Contents:

• ISO9001 still in demand
• What is Quality?

• Fire safety
• New rules on noise
• HSE confirms petty rules unfairly blamed on health and safety
• Workplace transport still a problem
• Mobile phones put safety at risk

• New regulations

• The man at the door

As well as the continuing interest that we are getting from potential clients, new statistics published by ISO (The International Organisation for Standardization) show that, although the standard is nearly 20 years old, certification to ISO9001 is still in demand.

Up to the end of December 2005, at least 776,608 ISO9001:2000 certificates had been issued in 161 countries and economies, an increase of 18 % over 2004, when the total was 660,132 in 154 countries and economies.

ISO9001 quality management systems and certification provide a number of benefits to companies. The quality management system model in ISO9001 is a model for a well-managed business, and is built around the "Plan - Do - Check - Act" cycle of quality improvement that is credited to quality guru W Edwards Deming. Accredited certification provides a way of independently benchmarking your quality management system against those of other companies. Using a common model gives confidence that your business is well run and has management systems in place to deal with problems and to manage processes. This provides confidence to existing and potential customers, who know that they do not need to send their own auditors to check the management system, because it has been audited and certified by an independent organisation.

It is important to realise that ISO9001 does not impose a standard model for a quality management system. This is why we advise companies to avoid those consultants who offer an "off the shelf" quality manual and procedures, especially if they say they will also audit the system and issue an ISO9001 certificate. As every company is different and has a different way of managing, every quality management system is different. Furthermore, if the consultant also issues the certificate, he cannot be seen to provide an objective and unbiased assessment.

If you want advice on implementing a quality management system, or achieving ISO9001 certification, contact QES Connect Ltd.

There have been many definitions of quality, but the one that seems to be most useful is that created by 1980s quality expert Philip Crosby. He said that "Quality is Conformance to Requirements". This definition opens up a number of ways in which quality has to be achieved. Management sets requirements about how the business should operate, customers set requirements of what the product or service should be, and regulators set requirements about how the business should operate. A quality management system is therefore a means for communicating those requirements, for verifying that they have been met, and for taking action when they have not been met.

Crosby also came up with the expression "Price of Non-Conformance" which means the costs associated with not getting things right first time. Every time requirements are not met "right first time", there is some associated cost, however small. Therefore quality improvement is about identifying the causes of these "not right first time" events, and taking action to get it right next time the same event occurs. This may mean communication about the requirement, training, or new ways of doing the job that increase the chances of not getting it wrong.

The concept of mistake-proofing is one such way, where processes are designed to make it impossible to get things wrong. Examples range from objects shaped to prevent them being assembled the wrong way round, to databases that check the data being entered to reject incorrectly entered formats. Statistical process control is another tool that can be used to prevent errors, by identifying abnormal patterns of data that indicate that the process has something wrong with it.

All quality experts are agreed that management sets the agenda for quality. If management sends mixed messages about their intentions, quality will suffer. Exhortation to improve quality, without investment in equipment or training, is an example. Quality is the combined result of everyone conforming to requirements, and without leadership from management, the result will be disappointment.

If you want help with making quality part of your business, contact QES Connect.

Much publicity has been given to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which came into force on 1st October 2006. The order consolidates a lot of older legislation, but its main new effect is to do away with Fire Certificates issued by the Fire Service, and put responsibility on to building occupiers to carry out assessments of the risk of fire. The requirement for fire risk assessments is not new, having been in the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations for several years, so for most companies the new order should not impose a new requirement.

We have always included Fire as one of the hazards when carrying out risk assessments, and for most small businesses, this should meet the requirements of the regulations. Like all safety legislation and good practice, the emphasis is on prevention, so a fire risk assessment is about identifying how a fire might start, what might allow it to grow undetected, and what might prevent people escaping safely from the building. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, it does not require you to have all electrical equipment tested every year (although other legislation does require it to be regularly inspected), nor does it specify the types and numbers of fire extinguishers. All risk assessment is about understanding and managing the risks to people and your business, and fire risk assessment is not a big new issue for most businesses.

If you have previously relied on a fire certificate, or need more help with fire risk assessment, please contact QES Connect Ltd.

The Health & Safety Executive has issued a set of key principles about what risk assessment is about, after "health and safety" has been blamed for many petty and unnecessary rules.

Launching the principles at a children's sailing centre in north London in August, Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health & Safety Commission, said: "I'm sick and tired of hearing that 'health and safety' is stopping people doing worthwhile and enjoyable things when at the same time others are suffering real harm and even death as a result of mismanagement at work."

"Some of the 'health and safety' stories are just myths. There are also some instances where health and safety is used as an excuse to justify unpopular decisions such as closing facilities. But behind many of the stories, there is at least a grain of truth - someone really has made a stupid decision. We're determined to tackle all three. My message is that if you're using health and safety to stop everyday activities - get a life and let others get on with theirs."

This is a view that we at QES Connect Ltd fully endorse. Although risk assessment is an absolute requirement under the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations, the law does not require risks to be totally eliminated.

The HSE's principles for risk assessment are available on its website. In a separate statement, launching the new issue of the guidance leaflet, Five Steps to Risk Assessment, HSE's Deputy Chief Executive, Jonathan Rees, said: "We want to save lives, not tie businesses up in red tape - good risk assessment is the way to achieve this. Risk assessment is at the heart of sensible health and safety. We believe it should be a practical way of protecting people from real harm and suffering, not a bureaucratic back-covering exercise. On its own paperwork never saved a life, it needs to be a means to an end, resulting in actions that protect people in practice."

We hope that our clients appreciate our approach to risk assessment which is based on principles similar to those of the HSE. We always emphasis that the risk assessment itself does not improve safety unless the actions in it are implemented. For more advice on practical and pragmatic risk assessments, contact QES Connect.

We make no apology for returning to the issue of workplace transport safety, because if not well managed, the consequences can be serious for the people involved and their employers, as the following HSE press release shows.

"Site owners and managers are warned of the danger of moving vehicles after two companies were fined last week following a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Aggregate Industries UK Limited (Bardon Contracting division) and Tripod Crest Planing Limited were each fined £25,000 after pleading guilty to breaches of Sections 2(1) and 3(1) respectively of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at the Central Criminal Court in London on Friday 8th September.

HSE Inspector Alec Ferguson said, "Most of the men on site had worked together before. However, despite both Bardon and Tripod having recognised the risk of injury from reversing vehicles, and taking account of this in their method statements, the visiting lorry driver received no site induction about safe reversing from either company on site."

The incident occurred on South Lambeth Road, London SW8 on the night of 14 January 2003. Bardon Contracting employee Stephen Bood, aged 53, was marking a driveline on the road surface for the Tripod Planing machine to follow. With his back turned he did not see a lorry from Tripod's haulage subcontractor reversing towards him. The lorry ran over the length of Mr Bood's legs crushing them severely. Mr. Bood is still recovering from his injuries."

Source: HSE press release.

This time, it's not drivers talking on their mobiles that are causing problems, but tradesmen working at height.

TV DIY expert Tommy Walsh has joined forces with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to promote Height Aware, a campaign raising awareness of the dangers faced by people who operate at relatively low heights.

A survey of 150 trades people, who were questioned on behalf of the HSE at a recent building exhibition, reveals that one in three admit to putting their safety at risk by answering their mobile phones while working below head height. The same proportion of people routinely overreach to avoid moving their ladders during low-level work, and one in seven of those surveyed even admit to reaching dangerously to pick up a cup of tea on the job.

The survey also indicates that trades people routinely underestimate the risks associated with working below head height, believing it to be less dangerous than lifting heavy objects.

According to official HSE statistics, falling is the biggest cause of workplace fatalities. Last year, over 3,700 major injuries were recorded from falls at workplaces across the UK, with six in ten of those injuries coming as a result of working at below head height. Over the same period, 53 people died falling from a height at work, with seven of those working below head height.

Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive, comments, "The dangers involved in working at such low levels may seem less obvious to employees or small business owners - which is why raising awareness of them is all the more important. "

Source: HSE press release.

The offence only came to light after Agency officers investigated oil pollution seen in the River Orwell in the vicinity of Ranelagh Road, Ipswich. When they finally tracked it down to a haulage company yard on the Hadleigh Road industrial estate, they were shown a large quantity of oil-stained sawdust in the yard, a large oily puddle in the centre of the yard, and an oil sheen covering the entire area. In one corner of the yard, the tank could be seen with stained sawdust around it. The tank was propped on one side and a pipe was bent up against a wall in an apparent attempt to prevent further leakage. Even though the tank was close to a manhole and within 15m of a drain, there was no raised bunded area around the tank. A director of the company told Agency investigators that, three days earlier, the tank had been damaged by a forklift truck. They were also told that the tank had not been in use and was presumed to be empty or nearly empty. When the oil started leaking, sawdust was put down and left to dry. However, no report was made to the Agency, the company sought no professional clean-up advice, had no knowledge of how much oil had been spilt and did not inspect the nearby drains after the incident. The effects of the incident were still apparent three days after it had occurred - indicating that a significant quantity of oil had escaped.

Source; Environment Agency News Release.

For advice on environmental management systems that will help you identify such problems before they occur, contact QES Connect Ltd.

Next morning, there was another knock on the door. The householder opened the door, and there stood the same smartly dressed man with a briefcase.

"What do you want now?" asked the householder angrily.

"Well", said the smartly dressed man, "I've come to tell you that your car battery is flat because you didn't turn your lights off last night".

Are you ignoring the man on the doorstep?

Produced by QES Connect Ltd. Except where stated, the material included in the newsletter is taken from freely available public sources. It may be reproduced without permission for non-commercial purposes.