Health, Safety and Environment Committee

SAF12-M2

Minutes of the Health, Safety and Environment Committee held on Wednesday 20 June 2012

Members:

Rob Allan, Tracy Bhamra, Jon Binner (ab), John Blackwell, Andrew Burgess, Stuart Christie (ab), Paul Chung, Michael Clarson, Paul Conway (ab), Alec Edworthy (ab), Tim Ellis, Tony Goodall (ab), Debbie Grant (ab), Mike Harris, Rod Harrison, Bob Haskins (ab), Nik Hunt, Racheal Jermyn, Stuart Kirkland, Andy Kowalski, Chris Linton (Chair), Chris Ludlow (ab), Julian Mackenzie (ab), Igors Maslovs (ab), Cathy Moore, Terry Neale, Lucy Padolsey (ab), Shirley Pearce (ab), Robert Pearson (ab), Gillian Ragsdell, Martin Stringfellow (ab), Bob Temple, Julie Turner, Caroline Walker (ab), Hugh Weaver, David Wilson

In attendance:

Chris Garrod (Secretary)

Apologies for absence were received from:

Jon Binner, Caroline Walker, Martin Stringfellow, Debbie Grant, Igors Maslovs, Alec Edworthy, Paul Conway, Tony Goodall, Rob Pearson

12/18 Minutes

18.1 Minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2012 were CONFIRMED [SAF12-M1]

12/19 Matters arising from the Minutes

19.1 12/4.2 refers. A summary of the outcome of visits by regulatory bodies had been included in the annual report to Council.

19.2 12/8 refers. The perceived lack of discipline from teaching staff in relation to fire evacuations had been raised at ALT.

19.3 12/13 refers. Deans had been informed of their responsibilities in relation to Health and Safety.

12/20 Annual Health and Safety Plan 11/12

SAF12-P18A

20.1 The paper was RECEIVED and progress towards the annual plan was NOTED. The following specific points of detail were NOTED:

i. Fire – good progress had been made. Work on the Fire Folders was on-going but all high risk areas had been completed.

ii. Radiation safety – the Environment Agency was to undertake an assessment of the Graham Oldham building so that the implications of any future decision to decommission it would be better understood.

iii. Health and Safety – electronic training materials were in the process of being developed. The training package was to be modular to meet the needs of specific staff groups. An audit of the School of the Arts had been undertaken and it was NOTED that the audits were for the benefit of the School and that details would not be reported to the Committee.

12/21 Environmental Manager’s Report

SAF12-P19

21.1 The paper was RECEIVED and the following points were highlighted:

i. An issue regarding the hazardous waste storage and environmental management role at School level had been resolved. The implementation of the recommendation was to progress on a trial basis.

ii. It was NOTED that the University was generally on course to meet the recycling and diversion targets outlined in the Waste Strategy. On-campus recycling, in-hall recycling, and food waste were currently below the expected target.

iii. The strategy of increasing recycling rather than reducing waste was queried. It was NOTED that ‘quick wins’ could be made at this stage by increasing recycling and that reducing overall waste formed part of the longer term strategy.

iv. It was NOTED that an individual had been sleeping in the skips located close to the School of the Arts. Efforts had been made to manage the risk including additional patrols by Security. It was suggested that CCTV could be considered if the issue persisted.

v. It was NOTED that DSO training had been scheduled.

vi. It was NOTED that bins/skips positioned against buildings were still a fire risk but that new bin enclosures would move them away from the buildings and significantly reduce the risk.

12/22 University Fire Officer’s Report

SAF12-P20

22.1 The paper was RECEIVED and included a report on an incident within a hall of residence which involved the removal of fire detection devices.

i. Committee members NOTED that disciplinary action taken against individuals involved in the tampering of health and safety equipment (e.g. fire extinguishers and smoke detectors) was not considered to be severe enough and sometimes inconsistent in application.

ACTION: Secretary to feedback to Student Disciplinary Committee.

ii. It was queried whether the Police should be notified in cases where criminal damage of this nature had occurred. It was also considered to be important to ensure that any penalties and disincentives were consistent with the expectations of University’s insurers.
ACTION: Secretary to follow up with the Chief Operating Officer.

22.2 The Committee NOTED that only 56% of students identified as potentially needing a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) had replied to a request to discuss their disabilities despite sustained efforts to contact the individuals. Although it was unclear how many of the individuals that had not replied would have required a PEEP it was of concern that a significant proportion had not replied. It was recommended that:

i. The Fire Officer liaised with the Academic Registry to establish when the disability information was available for new starters.

ii. The Fire Officer liaised with the hall Wardens to request their assistance in identifying possible PEEP candidates. (It was NOTED that a PEEP was required for both staff and students in any University building, not just halls of residence.)

iii. That a PEEP overview was added to departmental induction sessions/information.
ACTION: Fire Officer.

22.3 It was NOTED that the University was undergoing an audit by an external fire engineering company (BB7) to assess fire risk management levels. Upon completion a report was to be compiled for the Health and Safety Office and an action plan was to be presented to the Health and Safety Committee. The University’s involvement was likely to assist BB7 with the PAS-7, a new fire risk management specification, which was likely to become a British Standard.

22.4 It was NOTED that a guidance document was being produced in conjunction with Facilities Management for duty electricians to deal with routine fire alarm faults.

12/23 University Risk Register

SAF12-P21

23.1 The University Risk Register section relating to Health, Safety, and Environment issues was RECEIVED. The following amendments were AGREED:

i. The improved availability of defibrillator machines on-campus was to be added to the improvement actions column for section 16.d as it was considered to reduce the likelihood of a sudden death on campus.

ii. The ESRI traffic risk assessment commissioned by Facilities Management was to be added to the improvement actions column for section 16.b as it was considered to mitigate against the risk of foreseeable accidents.

ACTION: Health and Safety Manager to feedback to ALT Risk Sub Group.

12/24 Management of Workplace Pressure Policy Review

SAF12-P22A

24.1 The Committee reviewed the policy document and recommended it proceeded to Council for approval. The following points were NOTED:

i. The document together with associated guidance was considered to be excessively long. It was suggested that the document could be broken up and re-presented for specific groups.

ii. It was suggested that a similar flowchart (as included within the Information for Employees section) could usefully be produced for staff.

iii. It was also recommended that the policy’s impact was reviewed post implementation.

12/25 Accident and Insurance Statistics

SAF12-P23

25.1 The accident report paper was RECEIVED and the disparity between the number of accidents reported in Support Services (102 reports) and those reported within Academic Schools (15 reports) was NOTED. Further awareness campaigns regarding the importance of reporting accidents and near misses were to be considered.
ACTION: Deputy Health and Safety Manager.

25.2 It was AGREED that future reports to the Committee were to include details of the statutory category of RIDDOR reports and a full breakdown of accidents by each Support Service.

25.3 It was NOTED that the RIDDOR reporting criteria had been amended from 6 April 2012.

SAF12-P24

25.4 The insurance claims paper was RECEIVED and a verbal update on the status of on-going claims was provided. A typographical error regarding the settlement of the claim for an accident in March 2011 was NOTED. [This error has been amended on electronic record of the paper].

12/26 Personal Protective Equipment Policy

SAF12-P25

26.1 The paper was RECEIVED and APPROVED subject to confirmation that Section 6 (Paying for Personal Protective Equipment) of the policy was in line with the new arrangements for students commencing their studies in 2012/13 under the new fee regime.

12/27 Update of University policies

SAF12-P26

27.1 The Committee RECEIVED the paper.

12/28 ‘Out of hours’ working on campus - monitoring trial

SAF12-P26

28.1 The Committee RECEIVED and discussed the paper. The trial had not been very successful and various challenges with the monitoring of staff working out of hours were NOTED. Alternative solutions were discussed including various technical options but all ‘solutions’ were considered to be imperfect. It was AGREED that the University was not carrying an un-due risk due to the various local systems that were already in operation across the University but it was RECOMMENDED that:

i. Facilities Management considered whether there were any high-risk buildings where an alternative solution was to be pursued.

ii. Following consultation with IT Services to establish the feasibility of a wider roll-out, that Deans and Heads of Support Services were notified of the electronic monitoring facilities that were available.
ACTION: Health and Safety Manager.

12/29 Bomb warnings

29.1 A number of universities had received bomb threats sent to generic email accounts. It was reported that the University’s Bomb Threat Policy and procedures had been communicated to relevant staff. Training on bomb threats and suspicious packages had been undertaken by 200+ staff.

29.2 An exercise had been undertaken in June 2012 to visit 5 reception areas to test staff knowledge of the policy. Although the majority of staff involved had an understanding of the relevant procedure some did not and further training had been arranged.

29.3 The links between the Bomb Threat policy and the Mass Evacuation Plan was to be checked.

29.4 A member queried whether landlord and tenants of the University had been informed of the Mass Evacuation Policy. It was also requested to check whether the policy was operational for Holywell Park.

29.5 It was NOTED that some of Loughborough College’s evacuation routes were via the School of the Arts premises and confirmation of Loughborough College’s mass evacuation plan was required.
ACTION: Secretary.

12/30 Chair’s Action

30.1 The action taken by the Chair to approve the Loughborough University Major Incidents Plan, Major Incidents Handbook and Mass Evacuation Plan was NOTED.

12/31 Annual Report of the Ethical Advisory Committee

SAF12-P28

31.1 The Committee RECEIVED a report from the Ethical Advisory Committee.

12/32 Automatic External Defibrillators

SAF12-P29

32.1 The Committee RECEIVED a paper regarding the availability of Automatic External Defibrillator’s on campus.

12/33 Health and Safety Audit Timetable

SAF12-P20

33.1 The Committee RECEIVED the schedule of health and safety audits for Academic Schools.

12/34 HSE structure update

SAF12-P31

34.1 The paper was withdrawn from the meeting due to an inaccuracy and was to be considered at a future meeting.

12/35 Any Other Business

35.1 A query was raised regarding Health and Safety Committees for Support Services. It was confirmed that due to the varying characteristics of each Support Service there was no standard structure for these Committees within each Support Service. Opportunities had been identified to form Health and Safety Committee’s based on geographical location (e.g. Hazlerigg & Rutland Buildings). The Chief Operating Officer was to be asked to confirm whether it was appropriate for the head of a Support Service to chair the section’s Health and Safety Committee.

ACTION: Secretary to follow up with the Chief Operating Officer.

12/36 Date of next meeting

36.1 To be confirmed following the publication of the University’s 2012/13 Committee Schedule.

Author: Chris Garrod

Date: 21 June 2012