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

European OHS Week European Occupational Health and Safety Week organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has been an opportunity to discuss and exchange best OHS practices since 2008.

During the time, conferences, workshops and exhibitions are organised, and posters and information materials are distributed across entire Europe. These activities aim at drawing the attention, not only of employers, but also of the society at large, how important safe workplaces are.

Work accident statistics over the past two years have shown a downward trend, which may be testimony to the positive impact of the information campaigns.

According to the data from the Main Statistical Office, 243 persons died as a result of work accidents in 2016. This constitutes a 20.1% drop on the preceding year.

The first quarter of 2017 saw a total of 16,807 casualties, which was 0.5% less compared to the corresponding period in 2016.

EU-OSHA advocates fair and decent conditions of work, helping both employers and employees tackle the challenges they face. One such campaign is the “Safe at start, healthy at finish� campaign.

The highlight of the OHS Week was the peak of the "Healthy and safe workplace" campaign taking place between 21 and 22 November in Spanish Bilbao.

seka.pl

Health implications of an unergonomic workstation Unergonomic office furniture, failure to match the employee’s anthropometry, incorrect work organisation and scheduling, and time pressure – these factors exert strain upon the employee and may lead to serious health implications.

In 2016 Ergotest.pl carried out an online survey, which showed that 31% of employees report everyday problems relating to the improper design of their computer workstation. The most frequent conditions include: backache (72%), headaches (47%), neck strain (51%) and shoulder strain (37%).

The research carried out by CIOP-PIB shows that the frequency of the conditions is largely dependent on the spatial organisation and compliance with ergonomics at the workstation. The most frequent mistakes in organising workplaces leading to such complaints include:     

computer screen placed too high, chair not adjusted to the employee’s anthropometry (often, the back rest set too low), too little legroom under the desk (particularly at operator workstations where the table is an inseparable workstation element), employees’ bad habits (most frequently leaning over the desk or keeping the feet under the chair), too much time spent in a sitting position.

seka.pl

Fines for exceeding admissible noise levels On 24 October 2017, the Minister of Environment announced the fines for exceeding the admissible noise levels to be in force in 2018.

According to the announcement, the fines will not go up.

By 31 October of each year the Minister of Environment is required to set, in the form of an announcement, the levels of penalties for exceeding noise limits.

In 2018, the penalties will remain at the same level as over the last two years. Their levels correspond to the average annual consumer goods and services index, published by the Main Statistical Office.

A single penalty for exceeding the admissible levels of noise leaking out to the environment will be PLN 65.37 per each dB of excess.

Level of excess from 1 to 5 dB from 5 to 10 dB from 10 to 15 dB above 15 dB

Fine pre dB of excess in the day in the night PLN 11.37 PLN 14.24 PLN 19.91 PLN 24.20 PLN 28.47 PLN 34.17 PLN 42.68 PLN 51.26

seka.pl

New water law and the competences of the starost From 1 January 2018, under the environmental protection statutes – Water Law – the most important institution in the area of water management will be the State Water Enterprise “Wody Polskie”. This means that the starost will be no longer competent to grant water-law permits.

Art. 14(1)(9) of the new law, the starost is still mentioned among the bodies competent in water management matters. Under the new law, the starost’s competences will include:      

The right to move to sell the land with midland still waters owned by the Stat Treasury and to appoint the tender committee for that purpose.

Issuing opinions on appointment and dismissal of the water supervision head.

Approving, by way of decision, the bylaws of a water company.

Supervision over and monitoring the operations of a water company.

Dissolution, by way of decision, of a water company and appointment of its liquidator.

Filing motions to delete a water company from the water management information system.

The new Water Law introduces the notion of “water services” to the Polish legal system. Such services include inter alia collection of underground or surface water, introduction of waste water to water or soil, disposal of rainwater or thaw water to waters or water equipment being part of the storm water drainage systems. The entities providing such water services will be required to obtain a water-law permit.

seka.pl

General OHS rules for office spaces and workstations Office spaces and their equipment should provide safe and hygienic work conditions under the regulations of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on the general rules for occupational health and safety (i.e. Dz.U. 2003, No. 169, item 1650, as amended) and on the health and safety of work at workstations equipped with screen monitors (Dz.U. 1998, No. 148, item 973).

Employees must be provided with: natural and artificial light, adequate temperature, air exchange and protection against humidity, unfavourable temperatures and sunlight exposure, vibration and other factors harmful to health.

A workstation equipped with a screen must be so located as to ensure that the employee has easy access to it. The minimum distance between screens must be 60 cm, and that between an employee and the back of the nearest computer screen - 80 cm.

Each employee working in a permanent coworking space must be ensured a minimum:  

13 m3 of free cubature of the room, 2 m2 of empty floor area (i.e. NOT USED by any technical, or other, equipment).

seka.pl

Is any injury sustained at the work premises an accident at work?

In a judgment of 29 October 1997 (II UKN 304/97, OSNAP 1998/15/464), the Supreme Court held that an incident may be deemed accident at work [...], where the investigation has shown that had the work not been being performed the incident would not have occurred or the likelihood of its occurring would have been insignificant.

The link between work and incident will have been broken – even if the incident itself occurred at the work premises and during business hours - where the employee behaves in a manner or undertakes such actions as are not related with employment, or even contrary to the aim of employment, and which result in the temporal link with work being broken at the time essential considering the moment the incident occurs; which in turn prevents one from assuming that the accident occurred during or in relation to work (SN judgment of 29 September 1978, III PRN 31/78).

Another SN judgment indicates that before an employee is ready for work, his mere presence in the company does not entail his actually performing his work-related obligations. An employee remaining at the employer's disposal is conditional on the former being ready for work - the subjective intent of work and the objective possibility of its performance (SN judgment of 7 March 2006, I UK 127/05).

The act on social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases of 30 October 2002 (Dz.U. 2009, No. 167, item 1322, as amended) regulates accidents at work.

seka.pl

‘Smart helmets’ to improve safety at building sites SKANSKA, a signatory to the Agreement for Safety in Construction is carrying out tests of new 'smart helmets'. This pilot programme sets out to improve safety at building sites.

‘Smart helmets’ developed in collaboration with Cybercom and Intel are devices that: 

  

monitor the manner in which the helmet is used – notifying automatically of any non-standard events, such as the helmet being taken off, shocks, knocks or falls; check the temperature inside the helmet - this allows one to prevent e.g. sunstrokes; locate the employee – they specify the floor the employee is on; have an emergency button – the employee can trigger it on witnessing a dangerous situation.

Through a mobile application all the data are sent to those in charge of safety on the site. Time is of the essence, for the sooner the information reaches relevant people, the sooner relevant procedures are initiated and rescue actions arranged.

seka.pl

Dangerous work Dangerous work, especially that done occasionally or irregularly, must be thoroughly discussed and prepared. The responsibility for the task analysis as well as finding the optimal, from safety point of view, solutions rests with the employer.

Information on dangerous work is normally included in the OHS manual, and discussed during periodical OHS courses. However, questions may arise:    

Is the information up to date?

Were the procedures involved in such a task thoroughly covered during the training, and if so – how long ago?

Does the occupational risk assessment take into account the hazards involved in such work?

Does the employee remember the detailed rules relating to the performance of such work?

Thus, it all comes down to undertaking to necessary actions: 1. Carrying out a task safety analysis; 2. Thorough revision of the safe task performance procedures immediately prior to the performance (even if one thinks that employees should know them or remember the training or manuals available on the site).

In ‘safe companies’ safety analysis is routinely carried out for all types of dangerous work and routinely discussed with those who are to perform them.

seka.pl

OHS quarter In order to limit the number of accidents, the Agreement for Safety in Construction recommends brief meetings between supervisors and workers on the site, dedicated to the safety and health issues closely related to the works actually performed.

The ‘OHS quarter’ meetings can be held anywhere around the site and should be informal. Preferably, they should be held in a place directly relevant to the work performed and subject of the talk. The meeting should be conducted by a supervisor with subject being taking into account the progress and type of work.

The ‘OHS quarter’ aims to keep the employees aware of the existing threats and the impact they may have as a result of non-compliance with the rules and procedures. It helps reinforce pro-safety approach and raise supervisors' commitment to creating safe conditions of work.

Suggested topics to be covered during ‘OHS quarters’:    

Existing threats on the site; Ways of eliminating the threats on the site – protecting workers; Safely getting around the building site; Events potentially leading to accidents on the site.

seka.pl

OHS in veterinary practice Those employed at vet clinics, particularly those without relevant training, e.g. receptionists, are exposed to threats resulting from working with biological agents.

Art. 222 Labour Code and the regulation of Minister of Health on harmful biological agents in the work environment and on the protection of employees exposed professionally to such agents of 22 April 2005 imposes an obligation on employers to apply all available measures to eliminate the threat, or, where it is not possible - to reduce the exposure, with adequate use of latest technologies.

An employer must:  Carry out occupational risk assessment for all positions, taking into account that a receptionist has a very limited, or null, contact with animals, whereas a vet works directly with ill animals.  Carry out regularly risk assessment at each position.  Draft procedures limiting the number of employees exposed or potentially exposed to a harmful biological factor, as well as designing the work processes so as to avoid or minimise the presence of a harmful biological factor in the workplace.  Bear in mind the list of works prohibited to pregnant or breast-feeding employees, as well as those prohibited to minors.

seka.pl