30
NOVEMBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Health &
Safety Poster
Should Be
A Must
Large numbers of businesses throughout the UK are
breaking the law and risk
being fined after new legislation introduced earlier this
year now requires all workplaces to display a new and
updated ‘Health and Safety
Law’ poster.
However, many workplaces are
unaware of the changes, which
were introduced on 5th April
2014, and are still displaying the
old poster which was first introduced and became a legal requirement in all workplaces in 1999.
Leading workplace equipment
supplier Slingsby began supplying
the new posters in 2009 and has
been inundated with orders for
the posters since the start of the
year, but believes there are thousands of workplaces that still need
to make the change.
Lee Wright, Marketing Director
at Slingsby, which supplies more
than 35,000 products across all
industries, explains: “Workplaces
have had a five year transition
period to update these posters
but despite this, you don’t have to
look far to find an old style, text
heavy, health and safety poster
which still adorn the walls of lots
of workplaces.
“The new poster is designed
to be much easier to read and
sets out in simple terms, using
numbered lists of basic points
and pictures, what employers and
their employees should know
about health and safety and what
to do in the event of an accident.
Each poster also comes with
a hologram and serial number
to certify that it’s a legitimate
product because even health and
safety posters can fall victim to
criminals who illegally copy and
sell them.”
Under the Health and Safety
Information for Employees Regulations (HSIER), employers are
required to display the approved
poster in a prominent position
in all workplaces. In addition,
employers should provide staff
working remotely, or off-site with
a copy of the HSE’s health and
safety law leaflet or pocket card,
which can be downloaded from
the organisation’s website.
Construction industry to
reap the rewards of IOSH
Working safely training
Greater flexibility in how construction workers complete
health and safety training
can help boost the industry’s
post-recession recovery, a
leading health and safety
body has claimed.
This flexibility is the result of a
new development between the Institution of Occupational Safety and
Health (IOSH) and Construction
Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS).
IOSH’s one-day Working safely
course, has now been recognised
by CSCS as an equivalent to a Level
1 Award in health and safety in a
construction environment.
It means that delegates who
successfully complete Working
safely can apply for a CSCS green
Labourer card once they have also
passed the CITB Health, Safety and
Environment Operatives Test.
This news is likely to be welcomed by course delegates who
have already successfully completed their Working safely training because it’ll give them an opportunity
to apply for their green card.
Paul Haxell, chair of the IOSH
Construction Group, said: “Our industry is crying out for manpower
and therefore options and alterna-
Affordable Housing Development
For Carmarthenshire County
Council Completed
Profile 22 Approved Commercial Manufacturer, Nolan
Upvc, has helped to complete an innovative new
build housing scheme for
Carmarthenshire County
Council, supplying casement
windows for 12 two-bedroom
bungalows built across two
sites; Seaside, Llanelli and
Morfa Maen, Kidwelly. The
£1.5m scheme forms part of
a wider development, which
will see further affordable
housing built across the
county.
Designed by architects, Lewis
Partnership Ltd, the bungalows
were built in accordance with
the Code for Sustainable Homes,
achieving a Code level 4. In-line
with level 4 specification, the windows achieve a U-value of 1.6W/
m2K, with the disabled bungalow
achieving 1.4W/m2K; contributing to the overall efficiency and
thermal performance of each bungalow. Using Profile 22 FC60 in
white, the casement windows are
fitted with a single side opener.
Nolan uPVC also supplied white
composite doors, front and back.
Andrew Collins, Construction
Manager for WRW, heralded the
supply chain partnership a great
success, “This was the first time
that I had worked with Nolan
uPVC and Profile 22 and I am happy to say that the whole process
was excellent.”
The original homes provided
sheltered accommodation for
people over 50; these were demolished to make way for the brand
new, energy efficient and well-insulated homes. Completed over a
12 month period, the development
forms part of the County Council’s
10 year new build programme;
aiding delivery of the Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus.
Since completion, the bungalows
have been well received locally,
and the tenants are extremely happy with the improvements.
To encourage community engagement the Council invited children from local primary schools to
name the two sites. The winners
were Heol Losin Du – relating to
a local nursery rhyme, and Clos
Y Gilfach, which translates as ‘by
the sea’.
tives that make it easier for people
to become qualified at the first
level have got to be in the interests
of the industry.
“For IOSH training providers, this
opens up the opportunity to support the rebirth and growth of the
construction industry. More people
getting their CSCS Green Card, and
knowing good standards as a result, is vitally important to the safe
growth that the industry needs.”
IOSH chief executive Jan Chmiel
said: “We’re absolutely delighted
with this new development as it’s
something we’ve wanted to achieve
on behalf of our training providers
and members for some time.
“We believe that training is relevant to everyone. Last year alone,
more than 150,000 people were
trained to our standards. Forward
thinking organisations know that
investing in a culture of care brings
advanced performance through
reputation, resilience and results.”
Working safely is for people at
any level, in any sector, needing
a grounding in the essentials of
health and safety.
Tracey Wright, Commercial Development Manager at IOSH, sai C