at work, if you thought employees were being forced to work to fast, and thus resulting in h+s issues occuring, purely because they were being forced to cut corners in there day to day duties,

what would you do?

is there a section in the hasawa that says employers cannot do this?...

 

what do you mean cut corners?

im a scaffolder and how the hse what me to work and how i wanna work are 2 completly different things

i wont do anything that i consider to be dangerous but people that dont do my job will feel differently

if there is no danger to anyone or anything then game on imo

 

id tell the workers to grow balls and tell the bosses theyre not willing to risk their own safety for the sake of a job.

 

get the lazy cunt to pull his finger out

 

well the company i work for are very h+s conscious, but it only seems they are that way on paper....or in the office.

as soon as it actually comes to the crunch, all they are interested in, is getting as much work out of the employees as possible.

they have recently up`d our working times (booked minuites in a day) and are now booking more and more work in to be completed.

the employees are in a difficult position, either it seems the work doesnt get done, or they have to cut corners to speed things up, and by doing this they are not complying with the h+s in the work place.

the workers have plenty of balls, and we are more than capable of doing the work,and we do everyday, because it suits the employer..... but it seems when we are QC`d we have to put on a show, the work takes much longer than normal, as we have to do everything by the book...we would never complete the work booked in if we worked like that all day!.

so my arguement is, thats wrong, as we shouldnt have to put on a show to carry out the correct h+s THAT THEY HAVE PUT IN PLACE! ,it should be like that all the time!

 

if they priced for how the BOOK says i should work then i would work this way


but


they are the same prices from a decade ago, so i will work how i did a decade ago

unless there is big wigs watching me

 

it just seems the employer wants more and more and more from us, (giving us more to do in less time) and it really is unrealistic that it can be done some days,

and yet as soon as anyone is spotted doing something to speed things up, they have a dig at us.



as today, we were about an hour behind schedule, so peolpe we waiting outside, we were all manic busy and had been all day, but to do our job to the correct standard and level they set, it takes a little time....

so i was going down the pit and pushed the pit jack under the truck, and i got moaned at beacause i didnt straighten my body, and stand straight to push the jack...

i mean ffs, we were stacked out the gates , what do they want from us all they need to do is not book so much fookin work in, at such close intervals...

they are forcing us to do these things,


if we dont finiish all the work in the small time set per test, we get moaned at.

if we work fast, and to do that things have to be done to speed the test up...we get moaned at.



like i said, if we work to the standard we need to, to pass a QC, we would only do around three quarters of our daily work...
so how do they think we can do it all? we certainly cant work to that standard and complete all the work....

 

theres comon sence and theres the REAL H&S, blocking fire escapes, water on floor ect is comon sence, lifting too heavy something all day is bad,, lifting it once aint a major issue

when we had health and saftey round we had to shut the fire doors,, and hang the fire exstiguishers that was holding the doors open back on, though when i was at for we wasnt allowed to plug in a extension lead for health and saftey, we had to call a maintanace man !!!! though that branch closed down due to not making a profit,, too busy worrying about health and saftey and other ways to get out of actually working !!!!

 

in the civil service everything should be done correctly all the time ginge, as i said they are hot on it...

but they wont give us the time to do it, we are forced to do things quickly...quickly isnt always safely....

 

health and safety is now a bigger industry then the industry it was designed to look after



i hate it


let me do my job

 

What is it you actually do?

 

thats for you to step up to the bosses,, but most bosses dont give a fuck,, my place is advertising for staff as 2 have left,, they are offering it at a LESS cash than last year due to " loads of people looking for work, employers market" thats nice aint it

also they aint giving any rises this year due to the current economic climate,, YET our targets are STILL higher this year over last ??? how the fuck can the targets go UP if they are claiming theres less money about being spent ?

in short most bosses are full of shite and say anything to keep anyone happy

ive been told off for telling our staff to check parts in boxes when they come back,,, they was told to IGNORE ME as there aint enough time

in 2 months we are 10k taken away from our bottom line due to customers returning OLD PARTS and getting credits for it,, now hes gotta control the waste parts and got no margin for error

some bosses just worry about how they look to the bigger bosses,,, but in reality give less of a shite about the actual job they are ment to do

 

I understand your issues and would never suggest putting anyone at risk or that anyone does get put at risk.

BUT

Have you looked at the bigger picture? Are the company trying to get more out of you because the people they provide goods/services to are demanding more from them? More efficiently? Quicker? at a cheaper cost?

In difficult times it not just the person on the shop floor who gets squeezed but management and the company too, only in my experience the people on the shop floor dont neccesarily see it that way.

We (my place of work) currently have more work than the current team I work in can handle, with more pressure being put on more senior people every day, which in turn means the lesser skilled and time served guys (like me) have to step up to the mark and carry out work the more senior guys would normally undertake. Ultimatly if we dont stuff doesn't get done, we dont get jobs built, we dont earn any money and I dont have a job.

Luckily for me actual bodily harm H+S issues dont affect me, but from a point of view of stress, restless nights and longer hours- it does....

Just my 2peneth

J

 

i cant really say who i work for on here, if you really cant guess pm me,

but my job is road safety, in a big way,

my daily decisions save lives...and flip, could cost lives should i get it wrong...

making us rush, and cut corners goes against the morals of my job imo...and im only trying to follow the rules THEY have set....

 

A snippet from my work stuff that may be a bit of bedtime reading!

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA)

Places Duties On:

• Employers
• Self Employed
• Employees
• Persons in Control of Premises
• Designers, Manufacturers, Suppliers
• Importers
• Erectors and Installers
• Other Persons

Duty To Employees (Section 2 HASAWA)

The duty of the employer is to ensure the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work of all his/her employees and includes:

• The provision and maintenance of safe plant and safe systems of work.
• Arrangements for the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances to ensure safety and absence of risk to health.
• Provision of information, instruction, training and supervision.
• Maintenance of the place of work and the access and egress so that they are safe.
• Provision and maintenance of a working environment which is safe and without risk to health.
• Adequate welfare facilities and arrangements.
• All the above are qualified by the term “So far as is reasonably practicable”. This is essentially a balance between cost and risk.

•
Safe Systems of Working (Section 2 (2) (a) HASAWA)

The Health and Safety at Work Act places a duty on the employer to provide and maintain a Safe System of Working. There are a number of fundamental elements of a Safety System of Work which include:

• Assessment of the task to be carried out.
• Identification of the risks involved.
• Task design and physical layout.
• Provision of competent and trained staff.
• Provision of warnings and notices.
• Issue of special instructions.
• Provision of adequate supervision.
• Monitoring to ensure compliance.

Duties To Other Persons Employers - Section 3 HASAWA


Employers and every self employed person have a duty to ensure that their undertakings do not adversely affect persons not in their employment.

Persons in Control of Premises - Section 4 HASAWA

Persons who are in control of premises also owe a duty to persons who may use the premises, the access or egress or any plant or substance provided for their use. The duty is for the persons in control of the premises to take reasonable measures to ensure the health and safety of persons using the premises etc.

Safety Policy(Section 2 (3) HASAWA)

Every employer must prepare a Safety Policy and revise it as often as necessary.

It should comprise: -

• A General Statement of Intent.
• Details of organisation (i.e. who is responsible for what).
• Arrangements for implementing the Policy (i.e. how risks are to be controlled).
• The Policy Statement should be signed by the Chief Executive.
• The Policy should be communicated to every employee.

Duties of Employees (Section 7 HASAWA)


Every employee must take reasonable care for his/her own Health and Safety and that of other persons who may be affected by his/her acts or omissions at work.
Employees must also co-operate with their employer to enable the employer to fulfil his obligations with regards to Health and Safety.

Legal Liability of Managers(Section 37 HASAWA)

All managers are employees and will, therefore, have duties as described in Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Section 37 of HASAWA, however, makes clear that in their role as director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, they may be deemed personally liable as well as the body corporate.
Liability could arise where an offence is committed with their CONSENT or CONNIVANCE, or if it is attributable to their NEGLECT.





Offences Due to the Fault of Others(Section 36 HASAWA)

Where a person commits an offence which is due to the act or default of some other person, then that other person shall be guilty of the offence, and may be charged and convicted for the offence whether the person who committed the original offence is charged or not.


Duties of Designers, Manufacturers Etc (Section 6 HASAWA)

Articles


Any person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work has certain duties which include: -

• Ensuring that the article is designed and constructed to be safe etc, when it is set, used, cleaned and maintained.
• Ensuring the carrying out of tests where necessary.
• Ensuring that adequate information is provided about the use etc, and about any conditions that apply when it is being dismantled or disposed of.
• Ensuring that the information provided is revised when necessary.

Duties of Manufacturers, Importers Or Suppliers (Section 6 HASAWA)
Substances


Any person who manufactures, imports or supplies any substance has certain duties, which include:

• Ensuring that the substance will be safe etc. when it is used, handled, processed, stored or transported.
• Ensuring that adequate information is provided about its use, handling etc. and any conditions necessary when it is disposed of.
• Ensuring that revisions of such information are provided when necessary.

Duties of Erectors and Installers(Section 6 HASAWA)

It is the duty of any person who erects or installs any article for use by persons at work to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that nothing about the way in which it is erected or installed makes it unsafe or a risk to health when properly used.








Duties of Other Persons (Section 8 HASAWA)

No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare.


These Regulations were the most important of the 6 health and safety Regulations which became law on 1 January 1993, the first day of our full membership of the European Union (EU).
In many respects MHSW can be compared to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) in that it is concerned with health and safety management in general terms, whereas the 5 other Regulations introduced on 1 January 1993 addressed specific areas/aspects of Health and Safety.
The Directives from the EU, which required us to enact these Regulations, referred to a ‘Framework Directive’ with 5 ‘Daughter Directives’. The MHSW Regulations are the UK’s interpretation of the EU ’Framework Directive’, with the 5 remaining directives (and our ratifying Regulations) covering Display Screen Equipment, Manual Handling, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare, and The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations respectively.
It can be seen, therefore, that the MHSW Regulations expand upon the requirements and principles of our Health and Safety at Work Act and complement it by ‘fleshing out’ the requirements of the earlier legislation.
In December 1999, the MHSW Regulations were re-issued to reflect the experience of their first 6 years of operation. The notes that follow incorporate the 1999 version.
There are a number of separate ‘Regulations’ within MHSW. Each regulation stands alone, although it can be seen that there is some interaction/overlap. The Regulations are summarised:

Regulation 3 - Risk Assessment


This is the first time that employers have been formally required to produce risk assessments, although risk assessment is fundamental to health and safety.
The requirement is to develop a risk assessment and to publish it if the workforce exceeds 4 persons (NOTE for Network Rail this is 2 persons). The assessment may be kept on an electronic system, but it must be immediately available if a statutory inspector or elected H & S representative wishes to see it. The risk assessment, including the measures to eliminate or ameliorate the dangers highlighted in it, must be communicated to every employee.
The Regulations call for the assessment to be ‘suitable and sufficient’; it must address risks to employees and to any other person who might be affected by the manner in which the business is conducted.
It is important to ‘rank’ risks so that management attention is focussed upon those with the greatest potential for harm. It is important to ensure that operatives have an input to the risk assessment process, recognising that they will know of risks which might not be apparent to management.


Regulation 4 – Principles of Prevention to be Applied

The code of practice covering the MHSW Regulations contained a hierarchy of measures to be followed in managing risk. The effect of this additional regulation introduced in December 1999 is to make adherence to this hierarchy of measures mandatory.

The hierarchy is:

• Avoiding risks.
• Evaluating risks which cannot be avoided.
• Combating risks at source.
• Adapting work to the individual especially as regards the design of workplaces, the choice of equipment and the choice of working and production methods, with a view in particular to alleviating monotonous work and work at a ‘predetermined’ work rate and to reducing their effect on health.
• Adapting to technical progress.
• Replacing the dangerous by the non dangerous or less dangerous.
• Developing a coherent overall prevention policy covering technology, organisation of work, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of factors relating to the working environment.
• Giving collective protection measures priority over individual protective measures.
• Giving appropriate instructions to employees.

Regulation 5 - Health and Safety Arrangements


This Regulation does not impose a new requirement upon employers. Rather it underlines the importance of keeping every aspect of health and safety, in particular management and monitoring systems under continual review.
If the organisation has a Safety Policy in compliance with Section 2(3) of HASAWA, which is regularly reviewed, updated and is properly communicated to every employee, this should satisfy Regulation 5.
The Policy should be reviewed/reissued at least every 2 years, more often if company arrangements for health and safety, or changes in health and safety law necessitate.

Regulation 6 - Health Surveillance

Calls for the provision of health surveillance for any employee or group of employees, whose work is such that they are exposed to risks to their health.
Usually such cases will have already been identified in order to comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 (COSHH), although an increasing area of concern regarding Health in the Construction industry is HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome).



This Regulation now makes the appointment of one or more ‘competent’ Safety Advisors mandatory for every employer; employers must ensure that those appointed are provided with all the information necessary to enable them to carry out their work effectively.
Those appointed may be employees or consultants or both. Although the 1999 update to MHSW enjoins employers to appoint competent advisors from within their own workforce in preference to using external expertise, if they have employees who are competent. The task of those appointed is to advise and guide the employer in complying with health and safety legislation.

Regulation 8 - Procedures for Imminent Danger and Danger Areas

Clearly, not new, but a timely reminder to keep procedures for serious and imminent danger (e.g. fire/bomb threat) under review. In the railway environment, procedures for danger areas (e.g. working on or near the line) have, of course, always existed.

Regulation 9 – Contacts with External Services

Regulation 9 was introduced in December 1999 and requires employers to establish any contacts deemed necessary with ‘external services’, e.g. First Aid, Emergency Medical Care and Rescue Work.

Regulation 10 - Information for Employees


Requires employers to provide ‘comprehensible and relevant’ information to their employees about their risk assessment (Regulation 3), the measures in place to combat the risks, and about their procedures for dealing with serious and imminent danger. They must also be told which staff have key roles in implementing these procedures, e.g. fire wardens.



Regulation 11 - Co-operation and Co-ordination

Where 2 or more employers share a workplace, each must co-operate with the others in respect to compliance with health and safety law, and share information about the risks inherent in their respective businesses.
There are clear implications in this Regulation for the railway now that in many areas, for example stations, a number of different employers might share a workplace.

Regulation 12 - Persons Working On Host Employers or Self-Employed Persons Undertaking

Essentially this requires a host employer not only to fully brief the management of any contractor about to commence work on his premises about the health and safety arrangements, but to ensure that the contractors employees are also thoroughly briefed - in particular about risks, the emergency arrangements, and the identity of those staff who are nominated to manage them.

Regulation 13 - Capabilities and Training

It is the duty of an employer to ensure that his employees are capable of performing the work expected of them. In particular they must provide health and safety training to staff on joining (induction), whenever their work or work circumstances change - including being promoted. This training must be repeated when appropriate.

Regulation 14 - Employees Duties

In addition to the general duty laid upon every employee by the Health and Safety at Work Act to look after themselves and other persons who might be affected by their acts or omission at work, and to co-operate with their employer in all the measures the employer takes to comply with his health and safety duty, this Regulation explicitly requires employees to use all their work tools and equipment in accordance with the training in its use which they have been given.
In addition they must report the following:

• Any serious or imminent danger they become aware of.
• Any other aspect of their employers health and safety arrangements which they believe could be improved.

Regulation 15 - Temporary Workers

It temporary staff are employed - whether through employment agencies or directly, there must be adequate information provided to those so employed about the skills/experience necessary for the job they will be expected to do, and about the health and safety culture and arrangements of the company.
If the work will necessitate their being given health screening, or where PPE will be required, this must be explained to them before joining.
Where temporary staff are hired through an agency, this information must be given to the agency to pass on to the selected/nominated individuals; where the employment is ‘direct’, this information must be provided in advance directly to the temporary staff.
All the above must take place before temporary employment commences


Regulations 16-18 – New or Expectant Mothers and Children and Young Persons

As the title suggests, these regulations recognise the extra or additional workplace risks to which new/expectant mothers, children and young people might be exposed.


New/Expectant Mothers


Every employer who employs women of reproductive capacity must carry out a risk assessment to determine whether any of the work tasks in his operations do or would pose risks to new or expectant mothers and/or the unborn child. This assessment must be in place in readiness, i.e. before a declaration of pregnancy occurs, so that it can be applied immediately such a pregnancy notification is made.

Children and Young People


Children - Persons between 14-16
Young People - Persons between 17-18

Special consideration of the factors listed below should be given to work which is to be done by children or young people.
If children are to be employed, the parent or guardian must be provided with a copy of the risk assessment and details of the measures to be taken to combat the risks identified.

Factors:

• Keenness; anxiety to please; reluctance to ask questions.
• Susceptibility to the influence of older / experienced workers.
• Tendency to commence working before being adequately trained.

A number of work operations/processes are prescribed for young people; also they may not work in places or all operations where extremes of temperature occur or where strength is a prerequisite.

 

i did look through it earlier lol...

 

things like this happen everyday in every type of job , it depends on EVERYONES outlook on the issue imo ,

if u were offered job n knock , u would do wot u needed to to get the job done !!?

now companies i worked for norm have a good union (always join imo) it then becomes more of a unified work force if there are H&S issues u should have a rep to address any of them that are raised , this is a big advantage when the workforce are feeling like they are being pushed unreasonably , then a "work to rule" will just be implimented thus slowing things down but doin them properly , every company knows that ACTUAL figures done arent done working to rule , so tend to leave be but they will always want a little more , it there job tho , its a circle really ,

double standards ? YES

but thats the way it is ime

 

Personally, i would say that if the employer was creating a dangerous working environment by forcing its employees to work beyond their means or in such a way that may lead to a dangerous occurance then it is definatley a H&S issue. It is the employers responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for all of its staff, if this is breached they are at fault and can result in court/fines. Its just the case of if the employee(s) do anything about it and bring it to their attention

 

if people followed h+s to the book work would never get done especially in the building trade you would waste so much time checkin things are safe to use etc. imo

personally i will climb onto a door 8 or 9 metres high if i have to to get the job done but i would never ask my labourer to do it because im covering my back if anything went wrong, as long as ur working in a safe manner theres no probs