Health, Safety and Environment Committee

Health, Safety and Environment Committee

SAF10-M1

Minutes of the Health, Safety and Environment Committee held on 17 February 2010

10/1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from J Aldridge, S Dann, R

Jermyn, J Mackenzie, R Parkin, R Pearson, P Warwick.

10/2. Minutes

(SAF09–M3)

The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2009 were confirmed.

10/3. Matters Arising from Previous Meetings not Mentioned Elsewhere on the Agenda

.1 Membership and Terms of Reference of Health and Safety Committee

It was noted that Senate had approved amendments to the membership of Health and Safety Committee to remove the post of Pro Vice Chancellor from the membership.

.2 Annual Health and Safety Plan

It was noted that Council had noted progress against the 08/09 Annual Plan

and agreed the 09/10 Annual Plan.

10/4 Annual Health and Safety Plan 09/10

The Committee received a progress report on the implementation of the Annual Health and Safety Plan from the HSEM. There were many items on the agenda of the meeting which related to the Annual Health and Safety Plan but the HSEM drew a number of matters to members’ attention. In terms of fire safety , 90% of the buildings had refuges for disabled staff and students with communication with the Security Office; an e-training initiative on fire safety was currently being trialled in the Library, fire marshal training was being delivered, building plans for the emergency services were in every building and were duplicated in the Security Office, all PEEPs had been completed . A training matrix was available via Staff development and the sessions on risk assessments and manual handling were well attended. In terms of environmental protection an audit on waste handling was being conducted externally with training to be delivered in March. Training on First Aid provision was being reviewed in the light of recommendations from the Health and Safety Executive.

10/5 University Fire Officer’s Report

SAF10-P1

The Committee received a report from the University Fire Officer , who was

pleased to confirm that no fires had occurred since his last report .

Response times to the annual fire evacuations in November had been

reasonable and were expected to be quicker in the event of a real incident.

There remained an unexplained problem with the automatic fire detection

systems in Harry French Hall, which still produced false alarms. It was noted

that unwanted signals were a problem with AFD systems but that they were

well policed to avoid calling out the emergency services unnecessarily.

10/6 Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres (DSEAR) Audit

SAF10-P2

The Committee received a DSEAR audit report. It was noted that the findings

were satisfactory overall and that where necessary they had been reported

back to departments via the DSOs . Heads of Departments would report back

to the HSE Office as necessary

10/7 Environmental Protection Policy and Eco Campus

SAF10-P3

The Committee received and considered an Environmental Protection Policy

and Eco campus statement. It was noted that the policy was a prerequisite for

the Eco campus awards scheme which the University had committed to. The

Committee supported the University’s participation in the scheme and the

policy statement but there was discussion about how the implementation of

the scheme would be resourced and where responsibility for it lay. It was

noted that there had not been an allocation of resource for this and it was

agreed to delete from the policy statement the reference to providing the

human and financial resources to implement an environmental management

system. The HSEM expressed concern about the level of resource required

to implement the initiative.

It was noted that responsibility for this could lie with both FM and HSE Office,

but that there needed to be further consideration as to the resourcing and

governance arrangements. The Committee supported the scheme , these

concerns notwithstanding.

10/8. Review of Emergency Planning and Preparation for Call Out

SAF10-P4

The Committee received and considered a review of Emergency Planning

and Call Out Procedures for incidents that would require input from the HSE

Office i.e radiation, fire and chemical spillage. This review identified a need

to standardise information held by Departments via checklists and associated

documents and this work will be added to the annual plan for 2009/10.

10/9 Code of Practice on Laser Safety

SAF10-P5

The Committee considered a Code of Practice on Laser Safety. The policy

was consistent with those adopted by other 1994 Universities. There were

some minor points of document style which would be referred to the HSEM.

It was noted that it should not be necessary to appoint a separate LSO in

addition to a DSO in a Department where laser usage was small and that this

should be for the Head of Department to determine. It was noted that

reference should be made to the possibility of burns, and that there was no

need for a reference to medical surveillance. The Committee approved the

code of practice.

Action: Chair to agree changes with HSEM and the Laser Safety Adviser

10/11. Annual Report of the Radiation Protection Officer

SAF10-P6, SAF10-P6a, SAF10-P6b, SAF10-P6c, SAF10-P6d, SAF10-P6e

The Committee considered the annual report of the Radiation Protection

Officer for 2009 for submission to Council. It was noted that there were no

recorded radiation doses to staff in 2009. There were legislative changes

introducing environmental permits which would impact on waste licences. It

was noted that the EA had expressed concern about the University’s reliance

on a single RPO in the area of radiation management and this matter was

being addressed by the HSE Office. As a result of the visit of the EA, the

local rules had been varied to define the duties of the RPO and the

arrangements for absence cover. Radon monitors had been placed on

campus as part of an ongoing survey, but it was not expected that radon gas

was significant risk in this area.

10/12. Non Ionising Radiations Policy (excluding Lasers)

SAF10-P7

The Committee considered and approved a Non Ionising Radiations Policy

which had been updated in the light of new regulations.

10/13. Annual Returns

SAF10-P8

The Committee considered a report on the Annual Returns made by the

University to statutory bodies and agreed it would be useful to receive this

information annually. It was confirmed that much of the information was

supplied by departments. The role of the RSO in supplying information on

nuclear research activities was acknowledged. It was suggested that a

agreed that this should be made available .

Action: WS/BV

10/14. Accident Statistics

SAF10-P9, SAF10-P9a, SAF10-9b, SAF10-P9c, SAF10-P9d

The Committee received an analysis of accident statistics for the period 1 October to 31 December 2009 together with comparative data. The Committee felt that the comparative data was most useful although its accuracy might be questionable given that no incidents at all were reported at ten institutions. Loughborough’s position on the table presented did not give cause for concern. The committee asked for clarification as to the recorded incidents of 7 staff and students hit by falling, flying or moving objects.

10/15. Date of Next Meeting

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Author: Brigette Vale

Date February 2010