Health And Safety

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

This is the Health and Safety Policy Statement of:

Bristol Wireless Community Co-Operative Ltd

Our statement of general policy is:

The Bristol Wireless policy is not only to comply fully with the Health and Safety at Work Act as required by law, but to act positively to prevent injury, ill health, damage and loss arising from our activities. Our aim is excellence in health and safety, by means of a continuous improvement of standards, systematically removing the causes of accidents and ill-health.

We undertake to provide adequate control of the health and safety risks arising from our work activities; to consult with our members and volunteers on matters affecting their health and safety; to provide and maintain safe plant and equipment; to ensure safe handling and use of substances; to provide information, instruction and supervision for members and volunteers; to ensure all members and volunteers are competent to do their tasks and to give them adequate training; to prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health; to maintain safe and healthy working conditions; and to review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals.

Date: 08/02/08

Review date: 21/01/2009

RESPONSIBILITIES

Overall and final responsibility for health and safety is that of:

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

Day-to-day responsibility for ensuring this policy is put into practice is delegated to:

The Health & Safety Officer, currently Mr Julien Weston

To ensure health and safety standards are maintained/improved, the following people have responsibility in the following areas

All members and volunteers have to: co-operate with colleagues and outside agencies on health and safety matters; not interfere with anything provided to safeguard their health and safety; take reasonable care of their own health and safety; report all health and safety concerns to an appropriate person (as detailed in this policy statement).

HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS ARISING FROM OUR WORK ACTIVITIES

Risk assessments will be undertaken by:

• Individual project managers or The Health and Saety Officer charged with Health & Safety Responsibility*.

The findings of the risk assessments will be reported to:

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

Action required to remove/control risks will be approved by:

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

who will be responsible for ensuring the action required is implemented.

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

will check that the implemented actions have removed/reduced the risks.

Assessments will be reviewed every 6 months or when the work activity changes, whichever is the soonest.

CONSULTATION WITH MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS

The Volunteers Representative is:

Mr Richard Higgs

Consultation is provided by:

SAFE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

The Health and Safety Officer and Individual Project Managers

will be responsible for identifying all equipment/plant needing maintenance.

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

will be responsible for ensuring effective maintenance procedures are drawn up.

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

will be responsible for ensuring that all identified maintenance is implemented.

Any problems found with plant/equipment should be reported to:

The Health and Safety Officer

who will also check that any new plant and equipment meets health and safety standards before it is purchased.

SAFE HANDLING AND USE OF SUBSTANCES (COSHH)

The Health and Safety Officer

will be responsible for identifying all substances which need a control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) assessment.

ALL staff and volunteers have a duty to consult with the Health & Safety Officer PRIOR to introducing any new substance that may require an assessment under COSHH.

The Health and Safety Officer

will be responsible for undertaking COSHH assessments.

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

will be responsible for ensuring that all actions identified in the assessments to reduce or contain any risk, are implemented.

The Health and Safety Officer

will be responsible for ensuring that all relevant employees are informed about the COSHH assessments.

Individual Project Managers or The Health and Safety Officer

will check that new substances can be used safely before they are purchased.

The Health and Safety Officer

Will review COSHH assessments every 6 months, or when the work activity changes, whichever is the soonest.

Current COSHH Assessment 22 Jan 2009

INFORMATION, INSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION

The Health and Safety Law poster is displayed at Room 5, St Werburghs Community Centre, Bristol BS2 9TJ. There is also a Health & Safety Law poster displayed in the Community Centre Redception Office. Health and Safety briefing leaflets are issued by

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

Health and safety advice is available from:

The Health and Safety Officer or Individual Project Managers

Supervision of young workers/trainees will be arranged/undertaken/monitored by:

The Protection Officer, Mr Sean Kenny and Individual Project Managers

who are responsible for ensuring that our members and volunteers working at locations under the control of other employers, are given relevant health and safety information.

COMPETENCY FOR TASKS AND TRAINING

Induction training will be provided for all members and volunteers by:

The Volunteer Co-Ordinator, Mr Richard Higgs

Job specific training will be provided by:

Individual Project Managers

Training records are kept at:

St Werburghs Community Centre, Bristol BS2 9TJ

Training will be identified, arranged and monitored by:

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

ACCIDENTS, FIRST AID AND WORK-RELATED ILL HEALTH

If felt necessary, Health Surveillance will be arranged by:

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

Currently, the Management Committee does not consider that the activities of Bristol Wireless (and any risks arising therefrom) warrant any form of ongoing Health Surveillance programme.

If produced, any health surveillance records will be kept at:

Room 5, St Werburghs Community Centre, Bristol BS2 9TJ

The first aid box is kept at:

Reception Office, St Werburghs Community Centre, Bristol BS2 9TJ

Individual project managers working off-site from Bristol Wireless premises are responsible for ensuring and identifying that adequate first aid provision is available at any external site. In the absence of suitable provision, the Project Manager must arranging suitbale provision by Bristol Wireless.

The appointed person(s)/first aider(s) is/are:

Position Vacant

All accidents and cases of work-related ill health are to be recorded in the accident book. The accident book is kept online at:

http://www.bristolwireless.net/admin/index.php/AccidentBook

MONITORING

To check our working conditions and ensure our safe working practices are being followed, we will:

develop monitoring systems appoint a person responsible for monitoring

The Health & Safety Officer and The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

are responsible for investigating accidents.

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

are responsible for investigating work-related causes of sickness absences.

The Bristol Wireless Management Committee

are responsible for acting on investigation findings to prevent a recurrence.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES, FIRE AND EVACUATION

The Health and Safety Officer

is responsible for ensuring the fire risk assessment is undertaken and implemented.

Escape routes are checked every month :

The Health and Safety Officer

The fire evacuation assembly area is: Bicknells Car Park, Merstham Road (opposite the front of the Community Centre). In the event of a fire evacuation, all persons should proceed directly to the fire evacuation assembly area.

The primary escape route is:

Via the Community Centre back door (push bar) next to the door of Room 5, into the Community Centre Car Park.

Currently, there is a temporary wooden clad scaffolding structure with a lockable door built over this exit door in the car park. In the event that exit from the building cannot be had, the nearest alternative fire escapes are from the far end of the main hall, either via the main door (to the right) or the alternative fire escape (via corridor to the left).

Fire Extinguishers are located:

Fire extinguishers are maintained and checked annually by:

St Werburghs Community Centre

Alarms are tested every/by:

St Werburghs Community Centre

Emergency evacuation will be tested every

6 months