The risk of injury – or even death – within the rail industry can unfortunately be stark. According to the Office of Rail and Road’s annual statistical release, from 2019-2020 there were 5,099 minor workforce injuries, 130 major incidents and, tragically, three fatalities. While major and minor injuries were at
Workplace safety and health challenges from outsourcing across a range of sectors and industries have been revealed as part of a new study by Cranfield University. The new study published today and funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) saw researchers from Cranfield University explore how outsourcing
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has welcomed new commitments from the UK government to accelerate building safety improvements – and calls for “visible and tangible action” to now be taken. This week Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced new measures to improve building safety in the UK. The
Actively managing sun exposure and providing nudging messages via text message are a few ways in which organisations can better protect outdoor workers from harmful UV radiation, a new study led by Heriot-Watt University has suggested. In Britain each year there are almost 1,500 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer caused
Major construction projects can play a critical role in improving workers’ understanding of health risks and championing ‘universally high standards’ across the industry, new research suggests. A three-year research project, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), aimed to explore the management of health, safety and wellbeing
Health and safety in the workplace, particularly in the building and construction industries, are of paramount importance to individuals around the world as well as in the United Kingdom. However, alarming figures collated by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have indicated that despite the continued implementation of
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
The risk of injury – or even death – within the rail industry can unfortunately be stark. According to the Office of Rail and Road’s annual statistical release, from 2019-2020 there were 5,099 minor workforce injuries, 130 major incidents and, tragically, three fatalities. While major and minor injuries were at their lowest since the current comparable data series began in 2007-08, these statistics demonstrate the need for continuous high-quality training and education. This is what Astutis, an industry-leading training provider, is offering through its newly upgraded IOSH Managing Safely online course for the rail industry. One of the world’s foremost health and safety certificates, this course is ideally suited to the demands and potential risks of the rail industry. Latest digital concepts combined with ‘on-the-job’ simulation Astutis’ Managing Safely online course – requiring 24 hours of study online – is a fully-accredited health and safety certificate for those in middle management positions within the rail industry. Tutor-led courses are three days long, while online learners have six months’ access to course materials and tutor support, which they can work through at their own pace. The course combines the latest digital learning concepts with a practical ‘on-the-job’ simulation to equip learners with an understanding of the importance of health and safety and how to implement best practice. In doing so, it aims to develop participants’ health and safety strategies, essential management skills, and greater confidence in their role. Learning through gamification To make the course more interesting, engaging and ‘real’, it includes simulation training using real-life workplace examples and elements of gamification. One element of Astutis’ ‘real-life’ simulation is budget control – an essential HSE management skill. Learners, acting as an HSE manager, are presented with a variety of scenarios and hazards and given a budget against which they must balance their decisions. This not only motivates participants but allows them to better apply their learnings to the real world, as Steve Terry, Astutis’ Managing Director, explains: “Quite simply, our aim is to raise health and safety training to a higher standard and continuously improve our learners’ experiences. Adopting elements of gamification in our simulation training certainly plays its part in helping us do that. We find that it helps challenge participants’ thinking and build motivation – two things we feel lead to better outcomes.” User experience is paramount “We care deeply about the overall experience of the individuals and organisations that work with us and take part in our courses,” continues Steve. “It’s why we make it easy for businesses to monitor the progress of their learners, by giving them all the data they need to make smart, actionable decisions. A clear training roadmap is provided at the start of all our online courses, and each one is designed to complement our other courses seamlessly. We also appoint learning designers, multimedia developers and graphic designers to give our learners the very best – and most engaging – experience possible.” Benefits for participants and their organisations Steve comments: “First and foremost, this course ensures that its participants – and their organisations – comply with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) legislation and meet their managerial responsibilities for safety in the workplace.” This includes (amongst other things): Recognising common workplace hazards and implementing appropriate control measures Estimating, evaluating and reducing risk by applying a hierarchy of risk control Carrying out structured risk assessments and accident investigations A ‘must-have’ for rail professionals As well as being well-suited for a variety of industries, Astutis’ IOSH Managing Safely course encapsulates the knowledge needed specifically for rail health and safety professionals. Completing the course syllabus prepares professionals to create and foster a safety-conscious workforce while avoiding high costs. Many of the UK’s leading rail organisations have benefitted from Asutis’s industry-leading course, including Merseyrail, for whom it’s vital that staff have a high level of health and safety knowledge. Daniel Dale, Competency Training Manager, Merseyrail comments: “We choose Astutis as our learning partner because they guarantee immediate access to a learning management system and provide the reporting and monitoring functionality we need. It’s also important for us – should we need it – to access customised content that’s both relevant and up-to-date. We have been happy with the training provided by Astutis which has proved invaluable in the support of implementing an effective H&S policy within Merseyrail”. For more information, including the course syllabus and how to register, visit astutis.com/iosh-courses/online, email enquiries@astutis.com, or call +44(0)345 241 3685.
Workplace safety and health challenges from outsourcing across a range of sectors and industries have been revealed as part of a new study by Cranfield University. The new study published today and funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) saw researchers from Cranfield University explore how outsourcing practices vary when working with different types of contractors. The study focused on the relationship between client firms and the main sub-contractor. Challenges for maintaining occupational safety and health standards when outsourcing included tensions between organisations and varying regulations across countries. The research also found limited reviewing of safety performance during and after contracts were signed in outsourced relationships – which acted as a barrier to improvements in safety performance. Dr Colin Pilbeam, Reader in Safety Leadership at Cranfield University, said: “Outsourcing is a significant and increasingly common organizational change initiative of the modern era, occurring not only in private companies but also in public sector organisations across the globe. However, outsourcing can also introduce safety risks into an organisation. “This research, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, highlights some of the safety challenges involved in outsourcing relationships and shows many industries manage safety through a common set of practices. While this can establish an acceptable level of safety performance, there can be issues around execution in organisations. More needs to be done to understand how safety can be managed in outsourced relationships between organisations.” As part of the study the research team developed a framework to distinguish between tasks that were core to a firm’s strategic goals and the difficulty of a task, accommodating both firm-to-firm and firm-to-individual relationships. They then conducted a systematic literature review to identify safety risk factors and safety management practices found in 44 empirical studies of outsourcing relationships. The study engaged with three global companies across the engineering, logistics and pharmaceuticals sectors. These companies outsourced a variety of activities including construction and facilities management to other global companies, just like a Chinese employer of record. Through a series of 60 semi-structured interviews with employees in both organizations in each outsourcing relationship, the study investigated safety risks and the management of safety in these relationships. Challenges associated with the management of safety in outsourced relationships included: Operating across national borders where the legal and regulatory frameworks for safety found locally differ from those which govern the policies and procedures developed by the headquarters and prescribe wider company practices. Outsourcing to another company where expectations of monitoring safety performance, e.g. for near misses and safety-related incidents, differ. Tensions at board level can adversely affect otherwise amicable and effective relationships locally. Conversely, agreeable relationships at board level. cannot mitigate antagonistic relationships locally. Hard fought negotiations over the contract can adversely affect resource availability and subsequent safety performance A safety dip at the beginning of an outsourcing relationship can be mitigated by transferring staff from the old to the new provider. But this limits innovation and improvements in safety performance. Mary Ogungbeje, Research Manager at IOSH, said: “Employers can’t abdicate their health and safety responsibilities just by having a contractor in place to do the job. “History has shown us that health and safety disasters happen when contractor arrangements are not managed properly. So, whilst each context may be different, this study usefully reveals some common set of practices in outsourcing relationships, that can help employers to minimise the safety risks. The specific case studies also highlight some learning opportunities for businesses to consider.” The research report, “Managing safety following organisational change through outsourcing: Dysfunctional processes and fractured relationships” is available on request by emailing alex.phillimore@iosh.com.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has welcomed new commitments from the UK government to accelerate building safety improvements – and calls for “visible and tangible action” to now be taken. This week Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced new measures to improve building safety in the UK. The announcement includes the immediate establishment of a new Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as well as a proposal to extend the existing combustible cladding ban and accelerate its removal from buildings across the country. Richard Jones, Head of Policy and Regulatory Engagement at IOSH, said: “While it’s positive to hear the new government declare it won’t tolerate the slow pace of improvement to building safety in the UK, which IOSH and others have raised concern over, we now need to see visible and tangible action, with these announcements just the start of an extensive and active delivery-programme. “Working with the HSE will be reassuring for many, given it’s a world-class regulator that secures near universal praise nationally. It has successful experience of co-regulation, as well as of operating permissioning and safety-case regimes and enforcing the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, so should be ideally placed for such a role. However, it will be vital that it’s properly resourced for taking on this substantial additional responsibility and workload for this new regime, which we understand will be fully chargeable. “In IOSH’s response to the combustible cladding ban consultation, we emphasised the need to remove it from all high-rises in both residential and non-residential buildings. We are pleased that the government is now reconsidering its position and have clarified its guidance for building-owners. “We also look forward to further government action on sprinkler requirements and to the Fire Safety Bill and its clarification of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.” Last month, IOSH urged the government to “get health and safety done” and pushed for urgent progress on all the key occupational safety and health public-policy areas, including national ‘post-Grenfell’ reforms on building regulation and fire safety. Last month, IOSH urged the government to “get health and safety done” and pushed for urgent progress on all the key occupational safety and health public-policy areas, including national ‘post-Grenfell’ reforms on building regulation and fire safety.
Actively managing sun exposure and providing nudging messages via text message are a few ways in which organisations can better protect outdoor workers from harmful UV radiation, a new study led by Heriot-Watt University has suggested. In Britain each year there are almost 1,500 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer caused by exposure at work to UV radiation from the sun and around 250 cases of malignant melanoma. During winter, workers get insufficient sun exposure to make enough vitamin D to maintain good health. A new paper, published in the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) journal, Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, has outlined some of the key recommendations for workplaces to consider in order to better protect outdoor workers, including: – Workplace health promotion initiatives to ‘nudge’ workers towards healthier dietary choices, including dietary supplements over winter, to boost serum vitamin D levels in their workers. – Sun-safety remains a low priority on construction sites and awareness of current sun-safe measures is low. Employers should adopt a risk-based approach to manage exposure to solar UV proactively, in which risk management measures should be prescribed and the use of these measures enforced. – Provide health surveillance to detect skin cancers among outdoor workers because of the likely high UV exposure and the consequent increased risk of skin cancer. Nudging messages can be easily delivered via text messages or location-driven phone apps to help a workforce stay safe in the sun. The recommendations follow on from an IOSH-funded study published last year led by Heriot-Watt University, which found almost half of outdoor workers on the construction sites they investigated had insufficient vitamin D during the winter. However, the team found during the summer the desire to get a sun tan remained high among workers, with many being exposed to high UV radiation, increasing their risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer. Professor John Cherrie, Principal Investigator on the research from Heriot-Watt University and the Institute of Occupational Medicine, said: “In Britain we love the sun and having a sun tan, but unprotected exposure to the summer sun can cause irreversible damage to our skin and ultimately may lead to a diagnosis of skin cancer. “Employers must take the lead in managing sun exposure for outdoor workers and make sure their employees have regular skin checks to look for the early signs of cancer.” Mary Ogungbeje, Research Manager at IOSH, said: “The findings highlight that there’s still work to do in promoting good sun safety behaviour in the workplace. Both workers and employers have a part to play in reducing the risks of excessive UV exposure. “We encourage workers and employers to be more aware of occupational cancer and take positive steps to reduce the risks.” The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has produced a range of resources and guidance on the risks of solar radiation and how to reduce exposure as part of its No Time to Lose campaign to tackle occupational cancer. More information is available here: https://www.notimetolose.org.uk/free-resources/solar-pack-taster/ The paper, ‘Nudging construction workers towards better sun-safety behaviour: summary of the evidence for practitioners’, published in the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s journal, Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, is available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14773996.2019.1708614 The study team included researchers from Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh and the Institute of Occupational Medicine and was funded by IOSH.
Major construction projects can play a critical role in improving workers’ understanding of health risks and championing ‘universally high standards’ across the industry, new research suggests. A three-year research project, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), aimed to explore the management of health, safety and wellbeing interventions on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project. Members of the research team from Loughborough University were integrated into each of the construction teams working on the Tideway project and monitored key health and safety processes, personnel, documentation, events and activities. In a new paper titled ‘Raising the bar for occupational health management in construction, published in the Institution of Civil Engineers’ journal Civil Engineering, the research team highlights practical measures from the Tideway project to help stakeholders improve the management of health risks in construction. The Loughborough team suggests major projects have an important role to play in upskilling the workforce, and that construction managers must take responsibility for health risk management, supported by skilled OSH and health professionals. Interventions included working with occupational hygienists to improve understanding about health risks and how to manage them and coordinating training sessions for project managers, engineers, supervisors and others who contribute to risk assessments focusing on practical control measures. Alistair Gibb, Professor of Construction Engineering Management at Loughborough University, said: “The construction industry faces many unique challenges when it comes to managing health risks and protecting workers. Across the industry there is poor understanding about the standards of health assessment which are legally required and low motivation among many employers to pay for health checks for workers who may soon move to other employers. “Major projects such as Tideway are critical to developing universally high health management standards and are well-placed to champion good OH services and to use their expertise and influence to embed change within their own supply chains. To achieve long-lasting improvements, these standards must be adopted throughout the sector, particularly within the SMEs which employ the majority of the workforce.” The study suggests a consistent approach to occupational health management and health surveillance is needed across the construction industry with a commitment to improved portability of OH data. The researchers also argue that health needs to be given higher visibility and clarity at prequalification and in tender documents. Mary Ogungbeje, Research Manager at IOSH, said: “This research goes a long way towards addressing what is a very prevalent and complex issue in the construction sector. “For health to truly be treated like safety in construction there needs to be a shift in the perception and practices of employers and workers, and acceptance in industry that high standards should not be an exceptional practice but the necessary norm. “The study highlights practical measures to help all stakeholders address barriers and improve the management of health risks in construction.” Steve Hails, Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at Tideway, said: “Our commitment to transformational health, safety and wellbeing standards at Tideway is intended to set a new benchmark for the industry. Achieving parity between health and safety is a strategic objective for our programme and understanding the specific challenges emerging in the course of construction is imperative to our future direction. “The support from IOSH and Loughborough University has been invaluable in identifying our progress. This unique approach to conducting a longitudinal study with skilled researchers embedded into our construction teams, has allowed us to compile legacy information in real time rather than, as has historically been the case, at the end of the project. This gives Tideway objective feedback during our works and informs our future direction. “There are additional wider industry benefits for future projects to learn from our experiences through this approach and realising the benefits of industry working collaboratively with academia during the planning and construction phases of work.” An additional recommendation from the research includes further training for frontline workers, particularly to compensate for low visibility of health hazards including noise and respirable dust, and greater awareness of health conditions with long latency periods, including those caused by silica dust and asbestos exposure. IOSH’s No Time to Lose campaign aims to explain the causes of occupational cancer and help businesses take action. Information about the dangers of silica dust, asbestos and other carcinogens and how to prevent exposure is available on the website:https://www.notimetolose.org.uk/ The paper, titled ‘Raising the bar for occupational health management in construction’ is published in the Institution of Civil Engineers journal Civil Engineering. The research is funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). The paper is available here:https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jcien.19.00029 In a second paper, published in the journal Safety Science, the research team explore in more detail the challenges to achieving lasting improvements to worker health in construction, this is available here: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZWj63IVV9gluI
Health and safety in the workplace, particularly in the building and construction industries, are of paramount importance to individuals around the world as well as in the United Kingdom. However, alarming figures collated by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have indicated that despite the continued implementation of health and safety regulations in the workplace, many of these have not been followed or simply been ignored by members of the industry. The evidence based on this alarming and worrying claim is based on the staggering amount of fines accrued by building firms for not carrying appropriate risk assessments or putting their employees’ lives in danger and at great personal risk. The year 2016 recorded a total of 19 fines imposed amounting to sums worth a million pounds or even greater than that, the greatest even reaching to a 5 million pound fine. This is clearly a disgrace to the building and construction industries and demonstrates that not enough businesses in these sectors are regarding the safety and wellbeing of their workers as it should be. It is also worth bearing in mind that fewer fines of staggering amounts were imposed during the year 2015. In fact, not a single fine amounting to 1 million pounds was imposed on a single business in 2014: this is not due to the fact that safety measures were implemented much more in that year than more recently. Rather, the reason for this increase in fines is also that the IOSH is imposing larger penalties than ever before on businesses that neglect the safety of their workers and it is hoped through this that this will be a way of ensuring that businesses regard the safety of their employees more seriously now that they can be fined huge amounts for negligence. Shelley Frost of the directing body of IOSH has explained how injuries in the workplace destroy lives forever and it is therefore essential that all is done to ensure that businesses give health and safety the attention that it deserves.
