Sample Practical application (IGC3) NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE IGC3 – THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICAL APPLICATION Candidate’s observation sheet Sheet number 1 of 5 Student name: G Gardner Student number: ******** Place inspected: Education Development Date of Inspection 26/08/20** centre Observation Risk Control measures Timescale Hazards and Consequences Immediate and longer – term actions 1. Risk of vehicles speeding and causing road traffic accidents due to poor signage on access roads to school and main buildings.
H
I
Inform school workers and parents of speed limits on access roads. Fix temporary speed limit signs. Re-paint speed signs on road.
M L
2. Risk of traffic accident due to narrow sharp bend on access road to rear car park.
3. Risk of traffic accident due to undesignated car parking in several areas that prevent vision of road and cause driving over footpaths to reach these areas.
H
H
I
Email all school workers to increase awareness. Get the school managers to contact parents.
Yearly
Immediately
Change observation mirror to large one. Erect signs warning of sharp bends.
1 – 2 months
L
Monitor effects of measures. Look into feasibility of installing traffic light system.
Every 6 months
I
M
L
1 month Monitor the wear and damage to painted signs during site inspection
M
L
4. Risk of trip due to potholes in surface of footpath
Immediately
Inform school workers by email not to park in undesignated areas. Erect bollards where possible. Erect no parking signs. Site maintenance team to monitor and issue warning letter to offenders. Discuss with Human Resources manager.
Immediately
2 months
On – going
I
Barrier off around affected area. Erect warning sign.
Immediately
M
Repair / resurface footpath.
1 -2 months
L
Monitor the surface condition of all footpaths on site during site Yearly inspection Key: Risk: H=High, M=Medium, L=Low. Actions: I= Immediate, M=Medium, L=Long term. N/a= Not applicable.
NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE IGC3 – THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICAL APPLICATION Candidate’s observation sheet Sheet number 2 of 5 Student name: G Gardner Student number: ******** Place inspected: Education Development Date of Inspection 26/08/20** centre Observation Risk Control measures Timescale Hazards and Consequences Immediate and longer – term actions 5. Risk of electric shock from active communication mast due to missing padlock from gates and electrical hazard warning signs at the access gates.
6. Risk of tripping due to damaged concrete step leading to reception and school pathway.
7. Risk to personal safety of receptionist due to lone working.
8. Risk of Electrocution or fire controlled by main fuse board in small hall corridor being located in secure cupboard and having 5 yearly inspections and testing.
9. Risk of trip due to worn tape around access hatch in floor in main corridor
10. Risk to health by exposure to asbestos by report showing location of asbestos in stair nosing and floor tiles plus regular inspection.
H
M
M
_
L
_
I
Lock gates, fit temporary electrical hazard sign.
Immediately
M
Fit permanent electrical hazard signs. Monitor to ensure gates are padlocked, particularly after maintenance worker visits.
3 month / Continual
L
Arrange on – going inspection of mast security and that warning signs stay in good condition Apply hazard tape to worn parts of step.
6 months
M
Concrete repairs to steps.
2 – 3 months
L
Yearly
I
Monitor all access steps for damage during site inspection Review security in reception area.
M
Install panic alarm. Attend training.
2 months
L
Review work patterns causing lone working. Initiate test protocols for security N/a
Every 6 months
M
Ensure fuse board is closed and locked. Accessed by competent workers only.
On-going
L
5 Years
I
Maintenance team to monitor 5 yearly inspections and testing. Barrier off with warning sign.
M
Replace tape.
Same day
L
Administration manager to monitor tape for wear. Ensure locations of asbestos are also recorded in asbestos risk register. Inspection of area for damage. Keep asbestos report for reference and provide details in asbestos risk register to contractors.
On-going
I
I
I
M L
Immediately
Immediately
N/a
Immediately
Immediately
Monthly On-going
NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE IGC3 – THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICAL APPLICATION Candidate’s observation sheet Sheet number 3 of 5 Student name: G Gardner Student number: ******** Place inspected: Education Development Date of Inspection 26/08/20** centre Observation Risk Control measures Timescale Hazards and Consequences Immediate and longer – term actions 11. Risk of upper limb injury / eye strain due to unsuitable, non-adjustable chair for display screen equipment (DSE) user in general office.
12. Risk of trip due to trailing cables of many portable appliances in general office i.e. fans, electric heaters and paper shredders.
13. Risk to fire due to many document folders stored under desks in education workers office, next to electrical sockets and cables.
14. Risk of falling due to working on an insecure short ladder during lone working in store cupboard.
M
L
H
M
I
Ensure workstations are assessed for suitability for all new workers and carry out online risk awareness training.
3 weeks
M
Ensure workers are complying with your display screen equipment use policy.
On-going
L
Carry out regular reassessments of display screen equipment workstations and workers. Tape down cables
Yearly
M
Provide portable rubber covers for cables. Consider relocating sockets to avoid need to trail cable.
1 month
L
Relocate sockets where possible. Continue to monitor where cables are situated and monitor for damage. Ensure training is carried out with workers. Email workers to warn of the fire risk, look for temporary storage for document folders.
3 – 6 months Every 6 months.
M
Erect suitable shelving to store files on. Ensure workers undertake fire awareness training.
1 months
L
Monitor on-going for correct storage and fire risks. Ensure workers have annual updates Email workers to warn them of the potential hazards. Carry out risk assessment for working on ladders.
Yearly
M
‘Use of ladders’ training to be carried out.
1 month
L
Continue to monitor work practices with ladders.
On-going
I
I
I
Immediately
Immediately
Immediately
NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE IGC3 – THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICAL APPLICATION Candidate’s observation sheet Sheet number 4 of 5 Student name: G Gardner Student number: ******** Place inspected: Education Development Date of Inspection 26/08/20** centre Observation Risk Control measures Timescale Hazards and Consequences Immediate and longer – term actions 15. Risk of back injury due to place heavy files under desks (with poor access) in education workers office.
16. Risk of eye strain and trips controlled by good lighting in main corridor.
17. Risk of electric shock due to several electrical items having out of date portable appliance testing (PAT) test.
18. Risk of hot water burns due to no warning sign on hot water boiler in kitchen.
19. Risk of boxes falling from shelves on to people due to them overhanging shelves in kitchen.
H
_
H
M
M
I
Email staff to warn of the manual handling hazard, look for temporary storage for document folders.
Immediately
M
Erect suitable shelving to store files on. Ensure workers undertake manual handling awareness training.
1 month
L
Monitor correct storage of folders and manual handling awareness training. N/a
On-going
M
Regular lighting unit maintenance by competent person.
On-going
L
Light level checks carried out and recorded by competent person. Isolate all electrical items that have out of date PAT test.
2 years
M
PAT tests to be carried out on items by competent person.
2 weeks
L
Regular checks for all portable electrical equipment. Put up temporary sign to warn staff of very hot water.
Yearly
M
Ensure permanent warning sign is fixed to boiler.
1 week
L
Monitor that sign remains in place and is legible. Remove overhanging boxes
On-going
M
Re-organise boxes on shelves to ensure all boxes fit onto shelves correctly and are not overhanging.
2 weeks
L
Monitor that boxes continue to be correctly storage on shelves.
On-going
I
I
I
I
N/a
Immediately
Immediately
Immediately
NEBOSH INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE IGC3 – THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICAL APPLICATION Candidate’s observation sheet Sheet number 5 of 5 Student name: G Gardner Student number: ******** Place inspected: Education Development Date of Inspection 26/08/20** centre Observation Risk Control measures Timescale Hazards and Consequences Immediate and longer – term actions 20. Risk of legionella controlled by regular inspection of water supplied from taps and temperature of boiler in kitchen
_
21. Risk of slips on ice on walkways between buildings due to a lack of equipment for dealing with possible adverse weather conditions as winter approaches.
L
22. Risk of burns due to workers carrying several cups of coffee in corridor
M
23. Risk of delayed first aid treatment due to eye wash in corridor being out of date and unusable.
24. Risk of ankle sprains due to poor storage of materials in general office area, uneven floor and poor lighting in corridor.
M
L
I
N/a
N/a
M
Ensure relevant senior managers undergo legionella training.
3 month
L
Ensure inspection and recording continues by competent person.
Yearly
I
Allocate responsibilities
1 month
M
Monitor weather winter approaches.
L
2 months
I
Provide grit / salt in suitable container. Remind staff of risk of scalding
M
Provide trays to carry cups.
1 week
L
Ensure trays are used. Provide reminders at worker involvement meetings Replace eye wash
Monthly
M
Implement system of weekly checks of eye wash and other first aid equipment.
1 week
L
Team meetings to discuss and prepare procedure for replacing first aid equipment when out of date for use. Move all excess materials to store or waste bin
1 month
M
Install more lights and review floor condition
1 month
L
Inspect light levels and materials storage regularly.
3 months
I
I
forecasts
as
Next 3 months
Immediately
1 day
1 week
MANAGEMENT REPORT 1. Introduction This report follows a workplace inspection of the education development centre on the 26 th August 20** and identifies good and poor practices. The centre has a large education development building, one primary school, one short stay pupil referral unit and a day nursery. The property is owned and maintained by the local council. There is an access road from the main road, which runs around the school, between buildings and then through to the rear car parks. The education development centre is occupied by 370 workers whose roles revolve around education attainment, improvement and inclusion. Many workers are ‘outreach’ workers and visit schools, children centres, and homes. As a result, access and egress to the building is heavily used. Potential hazards include slips, trips, and falls, musculoskeletal injury and access and egress arrangements. 2. Executive summary It was pleasing to observe a high standard of housekeeping. There was an appropriate amount of lighting inside and outside the buildings. The welfare facilities were of good standard, i.e. clean and plenty of toilets and washrooms for the amount of workers. However, during the inspection it was identified that some areas posed a risk of serious injury or ill health and were in need of improvement. Areas of concern were vehicle movement through the school site and risks of electric shock, due to uncontrolled access to the communications mast and several items of portable electrical equipment being out of date with their portable appliance testing (PAT) test. Also, there was an increased risk of fire and manual handling injury due to many document files stored under workers desks, next to electrical cables and sockets. These and other important observations are discussed in the findings part of the report. Most of the problems that were observed were related to a lack of maintenance and a general lack of understanding of the need for good health and safety practice. Recommendations include refresher training and maintenance of signs and electrical equipment, all of relatively low cost, particularly when related to the risks observed. Two areas observed that were under good control were the testing and recording for legionella and asbestos. Details of all observations made during the inspection are attached at the end of this report. 3. Main Findings 3.1 Observation 1 – Risk of road traffic accidents – speed limit, hazards and parking The access road that runs through the school site is heavily used, as many workers do ‘outreach’ work. In addition, visitors to the site, parents and children use the road to come into school and the day nursery. It was noted that many of the painted road sins were worn away, so users would not be aware of speed restrictions. This presented a significant risk of vehicles speeding and causing road traffic accidents. Also, there were many sharp bends in the road, which would increase the potential risk from speeding. The additional problem of vehicles being parked in undesignated areas prevented drivers having proper vision of the road and obstructed footpaths. In view of the
vulnerability of the many pedestrians in the area, this could easily result in a major injury or fatality. Any claim for damages would be very high and this type of accident could have very high consequences to the school’s reputation. Speeding vehicles and vehicles inappropriately parked make access and egress unsafe, not only for school workers, but other car users and pedestrians. These risks may be seen to contravene the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention C155, Article 16 (1), which requires employers to provide workplaces that are safe. School workers, parents, children and visitors should be alerted immediately of the speed limit, sharp bend hazard and parking problem, for example by email and letters handed out. This will incur very little cost, mainly time and paper. Temporary signs should be made and located on the route into the school and where parked vehicles cause an obstruction. This can be done by downloading signs from the internet, printing and laminating them using school facilities, costs for this should be limited to £30. Maintenance work should be carried out during the next four weeks to repaint speed limit signs and erect a sing warning of the sharp bends, at a cost of £500 approximately. Signs and bollards should be erected to prevent the unauthorised parking; this is likely to cost approximately £1,000. All limit signs and restriction parking should be monitored yearly during the site inspection. The sum of money necessary to make improvements is small relative to the risk of serious injury that may be caused by the hazards. 3.2 Observation 5 – Risk of electric shock – access to communications mast It was observed that the gates restricting access to the communications mast were not secured by a padlock and there were no signs warning of the electrical hazard within the restricted area. This meant that anyone could enter the restricted area and be at risk of electric shock. The school has a large number of children on site who may be attracted by the electrical equipment and could have entered the area without difficulty. The absence of warning signs indicating an electrical hazard could someone to believe they were entering a safe area. Failing to restrict access to the electrical equipment may be considered a breach of the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention c155, Article 16(1), which requires workplaces machinery, equipment and processes to be safe and without risk to health. Though the risk of immediate danger from electricity due to someone entering the restricted area is not high it is significantly increased by the failure to prevent entry. With the co-operation of maintenance worker for the site a padlock was added to the fates to secure them. The padlock was available for their purpose, but had not been fitted to the gate following a visit from a maintenance contractor, therefore there was no new cost related to this control measure. Temporary electrical hazard warning signs should be fitted until permanent signs can be obtained. The cost of these temporary and permanent signs is likely to be about £250. In the medium term, the supervisor of school maintenance work should ensure the padlock is only removed to allow authorised entry and refitted immediately on completion of this work. The security of access to the communication mast should be monitored as part of the site security arrangements, this may require a small amendment to the contract of the security company that does this work, but it is expected that is could be added with little or no cost.
3.3 Observation 13 and 15 – Risk of manual injury and fire – document files stored under desks It was identified that many of the workers stored document files under their desks, occupying a large amount of space. These files were situated next to trailing electrical cables, which were plugged into extension leads. The three elements of the fire triangle were present oxygen, fuel (paper files) and heat (electrical cables and sockets). This combination presented a risk of fire occurring and although the fire would start in the office area there is a risk that it could spread and affect the whole centre. This would be a serious risk to all workers and children. No fire risk assessment had been carried out and fire risk controls were inadequate, contravening the ILO Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO – OSH) 2001, which require risk assessment and the application of control measures. These poor storage arrangements not only increase the chances of a fire starting and spreading rapidly, but also pose a risk of back injury when office workers have to bend and assume a very poor posture when retrieving the files. This poor manual handling arrangement could quickly lead to serious injury of an office worker and long term absence from work. The office workers are all experienced and specialise in their education field, therefore finding temporary replacement workers would not be easy and this would be very damaging to the educational service provided. The storage arrangements do not comply with the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention C155, Article 16 (1) and (2), in that manual handling risks should be avoided where reasonably practicable and where risk remain they are minimised by appropriate protection measures. Workers should be reminded of the fire and manual handling risk as soon as possible, those workers not immediately available should be emailed. The files should be promptly removed into temporary storage, at a cost of worker’s time and storage boxes, which are currently available as stock was purchased for a recent educational project. Suitable shelving should be erected at the cost of £500 approximately. It is recommended that all office workers have fire awareness and manual handling refresher training , incurring internal cost of worker and health and safety advisor time. The training should be short and can be done at their monthly meeting. It is recommended that awareness training is done as part of the annual departmental meeting, this will ensure costs are limited. 3.4 Observation 17 – Risk of electric shock and fire – out of date portable electrical equipment testing Several items of electrical equipment around the site were not displaying up to date portable appliance testing (PAT) sticker. The absence of the sticker could mean that the equipment is defective. The PAT sticker confirms that electrical equipment has been suitably tested as part of the maintenance programme. The use of equipment that has not been maintained breaches ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention C155, Article 16 (1) requirements that equipment should be safe, since equipment that is not maintained can lead to the risk of fire or workers experiencing an electric shock, which may prove fatal. An injury or fatality would not only be a cost to the centre, but also to the worker and their family. Employers have a legal duty under EWR to ensure all portable electrical equipment is maintained. This should be clearly marked on the equipment and recorded. Immediate action is required to identify and isolate all items that are out of date, this would be at a small cost taking a couple of hours of time and labels to mark them ‘out of use’. Following this , a
competent person (trained electrician) should carry our PAT test on this equipment, typically at a cost of £2.00 per item. In the future, all equipment should be tested regularly and care should be given to ensure equipment stored in cupboards is included in all tests. 4. Conclusion Routine maintenance is identified as an area where attention is needed. The poor maintenance of road speed limit signs and lack of portable appliance testing on electrical items were particular areas requiring immediate management attention. Under the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention C155, Article 16 (1), employers have a responsibility to ensure equipment is safe, including the carrying out of maintenance to protect workers and others who may be in the workplace or come into contact with their equipment. Storing document files under desks next to electrical cables and sockets is a fire hazard. The poor storage of files also creates a risk of manual handling injuries when workers have to retrieve the files. This suggests a lack of appreciation of the need for good health and safety practice. Fire and manual handling risk assessment of the storage of files in the education workers’ office need to be carried out immediately in order to ensure the safety of workers. Education workers should have refresher training to remind them of the importance of fire and manual handling issues. This may indicate a wider problem, this should be evaluated as other workers may also need similar training. All the areas identified in the findings of this report could result in injury or a fatality, which would cause suffering to the victims and their families. Employers have a legal and moral duty of care to take action and reduce the risk identified. The inspection identified a number of good practices where strong management of hazards was in place, including two important health hazards, legionella and asbestos. The good practices identified are commended and should be continued. Health and safety needs to be of a high priority as failure to manage risk can lead to prosecution or compensation claims, which can only have an adverse effect on the centre’s reputation and financial position as well as the health and safety of the people involved. I suggest that my recommendations are implemented at the earliest opportunity according to the priority allocated to them in the next section of this report. By doing this, the centre will openly demonstrate to all workers that their health and safety is being taken seriously at all levels of management. Also, it will show that, in the long term, a positive health and safety culture is being developed, which will reduce the sizeable cost attributed to accidents and enhance the reputation of the organisation in a very competitive market place.
5. Recommendations Ref. No. Recommendation 3.1 (item 1, Inform workers, 2 and 3) parents, children and visitors of speed limit, road hazards and parking restrictions by email and handling out letters. 3.1 (item 1, Fix temporary speed 2 and 3) limit, hazardous bends warning and no parking signs. 3.2 Put padlock on gates (item 5) of communication tower 3.2 Fix temporary (item 5) electrical hazard warning signs. 3.3 (items Remove files to 13 and 15) temporary storage
Likely resource implications Priority Admin time, cost of paper. High £50 for materials.
Target date Immediate
Download from internet, High print and laminate using school facilities.
Immediate
Padlock is available but was High not being used.
Immediate
Download from internet, High print and laminate using school facilities. All education workers to High pack into storage boxes. Boxes are in stock 3.4 Isolate equipment that Maintenance worker time, 2 High (Item 17) does not have up to hours. date PAT sticker. 3.1 (item Repaint speed limit £500, using local contractor Medium 1,2 and 3) signs on the road. 3.1 (item Change observation Estimated to be £500. Medium mirror to large one. 1,2 and 3) Erect permanent signs warning of sharp bends. 3.1 (item Erect bollards where 1,2 and 3) possible. Erect permanent no parking signs. 3.2 Monitor to ensure (item 5) gates are padlocked, particularly after maintenance worker visits. 3.3 Erect suitable shelving (item 13 to store files on and 15) 3.3 Ensure employees (item 13 undertake fire and and 15) manual handling refresher training.
Estimated to be £ 1,000.
Medium
Immediate
Immediate
Immediate
One month 1-2 months
1-2 months
Supervisor to check that Medium padlock is removed to only allow authorised access and is re-fitted immediately after completion of work. £500 Medium
As entry is required
3 hours of workers time, Medium provided by health and safety advisor at the time of monthly meeting.
One month
One Month
3.4 (item 17)
Competent person to PAT test the out of date equipment. 3.1 (item Monitor effects of 1,2 and 3) measures. Look into feasibility of installing traffic light system. 3.2 On-going inspection of (item 5) mast security and that warning signs stay in good condition. 3.3 Monitor work (items 13 practices related to and 15) use of storage and provide annual awareness training. 3.3 (item Provide annual 13 and 15) awareness training.
3.4 (item 17)
Approx £2.00 per item, using Medium current contractor.
Two weeks.
Management time to Low monitor and evaluate feasibility.
Six months
Amendment of current Low duties of contracted security staff.
Six months
Manager to monitor as part Low of weekly routines following installation of shelving.
After one month, ongoing
3 hours of workers time, Low provided by health and safety advisor at the time of monthly meeting. Ensure annual PAT Maintain worker time, to Low tests for all portable ensure all equipment located appliances. and available 2 hours. Approx £2.00 per item, using current contractor.
One year
Annually
Candidate and course provider declarations: For completion by the candidate:
I declare that the work submitted for this practical application assessment is my own work. I recognise that contravention of this statement constitutes malpractice and may result in my being subject to the penalties set out in the NEBOSH malpractice policy. Name (Print)
_ G GARDNER
Signature Date
_ G Gardner _26/08/xx
For completion by the course provider’s representative (e.g. internal practical assessor):
I declare that the work marked is identical to that received from the candidate. I recognise that contravention of this statement constitutes malpractice and may result in my being subject to the penalties set out in the NEBOSH malpractice policy. Name (Print)
_ J SMITH
Signature Date
_ J smith _01/09/xx
For completion by the course provider’s internal practical assessor:
I declare that the work marked is identical to that received from the candidate. I recognise that contravention of this statement constitutes malpractice and may result in my being subject to the penalties set out in the NEBOSH malpractice policy. Name (Print)
_ B FERRY
Signature Date
_ B Ferry _06/09/xx
