The Sheffield Occupational Health and Safety Association’s Annual General Meeting 2010 saw the announcement of the Frank Smith Award 2010, which recognises and rewards creativity and innovation in health and safety. This award is issued on an annual basis to individuals or organisations that share best practice that can help others to improve standards, raise awareness, tackle issues and improve occupational health and safety performance in their workplaces.

Announced by John Pearce, past chairman of the association, the 2010 Frank Smith Award was presented by Diane Etchell, HM Inspector of Health and Safety with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), to Chris Jerman, Health and Safety Manager at John Lewis plc for his initiative in reducing the burden of manual handling assessments across a business with over 300 000 product lines that could be handled in almost infinite combinations. Using an innovative new ‘virtual shape concept’ the idea was to condense these assessments down to a manageable number so that effective training and instruction can be delivered to Partners. The initial assessments for particularly large and heavy items have resulted in a comprehensive national training programme, train-the-trainer, video assessments and a dedicated ‘mock-up’ house for training. The initiative has already achieved a dramatic reduction in back injuries and Partners have expressed their views of the programme as being some of the best training that they have ever received. The next part of the initiative called SHAPE focuses on the smaller but, nonetheless significant, items handled within the Branches.

The application received strong competition from a range of workplaces in the South Yorkshire region, including the runners-up Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Sheffield City Council for initiatives in Workspace Ergonomics and Manual Handling respectively. The SOHSA Executive Committee determined that the application from John Lewis deserved the award this year as it “went the extra mile” in taking health and safety beyond legal compliance and for its’ innovative approach to tackling risks arising from manual handling operations.

Speaking about the initiative, Chris Jerman said, “mere compliance is not sufficient when running a business such as ours; there is intense scrutiny where any company is leading the field.”

“I am delighted to receive this prestigious award from SOHSA and for recognition of the amount of work put into this new initiative by all of our staff [at John Lewis] and hope that in sharing details of this initiative we can help other organisations with their own manual handling issues.”

Chris will speak at the next members’ meeting of the association on 11 May 2010 to present further information about the initiative, key findings and successes and discuss learning points with other members of the association in order to share any information that may benefit other organisations.

This award commemorates Frank Smith, past chairman of the Sheffield Occupational Health and Safety Association, who was a strong believer in sharing and communicating of information between organisations and was always keen to help others and offer support.

For further information about the Sheffield Occupational Health and Safety Association or Frank Smith Award, please visit www.sohsa.org.uk or contact the committee on committee@sohsa.org.uk.

Commissioned by British Glass, their members and the IOSH Research Committee, a research project into reliable industrial measurement of core body temperature in industrial environments through non-intrusive means has now reached publication.

The project aimed to establish a consistent relationship between core body temperature and that of the tympanic membrane of the ear in order to identify a non-intrusive method of monitoring workers’ core body temperature.

The project involved field data study in workplace environments where individuals are exposed to elevated temperatures, including furnace operations in both glass and cast-metals manufacture. Individuals in these organisations volunteered to participate in the study and ingested a temperature-sensitive intra-gastric pill – which provides a reliable measure of the core body temperature. Field study by IOM’s professional staff compared the data from these intra-gastric pills to temperatures taken using a non-intrusive infra-red thermometer.

SOHSA's March 2010 Occupational Health and Safety e-Bulletin is now available online. The occupational health and safety bulletin has been sent to all members, but is also available to view online.

Containing the latest health and safety news, campaigns and other resources, the occupational health and safety bulletin provides members with a update on current changes to UK health and safety.

Features include details of the recently released sentencing guidelines for offences under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007; the new HSE "Do Your Bit" campaign, providing subsidised training and advice to improve employee involvement at work; details of FREE danger cards from the HSE to support the Shattered Lives campaign and raise awareness of the dangers of slips, trips and falls at work; details and discussion of the new Statement of Fitness for Work which soon replaces the existing "sick-note"; details of the Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations, and other HSE's campaigns such as Shattered Lives and Load Safety as well as a wealth of additional informaiton on recent website articles, news and support resources available.

The e-bulletin also highlights recent content on the association website as well as the very latest health and safety news available.

Click here to view the SOHSA Occupational Health and Safety March 2010 e-bulletin online now!
(URL: http://www.sohsa.org.uk/html_newsletter-80.html)

A new Worker Involvement campaign is soon to be launched. The ‘do your bit’ initiative will run for a year in total and is aimed at both employers and workers in non-unionised Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) amongst construction, manufacturing and transport/storage industry sectors.

Through Premier Partnership, a third party training provider, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will provide subsidised training on basic knowledge of health and safety management and ’soft’ people skills (negotiating, persuasion etc) to allow course attendees to affect change in their own workplaces.

In addition, there is a fully funded joint training course on offer for managers and representatives from any organisation, aimed at helping to establish a shared perspective towards health and safety management.

The initial campaign will kick off with trade press, a dedicated campaign website including some video case studies and a web tool to help explain how to improve worker involvement for both employers and employees.

But that’s not the end of the story. There will also be an ongoing support function, initially through Infoline, but later using innovative communications channels for hard to reach audiences.

Phase 2 of the campaign, which will start in June, will be aimed at these harder to reach audiences. After a period of 12 months, it is hoped that there will be an extra 2,400 safety representatives in non-unionised SMEs with the necessary support to help them make a real difference for the good.

Please see the "Safe and Sound at Work" campaign website for more information:

Do Your Bit - Safe and Sound at Work

As part of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Shattered Lives Campaign, you can now request a free copy of the A5 colour 'Danger' display card for your own sector by completing a quick form on the Health and Safety Executive's Shattered Lives campaign website.

The 'Danger' display card can be used to remind your staff of the simple actions that they can take to help prevent slips, trips or falls from height happening in particularly hazardous areas of your workplace. These signs can be used on staff desks, counters and notice boards. Up to five copies of the 'Danger' display card can be requested.

Request a free 'Danger' display card online now

Discuss the Shattered Lives Campaign Online

In its final definitive guideline, the Council sets out principles to guide courts in dealing with companies and organisations that cause death through a gross breach of care or where breach of health and safety requirements are a significant cause of the death.

The advice is clear – punitive and significant fines should be imposed both to deter and to reflect public concern at avoidable loss of life.

Fines for companies and organisations found guilty of corporate manslaughter may be millions of pounds and should seldom be below £500,000. For other health and safety offences that cause death, fines from £100,000 up to hundreds of thousands of pounds should be imposed.

In deciding the level of fine, account must be taken of the financial circumstances of the offending organisation. In the guideline the Council emphasises the need for a court to have full, accurate and reliable information and details the method for ensuring that it is consistently provided.

When fixing the fine, a court should not be influenced by the impact on shareholders and directors, nor consider the costs of complying with other sanctions. However, the effect on the employment of the innocent may be relevant, as may the effect on provision of services to the public.

Factors increasing the seriousness of the offence identified by the Council include the foreseeability of serious injury, whether non-compliance was common and widespread within the organisation, and how far up the organisation responsibility for the breach went.

Other factors that would aggravate the offence and raise the fine above the relevant minimum level include the number of deaths and serious injury caused, injury to vulnerable persons, failure to heed warnings or respond to near misses of a similar nature, cost-cutting, and deliberate failure to obtain or comply with relevant licences.

Publicity Orders - compelling companies and organisations to publish statements about their conviction for corporate manslaughter, details of the offence and the fine - are part of the penalty and should be imposed in virtually all cases.

Council member and Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Lord Justice Anthony Hughes said, “Fines cannot and do not attempt to value a human life – compensation will be assessed separately in these cases. These are serious offences and the fines must be punitive and substantial and have an impact on the company or organisation.”

For further information about the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 or to discuss this topic, please see the following SOHSA Forum Discusson:

SOHSA Discussion - Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
URL: http://www.sohsa.org.uk/ftopict-143.html

SOHSA's February 2010 Occupational Health and Safety e-Bulletin is now available online. The occupational health and safety bulletin has been sent to all members, but is also available to view online.

Containing the latest health and safety news, campaigns and other resources, the occupational health and safety bulletin provides members with a update on current changes to UK health and safety.

Features include details of the new Statement of Fitness for Work replacing the current "sick-note", the recently closing consultation on the proposed Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations, details of the HSE's Shattered Lives and Load Safety campaigns, free events and new documentation including the new HSE Asbestos Survey Guide. The e-bulletin also highlights recent content on the association website as well as the very latest health and safety news available.

Click here to view the SOHSA Occupational Health and Safety February 2010 e-bulletin online now!
(URL: http://www.sohsa.org.uk/html_newsletter-77.html)

The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 have been laid before parliament and are due to come into effect on 6 April 2010. From this point GPs in England, Scotland and Wales will be required to issue the new Statement of Fitness for Work, 'fit-notes', rather than the current sick note form to those suffering from ill-health.

The existing medical statement, or 'Sick Note', has been around in its’ present format since the 1920s and its’ replacement adds additional options for what an individual may do – for example a GP can recommend a phased return to work, changes to the workplace/job-role or altered hours.

The new fit-note system was originally proposed by Dame Carol Black’s Review of the Health of the Working-Age Population, “Working for a healthier tomorrow”, which urged a radical reform of the UK health system, including more than 30 recommendations to improve work-related health services to keep people who are in work health and those who do fall ill to get the help needed to make a prompt return.

Please see the Statement of Fitness for Work discussion in the SOHSA Forum for more information or to comment on this story.

We have been alerted to a number of upcoming workshops for those working with gas - BOC's 2010 'Open' Gas Safety Training Workshop program.

The training is designed for anyone who uses gas cylinders. It follows the NEW & UPDATED 2009 format, containing additional information on transporting cylinders safely. Please note there is not a hands-on practical session during the workshop.

Topics covered in these workshops include:

• Why do accidents occur?
• Overview of Risk Assessments;
• Understanding our atmosphere;
• Potential hazards when working;
• with gas cylinders;
• Hazard posed by fire;
• Hazards posed by pressure;
• Regulators;
• Gas cylinders;
• Flashback arrestors;
• Correct set-up of a gas system;
• Storage of gas cylinders;
• Handling gas cylinders safely;
• Transporting cylinders safely;
• What happens when it all goes wrong?

For further information, please see the workshop flyer and booking form, available at the following address:

http://www.gassafeconsultants.co.uk/workshop-pdfs/BOC%20New%20Open%20Workshops%20-%202009%20Programme.pdf

We understand, especially in this climate, that finances can be hard to come by – but innovation and simple measures do not necessarily cost the earth. You are all improving standards, reducing injuries and saving lives and deserve recognitiion for your hard-work! I am sure that many of you do not realise the impact your actions have – but a “run of the mill” safety campaign in one person’s opinion is innovative, thought-provoking and “exactly what the doctor ordered” for someone else. It is through sharing initiatives, through awards such as this, that we can all help each other in achieving our goal of reducing accidents/injuries and improving workplace standards for all employees.

All it takes is a few minutes! Simply complete the application form (less than 1 side of A4) and return it to us by fax, email or post. We are looking for examples of how you have implemented change in your workplace, which can be as simple as the production of an effective poster or informative leaflet through to the development of an entire H&S management system.

As a result of the cancellation of Tuesday’s meeting, the committee are not due to meet until February 2010, which gives all members an extra month in which to submit their award applications – so to be considered for an award and receive a prestigious award recognising your hard-work simply return a completed form to us at your earliest convenience. Full guidance is included with the application form, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Please click the banner below to download the Frank Smith Application Form and Guidance:

Frank Smith Award Background

The Frank Smith Award is awarded on an annual basis to individuals or organisations that share best practice which can help others to improve standards, raise awareness, tackle issues and improve occupational health and safety performance in their workplaces.

The award commemorates Frank Smith, past chairman of the Sheffield Occupational Health and Safety Association, who was a strong believer in sharing and communicating information between organisations and was always keen to help others and offer support.

We are looking for examples of creativity and innovation in the following areas:

• Schemes for promoting health and safety awareness;
• Tackling specific areas of risk;
• Promotion of a healthier working environment.

We look forward to your entries!