Health and Safety Training

Manual handling safety general awareness

Training's aim

To provide awareness of safe manual handling practices, particularly for staff based in working environments where manual handling injuries are perceived as no or low risk.

Topics covered

• Why manual handling presents real risk of injury in any working environment.
• What manual handling involves.
• How manual handling injuries occur.
• Safe manual handling techniques, workstation and working environment set ups.

Here is a guide for accessing the health and safety resource.

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing or using Brightspace, contact its support team.

Any comments or queries in respect of the training's content should be made to the Office of Health and Safety.

Health and safety - integral and important

Introduction

Health and safety should be considered as integral to all workplace activities and not a bolt on' at the end, not relevant or unimportant.

This training emphasises: -

• Workplace health and safety is important to us and that its impacts are not confined to our work;
• We all have both legal responsibilities and vested interests; and
• Health and safety is about sensible management of risks.

Whilst the training is primarily delivered as part of the university's central induction programme it can be also utilised where refresher oppoprtunities are idenitified.

Training's aim

To provide: -

• An overview of workplace health and safety, and how this is applied at the university;
• Awareness of the contributions and responsibilities we can all make and have; and
• Understanding of why, and how, health and safety is important to us all, and integral to the work we do.

Training's content

Topics covered include: -

• Why workplace health and safety is important to us;
• How health and safety is managed within the university and the role of the university's Office of Health and Safety;
• Individual health and safety responsibilities;
• Workplace hazards and risks; and
• Incident reporting and follow up.

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing or using Brightspace contact its support team.

Any comments or queries on the training's content can be made to the university's Office of Health and Safety.

Safe use of ladders and step ladders - general awareness

Introduction

Let's get one thing straight!  Health and safety legislation has not banned the use of ladders and step ladders.  Where the activity is short duration and light duty, working from ladder or step ladder is most likely to be the most practical and sensible approach providing the ladder or step ladder is used safely.

It is important however to remember that you don't have to fall from significant height to suffer serious injury.  More people are involved in major injury (e.g. broken limbs) incidents reported to the Health and Safety Executive that involve falling less than two metres rather than above this height.

This training will provide general awareness of the safe working practices associated with ladders and step ladders, particular attention drawn to the three key stages of: -

• Pre-use checks;
• Correct positioning and set up; and
• Safe use.

It certain instances the training may need to be supplemented with more practical-based training around the specific ladders and step ladders within academic schools and support services, and the environments these will be used in.

 

Training's aim

To ensure and reinforce general awarerness of the safe working practices when using ladders and step ladders.

 

Training's content

Topics covered include: -

• Does less height mean much lesser risk?
• Falls from height: real-life impacts;
• The Work at Height regulations, employers and employee responsibilities;
• Falls from ladders and step ladders - "the usual suspects"; and
• Three key stages to being ladder safe: pre-use checks, correct positioning and set-up, and safe use.

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing or using Brightspace contact its support team.

Any comments or queries on the training's content can be made to the university's Office of Health and Safety.

IOSH Managing Safely

What is IOSH Managing Safely?

A nationally recognised certificated training course, developed and accredited by the Charted Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Who is the training aimed at?

Those managing and supervising people, equipment and facilities, and activities.

What does the training offer?

Equipping those attending with the necessary knowledge and understanding to take practical  and effective steps to manage the health and safety risks within their areas of responsibility through: -

• Course material that's developed and updated by the Chartered body for health and safety professionals;
• Training delivered through a high impact interactive package that's supported by a comprehensive delegate workbook;
• Working with staff from other areas of the university, gaining an understanding of the health and safety risks encountered across the university, and sharing approaches to manage these risks; and
• Validation of delegate assessments by the Charted body.

What's been the feedback from those who've completed the training?

•  “It could have been very formal and dry but we had a great mix of informative instruction but with enough debate and participation to make it both fun and educational.”
• “There was a good mix of taught material, interactive animations, discussions and ‘fun’ activities that broke up the modules so that they didn’t become boring at any time. In particular the discussions helped relate the material to the situations we face in our working environment.”
• “Gaining thoughtful insight with regards to H&S subject matter allows one to reflect with ‘fresh eyes’. Listening and interacting with other staff from across the university allows one to appreciate different health and safety issues and how people address them.”
• “It was good to carry out this course in-house with real issues discussed about the way health and safety is delivered locally. The pros and cons of managing these duties and to carry out risk control measures were of particular interest.”
• “The course itself has been really helpful and has helped develop and sort out areas of health and safety relating to our work load and has expelled some myths.”

How is managing safely delivered?

The training package consists of: -

• Seven topic-specific modules;
• A multiple-choice assessment undertaken on completing the eight modules; and
• A risk assessment-based assignment of the individual's working environment.

The minimum contact time (including the multiple choice assessment) is 24 hours.  The assignment must be submitted within two weeks of completing the multiple-choice assessment.

From the date of the first module delegates will have a maximum 6-month period to complete the training (including submission of the assignment).

The dates and times of individual modules and multiple-choice assessments are given in the programme, updated when further rounds of training are organised:

• 2019 delivery programme

What are the seven modules and what do they cover?

Introducing managing safely

• Moral, legal and financial reasons for managing safety
• Impacts on employers, employees and their families, the wider-society

Understanding responsibilities

• Statutory and common law duties of care
• Application of health and safety criminal and civil laws

Understanding hazards

• Common activity and working environment hazards
• Addressing common hazards.

Assessing risks

• What is risk and risk assessment
• Risk assessment as a practical process

Controlling risks

• Hierarchy of risk control and application of 'reasonably practicable'
• Impact of human behaviour on effectiveness of risk controls

Investigating accidents and incidents

• Immediate, underlying and root causes
• Carrying out effective investigations

Measuring performance

• Proactive and reactive indicators
• Performance measurement as a tool for continual health and safety improvement

Interested?

If you're interested in undertaking the training then please contact the Office of Health and Safety.

Fire safety general awareness

Aim

To provide awareness of how fires occur and spread, simple measures all can take to reduce the risks and correct actions to take to ensure safety in a fire situation.

 

Topics covered

These include:

• How fires start and spread
• Fire prevention and precautions
• Means of escape
• Fire action
• Fire fighting equipment

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing or using Brightspace please contact its support team.

Any comments or queries in respect of the training's content should be made to the Office of Health and Safety.

 

Fire fighting equipment - practical training

Fire safety general awareness can be supplemented by a 75-minute training session on fire fighting equipment that includes the practical use of extinguishers on live fire demonstrations.

 

Assessing and managing health and safety risks

Aim

Increase and reinforce awareness of the important role of health and safety risk management for activities and areas under the university's control.

Topics covered

These include:

• Why assess and manage health and safety risks?
• Legislative requirements and dispelling myths
• Stages invoved in risk assessment processes
• Risk management measures
• Sensible not silly risk management

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing Brightspace contact its support team.

Any comments or queries in respect of the training's content can be made to the Office of Health and Safety.

Handling violence and aggression within the workplace

Aim

To give staff exposed to potentially confrontational situations with awareness of what they can do to ensure their personal safety.

Topics covered

These can include:

• What constitutes violence and aggression
• Why people become aggressive
• Do we contribute to the problem?
• Diffusing, not aggravating, situations
• Preparation
• Fight or flight?
• The importance of reporting incidents

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing or using Brightspace, contact its support team.

Any comments or queries in respect of the training's content should be made to the Office of Health and Safety.

Noise awareness and protecting our hearing

Introduction

Work equipment, even our bones and muscles - when damaged and broken there is still a chance of repair.

What about our hearing? Unfortunately once damaged it cannot be repaired. It's not single exposures to excessively loud noises that are the most common causes. It's repeated exposures to lower, but still harmful, levels of noise that result in cumulative damage over several years.

Your hearing - once it's gone, it's gone. The impacts can be life, not just work, changing.

Hearing damage due to workplace noise exposures is preventable. The university AND you have roles to reduce the risks and protect YOUR hearing. The understanding gained from this resource will also apply to reducing those risks outside of work.

 

Training's aim

Secure understanding of how over-exposure to noise can cause hearing damage and the actions that can be taken to reduce the risks.

 

Training's content

Topics covered include: -

• The importance of protecting our hearing;
• Sound, noise and how we hear;
• How noise adversely impacts on our hearing;
• Legislation and responsibilities; and
• Reducing the risks of damaging our hearing.

Brightspace homepage.

Should any technical problems be encountered when accessing or using Brightspace contact its support team.

Any comments or queries on the training's content can be made to the university's Office of Health and Safety.