HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE E11:98
Two new linked documents to help firms in the rubber industry improve health and safety training have been published by the Health and Safety Commission''s Advisory Committee for the rubber industry (RUBIAC).
They are being launched at half day seminars at the end of January in Scotland, Manchester, Wolverhampton, the South West and beginning on the 23rd January at the London School of Polymer Technology. These events are free and will provide detailed information and experience of the training material directly. While focusing on the hazards within the rubber industry, the pack will also be of value to other industries and a more generic pack is being produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for later in the year.
After the guidance and the pack have been published, HSE inspectors will be looking at the extent to which dangerous working conditions such as machinery guarding defects and unsafe systems of work have arisen from inadequate training. They will then be expecting firms to address the underlying training issues as well as the physical manifestations.
Geoff Cox, the Principal Inspector and Secretary to RUBIAC who co-ordinates HSE''s work in the rubber industry said: "Poor health and safety training has been identified as a possible cause of the rubber industry''s high accident rates. Training your staff in the health and safety aspects of their work isn''t an option; it is a legal requirement."
The first document makes the case for the necessity of health and safety training and covers costs, legal requirements and employment-related benefits as well as identifying methods of training. These methods relate to both job-specific skills (as provided by NVQ-type qualifications) and the knowledge that supports skills training concerning the understanding of safety management systems, roles and responsibilities, hazards, and principles of the most common control strategies (such as those concerning noise and manual handling).
The second document "Health and Safety Training Package for the Rubber Industry" enables companies to run their own in-house training on the ''supporting knowledge'' agenda described above. It includes guidance on how to run training sessions, 23 activities (lasting up to 90 minutes) with briefing notes, overheads and exercises included, and ten summary sheets detailing the relevant law for different job roles from executives to maintenance staff. There is also an activity selector which helps firms to decide which topics they most need to cover.
It is a comprehensive package, designed with small and medium-sized enterprises in mind, enabling economical in-house training. Trainers from the industry, trade unions and a consultancy together with HSE staff have all contributed to this RUBIAC package which has been successfully piloted during its development.
Note to Editors:
1. Journalists wishing to attend one of the seminars can book a place through the British Polymer Training Association bookings service. Their direct telephone number is 01952 681858.
Copies of the Health and safety training package for the rubber industry, ISBN 0 7176 24048, price #50.00 are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 6FS, tel: 01787 881165 or fax: 01787 313995. The Guidance on Training, (ISBN 0 7176 1458 1) part of the complete package, is available separately fo #6.00. Priced publications are also available from good booksellers.
PUBLIC ENQUIRIES: write to: HSE Information Centre, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ.
# = pounds sterling
