Top10 NEWS October 2018 of health and safety, fire protection & environmental protection

What does periodical OHS training for labourers look like?

Periodical OHS training is mandatory for all employees. Its aim is to update and consolidate staff’s knowledge of safe working conditions. It should be delivered in accordance with the terms set out in the Regulation of the Minister of Economy and Labour on training in the area of OHS. Periodical OHS training courses for labourers involve above all updating the information and skills in areas such as: OHS regulations; hazards involved in work processes; changes in work technology, organisation and the workstations; rules of behaviour in case of accident at work or other emergency.

The frequency and duration is left to employers to define.

The first periodical training course must take place within 12 months of commencement of work in a position with others taking place at least every 3 years, and at positions involving particularly dangerous works - at least every year.

The training should be in the form of practical, on-the-job instruction based on the detailed syllabus developed by the training organiser; or in the form of lecture, talk or video demonstration.

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Are employers required to attend general OHS induction training?

Opinions are divided, among both OHS specialists and PIP (State Labour Inspectorate) inspectors, as to whether or not employers are required to attend general OHS induction training. Despite a lack of unambiguous regulations in this respect, employers themselves are increasingly interested in such training and readily draw on the knowledge of OHS specialists.

Under Art. 2373 (21) of the Labour Code, employers are required to attend OHS training insofar as it is necessary to comply with their obligations. Such training should be repeated on a regular basis.

Section 10 (1) of the Regulation on training in occupational health and safety provides that general induction training is to be delivered to, prior to their being admitted to work, newly employed staff, students doing internship and vocational school students employed as apprentices. The provision does not include employers among general induction training participants. Instead, they are named as potential instructors to teach such training.

Despite a lack of an explicit legal regulation, general induction training for employers is reasonable, particularly considering the gravity of OHS issues. It should be remembered that employers are inherently liable for any potential, irreversible consequences of their failure to comply with their obligation to ensure to their employees safe working conditions that will not pose any hazards to their health or life.

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The Clean Air Programme Already since 19 September of this year it has been possible to file electronic applications for subsidies for replacement of old, or installation of new, heat sources conforming to the “Clean Air” programme. The governmental-level programme is being implemented by the regional Environment Protection and Water Management Funds.

The programme enables one to obtain as much as a 100% subsidy for qualified costs of house insulation, replacement of windows or an old, high-emission stove, and aims at reducing or eliminating particulate emissions and other pollution into the atmosphere from single-family homes, and thus contributing to an improvement of the natural environment.

The “Clean Air” programme targets individuals owning or co-owning single-family homes or those who have obtained a building permit for a single-family home.

The funds will be distributed for actions aiming at reducing or eliminating high emissions. The programme also provides for subsidies for the necessary design documentation, e.g.: energy audits, where applicable, technical designs, or ornithological or chiropterological surveys. Such actions will be funded in the form of subsidies and loans.

Moreover, the programme also provides for funds for renewable energy source installations – solar panels and photovoltaic microinstallations. These actions can only benefit from low-interest loans.

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A Parliamentary Committee rejects the PIP's OHS postulates An Extraordinary Parliamentary Committee on deregulation took a position on Monday, 22 October of this year, in favour of adopting the so-called SME Package.

The PIP’s postulates on OHS training had been disregarded.

Works are underway in the Sejm on a draft law to amend several statutes aiming at simplifying procedures for businesses in tax and business law (the so-called ‘SME Package’). The amendment provides for some 50 solutions to simplify doing business whereby businesses will save nearly PLN 4 billion over a period o 10 years. This is another – following the package of 100 amendments for business and the Constitution for Business - proposal for making life easier for Polish businesses.

The package includes lifting the requirement that some 5 million clerical and administrative staff undergo mandatory periodical OHS training. In response to this, the State Labour Inspectorate filed a brief opposing the reduction in mandatory periodical OHS training. The PIP argued that this will result in a drop in safety levels at some companies, including those in the clothing production, trade and car repair industries.

The Extraordinary Committee on deregulation disregarded the postulate.

A vast majority of the proposed solutions will enter into force in 2019.

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How to carry out production line on-the-job instruction?

Employee in carrying out their tasks on a production line typically operate machines consisting of several devices, e.g. unwinders, straighteners, welders or roll conveyors. The question thus arises whether on-site instruction has to be carried out for each of such devices seperately.

Under Section 3(1) of the Regulation of the Minster of Economy on the basic requirements for machines of 21 October 2008 (Dz.U. No. 199, item 1228, as amended), a machine is “a set of machines (...) that have been set in order to achieve an end goal and are so operated as to function as an organised whole�.

Thus, where a technological line comprises several machines working as a commonly steered ensemble and operated by a single worker, it ought to be treated as a single machine, and the job title of an operator of such a line should be – operator of a technological line for the production of a given product. It is then sufficient to carry out a single on-site instruction course for the entire production line.

Where a production line is divided, for operation, steering or energy supply purposes, into several independent machines (production segments) operated by several workers, then the training sheet should indicate which machines and which workers a given training course concerns.

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What does a fire protection audit look like?

One of the obligations of the Fire Service is auditing facilities for compliance with fire protection regulations. In this respect the Fire Service is vested with special auditing rights allowing it to impose fines in the event of violations.

The auditing and investigation activities are carried out on the grounds of:      

an annual auditing and investigation plan; notification of a facility with increased risk of serious industrial breakdown; order from a starost, court, prosecutor or the NIK (Supreme Audit Office); notification of a facility where the regulations require an opinion from or taking a position by the PSP in respect of fire protection; notification of the mayor of the city or municipality on an identification of a hazard to life or health, risk of damage to assets or direct threat to the environment; occurrence of new material circumstances in the area of safety in the area of the PSP poviat (county) or city headquarters.

Under the law, the audited business should be provided with an audit notice a minimum of 7 days, or in case notification about a facility, in advance of the audit. A facility can be audited without notice in the event of life or health hazards or wher a facility is directly facing a threat of fire. Such audits are customarily carried out during the audited business’s working hours. However, where the Fire Service has been notified of a hazard to life or risk of fire, an audit can be carried out outside the business hours or during holidays.

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Work clothes for the bad autumn-winter weather The atmospheric conditions are often unfavourable during the autumn and winter seasons. Working outdoors in rain, snow or in negative temperatures is not an easy job. Therefore, work clothes should be of good quality and provide an adequate level of comfort.

First – water resistance. Rain clothing aims to secure an employee against precipitation – particularly against rain or snow. Its features include above all being waterproof as defined in the PN-EN 343 standard.

Secondl – breathability. Air circulation has a considerable impact on the comfort of rain clothes. “Breathable” work clothes will enable those who wear them to do their work comfortably. The level of breathability of a product is also defined by the PN-EN 343 standard.

Thirdl – membrane. The fabric of which the clothes are made has also considerable influence on the level of workers’ comfort. Various kinds of vapour permeable membranes are used in the production of rain and snow protective clothes.

Fourth – finish. Bound or laminated seams and rubber-coated or covered zips preventing water from penetrating the fabric at places of contact between the fabric and the finishing are very important elements.

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First aid training – why so important?

Rescuing a casualty is everyone's obligation. This also constitutes a legal obligation under Art. 162(1), which states that one may be criminally liable for failure to rescue another. For this reason, it is crucial that everyone be trained in first aid, not only drivers, but also children in kindergartens and schools as well as employees of all ranks.

The recent accident involving Polish drivers in Slovakia was a tragic example of the fact that first-aid skills can always come handy. However, not all accidents look so dangerous: they may involve choking, burning or frostbite, and also food poisoning or being stung by an insect. In any case, those injured need your help.

The rescuers say that the first four minutes (also referred to as ‘the golden minutes’) are vital for life-saving. Alas, no ambulance can arrive during such a short time. That is why it is so important that the witnesses to an accident undertake rescuing activities.

Frequently, a major obstacle to the provision of help is insufficient knowledge of first aid. Also, certain psychological processes can affect the decision making – in a large group of onlookers everyone is waiting for others to start the rescue action.

First aid training can help to get rid of such qualms and start, in the event of an accident, to help others without a moment’s hesitation.

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Fines of anti-smog law violations Since the beginning of November, the city and municipal police can impose fines for violating local anti-smog ordinances. There are 17 anti-smog ordinances in nine voivodships, viz.: dolnośląskie, lubuskie, łódzkie, małopolskie, mazowieckie, opolskie, podkarpackie, śląskie and wielkopolskie.

So far, the city police could only report irregularities, and where violations were found, they could refer cases to the police or court. City police could only impose fines where they had found that waste was being burnt in home stoves and furnaces and on the ground.

This has changed since early November. A regulation issued by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of 11 October 2018 authorised the municipal police to take such measures. The municipal police can impose fines for:  

 

use of any of the fuels named in an anti-smog ordinance, i.e. sludge and flotation concentrate, lignite, low quality culm, wet wood; heating a building with a device failing to meet the requirements specified in the ordinance, e.g. installing and using a non-class furnace or stove other than eco-project (these include e.g. traditional tiled stoves); burning waste in a fireplace, stove or furnace; burning waste on the ground.

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OHS norm regarding concrete feeding and transporting machinery operation The Association of Industry Concrete Producers in Poland together with the Safety in Construction Agreement have jointly developed a 14.8 OHS norm concerning concrete feeding and transporting machinery. The leaflet contains requirements under the law and Polish norms as well as the internal regulations of the Safety in Construction Agreement.

The norm is mandatory for all signatories to the Safety in Construction Agreement, which means that it will be honoured and enforced by the largest building contractors in Poland, in performance of prestigious investment projects. This will help to ensure safe and efficient practices during the works.

Since businesses are employee an increasing number of workers from the outside the Eastern Polish border, the leaflet will also be published in Ukrainian and Russian languages.

The leaflets can be downloaded here: http://spbt.pl/standard-bhp-juz-gotowy.php

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