Health and Safety

Awareness Increased at Hastings Direct

2009-10-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Health and Safety awareness week at Hastings Direct has been declared a resounding success.

Staff at Bexhill’s largest employer were put through their paces last week by the company trainer Darren Ford and experts from RB Health and Safety Solutions Ltd.

And the prize winners, after a hectic week of competitions, won an Ipod, a mobile phone, a digital radio, a voucher for £50 and a DVD player.

Part of the week took the form of demonstrations about how to sneeze properly and Mr Ford says this proved to be one of the biggest talking points among staff.

“Many people didn’t realise how dangerous and damaging sneezing can be. They mentioned how many times they sneeze when they are driving and that is something all drivers need to be aware of.

“There were many entries for the daily quizzes and staff enjoyed online Health and Safety games and quizzes. The workshops run by RB Health and Safety Solutions Ltd created interest and provoked helpful discussions.”

The prize winners were: Ian Mitchell from claims who won the iPod, Melina McCabe from finance who won the voucher, Janice Hayes who works in human resources, who won the phone, Sharon Porter won the DAB radio and Michelle Roberts the DVD player.

Mike Hills from RB Health and Safety said: “I applaud Hastings Direct for their forward-thinking approach to European Health and Safety at work week. As one of Sussex’s largest private sector employers it was important for them to set an example and they did just that, giving their staff fun along with useful information.”

Ends

Further information

Mike Hills on 0845 257 1489 - RB Health and Safety Solutions Ltd

2009-10-15T01:28:00.000-07:00

Health and safety not to be Sneezed at!

Bexhill’s largest employer is about to tell its workforce that Health and Safety is not to be sniffed at!

And to get the message home, staff will even be given demonstrations of how to sneeze in a safe way to avoid back injury and spreading infections.

Hastings Direct is running daily competitions among its 700 employees as part of European Health and Safety at work week which begins on Monday. (Oct 19th)

The firm is now working closely with outside experts from RB Health and Safety in Hastings and staff can expect a fun-filled ‘HS Factor’ programme that includes quizzes, on-line games, displays and live demonstrations.

The week is the brainchild of Hastings Direct’s trainer Darren Ford, working with facilities manager John Dunne and the Health and Safety Committee.

It is Darren who will be sneezing around various departments of the building.

He said: “We are trying to make Health and Safety fun. It is a big part of our daily life here and it is the simple things that are often overlooked – hence the sneezing demonstration.

“We know that professional footballers, highly trained athletes, have put their backs out with a violent sneeze in the past and what we are doing is showing our staff how best to avoid this.

“Obviously, it has other connotations now too, with the prevalence of Swine Flu. It’s one aspect of the week’s programme only, but it shows how thorough we are being,” he added.

Each day there will be a quiz with prizes for the winners, a ‘Whose desk is it Anyway’ competition, with recreations of celebrity desk tops and Health and safety-based computer games the staff can play.

On Tuesday Darren will be running a ‘Which Substance is the Highest Risk’ task and will be doing the Sneeze test on Wednesday.

The whole week culminates in a prize giving on Friday when the winners of the various competitions will be announced and awarded their certificates and trophies.

RB Health and Safety, are now acting as Hastings Direct’s external advisors on all such matters.

RBs lead consultant said: “I have to pay tribute to Darren and his committee for coming up with such an excellent programme. It is varied and it will also be fun to do.

“But the underlying message is serious. Health and Safety is vital to prevent accidents and this European week will get this message across to all of the member states.

“As Darren will show with his sneeze demonstration –health and safety is not to be sniffed at!”

Further details
Contact: RB Health and Safety Solutions on 0845 2571489 http://www.rbhealthandsafety.co.uk/

Hastings Direct http://www.hastingsdirect.com/

Health and Safety for the theatre industry

2009-09-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

Working as consultants for the UK leading theatrical producers and theatre owners, RB Health and Safety Solutions has built up a wealth of experience in this specialist unique field. Managing the health and safety for a major production can have a number of challenges such as work at height, noise at work, manual handling and lifting operations to name but a few. Overcoming these challenges may seem daunting at first however using simple realistic controls to identify practical solutions is the job of the safety practitioner in conjunction with the artistic team. The approach we take is to ensure that the producer, director and artistic team have input in the controls. Working as a unit makes coming to a decision that does not impact on the visual spectacle audiences have come to expect much easier. In this age of numerous stories appearing in the papers showing how health and safety control have been applied in the most ridiculous ways such as banning conkers in schools, it is so important that the safety practitioner is using sensible, practical methods of making Britain’s theatres safe and not scaring productions away from creativity.

2009-08-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

A Hastings firm is offering free health checks to local companies wanting to upgrade their first aid provisions to comply with new legislation taking effect from October 9th this year.

And they are warning that relying on outdated certification and distant memory of lessons learned could be disastrous if a serious accident occurred.

Experts from RB Health and Safety Solutions, in Fearon Road, will examine firms’ current arrangements and give companies the low down on what they need to comply with the new Health and Safety Executive rules.

The biggest changes are in the requirements governing first aid courses themselves. The existing four day ‘First Aid At Work’ course is being cut to three days with a revised syllabus and updated lesson plans.

For the first time, the HSE is acknowledging that smaller workplaces may only need a basic first aid knowledge and as a result a newly designed one-day course has been brought in.

Richard Beale, RB’s managing director, said: “First aid at work can be a minefield and is an essential requirement. All certificates must be up to date and RB can help organisations to understand the new requirements to ensure you are covered under all the new provisions”.

“We will look at any company’s first aid coverage and advise them exactly what they need to do to be safe and up to the minute. It’s a whole lot more than red tape – first aid is the first link in the chain of survival and can is often the difference between life and death if administered correctly,”

The HSE’s new provisions recommend a short annual refresher to keep First Aider’s skills fully up to date. RB Health and Safety Solutions are qualified to run local courses using the HSE syllabus and can tailor courses to meet the needs of individual company risks in line with HSE guidance, at the workplace or at separate venues.

Mr Beale added: “Don’t let a lack of basic first aid knowledge ruin your day at work. Our instructors are experienced practitioners who teach realistic first aid in a simple straight forward way so that the lessons stay learned.”

You can log on to http://www.rbhealthandsafety.co.uk/ to register for your free first aid check.

First aid Legislation and Courses are changing dramatically.

2009-08-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

The HSE have carried out a review of the first aid training requirements within the UK and as of the 1st Oct 2009 courses will be changing. No longer will there be a 4 day first aid at work, this course will be replaced with a new 3 day first aid at work offering a new syllabus and updated lesson plans. The HSE have also recognised that smaller low risk workplaces may only require a basic first aid course and as such have introduced a 1 day Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW). It has also been acknowledged that skills fade is an issue with many first aiders and as such the HSE have specified that First Aiders should attend a 3 hour annual refresher. RB Health and Safety Solutions will be offering all these courses from the 1st Oct 2009 with new updates lessons and activities.

First aid courses for theatre and the entertainment industry

2009-08-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Whilst many people believe that the basic principles of first aid remain the same wherever you are, RB Health and Safety Solutions believe that there are different issues which need to be addressed within the entertainment industry. Having worked within a number of West End theatres RB’s managing director has worked closely with their principle instructor to design a course suited for this unique environment.
Having been at the sharp end of coping with first aid emergencies during a live performance RB Health and Safety Solutions managing director has a good understanding of the real issues faced by the first aiders.

A spokesperson for RB Health and Safety Solutions stated “as safety consultants for Cameron Mackintosh Limited and Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Limited, we have been working closely with a number of staff to develop a new first aid course which is not only accredited by the HSE but also offers additional time to accommodate issues such as: systematic evacuation of seating areas, how to administer first aid in a row of seats, when to stop a performance, dance related injuries and organising for the attendance of the emergency services and communicating throughout the venue”

These courses are currently being delivered to productions throughout the west end and are being met with some great feedback from those attending. Cameron Mackintosh’s “Oliver” is the latest to offer the new first aid courses to their staff.

Accreditation to teach IOSH courses.

2009-06-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

RB Health and Safety Safety Solutions Ltd have recently become accredited to delivery a range of IOSH qualifications. These training courses include:

• IOSH Workings Safely (1 day)
• IOSH Managing Safely (4 days)
• IOSH Supervising Safely (3 days)

These courses are well recognised throughout the UK and Europe as being the most interactive enjoyable health and safety courses available.

RB Health and Safety Solutions are delivering these courses in a high impact practical way to organisations throughout the UK, ensuring that what is being taught is relevant to the jobs and tasks being undertaken at the specific workplace.

To gain this accreditation we have had to go through a rigorous process and inspection of: learning materials; tutors CVs and experience; quality assurance procedures; and inspections of our training courses whilst they are being delivered.

Holding this highly acclaimed accreditation will give our clients the piece of mind that that they are using a quality company who has regular checks from various awarding bodies.

Environmentally friendly - RB Health and Safety Solutions

2009-06-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

Having achieved ISO 9001 for quality assurance last year RB Health and Safety Solutions Ltd decided to show its clients that as well as offering quality services they are also an environmentally friendly company.

To demonstrate this they have been working towards ISO 14001 (the environmental standard) which they achieved in 2009. This standard shows clients that during their day to day working of delivering health and safety courses, risk assessments, fire extinguisher servicing and supply and various other training, the company ensures that the impact they are having on the environment is minimal.

To achieve this standard the company had to put in a range of measures including vehicle sharing, recycling, spillage protection and researching and reducing the carbon footprint they are currently having on the environment.

RB Health and Safety Solutions are proud to be able to say that they are an environmentally friendly company.

Sponsorship awarded to firemen

2009-06-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

A leading Health and Safety Training and Consultancy has given sponsorship to firemen.
RB Health and Safety Solutions has offered funding to the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) extrication team from East Sussex Fire and Rescue service (ESFRS), for them to compete in national competitions.

A spokesman from RB Health and Safety Solutions said: "We have offered sponsorship to local sports teams in the past however this is the first time we have sponsored an organisation such as ESFRS.

"The fire and rescue service play an important part in health and safety and we have always had a good relationship with such organisations.

"We wish the extrication team good luck in the competitions, we have seen them working and the professionalism is second to none."

The UKRO team will be competing against eight other teams in the Regional Extrication competition in Hampshire in July, demonstrating how efficiently and quickly they can remove casualties from road traffic collisions.