QCS International

You may now be thinking about setting your 2010 Health and Safety objectives. If you are short on inspiration, here are a few ideas straight from OHSAS 18001:2007…

1. Look at your risk assessments – what hazards still have a high risk score? Can you reduce these in any way?
2. Still looking at your risk assessments – have you really used the hierarchy of control in deciding robust control measures or are there hazards that rely a bit too much on ‘good old’ supervision and PPE?
3. Your policy (the little used document in your reception area) – take a look at this. If you have made commitments in the policy then you really should be setting objectives to achieve this.
4. Accidents and incidents from last year – have you closed our on all corrective actions are there still some outstanding issues?
5. Near misses – again have you closed our on all corrective actions are there still some outstanding issues?
6. Management Review – you probably made some commitments in the meeting – it’s always worth taking a close look at this and make sure any actions are tied into your objectives for the year.
7. Compliance Evaluation… Did you find any areas that needed improvement from your review?
8. Health & Safety committee meeting minutes – Review the minutes to make sure you have picked up any longer term actions into your objectives.
9. OHSAS 18002 & OHSAS 18004 – The Guidance documents are packed with help and advice on how to apply and improve OHSAS 18001 in your organisation.
10. HSE Web Site – Very user friendly and full of free information – Use this to look for any up and coming changes in legislation so that you and your organisation.

And finally for every objective don’t forget these should be measurable if possible and have a clear responsibility assigned with a time scale.

In the spirit of keeping Christmas well and truly in December we can now turn our minds to the festive arrangements.   And the top tip for this month is that mistletoe and wine really do prevent Swine Flu.

Hopefully swine flu has not had the impact on your business that was feared in the summer.   But as coughs, colds and swine flu begin to affect us all in the winter months, the NHS is advising us that greeting with a kiss rather than shaking hands is less likely spread the virus.

Now before you all start using this as a way to give a cheeky Christmas kiss to someone in the office,  the advice refers to a light peck on the cheek  (If you have any French colleagues, just ask them to demonstrate) and not full lip to lip contact.

Kissing under the mistletoe

The facts are that colds and flu viruses are passed on very effectively by hand to hand contact so a quick peck is far more hygienic.    You may have to excise some judgement however before rushing out to buy mistletoe as your work colleagues may not share your enthusiasm for this traditional Christmas greeting purely on the grounds of Health & Safety.

Try Alcohol…

So perhaps good hygiene is still the best solution – by encouraging regular hand washing and use of alcohol rub, this is a practical way to reduce the risk of swine flu affecting your business.

So in true festive spirit, buying some mistletoe for the office will undoubtedly encourage kissing but as for the wine, alcohol rub will be far more effective to prevent the risk of swine flu spreading at work.