Health and Safety at Work For Dummies, UK Edition

Making mistakes in many areas of health and safety can be both incredibly dangerous and hugely costly. So what can you do to avoid hazards and expensive, time-consuming legal battles? That's where Health & Safety at Work For Dummies comes in. Cutting through the clutter, it provides you with the practical, must-know information you need to ensure your workplace is a suitably safe environment that complies with government health and safety rules and regulations.

Did you know that in 2014, 1.2 million working people suffered from work-related illnesses, 2,535 mesothelioma deaths occurred due to past asbestos exposure and 133 workers were killed on the job? The list goes on – and the statistics are staggering. Health & Safety at Work For Dummies shows you how to keep your employees safe from becoming another statistic in this frightening data. Arming you with critical information needed to adhere to health and safety regulations, it offers expert guidance on managing and implementing health and safety in your business, controlling workplace risks, going the extra mile in following orders and much more.

• Offers an easy-to-follow overview for getting started with health and safety
• Provides tips and advice for planning your health and safety management
• Includes guidance on monitoring and reviewing your health and safety systems
• Clearly demonstrates how to organize and motivate your workforce to comply with rules and regulations

You can't afford to run a business that doesn't provide a safe work environment. Be smart, safe and proactive with the help of this essential guide.

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started with Health and Safety at Work 5

Chapter 1: Making Sense of Health and Safety in the Workplace 7

Chapter 2: Setting Your Health and Safety Policy 23

Chapter 3: Engaging Your Workforce with Health and Safety 47

Chapter 4: Assessing Health and Safety Risks in the Workplace 69

Chapter 5: Getting Your House in Order 89

Part II: Managing and Implementing Health and Safety in Your Business 107

Chapter 6: Moving to a Recognised Safety Management System 109

Chapter 7: Developing Safe Systems and Procedures 121

Chapter 8: Monitoring and Reviewing Health and Safety in the Workplace 135

Part III: Controlling Workplace Risks 159

Chapter 9: Tackling Behaviour‐Based Issues: Workplace Woes 161

Chapter 10: Harnessing Gravity and Managing Workplace Transport 177

Chapter 11: Unpacking Manual Handling and Other Ergonomic Risks 197

Chapter 12: Working Safely with Machinery 215

Chapter 13: Shocking Truths: Electrical Safety 233

Chapter 14: Fanning the Flames: Fire Risk 251

Chapter 15: Getting the Chemistry Right: Controlling Hazardous Substances 271

Chapter 16: Making Waves: Tackling Noise, Vibration and Radiation 291

Part IV: Going the Extra Mile 309

Chapter 17: Wrestling with Health and Safety Law 311

Chapter 18: Developing a Positive Safety Culture: Factoring in

Human Behaviour 331

Chapter 19: Cracking Process Safety 349

Part V: The Part of Tens 363

Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Get Risk Assessment Wrong 365

Chapter 21: Ten Neat Tools to Help You Assess Risks and Choose Controls 375

Chapter 22: Ten Great Health and Safety Websites 385

Index 391

Established in 1928, RRC International has a reputation for training excellence throughout the world, offering Health, Safety and Environment courses including those accredited by NEBOSH, IOSH and IEMA.

Learn to:

• Plan your health and safety management
• Organise and motivate your workforce to comply with rules and regulations
• Monitor and review your health and safety systems

Get a health & safety plan in place to avoid dangerous and costly mistakes

Are you complying with health and safety regulations in the workplace? This authoritative guide provides critical information needed to adhere to health and safety regulations. It also offers expert help on ensuring workplace safety, controlling health risks, following regulations, and more.

• Put health and safety in its place – lead, train, and empower your workforce while boosting your profits and staying legal
• Remove the risk – get to know the triggers for violence, indicators for stress and signs of drug and alcohol abuse
• Manage machinery – drill down into hazards, control risks, make safeguards count, train your team and restrict use appropriately
• Fan the flames – discover common causes and accelerant factors of fire, assess risk and select options for fire prevention and protection
• Get the chemistry right – understand chemical health risks, store chemicals safely, and find out how to deal with asbestos

Open the book and find:

• The role of insurance in managing risks
• Why you should develop emergency procedures
• What you need to know about electrical hazards
• How to deal with noise and vibration
• Strategies to control radiation hazards
• Steps for sticking to legal guidelines
• How to anticipate human error and violations