BUSINESS HELPDESK


BUSINESS HELPDESK


HELP DESK


HOW H&S SAVVY ARE YOU?


John Southall, CEO of Health and Safety Consultancy Southalls, the company that provides the BMF Safety Plus service, details the five key things that builders’ merchants should know


BY NECESSITY, BUILDERS’


merchants tend to be more savvy than most when it comes to health and safety practice – after all, the average merchant will be inspected typically every two years by an Environmental Health Officer. There are also insurance company requirements, civil


claims and customer feedback to keep merchants on their toes. But a lot has changed in recent years. From the introduction of new sentencing guidelines, regulatory updates, HSE priority topics, through to Brexit


preparations, health and safety for builders’ merchants has been under the spotlight like never before.


Here are five key things that every builders’ merchant should know about health and safety in the present day.


1


HARSHER PENALTIES ON BUSINESSES


The ‘new’ sentencing


guidelines introduced in February 2016 have revolutionised the way health and safety offences are prosecuted. Offending businesses are now much more likely to be receive substantial fines (based upon turnover), imprisonment of an individual, or insolvency of a business.


New sentencing guidelines for gross negligence manslaughter also come into force in November 2018, increasing jail terms for gross negligence manslaughter in line with other manslaughter offences, i.e. to increase the term up to as much as 18 years.


2


THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF INJURY AND ACCIDENTS


The most common accidents and injuries in merchants are still related to workplace transport movements. These include forklift trucks or reversing vehicles striking customers or employees, and falls from height, typically staff falling from the back of flat-bed lorries. Injuries caused by falling stock, together with manual handling injuries and slips and trips are other common risk areas. An awareness of these key


hazards and the risk management processes to control them is


essential to help merchant owners focus attention, investment and training in the proper areas.


3


RAISING THE BAR WITH STAFF WELFARE


Good merchant owners and


managers are now taking extra care to ensure staff welfare in the following areas:


• Hard hats with chinstraps


For some years now we’ve been moving the industry forward, making working on the back of flat-bed lorries safer by


encouraging the wearing of hard hats with chin straps when drivers access the lorry bed.


• Seatbelts on Forklift trucks


A number of recent court cases have set a precedent stating the requirement to wear a seatbelt on a forklift falls under the general


November 2018 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


duty to your staff in The Health and Safety at Work etc Act and under the Management of Health and Safety Regulations. It is therefore no longer considered appropriate for a forklift truck driver to operate a forklift without wearing a seatbelt.


4 5


PROMOTING A CULTURE CHANGE


Effective risk management


in a merchant is influenced by the behaviour of individuals. Put simply, it’s not enough to provide safe equipment, systems and procedures if the culture doesn’t encourage healthy and safe working.


Culture develops slowly over time and by acting safely workers can start to think safely.


CLOUD-BASED


TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE


Faced with the challenges of warehouse logistics, materials handling and vehicle operation, health and safety compliance for builders’ merchants is a serious concern – but it can still be simple to manage. As we move into a digital age, increased reliance upon IT and cloud-based systems, allows a proactive approach to risk management to be achieved. Unlike traditional IT systems, cloud-based software is very


scalable and affordable. You pay a subscription based on the number of users and you’ll always have access to the latest version of the software. As you add branches, your cloud software can grow with you.


Cloud-based management software, like Southall’s user- friendly Safety Cloud, engages today’s workforce. It brings


together all your health and safety documentation in one place and helps you manage it in a way that supports day-to-day operations, adding value to your business. 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. 15


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