Best of Luck to the Organising Committee and Individuals with this years Festival which kicks off this Wednesday March 16th 2011.
We hope that it will be a very successful and enjoyable event for all those involved and attending over the five days.
A FETAC Level 5 Occupational First Aid Training Course is scheduled as follows:
Dates: Saturdays February 19, 26 and March 5th 2011
Location: Carrick On Shannon, Co. Leitrim
Who Should attend: This course is suitable for anyone in the Workplace who has been designated to administer First Aid to injured persons. It is also suitable for anyone who has an interest in First Aid or has completed a Basic First Aid Course and wishes to expand their knowledge and skills in this area.
Booking is necessary.
To Book your place and for more information please contact Geraldine email info@safetyadvice.ie or phone 071 9645524.
The North Western District of the IOSH Ireland Branch are pleased to present the following Seminar:
Topic: Health and Safety Legal Update
Venue: The Dock Theatre, St. George’s Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
Date: Wednesday 16th February 2011
Admission is free
Registration & tea and coffee: 6.30pm
Seminar from 7.00pm to 9.00pm
This event has been very kindly sponsored by Leitrim County Council
Main Speaker: Aisling Butler, Health and Safety Lawyer, William Fry Solicitors.
Short Biography of the Speaker
Aisling Butler, who is head of the Health & Safety Unit, is the Chair and Founding member of the Health and Safety Lawyers Association of Ireland. She lectures extensively on the subject including at the Law Society of Ireland, on the Higher Diploma in Health and Safety law and Master of Science in Health and Safety Law at UCD and at industry specific events. She is the Co-author of the chapter on Irish Health and Safety Law in the UK publication “Corporate Liability: Work Related Deaths and Criminal Prosecutions” 2nd Edition.
Purpose of the Seminar
To update Company Directors, Managers, Health and Safety professionals on the latest developments within Health and Safety Law complete with relevant case studies. Aisling will devote some of her presentation to issues affecting Local Authorities specifically.
Who should attend?
Please note that you do not have to be a member of IOSH in order to attend this event. Everyone is welcome.
The Seminar is particularly relevant to Health and Safety Practitioners, Managing Directors, Senior Managers and those with an interest in health and safety law and its implications.
As Aisling will devote some of her presentation to issues affecting Local Authorities, it will be especially relevant to City and County Managers, Directors of Service, Safety Advisors, Senior Engineers and others within Local Authority sector.
Continuous Professional Development
IOSH Members attending this Seminar can record it as an activity, for CPD purposes, stating why they believed it contributed to the maintenance or development of their health and safety knowledge and skills.
In addition to the main presentation, there will also be an opportunity to ask questions regarding IOSH and benefits of Membership.
Booking is essential.
Please book your place with Geraldine McGovern (Secretary) info@safetyadvice.ie or phone 071 9645524
We are celebrating 5 years in Business this month!
Safety Wise Advice Services was established by Geraldine McGovern in January 2006 and has gone from strength to strength. In those years we have worked with a wide variety of Organisations in various Sectors and gained a reputation for clear, precise and practical assistance delivered in a confidential manner.
We have worked along with Construction and Manufacturing Companies to ensure that they have the best possible chance of getting onto Tender and Select Lists by implementing Safety, Quality and Environmental Management Systems to “Safe T Cert” Certification and ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Standards respectively.
Safety Wise Advice Services has also provided Advice, Consultancy, Auditing and Training Services to Healthcare Organisations, Agricultural and Retails Outlets to name but a few.
It has also been a pleasure to assist a number of Festival Committees to manage Health and Safety at their events thus reducing the risk of accidents and the associated personal and financial costs of same.
The Economy has suffered a huge downturn since our date of establishment and it has been difficult for every business in the Country and it is our belief that by working together and helping each other along, we can come through this difficult period.
A big thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far and we look forward to continuing to work with you over the coming years.
Please do not hesitate to continue to contact us with your queries and concerns, all queries are treated as strictly confidential.
Safety Wise Advice Services would like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2011.
A special thank you to all our existing Clients, business colleagues and friends for all your support in 2010.
We look forward to continuing to provide our Professional Services to you all in the New Year and to meeting with and assisting new Customers also.
The Health and Safety Authority has published two new documents to help manage health and safety in Post Primary Schools.
According the the HSA, “the guidelines are a management tool intended to offer guidance and practical advice to assist schools in planning, organising and managing a safe and healthy school environment for staff, pupils and visitors. They will also help schools to benchmark current policies and practices against current legislative requirements. They do not place any additional responsibility on schools that does not already exist in legislation”.
Here are the links to the free download of both documents.
Guidelines on Managing Safety and Health in Post-Primary Schools Part 1 of 2 (Pdf 752KB)
For further assistance on managing health and safety in your School, contact us today at 071 9645524 or info@safetyadvice.ie
“Safe-T-Cert, the health and safety management system developed by the CIF and the Northern Ireland Construction Employers Federation, for the construction industry, has now being granted recognised status as a health and safety management system by the Department of Finance.
In a move to simplify the tendering process for public sector contracts, the Department of Finance is allowing companies tendering for such contracts to self-certify that they manage health and safety in accordance with either the Safe-T-Cert or OHSAS 18001 management systems, or an alternative equivalent system which is independently certified.
One of the major criticisms of the public tendering process has been that contractors and others tendering to participate in public works contracts had to complete a complex pre-qualification tender form.
Now under the new rules, which are set out in the Department of Finance’s Circular 10/10, contractors and others bidding for work will only have to complete detailed questionnaires when they are placed on a tender list. Circular 10/10 is available on the website www.constructionprocurement.gov.ie. To find circular 10/10 go to the navigation tool on the left of the screen and under ‘information’, click on ‘circulars’.” Taken from the Health and Safety Review November 2010
Safety Wise Advice Services are experienced in implementing Safety Management Systems for companies in both the Republic Of and Northern Ireland which are compliant with either Safe T Cert or OHSAS 18001. Geraldine in an Internationally Certified Occupational Health and Safety Auditor (IRCA) and can audit your System to both Standards.
Contact us today for more information and assistance on getting Safe T Cert or OHSAS 18001 Certification for your Business.
The IOSH Ireland Branch North West District is holding a Seminar in Ballina, Co. Mayo on Wednesday November 24th 2010. Details are as follows:
Date: 24th November 2010
Time: 6.30 registration and Tea/Coffee and Biscuits. Seminar begins at 7pm and is over by 9.15pm
Venue: Hollister Plant, Rehins, Ballina, Co. Mayo
Topics: (1) Managing Contractors, (2) Niall Mellon Partnership Safety Management
Speakers: (1) Paul Foran – OHSS, (2) Muredach Tuffy – Safety Officer, Niall Mellon Partnership (he is also an Engineer with Mayo County Council)
Entry Fee: Free
Booking is necessary.
To book your place, please contact Geraldine at info@safetyadvice.ie or phone 071 9645524.
Accidents at work resulting in a fatality must be telephoned to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in the Republic of Ireland or the Health and Safety Executive NI (HSENI) Northern Ireland immediately.
A person not being able to carry out their normal functions for more than 3 calendar days (not including the day of the accident – ROI) must be notified to the HSA or the HSENI . This can be done on line in both jurisdictions.
Dangerous Occurences and Work Related Diseases can also be reported on line.
Self Employed Persons in addition to Employers must report Incidents to the relevant Authority.
In the Republic of Ireland, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 1993 Part X and the Twelfth Schedule relate to the notification of workplace accidents and dangerous occurrences.
In Northern Ireland RIDDOR 1997 deals with the reporting of workplace incidents.
More information on Incident Reporting is available on the links in this News Item.
If you need assistance with Incident Reporting in your Company, please contact us today.
The Self Employed or the “one man band” more often than not, assumes that Health and Safety does not apply to him or her.
Not true.
Self Employed persons are actually both an Employer and an Employee. Both of these roles have a legal responsibility for health and safety under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
Aside from legislation, there is the moral aspect, none of us would wish any harm, injury or damage to be caused to any person or object through our actions.
There is also an annual Insurance Premium to be paid. Claims made on Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurances can be costly, so can a claim as a result of using another Contractor to carry out work on your behalf.
Poor health or an injury sustained due to your occupation can result in a loss of or reduction in your Income (not needed during this recession!!), reduced Productivity and low morale.
The Health and Safety Authority are working towards relieving Companies with three or less Employees of the obligation to prepare a Safety Statement. Codes of Practice have been developed in the Forestry, Agriculture and Construction Sector for such size Companies. On line risk assessment tools are also available for the Farm Safety Code of Practice.
So, as a Self Employed Person, what should I do?
- Get something on paper!
- Sign and date your commitment to managing health and safety in your business (even if it is only 1 page in content)
- Show your company organisation chart (who do you interact with e.g. the Public visiting your Office, home or Premises)
List the duties and responsibilities of each of the persons connected with your business (any Subcontractors, Hire Companies, Suppliers, Delivery Companies)
- Develop your policies and procedures e.g. accident reporting, emergency procedures (if you are injured as a result of your work activities and are unable to carry out your duties for more than 3 days, you must report it to the Health and Safety Authority).
Self Employed Persons are predominantly Lone Workers, if you were injured or did not return from work for a number of hours who would know this and raise the alarm?
We will post additional information on managing health and safety as a Self Employed Person in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you have any queries, please contact us.
