Tis an old chestnut this one, but I feel a bit ranty this am, so what is a rant if not shared?

I posted some information in the welcome section so won't repeat that bit again. Other than to vent my spleen at my industry as a whole.

Many industries these days (quite rightly so) are fully regulated and place restraints on an individual or organisation before they can get started. here am I then looking after the lives of others, (far too many fatalities last year alone) and I can go and start off with not a qualification to my name...and convince organizations I can help their safety and health regime...and get paid as well.

Back in private practice I have examined my competition carefully and surprise-surprise, yes indeedy, they are out there.

Seven long years to become chartered with more qualifications than you can throw a stick at, twenty odd as experience and tons of knowledge in the ol grey matter; add to that I have to do CPD (continuing professional development) over a three year cycle to maintain by chartered status,, pay thousands for PI insurance ....oh you get my drift.

IOSH have made in-roads on our behalf to be regulated by whoopie-doo-dah, the wheels on the bus sure do turn slowly.

Anyway, rant over, I hear the phone ringing. Could it be those yellow people again telling me how much they want to help me succeed with a wonderful advert that will cost me thousands? There it stopped ) I didn't type quickly enough). Oh I have a message...you'll not believe it, it was who I said - telling me as an introductory offer I can have this and that and... well no, probably not the other.

Right time for a cuppa and give the fingers a break...oh and the eye-peeps, DSE regulations and all that

Chow fer now

Mike

So anyone can set themselves up as a H&S expert?

I thought the whole idea of this beaurocratic red tape minefield was that it was supervised and monitored by people who at least knew what they were talking about

We've had about 4 cold calls recently asking if our electrical appliances were PAT tested as per govt regulations, and our fire extinguisher was in date.

I normally answer that my cats get PAT tested most days, and I'll just throw a big bucket of water over the computers and hope for the best in my rubber boots

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Steve

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Mike - I think you might be turning physic

Nothing like a good rant to cleanse the soul

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Clive

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Indeed, no regulatory control per se. having so said it is not only morally irresponsible to set up in practice and consider oneself an expert, it clearly carries an enormous risk regarding prosecution. poor or simply ignorant/bad advice that leads to an accident or fails to include suitable and sufficient control measures will almost certainly see the individual prosecuted either by the HSE or a LA enforcement inspector...with a myriad of regulations to cite. If one dont do it-another certainly will.

Funny you should mention PAT. There are actually no specific PAT regulations, not a one. However it is HSWA 74 that comes in to play along with PUWER, MHSW regs and the The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 that all place a duty on the RP to ensure that what is used is safe to do so.

I am frequently told that one must PAT every year/month/week (yep, true) & whilst there are guides it comes down to that other old chestnut, a risk assessment. Using power tools on-site in all weathers every day will probably be monthly or 3-monthly. An office printer or other portable appliance could be two-yearly, three or even five yearly depending on use. I have on many an occasion reduced a clients annual spend of PAT from what was initially disproportionate to suitable and perfectly sufficient.

This I suppose works with many areas of H&S, scare tactics by some will often mean a client is spending money of completely unnecessary projects.

To end for now I'll just mention one client who had been advised by a 'consultant' to produce some risk assessments to satisfy the inspector should he/she ever call...(sigh). They ended up with five-hundred. The best being a RA for a broom. It follows;
Identify who is at risk...Fred the sweeper upper.
Anyone else at risk.....Yes, anyone if he got a splinter and jumped out into the path of a FLT
Hazard....handle
Risk....getting splinters
Current control measures....strap up splintery handle with gaffer tape to protect user from splinters.
Consequences & Likelihood from a quantitative prospective..Oh this is good DEATH from blood poisoning

They had no idea what they needed to do. Clearly that one got screwed up and shredded along with around 475 others, leaving 25 quality assessments that would benefit those that they affected..not to satisfy an inspector if he called. By eliminating many of the so called control measures we were able to make the company not only safer, but far more profitable.

Oh the broom I hear you ask...how did I get round that handle then? Just bought a box of new handles for about a tenner for ol Fred and convinced them he didn't need any major training on how to change it.

Mike

Right thats it, forget Brown and Cameron, I'm voting for Mike!

At the very least, he can replace "Mandy"

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Steve

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Now I have actually had quite a few emails via my website on this blog entry which I included here on MLF.

To set the record straight. The world of workplace safety or occupational safety, is indeed regulated by the HSE, this much just about everyone knows. As a Chartered Practitioner I am also regulated by my professional institution...IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety & Health). This means like many other Chartered bodies I follow a strict code of conduct.

Now then; setting this aside for a moment. What I was trying to get at, and perhaps I may have mislead (unintentionally) is that anyone, I mean anyone can set themselves up as a 'competent' H&S adviser. I believe the same is true of HR (no doubt our newest member in this field will confirm).

So, if Joe Bloggs who once did some 'elf-n-safety' at work gets made redundant and decides to charge him/herself out at £150 a day - and reel out all sorts of spurious advice, there is nothing to stop them, cos we do be unregulated you see by law, unlike the FSA as a prime example.

Oh sure, Mr Bloggs will undoubtedly come a cropper one fine day and find him/hersef in a court of law being prosecuted for wrongful advice which in-turn led to the death of an operative where he happened to be advising. See how it starts to get serious now?

Yep, I do get miffed off about this, it took me around seven years of study and lordy knows how many hours worth of examinations and of course let's not forget the 20+ years of experience!

So there tis then. A trifle potted, but yee gets the gist methinks.

Mike... Chartered and darned proud of it. Scuse swelling mistakees, I'm on me nettybook.

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To the uninitiated (me), what's the difference between the HSE and the IOSH?

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a single regulatory body, that everyone within your industry must sign upto/be licensened, as a legal requirement? Or is the HSE a large bumbling govt framework, where the IOSH specialises in the granualar detail?

If I set myself up as a fly by night unregistered H&S consultant, does the IOSH have any juristiction or clout to escalate to the HSE? Or is it a simple case I'll only get prosecuted after I've killed someone from poor advice?

It does seem to be a confusing area, especially for small business owners, who are prob more likely to fall prey to unchartered and dodgy operators

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Steve

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I suppose it can be a bit confusing Steve. No more perhaps than say Building Regulations and needing a Chartered member of RICS to do your representing for you.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a non-departmental public body which has statutory responsibility in Great Britain for securing the health and safety of workers and protecting the general public from work-related risks. HSE’s responsibilities go beyond core Health and Safety at Work and include, for example, the regulation of nuclear safety and security, pesticides and animal pathogens. HSE works closely with other government departments, particularly the Department for Work and Pensions (its parent department), the Department for Energy and Climate and Climate Change (DECC) and DEFRA.

HSE’s legal advisers are able, committed lawyers, who enjoy a very broad range of high quality work. They have the satisfaction of knowing that their advice, casework and regulations can make a direct impact on saving lives. In addition, our work places emphasis on the Cabinet Office’s better regulation agenda. HSE believes that risk management should be about practical steps to protect people from real harm and suffering, not bureaucratic back covering. If you believe some of the stories in the press, you might think that health and safety law is all about stopping any activity that might possibly lead to harm. This is not HSE’s vision of sensible health and safety - our approach is to seek a balance between the unachievable aim of absolute safety and the kind of poor management of risk that damages lives and the UK economy.

IOSH

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 37,000 individual members, they are the biggest professional health and safety organisation in the world.

IOSH is committed to cutting down the number of people who die or are made ill by what they do for a living. Across the world, two million people die every year as a result of health and safety failures. In the European Union alone, someone dies every three and a half minutes.

IOSh say when it comes to health and safety, only advice from qualified, experienced and skilled professionals will do. That’s why one the main roles is to maintain high standards.

IOSH are the voice of the profession, and lobby governments on policy and law. They accredit qualifications for members, give guidance, develop resources and run courses and events to help them in their work.

IOSH recognise that health and safety isn’t just down to the experts. They work with a range of organisations to raise awareness – and standards. And develop training for schools and businesses, and run campaigns that are relevant to millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity.

One is a law maker, the other is an institution that has qualified people to help businesses out. Similar perhaps to a myriad of laws that one finds the need for a qualified solicitor to assist with. There is no requirement that one must be a member, indeed many practitioners are not. The ones that concern me though, are the unqualified, inexperienced people that have a little bit of knowledge...which as we all know can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, especially when dealing with human life on a day-to-day basis!

Hope that helps to some degree.

Mike

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Got you, so (over simplified) you would be prosecuted under the HSE, but would adhere to professional standards set by the IOSH.

As you've gone out of your way to become chartered, maybe sing about it on your site? It does say it on your home page, but you need to scroll down. maybe you could have a IOSH logo at the top, bigging yourself up?

Maybe a "Is your H&S man chartered?" Could use it as a selling point!

Just an idea, I'm full of 'em, I'll shut up now

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Steve

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Twood be good if I could use their logo. Not permitted unless i am a provider of IOSH training courses (fee payable of course). Maybe in time but not right now. Training is a big pay-day for many practitioners, but for now i am enjoying consultancy work.

Mike

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