- Email: [email protected]
Training safety representatives
in Toronto 2 3 - 2 5 January, 1978, under joint sponsorship of the three groups.
surveillance, biological monitoring, health education and rehabilitation.
Of the 2701 respondents to the survey questionnaire, all of whom had eye injuries, 1138 or 42% were wearing protection at the time of their injury. 10"5% of these had the object or particle that damaged the eye penetrate the lens or body of the protector. Despite industrial safety programmes to which most workers are exposed, the survey reveals that injury rates remain significant.
Other findings include: a minority of doctors and nurses in industry's occupational health services (even those employed full-time) had specialist qualifications in occupational health; the two most important factors in the establishing of an occupational health service were the size of firms and the distance from NHS facilities; the nature of the industry was less important.
Other sessions at the conference examined problems related to injuries to head, foot, ear, the respiratory system, and those resulting from falls that could have been prevented by fall-arresting systems.
Occupational health services A preliminary survey of health care services at work provided by 3000 firms showed that 85% (employing a third of the workforce), did not employ either nurses or doctors and relied entirely on part-time first-aiders. This is stated in a discussion document Occupational Health Services: the way ahead. (HMSO, 50p) published by the Health and Safety Commission. In a substantial minority of other firms, the occupational health services were under day-to-day charge of a nurse. These are two of the findings, included in the document of a survey which was carried out in 1976 by the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS). The document, which also forms part of the Health Departments' series of discussion papers on Preventive Medicine, presents a considered view of current problems affecting the organisation and development of occupational health services, and has been designed to meet the expressed desire of occupational health doctors and nurses for an analysis of their role.
the existing programme of epidemiological surveys and other studies co-ordinated and mounted by EMAS. It also urges employers to meet the cost of group services to support diagnostic facilities, particularly in the radiographical, pathological and audiometric fields. The document suggests that the requirements of periodic medical examinations should be reviewed by the HSC's Medical Advisory Committee to see whether some could now be dispensed with and medical manpower released for more demanding work. It also proposes that the Committee should discuss problems which might arise through possible conflict between the medical profession's duty to preserve confidentiality and the employer's need for information on the health of employees.
One of the most far-reaching recommendations in the document is that a nurse might best be entrusted with the responsibility for organising and providing a local occupational health service, if fully qualified in the subject. A project should be promoted by EMAS to evaluate the practicability of this proposal, the document says. Other recommendations include the encouragement of: a joint provision of occupational health services by firms within the same industry, to further the growth of specialised occupational health services for separate industries (possibly through the Health and Safety Commission's Industry Advisory Committees, when they are set up, or trade associations); larger firms to extend their occupational health services to their smaller neighbours.
The document suggests that the growth of specialised occupational health services, serving a whole industry, would enable all available information on the hazards of that industry, and the health of the workers in it, to be brought together and analysed. This would enable the industry (with EMAS advice) to plan and carry out its own programme of epidemiological surveys and other scientific research as appropriate. EMAS would then be able The document has already been the to concentrate more of its resources subject of extensive consultation with on commissioning basic research, on the professional organisations principally advising industry how best to tackle concerned, the central government Health their own problems, and on studying Departments, and with the Health and problems not peculiar to one Safety Commission's own Medical Advisory industry. Committee. It is now published so that Among other recommendations, the issues presented may be more widely discussed within the professions concerned the document proposes that studies should be made, perhaps by University and in organisations of employers and Departments of occupational health, workpeople. Comments are invited from to evaluate the relative costs and all who may be concerned. benefits of treatment services provided According to the survey, the most by occupational physicians and nurses common activities of the industry's own and the NHS. The first such study occupational health services appear to be might be of alternative methods of treatment, either of acute emergencies or treatment for industrial injuries. minor illnesses, or pre-employment or Studies are also suggested to establish pre-placement medical examinations and the relative costs and benefits of screening procedures. Only in relatively occupational health services as a large firms with well-staffed services were whole. In addition, the document the essentials of preventive medicine suggests that industry's own doctors carried out, such as environmental and nurses s h o u l d participate more in
Opportunities for the disabled A call for better employment opportunities for disabled people was made by Geoffrey Gilbertson, CBE, following his re-appointment by the Secretary of State for Employment as chairman of the National Advisory Council on Employment of Disabled People for a further three year period. Mr Gilbertson said that disabled people had the potential to make a tremendous contribution in the employment market but that too often that potential was not realised because of ignorance or lack of understanding on the part of employers or fellow-workers. He hoped that over the next three years the Council would be able to mak~ progress towards helping disabled people to use their skills and potential to the full and that the Council's new three year term would see a real improvement in the share of job opportunities available to disabled people. Mr Gilbertson continued that three major initiatives had already been taken by the Council: the joint launch with the Manpower Services Commission of Positive Policies, the comprehensive guide to employing disabled people; the preparation of reports on resettling mentally ill people and on arrangements for sheltered workshops to undertake public sector work.
Training safety representatives Proposed guidelines on the paid time off for training which safety representatives will be allowed under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations were published on.6 December by the Health and Safety Commission, in a draft Code of Practice
Time Off.for Training o f Safety Representatives: Proposal to Approve
Applied Ergonomics
March 1978
61
a Code of Practice, (HMSO, 10p). The Regulations, which were made last March, permit trade unions to appoint safety representatives with legal backing to carry out certain functions, including holding safety inspections and representing work people on health and safety matters, as well as being trained during their working hours. They require an employer to permit time off with pay 'as may be reasonable' for such training. They come into force on 1 October, 1978. It is intended that the Code of Practice should also come into force on that date. In amplification of Regulation 4(2) of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations, the draft Code proposes: safety representatives should have time off for basic training, approved either by the TUC or the union concerned, as soon as possible after their appointment, with further training to be undertaken as need arises. the length of training should be related to the safety representative's functions within his particular workplace, and so cannot be rigidly prescribed. training, in general, should cover the role of union-appointed safety representatives and committees as well as trade union policies and practices on relevant legal requirements (particularly concerning the group of work people represented), workplace hazards, control measures, and employers' safety policies and their implementation. Skills such as carrying out safety inspections and the use of basic sources of relevant information should also be included in training. trade unions should be responsible for approving training to be provided by the trade union movement, but the employer should be entitled to a copy of the syllabus on request. reasonable notice of attendance at training, normally of at least a few weeks, should be given by the union to the employer, and reasonable arrangements for the release of safety representatives for training should be negotiated. The draft Code recognises that employers also have a role in providing training and briefing facilities on the technical hazards of their own workplaces and appropriate precautions. They must, of course, under the Health and Safety at Work Act, provide adequate information, instruction and training to ensure health and safety at work for all their employees.
Investigation into work The varied research activities carried out or commissioned by the Department
62
AppliedErgonomics March 1978
of Employment Group are reviewed in a booklet Research 1976 77, (HMSO, £1.75). Job satisfaction, industrial democracy, unemployment, irldustrial relations, and incomes are among subjects that have been studied during the year. The needs of ethnic minorities and other specific groups of workers are the subject of present and future research projects. The research carried out directly by the Department of Employment is primarily concerned with general manpower issues, industrial relations, incomes, and employment among special groups. In the past year graduates, immigrants, older workers and women were among the special groups to receive particular attention. Factors which influence older people to go on working, cease work or modify the nature and amount of work they do are the objects of an Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) study commissioned jointly by the Departments oI Employment and Health and Social Security. Graduates are the subject of a national survey which began this year. It is aimed to fill a gap in information on the link between eduation and employment and on the early careers of graduates. Five new Medical Research Council (MRC) projects were commissioned in 1976 77. The study of mental stress in industry is of particular concern and several new projects have been commissioned.
Electrical fatalities in the home The number of fatal electrocutions in the home increased in 1976. There were 59 such accidents involving electrical equipment compared with 46 in 1975. Equipment involved included accessories and wiring (26), electric fires (9), portable tools (7), electric blankets (3), and electronic equipment (3). These figures appear in a Report A Commentary on Electrical Fatalities in the Itome 19 76, available, free, from the Consumer Safety Unit, Room 101, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET. The report includes details of all deaths reported to the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection in 1976 together with statistics back to, and including 1970. In 1974 and 1975, there was an encouraging downward trend in the number of deaths from electrocutions in the home - the totals for these years being 43 and 46 respectively against an average for the preceding 10 years of 55. This trend was not maintained in 1976. The total of 17 deaths in 1976 caused by fires involving electric blankets is the lowest for nearly
10 years. The Department exprcsse~ the hope in the report that further improvements in the relevant British Standard and continued publicity regarding misuse of blankets will maintain this downward trend. Electric blankets were also concerned in three electrocutions in 1976 a comparatively rare accident with modern blankets. In all three cases, incontinence was factor. The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1975, (SI 1366) lay down comprehensive safety criteria for all equipment designed or suitable for domestic use. The Regulations came into force on 1 April 1976 for manufacturers and importers and 1 October 1976 for wholesalers and retailers.
Sawing machine safeguards As it is not always practical to apply the basic principles described in BS 5304, Code of Practice ]or Safeguarding o f Machinery, to the entire work area of certain machinery and some types of machine tools, the industrial safety committee of the Machine Tools Trades Association has prepared Code o f Practice for Safegaurding Sawing and Cu tting-Off Machines, which is to be the first of a series of codes devoted to specific safety aspects. The MTTA work results from extensive research into available statistics together with an examination of the nature and cause of accidents attributable to contact with saw blades. The work supplements both British Standard 5304 and statutory regulations applicable to metalcutting machine tools; it is primarily intended for use in connection with ferrous and nonferrous workpieces although the code has applications to other materials. The 36 page publication contains much useful information concerning design, construction and the application of safeguards. It is intended to assist all those connected with and responsible for safety, from senior management down to the machine operator. Copies are obtainable, price £4.00 (inclusive of post and packing) direct from MTTA (Standards), 62 Bayswater Road, London W2 3PH.
Correction In the article "Labour-intensive civil construction" by Mr A.R. Rennie, published in the December 1977 issue, the 10th line of the fourth paragraph on page 213 should read "figures are substituted in the formulae above,".
surveillance, biological monitoring, health education and rehabilitation.
Of the 2701 respondents to the survey questionnaire, all of whom had eye injuries, 1138 or 42% were wearing protection at the time of their injury. 10"5% of these had the object or particle that damaged the eye penetrate the lens or body of the protector. Despite industrial safety programmes to which most workers are exposed, the survey reveals that injury rates remain significant.
Other findings include: a minority of doctors and nurses in industry's occupational health services (even those employed full-time) had specialist qualifications in occupational health; the two most important factors in the establishing of an occupational health service were the size of firms and the distance from NHS facilities; the nature of the industry was less important.
Other sessions at the conference examined problems related to injuries to head, foot, ear, the respiratory system, and those resulting from falls that could have been prevented by fall-arresting systems.
Occupational health services A preliminary survey of health care services at work provided by 3000 firms showed that 85% (employing a third of the workforce), did not employ either nurses or doctors and relied entirely on part-time first-aiders. This is stated in a discussion document Occupational Health Services: the way ahead. (HMSO, 50p) published by the Health and Safety Commission. In a substantial minority of other firms, the occupational health services were under day-to-day charge of a nurse. These are two of the findings, included in the document of a survey which was carried out in 1976 by the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS). The document, which also forms part of the Health Departments' series of discussion papers on Preventive Medicine, presents a considered view of current problems affecting the organisation and development of occupational health services, and has been designed to meet the expressed desire of occupational health doctors and nurses for an analysis of their role.
the existing programme of epidemiological surveys and other studies co-ordinated and mounted by EMAS. It also urges employers to meet the cost of group services to support diagnostic facilities, particularly in the radiographical, pathological and audiometric fields. The document suggests that the requirements of periodic medical examinations should be reviewed by the HSC's Medical Advisory Committee to see whether some could now be dispensed with and medical manpower released for more demanding work. It also proposes that the Committee should discuss problems which might arise through possible conflict between the medical profession's duty to preserve confidentiality and the employer's need for information on the health of employees.
One of the most far-reaching recommendations in the document is that a nurse might best be entrusted with the responsibility for organising and providing a local occupational health service, if fully qualified in the subject. A project should be promoted by EMAS to evaluate the practicability of this proposal, the document says. Other recommendations include the encouragement of: a joint provision of occupational health services by firms within the same industry, to further the growth of specialised occupational health services for separate industries (possibly through the Health and Safety Commission's Industry Advisory Committees, when they are set up, or trade associations); larger firms to extend their occupational health services to their smaller neighbours.
The document suggests that the growth of specialised occupational health services, serving a whole industry, would enable all available information on the hazards of that industry, and the health of the workers in it, to be brought together and analysed. This would enable the industry (with EMAS advice) to plan and carry out its own programme of epidemiological surveys and other scientific research as appropriate. EMAS would then be able The document has already been the to concentrate more of its resources subject of extensive consultation with on commissioning basic research, on the professional organisations principally advising industry how best to tackle concerned, the central government Health their own problems, and on studying Departments, and with the Health and problems not peculiar to one Safety Commission's own Medical Advisory industry. Committee. It is now published so that Among other recommendations, the issues presented may be more widely discussed within the professions concerned the document proposes that studies should be made, perhaps by University and in organisations of employers and Departments of occupational health, workpeople. Comments are invited from to evaluate the relative costs and all who may be concerned. benefits of treatment services provided According to the survey, the most by occupational physicians and nurses common activities of the industry's own and the NHS. The first such study occupational health services appear to be might be of alternative methods of treatment, either of acute emergencies or treatment for industrial injuries. minor illnesses, or pre-employment or Studies are also suggested to establish pre-placement medical examinations and the relative costs and benefits of screening procedures. Only in relatively occupational health services as a large firms with well-staffed services were whole. In addition, the document the essentials of preventive medicine suggests that industry's own doctors carried out, such as environmental and nurses s h o u l d participate more in
Opportunities for the disabled A call for better employment opportunities for disabled people was made by Geoffrey Gilbertson, CBE, following his re-appointment by the Secretary of State for Employment as chairman of the National Advisory Council on Employment of Disabled People for a further three year period. Mr Gilbertson said that disabled people had the potential to make a tremendous contribution in the employment market but that too often that potential was not realised because of ignorance or lack of understanding on the part of employers or fellow-workers. He hoped that over the next three years the Council would be able to mak~ progress towards helping disabled people to use their skills and potential to the full and that the Council's new three year term would see a real improvement in the share of job opportunities available to disabled people. Mr Gilbertson continued that three major initiatives had already been taken by the Council: the joint launch with the Manpower Services Commission of Positive Policies, the comprehensive guide to employing disabled people; the preparation of reports on resettling mentally ill people and on arrangements for sheltered workshops to undertake public sector work.
Training safety representatives Proposed guidelines on the paid time off for training which safety representatives will be allowed under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations were published on.6 December by the Health and Safety Commission, in a draft Code of Practice
Time Off.for Training o f Safety Representatives: Proposal to Approve
Applied Ergonomics
March 1978
61
a Code of Practice, (HMSO, 10p). The Regulations, which were made last March, permit trade unions to appoint safety representatives with legal backing to carry out certain functions, including holding safety inspections and representing work people on health and safety matters, as well as being trained during their working hours. They require an employer to permit time off with pay 'as may be reasonable' for such training. They come into force on 1 October, 1978. It is intended that the Code of Practice should also come into force on that date. In amplification of Regulation 4(2) of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations, the draft Code proposes: safety representatives should have time off for basic training, approved either by the TUC or the union concerned, as soon as possible after their appointment, with further training to be undertaken as need arises. the length of training should be related to the safety representative's functions within his particular workplace, and so cannot be rigidly prescribed. training, in general, should cover the role of union-appointed safety representatives and committees as well as trade union policies and practices on relevant legal requirements (particularly concerning the group of work people represented), workplace hazards, control measures, and employers' safety policies and their implementation. Skills such as carrying out safety inspections and the use of basic sources of relevant information should also be included in training. trade unions should be responsible for approving training to be provided by the trade union movement, but the employer should be entitled to a copy of the syllabus on request. reasonable notice of attendance at training, normally of at least a few weeks, should be given by the union to the employer, and reasonable arrangements for the release of safety representatives for training should be negotiated. The draft Code recognises that employers also have a role in providing training and briefing facilities on the technical hazards of their own workplaces and appropriate precautions. They must, of course, under the Health and Safety at Work Act, provide adequate information, instruction and training to ensure health and safety at work for all their employees.
Investigation into work The varied research activities carried out or commissioned by the Department
62
AppliedErgonomics March 1978
of Employment Group are reviewed in a booklet Research 1976 77, (HMSO, £1.75). Job satisfaction, industrial democracy, unemployment, irldustrial relations, and incomes are among subjects that have been studied during the year. The needs of ethnic minorities and other specific groups of workers are the subject of present and future research projects. The research carried out directly by the Department of Employment is primarily concerned with general manpower issues, industrial relations, incomes, and employment among special groups. In the past year graduates, immigrants, older workers and women were among the special groups to receive particular attention. Factors which influence older people to go on working, cease work or modify the nature and amount of work they do are the objects of an Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) study commissioned jointly by the Departments oI Employment and Health and Social Security. Graduates are the subject of a national survey which began this year. It is aimed to fill a gap in information on the link between eduation and employment and on the early careers of graduates. Five new Medical Research Council (MRC) projects were commissioned in 1976 77. The study of mental stress in industry is of particular concern and several new projects have been commissioned.
Electrical fatalities in the home The number of fatal electrocutions in the home increased in 1976. There were 59 such accidents involving electrical equipment compared with 46 in 1975. Equipment involved included accessories and wiring (26), electric fires (9), portable tools (7), electric blankets (3), and electronic equipment (3). These figures appear in a Report A Commentary on Electrical Fatalities in the Itome 19 76, available, free, from the Consumer Safety Unit, Room 101, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET. The report includes details of all deaths reported to the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection in 1976 together with statistics back to, and including 1970. In 1974 and 1975, there was an encouraging downward trend in the number of deaths from electrocutions in the home - the totals for these years being 43 and 46 respectively against an average for the preceding 10 years of 55. This trend was not maintained in 1976. The total of 17 deaths in 1976 caused by fires involving electric blankets is the lowest for nearly
10 years. The Department exprcsse~ the hope in the report that further improvements in the relevant British Standard and continued publicity regarding misuse of blankets will maintain this downward trend. Electric blankets were also concerned in three electrocutions in 1976 a comparatively rare accident with modern blankets. In all three cases, incontinence was factor. The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1975, (SI 1366) lay down comprehensive safety criteria for all equipment designed or suitable for domestic use. The Regulations came into force on 1 April 1976 for manufacturers and importers and 1 October 1976 for wholesalers and retailers.
Sawing machine safeguards As it is not always practical to apply the basic principles described in BS 5304, Code of Practice ]or Safeguarding o f Machinery, to the entire work area of certain machinery and some types of machine tools, the industrial safety committee of the Machine Tools Trades Association has prepared Code o f Practice for Safegaurding Sawing and Cu tting-Off Machines, which is to be the first of a series of codes devoted to specific safety aspects. The MTTA work results from extensive research into available statistics together with an examination of the nature and cause of accidents attributable to contact with saw blades. The work supplements both British Standard 5304 and statutory regulations applicable to metalcutting machine tools; it is primarily intended for use in connection with ferrous and nonferrous workpieces although the code has applications to other materials. The 36 page publication contains much useful information concerning design, construction and the application of safeguards. It is intended to assist all those connected with and responsible for safety, from senior management down to the machine operator. Copies are obtainable, price £4.00 (inclusive of post and packing) direct from MTTA (Standards), 62 Bayswater Road, London W2 3PH.
Correction In the article "Labour-intensive civil construction" by Mr A.R. Rennie, published in the December 1977 issue, the 10th line of the fourth paragraph on page 213 should read "figures are substituted in the formulae above,".