Minutes of the Health, Safety and Environment Committee held on 19 October 2011

Prof J Binner

Dr R Haskins(ab)

Miss L Padolsey(ab)

Mr J Blackwell

Prof  A Hodgson

Prof S Pearce

Mr A Burgess

Mr N Hunt

Mr R Pearson

Prof P Chung

Ms R Jermyn

Dr G Ragsdell(ab)

Mr M Clarson

Mr A Kowalski

Mr M Stringfellow(ab)

Prof P Conway(ab)

Prof C Linton

Mr R Temple

Mr A Edworthy

Mr C Ludlow (ab)

Mr J Thomas(ab)

Mr T Ellis

Dr J Mackenzie (ab)

Miss J Turner(ab)

Mr T Goodall

Mr I Maslovs

Dr B Vale

Mr M Harris(ab)

Mrs C Moore

Mrs C Walker

Mr R Harrison

Mr T Neale

Mr H Weaver

 

In Attendance:

Ms D Grant, Mr H Weaver, Dr B Vale, Mr S Kirkland

 

11/33  Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Paul Conway, Mike Harris, Bob Haskins, Lucy Padolsey, Gill Ragsdell, John Thomas, Julie Turner

11/34  Business of the Agenda

No items were unstarred.

 

11/35  Minutes

SAF11-M2

The Minutes of the meeting held on 25 May 2011 were confirmed and the Chair welcomed all new members of the Committee.

 

11/36  Matters Arising from Previous Meetings Not Mentioned Elsewhere on the Agenda

            SAF11-P20

            It was noted that the recommendation to review the stress management policy had been referred to Human Resources and the Occupational Health Manger would report back to HSE Committee at its next meeting.

 

11/37  Membership and Terms of Reference of Health, Safety and Environment Committee

            SAF11-P21

The Committee noted its terms of reference and the current membership of Health,

Safety and Environment Committee.  After discussion it was agreed that it would be appropriate to recommend to Senate and Council amendments to the membership of the Committee to include the Director of Human Resources or their nominee, the Deputy Health and Safety Manager who was already in regular attendance and presented a number of items, and the deputy Director of Imago Services to replace the ex officio membership associated with the former post of Director of Imago Services.

 

Action BPV

 

11/38 Review of Committee Effectiveness

            SAF11-P22

            Members were satisfied with the conduct and effectiveness of the Committee.

 

11/39  Annual Health and Safety Plan and Health and Safety Policy

.1         The HSEM reported to the Committee on the progress made on the 2010/11 Health and Safety Plan. It was noted that the majority of targets had been achieved.  Particular attention was drawn to the achievements of the University Fire Officer and of the Environmental Manager. A review of the Blood Borne Viruses policy was underway.  A considerable amount of training had been delivered and mandatory training remained a priority. The Fire Officer had accomplished the required PEEPs and it was noted that this required considerable administrative support.

 

.2         The HSEM introduced the 2011/12 Health and Safety Plan and identified a number of areas for attention. It was noted that there was considerable work required to bring  existing policies into conformity with the new University structure. There were a number of targets to be met in 2012. It was not expected that, aside from security issues, the Olympic year would generate any specific health and safety concerns,  however the Project Management Board was keeping all such matters under review. The Committee endorsed the proposed Health and Safety Plan for 2011/12.

 

.3         The Committee reviewed the proposed amendments to the University’s Health and Safety policy the majority of which were largely consequent on the University’s restructuring.

            It was noted that the COO had line management responsibility for the HSEM and this was welcomed.

            It was also confirmed that the S/DSOs would report directly to their Deans and it was considered important that this structure was preserved.

            Some amendments to the drafting were proposed, namely to delete ‘in Schools’ from para 3.4 p7; delete ‘School, Faculty, Departmental’ from para 3.9 p 11; delete ‘and to the Director of FM for all other matters’ para 3.9 p11, since it was not relevant to the University’s statutory Health and Safety policy.

            It was agreed to add ‘in consultation with the Occupational Health Physician where appropriate’ to the first sentence of para 3.12. After some discussion it was agreed to leave para 3.14 as it was drafted since the HSE Office did encompass the Occupational Health Adviser.

            It was felt that there was a blurring of boundaries in relation to subsidiary companies under paragraph 4.3 and that this required further discussion.

The Committee, subject to the proposed changes, endorsed the policy for approval by Council.

 

Action HSEM

 

11/40  First Aid Provision and Honoraria

            SAF11-P25

            The Committee considered proposals from the HSEM to manage the provision of trained             First Aid staff on campus. It was noted that following the relocation of School and Departments on campus and the restructuring process, the geographical distribution of First Aiders was not necessarily appropriate. There were also inconsistencies in the payments made for first aid provision. Of the 250 trained first aiders, 150 received an honorarium.  Security staff and first aiders with particular responsibility also received an honorarium. The cost was currently £13,446 per annum. In addition there were the costs associated with training First Aiders.

            It was recommended that the honoraria be withdrawn on a phased basis as the First Aid certificate came up for renewal, that training be provided whenever requested by a School to meet its operational needs and that the cost of the training be borne by the School. That where First Aid training was a job requirement this should be included in the job description.

            The Committee understood that there was a requirement to provide trained first aiders and that the proposals represented a genuine attempt to manage this process effectively. It was noted that all Security staff were required to provide First Aid and that they were expected to be the main providers.  It was noted however that there would need to be local provision for an immediate response in some circumstances. It would not always be easy to find staff who were prepared to undertake this role on a voluntary basis who were in the required location. It was also noted that if Security staff were to receive an honorarium then perhaps other staff should do so.

            The committee were unable to endorse the proposals at this stage but recognised the need to address this issue. It requested the HSEM to provide further information on the distribution of First Aid provision across campus and bring forward further proposals.

 

Action HSEM

 

11/41  University Fire Officer’s Report

            SAF11-P26

The Committee received a report from the University Fire Officer.

It was noted that there had been an incident in Chemistry and that control measure had now been put in place. The controlled fire evacuations procedures were well underway. The Fire Officer continued to work closely with Imago to manage unwanted fire signal activations.

A recent fire safety audit of 14 buildings had identified damage to fire doors in Village Court following building work and fire risks associated with refuse bins situated close to buildings

It was reported that Facilities Management needed to ensure that all fire doors were inspected for damage after any major building project. It was confirmed that FM were addressing the fire risk associated with the external refuse bins.

 

11/42  Environmental Manager’s Report

            SAF11-P27

            The Committee received a report from the Environmental Manager. The primary focus of the report was on the implementation of the University’s waste strategy and achieving its targets. It was proposed that, in the light of surpassing the targets, that they be reviewed. Considerable progress had been made in the area of recycling on campus. It was confirmed that ‘diversion’ was defined as using neither landfill or recycling eg incineration. The new targets proposed were in line with CBC targets. It was suggested that it would be useful to use data from the 1994 group as a comparator.

            The Committee were pleased to note that Eco Campus Silver had been achieved and that progress was being made towards achieving the gold award.

 

11/43  Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Visit

            SAF11-P28

The Committee received and considered a report on an advisory visit from the HSE. It was noted that the visit had been triggered by a reported injury following an incident in a kitchen in the EHB. The Committee noted that it was an advisory and not an enforcement visit.

The outcome of the visit had been to advise on the importance of selecting the correct floor type for working areas, safe working practices in relation to floor cleaning and the provision of non- slip footwear. The University was currently involved in a trial of non- slip footwear and was investigating safe working practices in relation to floor cleaning.

 

11/44  Review of Bomb Warnings Policy and Procedures

SAF11-P29    

The Committee received a report on a review of procedures. It was noted that following a recent exercise to test mass evacuation procedures, the need for a policy on responding to security threats was identified. The deputy HSEM had developed a draft policy which would link to other local arrangements and was currently working with FM to finalise this.

 

11/45  KPMG COSHH Audit

            SAF11-P30

The Committee received a report on the outcome of the recent KPMG COSHH audit. The audit report had identified five areas of good practice and six key findings for the University’s attention. This had provided valuable feedback for the University. It was reported that the recommendations had been addressed

One of the recommendations had included the implementation of a centralised procurement and storage system for substances, it was felt however that this would be impractical  to implement because of the complexities relating to, for example, what was held in storage, how quickly novel reagents could be obtained and where they were stored, and who accepted and signed for substances.

 

11/46  Accident Report and Accident Statistics

            SAF11-P31

.1         The Committee received a report on recent accidents on campus for the periods of 1 April

            30 June 2011 and 1 July – 30 September 2011.  There was correction to the data presented which should have recorded 3 RIDDOR reportable incidents under slips and trips rather than 2. It was noted that the implementation of a new HR system iTrent would assist with the reporting of accidents. 

 

            SAF11-P32

.2         The Committee received a report on insurance claims for the period of 1 May – 30 September 2011. It was noted that 4 new claims had been received in the reporting period under review. Of the existing claims one had been upheld with damages of £5k. The claim involving a pole vault injury had been withdrawn. A claim in the Design School was being resisted.In all the Committee felt that the statistics indicated a low level of accidents given the number of staff and students on campus and that the University was a safe working environment.

 

11/47  Biological Safety Committee Meeting

            SAF11-P33

            The Committee noted the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2011.

 

11/48 Any Other Business

The Committee noted that this was Brigette’s last meeting as Secretary to the Committee and thanked her for her contribution.

 

11/49  Dates of Meetings 2011/12

            22 February 2012

            20 June 2012

Author – Brigette Vale

Date – October 2011

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