, a qualified excavator operator will now be authorized to operate a singleturret excavator of up to 4 tonnes of gross weight, a single bucket loader of up to 8 tonnes of gross weight and a bulldozer.

In addition, if the machinery and equipment used on the premises is not included in the list of the machinery and technical equipment for which training is required and a positive test result is obtained, the employer can decide whether the employee should be sent to an appropriate training or it will be sufficient to make instructions on health and safety when operating the machine and carry out occupational instruction on health and safety.

What are the requirements for using forklifts?

The requirements for the use of forklifts used in the internal transport of the workplace are determined by the regulation of the Minister of Economy of 10 May 2002 on health and safety while using motorized forklifts (Journal of Laws No. 70, item 650 as amended).

According to § 6 of the regulation regarding the types of technical equipment whose handling and maintenance requires qualifications, lift trucks of special-types are classified in category I WJO. Examples of this type of equipment are telescopic loaders produced, among others by MANITOU, JCB or MERLO. The permissions that are required to operate the trucks mentioned above can be obtained in several ways:

 Completion of the course (81 hours of classroom time, including 25 hours of practical classes). 

Participation in a complementary course, where it is required to have a Qualification Certificate for Handling Forklift Trucks in Category II WJO and a Certificate of Completion of a course according to a program developed or approved by the UDT Academy.

 Obtaining a certificate of UDT qualification I WJO - specialized lift trucks (forklift trucks and operator lifted with load).  Completed training at the Institute of Mechanized Construction and Rock Mining (IMBiGS).

Accident on the way to and from work, at work or accident equivalent to an accident at work?

The right classification of the accident is of great importance for the injured employee. It is on it that it depends whether or not an employee will have the right to apply for accident insurance benefits.

The basis for the qualification of the accident is primarily determining whether it occurred:  On the way to or from the workplace - the employee leaves the home or apartment when he/she goes to work or is returning home.  During a business trip, the employee is, at the request of the employer, on the way out of the city where the company or his permanent place of business is located.

The formal basis for a business trip should be the departure order, usually in writing, which specifies the date, place and task of the trip. The order should be issued by the employer.

On a business trip, from departure to return, the employee remains at the employer's disposal and is covered by social security in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases. In court case law, it is assumed that an accident while traveling on a business trip while being on the way between the place of work and the place of accommodation is an accident equivalent to an accident at work.

New rules for sorting out municipal waste From 1 July 2017, new rules for segregation of municipal waste will enter into force.

Municipalities will have a transitional period of five years, which means that by 30 June 2022 they should replace the containers with ones in the correct colours.

The Ministry of Environment has also introduced a transition period for waste collectors. It is based on the expiration of the contracts signed with municipalities. This means that the introduction of new rules for the segregation of waste in individual municipalities will take place upon the expiration of these contracts, but not later than 30 June 2021.

Waste should be divided into four fractions, collected in containers or bags of the following colours: 1. Blue – paper 2. Green - glass (separable into clear glass - white container/bag and coloured glass - green) 3. Yellow - metal and plastic 4. Brown - biodegradable waste.

When separating waste, it is important to keep in mind a separate category of waste hazardous one. It can be disposed of in specially designated locations in shops and pharmacies, as well as in a municipal waste collection point - in the so-called MSWCPs (Municipal Selective Waste Collection Points).

Rescuing bees In recent years, mass extinction of bees has been observed. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is undoubtedly industrial agriculture, and in particular the pesticides from the neonicotinoid insecticide group. As a result, environmentalists from Greenpeace and beekeepers appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture to support a ban on toxic pesticides harmful to bees.

As scientists call, without bees and without pollinators, food production would drop significantly, and yields would fall by as much as 75%. Greenpeace estimates that the work of these insects in Poland is worth as much as PLN 4 billion.

Katarzyna Jagiełło from Greenpeace Poland explained in an interview with PAP that “in the coming weeks the fate of bees will be decided in the EU”.

- The European Commission has proposed banning the use of the most toxic pesticides for bees. Beekeepers and Greenpeace appeal to the Minister Jurgiel that Poland stands on the side of bees and bans the use of the most harmful pesticides - she said - Many studies show, however, that neonicotinoids are also a serious threat to other animal species, butterflies, invertebrates and even birds. - Jagiełło added.

Environmentalists point out that the Polish asset that helps the bees is small-scale agriculture. In Poland the usage of pesticides is still at a relatively lower level than in Western Europe, but this trend is going up rapidly.

Tools to support development of safety-oriented behaviour In the world, during a year an average number of around 270 million accidents at work happen, including 350,000 of fatal accidents. In 2016 in Poland nearly 89 thousand people suffered in accidents at work and 239 workers were killed.

In most companies, accident prevention is in line with current legislation and standards. However, the introduction of certain changes can significantly improve safety at work. Proposals for such solutions include:  Intervention sheet - It allows all employees to be involved in improving health and safety by reporting actual accident events as well as the potential ones. It allows creating a database containing places and situations where an accident can occur.  Health and Safety at Work Checks - A control program consisting in systematic (e.g. weekly) checks by supervisors of employees' awareness of the hazards of their workplaces and their observance of safe work practices.  Conversation Sheets on health and safety for employees - A record of employee’s participation in preventive actions and a list of events that occur in a given area of work. It contains the topic raised by the supervisor, the date of the interview, and the signatures of the participating employees.  Standard PN-N-18001:2004. Health and safety management system based on the classic quality management cycle, the philosophy of continuous improvement according to the Deming wheel.

First findings of the State Labour Inspectorate checks In January this year a new minimum hourly rate was introduced for contracts of mandate, i.e. 13 PLN gross. However, as early as in February the State Labour Inspectorate announced that due to the fact that not all employers complied with the current regulations, mass inspections would start. On 26 April at the training centre of SLI in Wroclaw they summed up the first three months of the action "PLN 13... and do not quibble".

- From the beginning, we knew that new positive solutions for employees, such as PLN 13 per hour for contract of mandate as well as minimal salary of PLN 2,000, and additional 20% of night work allowance, which are not included in the minimum wage, will cause employers to "quibble". Hence the joint activities of the National Commission of NSZZ "Solidarność" and the State Labour Inspectorate - said the chairman of the association Piotr Duda during the conference.

SLI inspectors carried out over 3,500 inspections and in 28% of them irregularities were found. They have issued 1,100 written and 133 oral instructions. Adhering to the principle that the first inspection is without penalty, fines were imposed in 43 cases for the total amount of PLN 55,000. 14 applications were submitted to the courts and 42 educational instructions were applied.

The checks have showed that 9% of companies dumped their hourly rates to 4,000 people for whom the NLI has caused the reimbursement of over PLN 15,000 of unpaid salaries.

So far, nearly 600 applications have been submitted to NLI. By the end of the year NLI is planning to have carried out at least 20,000 checks on this issue.

Forms of technical supervision Technical supervision over equipment is performed in the form of full, limited and simplified supervision. The principles, scope and forms in which it is performed are defined in the provisions of the Law of 21 December 2000 on technical supervision (Journal of Laws of 2015, item 1125, as amended) - UDT. The issue of the form of technical supervision over technical equipment is regulated in Art. 12 UDT. The provision distinguishes three forms of supervision: • full technical supervision, • limited technical supervision, • simplified technical supervision.

As part of the manufacture of the equipment, full or limited technical supervision includes the verification of the performance of certain materials and components, tests of the equipment manufactured in series and the technical tests. Using the equipment subjected to full or limited technical supervision is based on the acceptance tests in readiness conditions, along with inspection of the qualification certificates of the people operating and maintaining the equipment.

Simplified technical supervision involves checking the production of equipment in accordance with the conditions referred to in Article 9(4) UDT. In addition, the competent body of technical inspection must carry out periodic and ad hoc technical checkups. Qualifications of people operating and maintaining the equipment are also verified.

Referral to prophylactic medical examinations Should a referral to prophylactic medical examinations include all substances and mixtures present at the workstation, or only the most hazardous (carcinogenic) or the ones that are being measured at the workplace?

When assigning a referral to a preventive test, no specific names of all the hazardous chemicals and/or mixtures used thereof should be mentioned, but only those that require appropriate diagnostics. The Act of Law regulating the issue of occupational preventive examinations is the regulation of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of 30 May 1996 on carrying out medical examinations of employees, the scope of preventive health care for employees and medical certificates issued for the purposes set out in the Labor Code (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 2067).

The document should be written in accordance with the model set out in Schedule 3a to the regulation and include the following information:

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Defining the type of preventive examination,

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Definition of the workstation at which this person is to be employed

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Definition of the workstation at which an employee is employed

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Description of the working conditions - including the information about the occurrence at the workstation or workstations of dangerous, harmful or strenuous, and other factors resulting from the way of performing work.

Passing the safety helmet to another employee The employee whose work agreement has been terminated has a safety helmet in a good condition. Can the employer make it available to another user?

The rules do not regulate this issue. However, personal protective equipment should not be re-used (by subsequent users) if they are in contact with the body. The helmet is in direct contact with the skin and hair - so it should not be reused unless it has been thoroughly disinfected. After disinfection, the employer, after consultation with the employees or their representatives, may allow it to be re-used. The helmet must retain its protective value.

By providing a safety helmet as a head protection, the employer should follow the tables in Schedule 2 to the regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on general health and safety at work regulations (Journal of Laws of 2003, No. 169, item 1650 as amended).

The personal protective equipment provided to employees must: 1. Be appropriate for the hazard and not itself cause increased risk; 2. Take into account the conditions existing in the workplace; 3. Take into account the requirements of ergonomics and the worker's health; 4. Be suitably adjusted to the user - after making necessary adjustments.