Health and safety matters!
Yes! It most certainly does and at Preservation Treatments, Health and Safety on all of our jobs is taken very seriously.
Some of the main objectives of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, are:
- Ensuring employees’ health, safety and welfare at work;
- Protecting non-employees against the health and safety risks arising from work activities;
- Controlling the keeping and use of explosive or highly flammable or dangerous substances.
Anybody who has completed a Risk Assessment on a particular task will know that it is not always a straightforward process, as so many procedures needs to be considered.
All of the operations we carry out must have a Risk Assessment completed before we arrive on site to undertake any work. The Risk Assessment is also based upon the material we are due to use. For instance, when undertaking Waterproof Rendering / screeding, we must complete a Risk Assessment if we are using Mapei Waterproof materials and need to complete a different Risk Assessment if we are essentially doing the same work, but using Sika materials.
When completing our Risk Assessments, they will be based upon the Hierarchy of Controls, which is:
- Elimination – physically remove the hazard.
- Substitution – replace the hazard.
- Engineering controls – isolate people from the hazard.
- Administrative controls – change the way people work.
- PPE – If the first four items cannot be achieved, then as a last resort, we must protect the worker with equipment.
It does not end there, though. Our Operatives will be expected to have understood the Risk Assessment for a articular job. However, that is based upon what was evident at the time of our Surveyor’s site inspection. We all know that things can and do change in the period between inspection and undertaking the work. Our Operatives will be expected to carry out their own, dynamic, visual Risk Assessment upon arrival to start the job and at any time they may leave and return to the job.
Along with the completion and understanding of Risk Assessments, all of our Operatives and Surveyors undertake numerous refresher courses each year, covering topics including; Working at heights, Lone working, Noise at work, HAVS (hand, arm vibration syndrome), Electrical Safety, correct use of both PPE and RPE, Construction Dusts, Asbestos awareness. The purpose of which is to have a much better understanding of all Health and Safety matters so that we can ensure the safety of our operatives and others, while at work.
If you have any questions concerning Health and Safety matters, please do speak to either our Surveyor, or site Operatives, or contact our Operations Department, on 01276 66466.