Food Safety News – April 2011
Registered Health & Safety Consultant
One of the recommendations of the report by Lord Young of Graffham “Common Sense Common Safety” which examined the operation of health and safety laws and the growth of the compensation culture, was that health & safety consultants should have a formal qualification and be accredited to a professional body. There should also be a web-based directory of accredited consultants.
Hygiene Audit Systems have now registered their first full time health & safety consultant on the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR).
www.oshcr.org/Search/Details/c4a77d54-915c-48f9-bbee-a5d0be2ce3a0
The register has strict eligibility criteria. as set by the relevant professional of the consultant’s discipline. Only those consultants who meet the eligibility criteria can apply to join the register. Part of the application procedure to join the register involves a check by OSHCR with the relevant professional body that an individual has achieved a certain status within that professional body which is usually as result of obtaining a professional qualification and being able to demonstrate a number of years of experience in practice.
Such a strict eligibility criteria to join the register, offers reassurance to anyone seeking health & safety advice that they have engaged a competent professional to assist them in complying with the legislation.
Consultants must have achieved at least one of the following:
- Chartered status with IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health); CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health); or REHIS (Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland) with health and safety qualifications
- Fellow status with IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management) with degree level qualifications
- Member or Fellow status with BOHS (British Occupational Hygiene Society) Faculty of Occupational Hygiene
- Registered Member or Fellow status with IEHF (Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors).
In addition, all consultants wishing to join the register will be asked to declare that they will:
- Demonstrate adequate continuing professional development
- Abide by their professional body’s code of conduct;
- Provide sensible and proportionate advice; and
- Have professional indemnity insurance or equivalent to cover the nature of their duties.
Why use a Health & Safety Consultant?
There are some 3,200 local authority inspectors involved in health and safety duties. They are responsible for ensuring that health and safety regulation is applied in over a million lower risk workplaces, such as shops, offices, pubs, cinemas and residential care homes. This is in addition to the inspectors that work for the Health & Safety Executive, which deal with construction sites, manufacturing, schools and the functions of central and local government. Health & safety inspectors have very extensive powers.
The health and safety inspector's rights and powers
The health and safety inspector may enter your work premises at any time. Usually the inspector will be visiting to carry out a health and safety inspection. However, they could also visit you after an accident that may have been caused by work activities. Whatever the purpose of the visit, inspectors have the authority to take certain actions, including:
- carrying out examinations and investigations, including taking measurements, photographs and samples
- taking possession of an article and arranging for it to be dismantled or tested
- seizing and making safe any article or substance that could cause serious personal injury
- requesting information and taking statements from people they think can help an investigation
- inspecting and copying documents such as a health & safety policy and risk assessments.
If the inspector considers that you are breaking health and safety law, or your activities give rise to a serious risk, they can:
- Offer advice, this may be verbal or written
- Caution staff and the business owner as part of the evidence gathering procedure
- issue an official warning, known as a simple caution
- issue an improvement notice or prohibition notice
- prosecute the company and/or individuals
The role of consultant is to assist the business achieve legal compliance and good practice, should a business receive a visit from a health & safety inspector, being prepared by having a health & safety policy, risk assessments, well trained staff, internal accident procedures, being able to demonstrate regular checks of equipment and work environment will give the inspector a positive impression of the business and reduce the likelihood of formal action.
Our Health & Safety Consultancy services can help you reduce the risk withing your workplace and avoid any legal actions
Please call us on 01727 866779 or email paul@hygieneauditsystems.com for more information
