Solutions-IMS

A is for Asbestos

2011-07-08T17:00:00.000+01:00

What is it all about?

Every week on average 20 tradesmen die from the “hidden killer” in the UK!

Asbestos is a mineral that was extensively used as a building material in the UK from the 50's through to the mid-80's. It was used for a variety of purposes and was ideal for fireproofing and insulation. Any building built before 2000 (houses, factories, offices, schools, hospitals etc) can contain asbestos.

What are the main regulations?

Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2006.

These Regulations bring together the three previous sets of Regulations covering the prohibition of asbestos, the control of asbestos at work and asbestos licensing.

What do I need to do?

There is duty on those who manage non-domestic premises, the people with responsibility for protecting others who work in such premises, or use them in other ways, from the risks to ill health that exposure to asbestos causes.
There are three essential steps for such duty holders:

1. Find out whether the premises contains asbestos, where it is and what condition it is in
2. Assess the risk
3. Make a plan to manage that risk and act on it

This will include a risk assessment (normally in the form of a survey) and a plan to manage any identified ACMS (Asbestos Containing Materials) - removal is not required if the ACMs are in good condition and no fibres are being released.

And finally:

Did you know the actor Steve McQueen died at the age of 50 from Mesothelioma, a lung cancer triggered by Asbestos exposure.

And that fake asbestos snow was used in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" and the 1942 film "Holiday Inn" (yes Bing Crosby did have a white christmas).

Solutions-IMS' photostream

2011-06-24T14:48:00.001+01:00

Solutions-IMS' photostream on Flickr.

Eric and Bob - just for fun

Renewable energy

2011-06-21T15:17:00.000+01:00

Introduction - Efforts to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gases are a primary focus in today's culture. Our current rate of fossil fuel usage will shortly lead to an energy crisis. We therefore need to better exploit current renewable energy technology and also work on new ways to extract energy from renewable sources as a matter of urgency.
So what are some of the alternatives?

Wind Power - Harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of wind turbines which is converted into electrical current by means of a generator.
There is no pollution however consistent wind is needed for continuous power generation, wind turbines are noisy and if winds are too high the National Grid may not cope.

Water Power - There are several forms of hydroelectricity generation currently in use or development however harnessing the power of moving water has an incredibly long history.

Hydropower is the world's No.1 source of renewable energy. It does not produce pollution and is the most efficient way to generate electricity. Modern hydro turbines can convert as much as 90% of the available energy into electricity.

Solar Power - Can work in many ways the most common way is through the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology, which directly transforms sunlight into electricity.

When exposed to the photons found within sunlight, some electrons of the photovoltaic solar cells are knocked loose. These loose electrons create an electrical current which can be harnessed for electrical needs.

Of course solar power can only be gathered during daylight, however energy can be stored.

Nuclear Power - Is the power created from controlled nuclear reactions. The power source is the heat generated by a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction. The reaction involves uranium or plutonium being hit by a neutron and splitting.

Although nuclear power generation only results in relatively low amounts of CO2 being produced the radioactive wastes generated have considerable associated disposal issues.

Geothermal Power - Is energy in the form of the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface.

Although not used for electricity generation geothermal energy systems are increasingly used to deliver forced air space heating through ductwork and a heat exchanger. They can also be reversed to extract heat in the summer.

Conclusion - Energy generation from renewable sources is the way towards a low carbon economy. However, there has been a reported a 12% drop in renewable energy production between April and June which will reopen the discussions about the £1 billion support the industry itself receives from the taxpayers each year.

Solutions-IMS - Hazard spotting

2011-06-15T14:43:00.001+01:00

Solutions-IMS' photostream on Flickr.

Spotting hazards is easy, and good health and safety is largely about common sense (sometimes in short supply).

All we need to do once we know what the hazard in is put in place some sensible control measures to lower the residual risk to an acceptible level.

Baptism of Fire (Solutions-IMS, the journey so far)

2011-06-14T15:20:00.000+01:00

Well we have finally taken the plunge and moved into larger, self-contained offices and purchased our first company vehicles (well a couple of old vans!) and we are starting to feel a little like a real company (just a little).

When we started up in business a little less than 4 years ago (which was only about twenty minutes before the recession hit), we had no idea what a journey we had ahead us. Since then we have faced several changes including diversification into new sectors and more emphasis being placed on our health and safety provision.

We have certainly had our memorable moments since day one. Employing various family members and paying them with cheese sandwiches and ploughing through copious amounts of goodwill and favours.

As the cash flow dictated, we have been prostitutes to the business i.e. when the phone call came in we said yes and then had very interesting discussion on what exactly we had agreed to and how we were going to deliver it!

We have largely enjoyed the journey to date, managed to establish a bloody good company and I am sure that somebody mentioned profit last month, so we may even pay ourselves - one day!

Thank you to everyone who has supported us and wished us well on our journey and if there is any truth in the saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” well then we are in really good shape for the future.

2011-01-21T15:55:00.000Z

Tabloids and tangents

Looking for appropriate articles to link to the most recent post on health and safety in the news, I stumbled across Kipper Williams, a tabloid cartoonist. He's in the Money and Business sections of the Guardian website, and in pursuing a tangent, I uncovered a selection of his whimsical and witty work. What do you think?

Kipper Williams at www.guardian.co.uk

www.kipperwilliams.com

- Connor

2011-01-07T10:51:00.000Z

Health and Safety in the News

6th January 2011

A Circus of Horrors, the acts of which include swallowing swords attached to electric drills, and fire-breathing, have been asked by officials, for the first time in 15 years, to carry out a risk assessment because of a performance in which a contorted performer smokes a cigarette while firing a bow with her feet. Read more...

There has been no significant snowfall for more than a week, and health and safety is blamed by councils across the UK for failure to collect rubbish for over four weeks in some cases. 'The lorries might have hit parked cars and there are safety concerns about heavy lifting in icy conditions.' 'Rubbish!', says Richard Littlejohn. Read more...

5th January 2011

The owner of an Indian restaurant linked to several cases of E. coli has appeared in court to admit to four food hygiene offences and the total fines have reached over £11000, showing the serious nature of the breaches and sending a clear message to businesses of the need for responsible business management. Read more...

2nd January 2011

Mile High Flights charges lovers £640 to 'join the club' aboard a specially adapted plane - but health and safety bosses at the Civil Aviation Authority have refused to renew the company's licence, saying pilots cannot keep their minds on the job. "We cast no moral judgements on what people do in their planes, but it became apparent safety criteria couldn't be met." Read more...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2010-12-24T11:41:00.000Z

2010-12-10T11:26:00.000Z

Eric & Bob
Post 3, Dec 10 2010

Post 1 - Click here!
Post 2 - Click here!

Allow us to introduce Ernest, a longstanding and dedicated worker at ACME Heating & Plumbing:

Click here to see the full-size image

About 1000 electrical accidents are reported to HSE every year, but there are simple precautions that can be taken to significantly reduce the risk of electrical injury - click here to go to the HSE site and find out what you can do.

Employee of the week: Ernest Rogers

By name and by nature, Ernest is sincere, wholehearted and frank - three very dangerous characteristics for a worker at ACME!

Though intimidated by Eric at times, Ernest tries his best to tell it like it is, pointing out health and safety hazards and concerns; perpetually fighting for justice and peace of mind, in the offices, the canteen, and of course the metaphorical war zone that is the factory floor.

2010-12-03T13:46:00.001Z

Data Backup

Today, most companies, large and small, rely heavily on computers. It is therefore essential to have a backup strategy to prevent loss of vital information. Data loss can have a devastating effect, and may occur for any number of reasons, many of which are simply uncontrollable, such as:

attacks from viruses and other destructive tools
hardware failures
accidental deletion by users, both untrained and experienced
deliberate deletion

For most people, the importance of backing up files only becomes apparent the first time such data loss occurs. Data backup is a very simple operation to implement within an organisation, despite being overlooked by many. The first question that should be asked when looking to backup files is "How often should we backup data?" Methods and strategies will vary from large businesses utilising a client-server model to peer-to-peer networks and of course smaller non-networked environments. But if data is constantly changing and being added to, it is not infeasible to backup daily. Incremental backups (only including files changed since the last backup) might be performed daily, and full backups weekly.

A common method is via media such as tapes, CDs and external hard drives. Magnetic tapes have tremendous storage capacity but are considerably expensive. Windows-based NTBackup, up to Windows XP; and Windows Backup and Restore Center, for Vista, make it easy to transfer backup data to such external media; other operating systems have similar applications and utilities.

Other companies choose to backup using online providers such as Comodo Backup, LiveVault, MobileMe and more. Whatever the method, backup implementation is paramount for averting data loss disaster! Don't wait to get stung before making the change.

2010-11-19T17:27:00.008Z

Firewalk Night

Gofal Cymru Firewalk Caerphilly (see original article below) was a huge success - there were 14 Firewalkers on the night and in total around £2500 was raised; £250 of that from one of our Solutions boys, Jonathan.

The participants were briefed beforehand on safety and given a session on the powers of positive though. Meanwhile, supporters outside the Pontygwindy Inn watched on as the Firemasters tended to the flaming coals that warmed the frosty night-time air. Eventually the first Firewalker trooped out from the inn, followed by the rest of the Fearless Fourteen. They crossed the barrier, and prepared themselves for the 20 foot of coals at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit that lay ahead. One by one, they yelled their names and battlecries, and marched down the fiery path, cheered on enthusiastically by the crowds. Thankfully no-one was burned, and some even wanted to go around again, if only to keep warm!

All in all, a fantastic night out for a fantastic cause. Congratulations to the crazy Firewalkers, their dedicated supporters, and to everybody who dug deep for Gofal Cymru.

2010-11-12T12:58:00.003Z

What is quality?

The most successful organisations are those that give customers what they want. Satisfied customers are loyal to the company they feel best understand their requirements, and reciprocate the benefits they bring by recommending the company to friends. Quality is therefore about learning what works well and doing it better; finding out about what has to change to meet and exceed the expectations of the customer. The cost of improving quality can be expected to be recovered manyfold by increased sales, more satisfied customers, fewer problems and a greater competetive advantage.

Good quality management is an organisation-wide approach to understanding what customers need, and consistently and accurately delivering. It ensures the effective design of processes that verify needs, that plan product life cycle, and that design, produce and deliver the product or service.

Quality Checklist

know what you hope to achieve and decide how you want to go about it
learn from your experience
use this new-found knowledge to help develop your organisation and its services
always look to achieve continuous improvement (rinse and repeat)
satisfy your customer as a result, and enjoy the benefits!

2010-11-05T12:41:00.000Z

Environmental management
Step by step

We all have a major role to play in helping protect and enhance the environment, in line with wider goals of sustainable development.

The way in which your business manages its interaction with the environment is coming under closer scrutiny - there is an increasing spiral of new legislation. However, increasingly companies are recognising that the environment is a management issue and not just a matter of compliance.

When evaluating your environmental system, make sure that emphasis is placed on the following: an environmental policy and impact review, clear and measurable targets and objectives, and mechanisms for improvement.

An effective policy does not have to be complicated. It is simply a realistic statement about what you are doing and how you are doing it. An environmental impact review will allow you to assess your company's baseline.

Based on your environmental impact review, you will also be able to make short-term targets and longer-term objectives to ensure that the policy is followed by all employees. Targets can be straightforward, for example 'to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by x% each year', but in all cases you should ensure that targets and objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound).

Remember that small investments can reap large rewards and that environmentally friendly practices can save money while resulting in happier customers and of course a healthier ecology.

2010-10-29T09:41:00.001+01:00

Gofal Cymru Firewalk Challenge!

1 in 4 of us will experience mental ill health in our lifetime. Gofal believes no-one should be disadvantaged by their mental health. They want to challenge the way we all think about, talk about and respond to mental health. Gofal makes the difference via services that support independence, health and recovery.

Jonathan Davies is fundraising for Gofal Cymru via their Caerphilly Firewalk Challenge - he will be walking across 20 feet of hot burning coals barefoot! A JustGiving page has been set up to help raise money, as donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and completely secure. It's the most efficient way to donate! Please click the pic or follow the link below and dig deep. Thank you.

Jonathan's JustGiving page

www.justgiving.com/jonathan-solutions-ims

2010-10-22T10:11:00.002+01:00

Dilbert by Scott Adams

Offering satirical (and occasionally genial!) insight into office life; see if you can spot the mismanagement, stupidity and ridiculous decisions that so often scrape unpleasantly close to the truth!

See the website for more comic strip cynicism, including animations and even a Dilbert widget for your blog!

Don't mind if I do...

2010-10-14T17:14:00.005+01:00

Eric & Bob
Post 2, Oct 14 2010

Health and safety signs and posters are a practical way of meeting your legal requirements, and assisting in the process of improving workplace safety. Signage is not only important for informing people about risks and possible dangers, but in many cases it is a statutory requirement.

Not to mention, signs make everything clearer and more professional-looking, right? Here's how NOT to use health and safety signs - courtesy of, who else, Eric Erickson.

Click here to see the full-size image

Eric: You know what this place needs, Bob?
Bob: Well...
(Bob reminisces the past week at ACME Heating & Plumbing...)

(Pandemonium on the factory floor!)
Eric: REG!! HIT THE STOP BUTTON!

Sally: Now, do you have an environmental policy?
Bob: Of course! Who wouldn't have these days, eh?
Reg: Yeah, when it gets that high we burn it...

Eric: WHO'S THAT!?
(Stan lays sprawled on the floor under a ladder.)
Bob: That's Stan, I'm just, erm, collecting him for his training.
Eric: That'll affect his bonus...

(After a great deal of puzzling, Bob doesn't have a clue what one thing 'this place needs', except possibly a closure order.)
Bob: ...no idea, enlighten me.
Eric: A touch of professionalism. REG!!
(Eric produces a huge pile of signs as Reg appears.)
Eric: Put up some signs!
Reg: Okay...

Signage is very important around the workplace, contributing to the continual improvement of safety and communicating good health and safety around the workplace. But it should not be a substitute for ensuring the welfare of your employees via worker involvement and an effective health and safety policy.

Employer of the week: Eric Erickson

The chain-smoking big bad boss at ACME Heating & Plumbing, much like his factory he is unstable, produces very little except in the way of noise and chemical pollution, and seems ready to blow at any given moment. It is rumoured however that Eric was once 'a very nice person', and the workers at ACME often gossip about what it might have been that tipped him over the edge.

2010-10-07T17:26:00.001+01:00

Business Management

By the late 70s, the West had started to notice how successful Japanese industry had become. In industry after industry, including steel, watches, ship building, cameras, automobiles, and electronics, the Japanese were surpassing American and European companies. Westerners wanted to know why.

Numerous theories were put forward to explain the Japanese success including:

Higher employee morale, dedication, and loyalty;
Lower cost structure, including wages;
Effective government industrial policy;
Modernization after WWII leading to high capital intensity and productivity;
Economies of scale associated with increased exporting;
Relatively low value of the Yen leading to low interest rates and capital costs, low dividend expectations, and inexpensive exports;
Superior quality control techniques such as Total Quality Management and other systems.

Although there was some truth to all these potential explanations, there was clearly something missing. In fact by 1980 the Japanese cost structure was higher than the American. And post WWII reconstruction was nearly 40 years in the past. The first management theorist to suggest an explanation was Richard Pascale.

In 1981, Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos claimed that the main reason for Japanese success was their superior management techniques. They divided management into 7 aspects:

Strategy
Structure
Systems
Skills
Staff
Style
Shared values

The first three of the 7 S's were called hard factors and this is where Western companies excelled.

The remaining four factors were called soft factors and were not as well understood by European and American businesses of the time. Great value was not placed on corporate culture, shared values and beliefs, and social cohesion in the workplace. In Japan the task of management was seen as managing the whole complex of human needs, economic, social, psychological, and spiritual. Elsewhere, work was seen as something that was separate from the rest of one's life. It was quite common for Americans and Europeans to exhibit a very different personality at work compared to the rest of their lives.

What this means
Businesses that succeed do so by:

Getting to know the customer, and therefore providing better value for the customer than competitors;
Treating staff with respect and being rewarded with productivity;
Sticking to what they know well, and keeping things simple.

2010-09-30T16:40:00.003+01:00

Eric & Bob
Post 1, Sep 30 2010

Meet the team at ACME Heating & Plumbing - a flyer campaign from a couple of years back that has little-by-little transformed into a living, breathing entity of its own!

The mistakes and blunders that go on at the ACME factory are of the kind that other companies can fully appreciate and have a good laugh at, as every business has been there to some degree. Enjoy!

Click here to see the full-size image

Employee of the week: Bob Pearlman

A salesman who sees himself as suave and sophisticated, witty and whimsical; Bob is self-centred, spiritless, wishy-washy and wearisome. It can be said however that he is persistent, having worked all the way up to a managerial position at ACME Heating & Plumbing in ten years, and just as many failed relationships. Bob's personal motto, 'Just smile and say yes' works wonders with Eric, but not so much with friends and femmes, getting any free thought out of him is like trying to get blood out of a stone!

2010-09-23T18:00:00.004+01:00

League Loyalty

Loyal fans that we were, we could dismiss the shameful final score of the week before as a fluke - 59-8. We got proudly into our rugby team colours and set off, ready for the turnaround of the season.

Light rain fell as the players trudged onto the pitch. And in the first ten minutes of the match, the opposition had scored and converted. This set the precedent for the rest of the half. There is normally some redemptive quality to a team even if they don't have a brilliant half however - at least their lineouts were good, or they were strong in their scrums or even, they showed plenty of effort. The highlight of the half for us was none of the above, but that a score commentator had managed to inadvertently leave his speaker on. The crowd jeered to such gems as 'Get-back-get-back-get-back-get-back!', 'Idiots!', and last but not least, 'Yes please Jen, I'd love a cup of tea.' 40 minutes in, the score was 35-3, and we needed the break.

In the second half, we didn't even have the comedic value of a commentator's blunder to fall back on, and towards the end (at 54-10) an away supporter turned to us with a 'Season ticket, boys?' Small mercies! The referee awarded a penalty try in the waning minutes of the match out of sympathy, which we converted, and the final score was 54-17. 'I'd forgotten why I stopped coming to these,' we heard someone muse.

Loyalty was unforgivingly flung through the window, and the next day, we threw three new team names into a hat. At the very last minute, somebody suggested that the home team deserved one last chance and wrote up a fourth name, REDEMPTION, which only just made it before the pick.
It is of course well-established fact that the pet picks the owner; the wand chooses the wizard; and now the Solutions boys can confirm it's the rugby team that chooses its followers. MACHEN was discarded. Followed by PENALLTA. BRIDGEND was a close runner-up. All that remained was the home team we had followed all along.

The two of us being revitalised steadfast supporters, the weather being off, and the match being away, we did not see our team play the following weekend. But! A friend of a colleague relayed the score off to the office on Monday: a 42-12 VICTORY. It just goes to show, a little bit of loyalty can go a long way!

---

Addendum (24th September 2010):

Good news and bad news. The bad news is a 47-17 loss villanously disguised as a 42-12 victory, and that therefore Carl has officially been struck off the Friends of Colleagues list for good.

The good news? That's our smallest point difference this season! (Roll on the weekend!)

2010-09-15T09:39:00.002+01:00

Health & Safety and the Law

The aims of good health & safety systems, safety policies and the law are to reduce occupational ill health, reduce accidents and deaths, provide a good working environment, promote physical and mental wellbeing, protect the environment and be a continual reminder of the commitment of all within the organisation towards safety.

Management peace of mind is but a dream for far too many businesses, here are the key elements considered essential when evaluating your health & safety systems:

An adequate health & safety policy (link to HSE site)
Legal compliance
Good welfare facilities
A plan to reduce accidents and incidents
A mechanism for improvement

Remember that as an employer you have a legal and moral duty to make your organisation as safe and healthy a working environment as is reasonably practicable.

'Reasonably practicable' indicates a balance between cost and risk; companies need to identify and evaluate hazards in order to ensure that the financial and time costs of dealing with them are balanced against the risk of harm to a person. In a prosecution for breaches of safety legislation, the company must prove its innocence by justifying that it had done all that was 'reasonably practicable'.

Having a safe and pleasant workplace will improve working relationships and make your business somewhere your employees will enjoy being. Visiting clients will feel comfortable and more prepared to do business.

2010-09-09T16:35:00.001+01:00

Why should a company give back to the community?

Synergy.

Every long-term successful business respects the "give to the community" law. This is about taking a proactive rather than reactive stance, and participation in local activities or projects, adding to respect and reputation, brand recognition, sales, staff performance and retention. Being a responsible neighbour and giving a little back is very important, you should strive to continually improve any impact you have on society and your business surroundings by understanding the local environment and adapting to local needs.

When evaluating your effect on the community, the following should be considered:

Clean surrounding environment
Taking part in community projects and functions
Development of a more proactive approach
Consideration of the benefits to your local community

Thought should also be given to how to harness the positive contributions that individuals make. Show your community you're not just here for business, that you care about improving the locality; and you will both reap the benefits.

2010-08-25T12:45:00.001+01:00

HSE Myth of the month

'Health and safety' banning everything from ladders to school trips is a familiar headline, but it is rarely true - each month the HSE portray a myth about health and safety and enlighten us on the reality of the situation.

Myth: 'Pin the tail on the donkey' stopped by health and safety risks
Read more...
Printable poster

Myth: Poles in fire stations banned
Read more...
Printable poster

Myth: Safety goggles needed to play conkers
Read more...
Printable poster

More myths

2010-08-17T10:48:00.001+01:00

Training

Training and development of your staff is of fundamental importance as they are potentially your greatest business asset. Trained staff deliver your products, services and promises to your customer; meaning training is integral in any organisation. Conventionally training is required to cover essential work-related skills, techniques and knowledge, and as an effective means of developing people. In our experience it can be very well-managed with regular refresher training and comprehensive training matrices, especially where training and competence is valued in the company and a need for flexibility has been identified.

However, sometimes training is overlooked and new staff learn good and bad habits from existing employees during on-the-job "buddy buddy" training - it is important that all staff are aware of the procedures for doing the various jobs they are responsible for and that they are retrained when best practice changes. Training and development schedules should take into consideration:

Mechanisms to identify training needs
Departmental and individual training plans
Training provision and facilities
Career development opportunities
Staff retention

Investing in your people is one of the most effective ways of improving the safety, reliability and efficiency of your business.

2010-08-09T11:44:00.001+01:00

The Murder Mile

"One of the toughest uphill miles in the country," say Islwyn Running Club. "Easier said than run - hellish!" say the Echo. One of the Runner's World top ten hardest races. And yet, we're back for more.

Mynyddislwyn Mile, the Murder Mile, the Mad Mile; the guaranteed personal worst! The numbers on the shirts surpass 80, yet the number of people struggles to reach 50 - it can only be assumed that 30 absentees quickly acquired some sense on the day of the race! Memories of zombied legs failing at abseiling the beast, and then the dreaded quarter-mile markers - two miles to the first, seven to the second, a marathon to the third!

We descend in groups into the jaws of Mynyddislwyn, harshly reminded as we turn of the sheer scale of the task laid out before us. Jokes and hollow laughter do their best to mask the questionable sanity, as the last of the madcap runners arrive. The Solutions boys have no excuse for being here however, having conquered the mountain the year before and lived to tell the tale! But, the numbers are pinned to our vests, and the world awaits us at the top of the hill.

The race official prepares in the safety of his car, which fails to go anywhere on its first attempt - this sets the precedent for the runners. Second serve: "On your marks, get set, go!" People around us start the timers on their watches. In all honesty it's a little less painful without. The course record is just under eight minutes - a comfortable pace by the Solutions boys' average given any other race!

Deceptively scenic...

It's said that during a marathon, the real race starts at 24 miles. The 24-mile wall. And, I think I can speak for both of us when I say that the 24-mile wall hit us at the first quarter-mile marker! Mantras push us forward, keepitmovingkeepitmovingkeepitmovingkeepitmoving... and what starts off in my head exudes on a breath by half a mile, and is being yelled by three quarters. My body begs me to stop, to slow down, to walk; and I know that if I were to listen and walk I would likely reach the finishing line faster. But I can't cheat myself now, having run for almost the whole of the monster, a feat that was impossible last year. In reality it's the reason I came back - walking it feels like letting it beat you, and this close to the top I can't let it happen.

Close to the top. Close to the top. One hour later it seems and I'm still close to the top. And gradually, over the shining brow of the hill, a golden turning into the finishing line appears. Am I seeing things? Is it really there? Does it actually exist? The neverending one-mile race... and I can see the end! There's not enough of my essence left to exert a sprint to the line, but I manage to keep to my hill speed as the race flattens out, widens out, brightens up, and I've made it!

Survivors

Blissfully collapsing over the line, a drink thrust into my hand, I know that next year the only thing I'll remember will be the bliss of collapsing over the line and having a drink thrust into my hand. The pain will have been blacked out by then, who wants to remember it? And foolishly, we'll come back. For now, though, aureate victory. In the acheful form of hobbling around for about a week.

The Solutions-IMS Team

2010-08-04T14:14:00.001+01:00

Our staff and associates have held various management positions within industry; they are well educated, professional and fully understand the management requirements of a modern business.

They have previously built and maintained Certified Quality, Environmental and Health & Safety Management Systems. The team includes - quality system experts, environmental management professionals, health & safety technicians, engineering and science degree graduates, members of appropriate professional bodies, experienced trainers, qualified lead auditors and six sigma specialists.

Key Team Members

Key team members that you may already know include Christine (Accounts), Paula (Sales), Connor & Ben (Marketing). Whilst the primary consultants at Solutions-IMS are Jonathan and Paul.

Jonathan Davies MSc. MCQI CQP AICS

With post graduate qualifications in the fields of both quality and environmental management along with extensive health & safety experience and qualifications, Jonathan has held a variety of senior management positions within the manufacturing industry. Starting his career as a Waste Manager, Jonathan swiftly implemented processes and procedures which led to promotion to Quality Manager.
More recently Jonathan has worked in a construction-based manufacturing environment as the QAHSE Manager. His main responsibilities included the implementation and maintenance of the company’s quality, environmental and health & safety systems.

Jonathan is a Chartered Quality Professional, a founder Member of the Chartered Quality Institute and an Associate of the Institute of Constructional Safety. He is also an IOSH licensed trainer and has completed relevant auditing training courses.

Paul Moon BSc.(Hons) AIEMA AIOSH

Educated to HND in Mechanical Engineering and BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Computing, Paul has held a varied array of positions within the manufacturing industry starting his career in the automotive industry as a SQA Engineer before swiftly progressing to Customer Field Service Engineer.
Next saw a move into the glass industry in a variety of roles including Integrated Management Systems Engineer - implementing and integrating the company's quality, health & safety and environmental systems; Laboratory Engineer - performing defect and failure analysis, and Senior Customer Service Engineer - serving the industry's European customers. Paul's last challenge saw him setting up an entire management system from scratch on a 100 acre manufacturing facility.

Paul is a member of both the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment and the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health as well as being a trained Lead Auditor and Six Sigma Black Belt with a proven product and systems improvement record.

ISO9001 - The benefits to you

2010-08-02T14:12:00.001+01:00

Thinking about a QMS in your organisation? There are lots of benefits for operating such a system, including cost savings, competitive advantage & tighter control on processes you do day-to-day

The benefits to you and your organisation

Never considered implementing a management system to the requirements of ISO9001:2008 in your organisation? There are great benefits and cost savings when doing this, and it’s applicable to any sector and any size of business, from a plumber to an oil refinery.

ISO9001:2008 is an internationally recognised set of requirements that spell out what your organisation needs to be doing, not how to do it; furthermore it is the basis of many sector specific schemes such as TS16949 and AS9000, as well as government schemes such as the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS).

The standard identifies key areas of control that need to be considered in any organisation, namely:

Document control
Control of records
Corrective and preventative action
Internal audits
Control of non-conformance

As well as systems to cover:

Management review
Continual improvement
Calibration
Handling and storage of product
Training and competence
Sales and purchasing
Design (where applicable)

This may all sound elaborate but the size and nature of the system is appropriate to the scale of the operations, bigger multi-site businesses have bigger and more complex systems than smaller one site companies.

The key focus is the customer - delivering the services or products your customer wants, when he wants them. Customer complaints are considered as non-conformances and customer satisfaction is seen as a key driver in your business.

Continual improvement

Continual improvement is also a key part of the standard, ensuring your organisation improves all the time, chasing regularly reviewed top level quality objectives and targets.

Not convinced? Certification by a UKAS accredited body adds value to your business, enabling you to win more tenders and have an competitive advantage over your rivals; and at the same time saving money through the reduction and elimination of mistakes within your organisation, meaning less rework, less customer complaints and less scrap.

In my experience, any organisation that sets up a system to the requirements of this standard saves more money than the cost of implementing and maintaining it.

Which certification body?

Now that your management system has been implemented and been running for a while it’s time to get audited, so which certification body to use?

Well a word of warning, make sure the body you use is UKAS accredited, this is the government department that audits the auditors, you can check if a company is accredited by visiting the UKAS website or look out for the UKAS logo.

There are several consideration when selecting a certification body, it cannot be denied that cost is an important factor, but there are other things to consider, the type of scheme you are looking for makes a huge difference.

If you are looking for ISO standards then most of the certification bodies can accommodate you but for specialist schemes the choice can be somewhat limited. Further considerations include lead time, the certification of other schemes in your organisation and the option to combine schemes to lessen the audit time required.

ISO14001 & other environmental schemes

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Implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) will help you identify major impacts your processes have on the environment and enable you to set goals and objectives to lessen their effect.

Environmental Management Systems

The successful management of processes within your organisation that have the potential to affect the environment has become a key business driver; ensuring all legislation that applies to your company is identified and fully adhered to, making sure the risk of pollution is reduced as far as possible and empowering your staff with knowledge of how their actions at work could affect the local and greater environment.

There are several benefits to implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) the following are just a few of them:

Reduced costs through good waste management
Reduced risk of pollution and prosecution
Ability to demonstrate a commitment to the environment
Reduced costs through better energy usage
A framework for continuous improvement in environmental performance
A forum for product and process development

With regards to their impact on the environment there are several environmental schemes in existence, but as rough guide the following areas are considered:

Environmental base line review, including identification of the main aspects of your business that have an effect on the environment
Legal compliance check
Formulating a companywide environmental policy with appropriate responsibilities
Setting objectives and targets
Controlling operations to ensure environmental performance is sustained
Staff training and awareness
Top level management reviews

This may all sound elaborate but there are several schemes to ensure good environmental management, these are summarised below:

ISO14001:2004
International recognised standard in line with ISO9001, a fully certified system with the option of combining existing quality systems with the requirements applicable to the environment and/or health and safety.

Acorn scheme
IEMA 6-part phased scheme in line with BS855, see below.

EMAS
EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, European recognised legislative scheme harmonised to the requirements of ISO14001:2004.

Green Dragon
Welsh environmental 5-part phased scheme, similar to the Acorn scheme. Stage 5 Green Dragon meets the requirements of ISO14001.

BSI STEMS (BS8555)
6-part phased implementation scheme, auditable at each stage as with Acorn and Green Dragon

So which EMS is best for you?

In our experience, if an organisation wants to implement a full system the ISO scheme is widely recognised, and therefore preferable (unless a customer demands EMAS). If a company wants a phased scheme (with a certificate at each stage) then the Acorn or STEMS scheme are better, unless your company operates solely in Wales, then consideration should be made to the Green Dragon scheme.

Good luck with your EMS

Waste management

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The elimination of waste is an effective way to increase profitability. Whilst poor waste control costs, not only in terms of monetary losses, but also the impact on the environment & sustainability.

Saving money and the environment

All of the waste that you produce has a cost associated with it.

Waste management is a key area for scrutiny in all businesses nowadays, buying raw materials and components is costly and the costs associated with disposal of waste increases year on year.

The first stage of waste management is to REDUCE your consumption, the less you use of something the less waste will be generated.

Be sure to REUSE anything, either within or outside of your organisation, you can. The key is to remove anything from waste streams that has intrinsic value, converting a waste into a usable material.

The last and most frequently talked about is RECYCLING, recycling waste products or materials for use in other processes or products. Common examples of this are:

Paper, wood and card recycling
Glass and plastic bottle recycling
Green waste composting
Ferrous and Non-Ferrous metals

However, if you have a particular waste stream that you are currently disposing to “landfill” it may be of value to other organisations as a raw material, you could even get paid for the removal of this “material”. Visit the Wales Environment Trust website for help (http://www.walesenvtrust.org.uk/).

Risk Assessments

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Conducting risk assessments and implementing appropriate control measures are an essential part of a good health and safety system.

If you have 5 or more employees you are required to have:

A documented health and safety policy
Risk assessments for all significant hazards to staff, residents and visitors
Access to competent health and safety advice
Documented arrangements for the planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of your safety arrangements. For example, A health and safety manual

However good health and safety is largely about applying common sense.

Health & safety – The basics

There are three main reasons why effective management of health and safety is important within any organisation:

Moral – Employers have a moral obligation towards their employees and others.
Financial – Good health and safety management can have beneficial effects on employee morale, productivity and hence company profit.
Legal – Health and safety legislation sets standards, which are by definition the minimum standard employers are expected to achieve.

Ever since the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 required every employer to “ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees (and others)” there has been an implied duty to assess and control risk. This has been developed and made more explicit by the majority of recently published health and safety regulations.

The law

The main legislation relating to health and safety at work is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

This give rise to further European and UK laws and regulations, including:

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) 1999
RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) 1995
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1997/99
Health and Safety (first aid) Regulations 1981

Health & safety responsibilities

Employers must:

Provide a safe working environment
Display insurance liability certificate
Display health & safety law poster
Carry out risk assessments
Provide PPE (personal protective equipment)
Communicate with staff regarding health and safety

Employees must:

Cooperate with the employer on matters of health & safety.
Consider their own health and safety
Not interfere with any equipment provided for health & safety.

Health and safety assistance

Health and Safety Assistance (The Management of Health and Safety at Work 1999 - Regulation 7)

Every employer must appoint one or more ‘competent persons’ to assist him in his undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements of the law.....the overall purpose of the competent person is, therefore, to help ensure that the health and safety responsibilities of the employer are being met.....if there is no competent person in the workforce can the employer seek an outside consultant to act as the competent person.

A competent person can be defined as a person with:

Sufficient training to suit the task
Relevant qualifications
Skills and experience – to apply their knowledge
Understanding of the work involved and best practice
An awareness of their own limitations
Good personal qualities, attitude and communication
The ability to supplement their own knowledge by obtaining external knowledge and advice

Risk assessments

Risk assessment is an essential part of the planning stage of any health and safety management system.

Risk assessment is the cornerstone of modern health and safety law. This dates back to one of the basic principles stated in the Robens Report which led the way to the HASAW Act 1974 ‘those who create risks should have the responsibility for overcoming those risks’.

Risk assessment is therefore the process of establishing whether or not risks are adequately managed (a safe system of work exists).

A risk assessment is simply a systematic way of establishing whether or not:

Legal standards are being met
Best practice is followed
Risks are reduced to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable to achieve i.e. that a safe system of work exists.

A risk assessment is important because it:

Creates awareness of the hazards present in the workplace and the risk that they entail
Identifies the population at risk, often those who are not thought of as being at risk (for example, cleaners, temporary workers, visitors)
Identifies whether existing measures are adequate and whether more should be done.
Makes sure that risk controls are proportionate to the risk involved
Can iron out risks at the design stage in products that give rise to risks, for example machinery
Helps to prioritise risk control measures, making sure that the most important risks are tackled first

Common definitions

Risk is defined as: The likelihood that the harm from particular hazards is realised (the extent of risk covers the population affected and the consequences for them) a risk can be reduced by good management.

Hazard is defined as: Anything with the potential to cause harm.

The elimination or adequate control of hazards is a more pro-active way of reducing injuries than simply investigating accidents. The identification of hazards is the first step in risk control, each hazard representing a potential accident or health problem.

Common hazards

Hazards may be either:

Physical - for example, machinery, electricity, heat, noise, gravity, thermal
Chemical – for example, water, acid, alkali, asbestos
Biological – for example, HIV virus, legionella, hepatitus
Ergonomics – for example, physical stress
Psychological – for example, stress, shock anxiety

There are many hazard identification techniques the simplest of which is observation/inspection.

Conducting a risk assessment

The HSE gives comprehensive risk assessment guidance in their booklet five steps to risk assessment.

The five steps are:

Identify the hazards
Decide who might be harmed and how
Evaluate the risks and decide upon precaution
Record your findings and implement them
Review your assessment and update if necessary

Don’t overcomplicate the process. In many organisations, the risks are well known and the necessary control measures are easy to apply.

It is important to ensure that all groups of employees and others that might be affected must be considered.

Do Not Forget:

Office staff, night cleaners, maintenance, security guards
Visitors, the general public
Young or inexperienced workers
Lone workers
New and expectant mothers
Disabled staff
Contractors

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Who are Solutions?

We are a South Wales based company providing business support across all sectors - specialists in providing Health & Safety, Quality and Environmental Management Support. We offer affordable and professional assistance, developing your business to be the benchmark for others within your field.

Personal, confidential, professional and affordable - we deliver a sensible and proactive approach to enabling you to fulfil all your responsibilities, legal requirements and customer expectations. We are a one stop shop for all of your quality, environmental and health & safety requirements.

Our team members are trained and experienced specialists within their fields. We promote best practice and are happy to provide you with answers to any of your questions from within our areas of expertise - just leave us a comment!

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