HR FOCUS
OH MY COSHH! NEW HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS NEEDN’T BE A HAZARD FOR FMS
COSHH is changing this year and with the HSE on the lookout for breaches it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. British Cleaning Council media manager Lee Baker takes a look at how FM’s can navigate these important regulations.
Health and Safety requirements can be a minefi eld at the best of times, but whenever there’s a change it can add an even greater strain for employers who want to stay on the right side of the law.
A good example of this is with the changes coming into force later this year regarding the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations, or COSHH.
EMPLOYEE WELFARE There is, of course, a legal and
moral responsibility to look after the welfare of employees, but many managers, across all sectors, struggle to understand the potential dangers of hazardous substances, and how to comply fully with COSHH. It’s not something that can be taken lightly, as the law requires all companies that deal with potentially hazardous substances to comply with COSHH, and there can be some stiff penalties available to courts if the regulations aren’t adhered to.
The Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) aren’t slow to prosecute if there are infringements leading to employees’ health being compromised. One pharmaceutical fi rm in Swindon was fi ned more than £100,000 after 10 employees developed allergic contract dermatitis in the workplace.
64 | TOMORROW’S FM
The changes have come from the European Parliament, who want to harmonise the classifi cation and labelling of chemicals with other countries outside the EU. It was actually introduced in 2009 in all EU member states under the Classifi cation, Labelling and
The HSE said the fi rm had failed to complete a review of its COSHH risk assessment.
ON THE LABEL COSHH regulations can be daunting,
but they undoubtedly serve an important purpose for employee protection, and the risks for fi rms failing to comply, as we’ve highlighted above, are too great to ignore. But this year things are getting trickier as the traditional COSHH symbols, that are instantly recognisable in the industry, are being replaced by a new set of hazard symbols.
THERE IS A LEGAL AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TO LOOK AFTER
THE WELFARE OF EMPLOYEES.
Packaging Regulation, or CLP. The long transition period from 2009 to June 2015 was to give manufacturers and suppliers the chance to prepare and change over to this new system.
CLP introduces a whole range of changes in the handling and production of chemicals which will have a huge impact on the cleaning industry. The main change for the FM sector is with the COSHH regulations, particularly around risk assessment and the changing of the familiar CHIP hazard symbols.
HAZARD SYMBOLS CAN
BE HAZARDOUS The present hazard symbols; black printing on orange-yellow rectangles is changing to nine hazard pictograms with black symbols on a white background with red-rimmed rhombuses.
But there’s so much more to complying with COSHH than just the hazard symbols, and it often falls to facilities managers to check and maintain these important regulations, and with so much riding on getting it right, many are now using COSHH management systems to help them. One system being unveiled at this year’s Cleaning Show at the Excel in London, is called Clean FM, and has been developed by Buxton based Selden Research.
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74