Health,
Safety and Environment Committee
SAF09-M1
Minutes of the Health,
Safety and Environment Committee held on 18 February 2009
|
Mr M Brown (ab) |
Mr T Burgess |
Mr M Clarson |
|
Prof P Conway (ab) |
Mr J Blackwell |
Mr R Harrison |
|
Dr R Haskins |
Mr A Hodgson
(ab) |
Mrs W Jones |
|
Mr D Jordan (ab) |
Mr A Kowalski |
Dr J Dearnley (ab) |
|
Dr J Mckenzie(ab) |
Mrs C Moore |
Mr T Neale |
|
Prof R Parkin (ab) |
Prof S Pearce (ab) |
Mrs L Sands |
|
Dr S Shirreffs |
Mr M Stringfellow |
Mr J Thomas |
|
Mr J Bernstein (ab) |
Prof P Warwick |
Ms S Ettinger |
|
Ms L Young (ab) |
Mr J Kirby(ab) |
Mr W Spinks |
In attendance: Dr B P Vale
By Invitation: Mr H Weaver
09/1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Malcolm Brown,
Paul Conway, Dave Jordan, Julian
Mackenzie, Cathy Moore.
The Chair welcomed Hugh Weaver to the meeting.
09/2 Business of the Agenda
No items were unstarred.
09/3 Minutes
The Minutes of the
meeting held on 30 October 2008 were confirmed.
09/4 Matters Arising from Previous Meetings not Mentioned Elsewhere on the Agenda
.1 It
was noted that a schedule of Health and Safety Audit visits had not been
available for this meeting and would be presented to the next meeting. It was confirmed that the audit process was
continuing.
Action:CM
.2 Annual
Health and Safety Plan
It was noted that Council had noted progress against the 07/08 Annual
Plan and had agreed the 08/09 Annual Plan.
.3 New Guidance on Health and Safety at
Work
It was noted that Council had received the University’s
response to the new guidance and agreed that the HSEM should attend
Council annually to present the Annual HSE Plan.
09/5 Annual Health and Safety Plan 08/09
The Committee received
an update on the implementation of the Annual Health and Safety Plan for
08/09 from the Deputy HSEM. The first forum of Departmental Safety
Officers had been held in January and had been well attended. There had been a presentation on Compressed Gas
Safety and it had emerged that the University needed to implement a policy on the use of Compressed
Gases. There would be another forum in
July with a possible presentation on Behavioural Safety in the Workplace.
The HSE Office had been
contacted for advice on rewards and recognition for DSOs. It was confirmed that
where staff performance was exceptional or an additional load had been taken
on, the University rewards mechanism can be used to acknowledge this fairly
quickly.
ELT were currently
reviewing the safety arrangements for staff working overseas. Advice was
awaited from UCEA and the HSE and guidance would be developed subject to
further discussions.
Action:
CM
09/6 University Fire Officer’s Report
SAF09-P1
It
was reported that there had been three fire incidents in the period under review. The University had recently invested £1.5m in
AFD systems and a further £1m was due to be invested. It was felt that the speed with which the incidents
had been dealt with, limiting damage to property and danger to life had
justified the investment. It also contributed
to the University’s insurance position.
The
Committee noted that recent fire evacuation testing had been conducted successfully.
09/7
The
Wolfson School Audit Report was considered by the
Committee. This Department was the first academic department to be audited. The
standard of health and safety management within the Department was very
high. The recommendations made might
appear to be pedantic but it was felt that they were justified.
09/8 Biological Safety Policy
The
Committee considered
a policy on Biological Safety. The University’s investment in
biological laboratory facilities in
It
was noted that the title of the SSES would need to be amended. The Committee was advised that vaccinations
against Hepatitis B were not mandatory.
The Committee approved the Biological Safety Policy.
Action :
CM
09/9 Electricity at Work Policy and Code of
Practice
The Committee
considered a policy on
Electricity at Work. The Committee was
advised that existing guidance was contained in three documents and needed to
be updated and co-ordinated. The main changes
were to provide clearer guidance on roles and responsibilities, further
guidance on PAT testing,
to ban the use of multi plug adaptors and provides guidance on the
use of extension leads. It was noted
that the multi socket adaptor
presented
a fire risk and that expert advice had
been sought in drafting the policy.
Action:
CM
09/10 Policy on the Control of Hand Arm Vibration at
Work
.1 Implementation
of Health Surveillance
The Committee noted that
following the implementation of a new policy in 2005 health surveillance had commenced in this
area. 7 cases of vibration related ill
health had been detected on campus. In all cases the condition was believed to
relate to employment prior to that at
.2 Policy on the Control of Hand Arm Vibration
(HAV) at Work
The Committee considered
and approved an update to University policy on HAV. Some minor aspects of the
policy had been clarified at the request of the Health and Safety Executive.
Action :CM
.3 Visit from the Health and Safety Executive
The Committee
received a report on the visit
from the Health and Safety Executive from the Occupational Health Adviser. The University had been asked to supply data
on the levels of vibration by the end of June. The area of greatest risk was Facilities
Management but other areas needed to be addressed too. The Committee noted that the Department of
Civil and Building Engineering possessed considerable expertise in this area.
Action: WJ
09/11 Policy
on Risk Assessment in Pregnancy
The
Committee considered an amended policy on Risk Assessment in Pregnancy. The policy had been reviewed by the Committee
on a previous occasion. It had been
trialled since then and found to be satisfactory. The Committee approved the amended policy.
Action:
CM
09/12 Policy on Smoking at Work
The
Committee considered a review of the University’s Smoking at Work Policy. The review had been initiated following a
complaint by a member of staff to the Health and Safety Executive following a
smoking incident outside an open window.
It was also considered appropriate that the policy should be reviewed
periodically. The Committee considered
whether a total ban on smoking on campus was realistic and enforceable. It was felt that the way forward was to
introduce minimum distances from buildings where smoking could take place. There would be a report of the review to the
June meeting
of
the Committee.
Action:
WJ
09/13 Occupational Ill Health 2005-08
The
Committee considered a report on Occupational Ill Health 2005-08 from the Occupational
Health Adviser. It was noted that there
had been a drop in the number of psychological problems reported and that was
considered a positive trend.
09/14 Annual Report of the Radiation Protection
Officer
The Committee
considered the annual report of
the Radiation Protection Officer for 2008 for submission to Council. Two matters were drawn to the Committee’s
attention. The first related to the
condition of the benches in the
the
Head of the Department of Chemistry and the Director of Facilities Management
should meet to review the position and report to the next meeting.
Action: PW/AB
09/15 Accident Statistics
SAF09-P11a,
SAF09-P11b,
SAF09-P11c
The
Committee received an analysis of accident statistics for the period 1
January-31 December 2008, together with RIDDOR Reportable Statistics to USHA ( Universities Health and Safety Association). These were
presented to the Committee in their new format for the first time to align with
USHA statistics. The first table related
to all incidents reported to the Health and safety Office, the second table
related to all externally reportable incidents and the final table was a
summary. The first table contained a number
of extra categories which did not require reporting externally. The most common
incidents were the slips, trips and falls.
09/16 Matters Raised by
Departmental Safety Officers
No matters had been raised under this item.
09/17 Membership of the Committee
It was noted that there remained a vacancy on the Committee for a second lay
member of Council. It was felt that in these circumstances the Committee’s
constitution should be amended to permit the appointment of an external member
to the Committee as had been the case with Human Resources Committee.
Action :BPV
09/18 Date of Next Meeting
10 June 2009
Author - Brigette Vale
Date - February 2009
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