BUSINESS HELPDESK BUSINESS HELPDESK HELP DESK
SAFETY COMPLIANT MONEY SAVINGS TIPS FOR MERCHANTS
John Southall, CEO of Health and Safety Consultancy Southalls, the company that provides the BMF Safety Plus service, offers timely advice...
WHEN OPERATING IN a
competitive environment, like a builders merchants, saving time and money can be crucial for your success. Thanks to over a decade of health and safety experience within the merchant industry, Southalls not only understand the key to compliance, they frequently spot opportunities to cut costs on unnecessary safety expenditure. Stay one step ahead with the following tips to keep compliant without breaking the bank:
Tip 1: Asbestos overkill The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations require merchants to assess and manage the risk of asbestos. This is achieved through the undertaking of an asbestos survey and complemented by an asbestos management plan. There is no legal requirement to re-survey on an annual basis, only to review the survey and management plan you have in place.
Tip 2: Legionella Sampling
Occasionally we come
across merchants paying for independent Legionella water sampling, system cleaning or testing of water temperatures at taps on a rolling contract. If you operate on a domestic scale system then this expenditure is completely unnecessary.
Tip 3: Review your PATyour PAT frequency
PA
Portable appliance testing (PAT) is an essential part of electrical safety for business merchants. However, it is a myth that portable appliance testing is a strict legal requirement or that it needs to be undertaken annually. Many merchants waste money on a blanket approach of annual testing. Whilst items that
14 14 “
HSE reports reveal that annually UK businesses lose
£15bn due to work- related injuries
related injuries . .
are in heavy use or exposed to the elements e.g. portable hand tools may require a six monthly PAT, office based equipment like desktop computers and screens would only require five yearly testing (2-4 yearly visual checks) and no testing at all if double insulated.
Tip 4: Implement E-learning training systems
E-learning training is a cost-
effective and time-saving solution for staff safety training. Whether for day zero induction training or ongoing refresher training, Southalls E-learning on Safety Cloud ensures staff get up to speed on essential safety training such as fire safety awareness and manual handling without the time and expensive of face-to- face training providers. Further merchant specific training including, racking awareness, work at height, powerline
safety, workplace transport and banksman training can all be conducted through Safety Cloud.
Tip 5: Appropriate PPE When it comes to saving on health and safety, buying items in bulk can help. However all
purchases must now be compliant with the new PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425. PPE suppliers
”
who are members of the BSIF Registered Safety Supplier Scheme demonstrate a commitment to compliance with the new Regulations. Purchases need to meet the new standards,
otherwise you are throwing money down the drain. It is also important to consult staff on sizes. It goes without saying that poorly fitted items will either not be worn or may even increase the risk of accidents.
A number of merchants have seen reductions in lost time
accidents through the provision of gloves to all yard staff, reducing hand injuries.
Tip 6: Be examination savvy
Avoiding unnecessary
examinations of lifting equipment is a quick way to save money, so every business-owner should understand which reviews are legally required, and which are not. Pallet trucks are not defined as lifting equipment under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and therefore they do not require a thorough examination. Sometimes thorough
examinations are duplicated by both an insurer and another service provider. Thereby
unnecessary doubling of cost. Where pedestrian lifting
cages are used with a forklift, nominating designated forklifts to be used with the lifting cage that are then thoroughly examined six monthly is more cost-effective than simply thoroughly examining all lift trucks on the site every six months. Remaining trucks can be thoroughly examined annually thus saving the cost of an engineer needlessly examining fork lift trucks.
Finally, recent HSE reports reveal February 2019
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net March 2018
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
that annually UK businesses lose £15bn due to work-related injuries and ill health. It is important to regularly review the accident and injury statistics in your business. This is an invaluable way to build a picture of the effectiveness of your risk management and help you to make more informed decisions on how to spend your health and safety budget wisely . BMJ
Southalls specialise in helping builders merchants stay on top of their health and safety legal requirements, keeping their staff and customers safe, and their businesses compliant. For information about the BMF Safety Plus service or to discuss any health and safety matter, please get in touch with the Southalls team on 0345 257 4015 or hello@
southalls.com
BMF members can also request the following BMF H&S
Business Guides from Richard.
Ellithorne@bmf.org.uk –
Work at Height; Deliveries to Customer Sites; Workplace Transport; Material Storage and Handling; Saw Mills and Wood Working Machinery; Overarching Guide;
Occupational Road Risk.
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
