Kilmarnock College Paper 3 Kilmarnock College Annual Health, Safety & Wellbeing Report 2010-2011
CONTENTS Introduction 2 Executive Summary 3 Health and Safety Planning 3 Health and Safety Management System 3 Advice and Support 4 The Role of the Health and Safety Facilitator 5 Health and Safety Training 5 Student Placements 6 Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee 6 Consultation/Task groups 7 Policies and Guidance 7 Accident and Incidents 8 Health and Wellbeing 9 Enforcement Agencies 9 Future Direction 9 1
Health, Safety & Wellbeing Annual Report: 2010-2011 Introduction The annual Health, Safety and Wellbeing report provides a summary of the College s health and safety performance for the 2010/11 academic year. This report provides an overview of the work carried out by and on behalf of Kilmarnock College. It highlights key projects undertaken, issues considered over the past year, and reflects on Human Resource Services performance against the Kilmarnock College and Human Resources Operating Plans. It also provides a summary of incident statistics for the period 2010-2011, based on the number of incident reports submitted to the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor. The College has continued to raise awareness of a range of Health, Safety and Wellbeing issues during the year through updates, publications and identification of significant seminars. Wherever possible, the College has sought to collaborate with other agencies working in the area of Health & Safety, and to engage in joint projects that would benefit the FE sector. This report also provides a summary of work that is currently on-going or planned for the future. The College will continue to align its future Health & Safety activities to changes taking place within the sector and nationally. Following the report by Dame Carol Black, Working towards a Healthier Tomorrow, the College has begun to encompass a broader remit to include the concept of well-being, and work has commenced on including wellbeing as a key indicator in the Health & Safety Plan for beyond 2011 based on the HSE Strategy. Regulator Action and Visits The College received several visits from the Health and Safety Executive as the result of a serious incident in April 2011. The case was referred to the Procurator Fiscal s Office and remains outstanding. The College s Insurers also carried out statutory inspections throughout the year. Legislation and Guidance The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) also revoked the self certification sick note and replaced it with the new statement of Fitness to work. The purpose of the change is to encourage people to remain at work with adjustments if required. September 2011 saw amendments to the RIDDOR reporting legislation. The reporting period is now extended from three to seven days. 2
Executive Summary There have been a number of issues the College has tackled during the period under review. During the period 2010-2011 the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Adviser (HSWA) has utilised the College, Human Resource Services Operational Plan and individual KPIs to identify priorities and provide focus. Within the reporting period all Safety Policies have been reviewed and are now available through the staff extranet site. During this period, there were a number of familiarisation visits by Fire Precautions enforcement officers. The annual HR Operating Plan provides a yearly focus on immediate health and safety priorities; and is subject to change where it is felt that immediate matters require immediate action. Health and Safety Planning Planning is a crucial part of any organisation s strategy for progress and forward thinking. Health and Safety is a subject that requires planning to enable priorities to be identified and progress monitored. The use of an annual HR Services Operating Plan has been extremely useful to the College in providing direction and focus over a shorter period, impact is measured through KPIs. The annual plan is constructed with Health, Safety and Wellbeing priorities identified on a risk assessment basis and linked to national targets for the further education sector. Monitoring the progress of the plan is undertaken via several sources, the Senior Management Team (SMT) the Organisational Development Committee (OD) and the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee with regular update reports from the Estates Management Group. It is crucial for the success of the plan that identified priorities are realistic, achievable and can be discharged within the allocated time and resources. Health and Safety Management System The Safety Management Template, has been tailored to include a defined set of standards for safety management. The new template is based on HASMAP (Health and Safety Management Profile). HASMAP is similar to the HSE model for Successful Health and Safety Management which sets out a comprehensive management system for effective risk control. The HASMAP indicators address the 4 indicators that are essential to a well founded health and safety management system. The indicators are: 3
Commitment: Commitment of the senior people in any organization is recognized as an essential element of good health and safety practice. Organising: Organising is regarded as consisting of four inter related and interdependent set of arrangements i.e. control, co-operation, communication and competence. Planning and risk control: There should be an effective procedure for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control. Measuring and reviewing performance: There should be arrangements for monitoring the management of health and safety in the organization against pre determined plans and meaningful performance standards. Advice and Support The primary health and safety advice resource for the College is provided by the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor (HSWA) who advises on all aspects of health, safety and wellbeing for both staff and students. The HSWA s core work involves: The provision of advice and support Health and safety management audits Safety inspections Accident investigations Assessing new and proposed health and safety legislation and its impact on the College Consulting on health and safety policies and procedures Attending relevant meetings and committees Development and circulation of guidance on a variety of health and safety related subjects Provision of statistics and appropriate reports for committees, local site health and task groups Liaising on first aid matters including First Aider training Administration of the Display Screen Eye Training and support Health and safety training - General Supporting Departmental Health and Safety Facilitators Liaising with the Occupational Health Provider The Role of the Health and Safety Facilitator Although the Health and Safety Advisor strives to meet customer demands, there is no substitute for day to day advice and support from within a department. Therefore, during the period 2010-2011 a number of curriculum and service staff were nominated by their managers to become Departmental Health and Safety Facilitators. 4
This important role provides extra support at departmental level for the advisory element of the health and safety management system. Departmental Health and Safety Facilitators support and advise staff and managers and assist them in discharging their health and safety responsibilities. They report to the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee on departmental issues and ensure that regular inspections of workplaces are undertaken. Health and Safety Training The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor delivered and facilitated total of 12 Health and Safety and Wellbeing courses during this reporting period. The courses run throughout the academic year and were available to all staff groups. Courses were scheduled to benefit students and staff and to coincide with CPD days in February, June and August. As departments became familiar with the need for safety compliance, managers and leaders requested dedicated /bespoke courses. Some of the training courses offered are detailed below: First Aid 9 members of staff attended during June Emergency First Aid 15 members of staff attended during June Electrical Safety 6 members of staff attended in Sept Conflict Management / Personal Safety 30 members of staff attended in August Health and Safety Awareness 27 members of staff attended in August /Sept Working Safely - 40 members of staff attended the course in June and August Stress Management (Dr. Mason Brown) 15 members of staff attended in August Stress Management (Susan Chan) 9 members of staff attended in August Food Safety 11 members of staff attended in Sept Risk Assessment (theory and practice) 6 departmental workshops were delivered Fire Safety (theory and practice) 11 members of staff attended in Sept ROSPA Manual and Handling 1 member of staff attended in June Machinery and Equipment - 6 members of staff attended in Sept In addition to the traditional training courses offered, a range of e-learning modules are now available for staff on the extranet site. Managers may request their staff groups to undertake dedicated courses through the staff PDR process. Student Placements Health and safety risk assessments are provided for all students undertaking a placement with an external organisation. Host organisations are asked to complete and return a Health and Safety Statement before students are permitted to participate. 5
Scotland s Colleges are evaluating a simplified system for paperwork and vetting of host organisations. Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee The College Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee is formed under statute and is the principal consultation forum on health and safety within the College. The committee meets bi monthly and is chaired by the Director of Organisational Development. Membership represents all work groups, trade unions and also includes student representation. The following provides an illustration of the principal issues dealt with by the committee during the 2010-11 academic years: Discussion on annual and termly accident reports. Received overview of the Health & Safety management audit. Discuss impact of legislative changes. Advise on the College Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy. Advise on amendments to existing forms and documents. Informed of the progress of the asbestos identification and management action plan. Monitored progress on the College s Annual Operating Plan. Considered building security in respect of staff and student personal safety. Consultation/Task Groups The College has an extensive consultation framework in respect of Health, Safety and Wellbeing. Excluding the main Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee there is the Facilities Management Working Group, the Policies Group, the Fire Action Group and the Wellbeing Action Group. From time to time task groups are formed to deal with specific subjects that require more additional thought and consideration. Task groups ensure that the College receives good quality practical advice on meeting its statutory obligations that utilises the available resources in the right way. Consultation with staff and student representation on significant issues has taken place either in task groups or during the main Committee meeting The Facilities Management Group will continue to provide operational reports which will form part of the agenda of the College Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee. 6
Policies and Guidance In order to support the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy, a health and safety manual has been developed which covers all the key areas of health and safety. The manual identifies key staff in the health and safety management structure and contains specific duties and responsibilities. The document also includes relevant guidance and advice notes relevant to the College s work. The manual will be updated periodically to maintain its relevance to the College s risk rating and structure. All Health, Safety and Wellbeing documents can be found on the staff extranet site, under the heading of HR Services, followed by Health and Safety, as shown in the extracts shown below: During this reporting period, all Policies were reviewed and two new items introduced as shown below. Personal Safety Awareness (Lone Working) Policy 6 Monthly Management Inspection Reports In addition to the revised policies, staff groups have requested a range of generic risk assessments, which are now uploaded and available through the staff extranet site as shown above. Accident and Incidents The College is required by statute to record and maintain records of accidents that occur in connection with its work, learning and teaching. Quarterly accident reports are compiled for submission and scrutiny by the Senior Management Team, Organisational Development Committee, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee and the Estates Management Group. To date, comparing statistics has been difficult largely due to the varying nature of recording; some Colleges use the HSE method of incident recording, whilst others 7
favour different methodology. The College system mirrors that of the HSE accident reporting system. During this reporting period, there were 66 incidents reported to the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor. Eight of which were medical related illness, these type of incidents are not normally recognised in a typical workplace reporting system; however because of the nature of the College environment, we have included medical ratios for trend analysis purposes. Figure 1 provides details of the incidents reported within this period. Other covers Near Misses, Dangerous Occurrences. No incidents involved any member of the public. Two incidents were reported to the HSE. Figure 1: Incident Figures Sept 2010 Sept 2011 Month Total Number of incidents Staff Student Contractor HSE RIDDOR Medical Related Incident Violent Incidents Sept 2010 15 2 12 1 2 1 Oct 2010 4 4 2 Nov 2010 12 1 11 1 Dec 2010 2 1 1 1 Jan 2011 3 3 1 Feb 2011 8 1 7 1 Mar 2011 5 5 Apr 2011 1 1 1 May 2011 2 2 June 2011 0 1 Aug 2011 1 1 Sept 2011 13 13 2 2 Total for Period Other 66 5 60 1 2 8 3 2 Health and Wellbeing Events The College is progressing and gathering materials for the Healthy Working Lives Bronze Award. It is anticipated that the portfolio will be completed before the year end. Meanwhile, the College promotes Health and Wellbeing through a six monthly programme with topics which include: Weight Management, Salsa Dance, Tai-Chi, Stress Management Techniques and a range of other practical applications. 8
Enforcement Agencies The College is still one of the largest local community employers and is subject to a substantial number of statutory regulations. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the College to be the subject of visits and inspections by a number of enforcement agencies. Ensuring a positive relation with enforcement agencies have reduced the potential for enforcement action. The following summarises the visits to the College by relevant enforcement bodies during the period under review. Fire Authorities (Strathclyde Fire and Rescue) undertook routine familiarisation visits, with no fire alarm outs during this period. Environmental Health Services (East Ayrshire Council) visited the main campus and was satisfied with the services provided. Health and Safety Executive visited the College in April 2011 as the result of a serious incident involving a member of the Motor Vehicle Staff. The College is still awaiting the outcome of the HSE s investigation. Future Direction The College and Human Resources Operating Plans identify the principal areas for future direction. Key performance indicators are used to track how the College is doing in terms of achieving goals including Health and Safety goals. These indicators are used as a way of collecting data and communicating trends relating to safety. Leading indicators serve as a predictive indicator of future performance. To track our safety performance, some key leading performance indicators include the number of audits and inspections undertaken on a monthly basis, the number of findings and types of findings, the time frame required resolving any issues, training completed, the number of near miss incidents relating to safety and the track record on timely completion of preventive maintenance. The College undertake dynamic assessments as needed and are complying with current HSE thinking that risk assessments should be user friendly and should not be used to prevent anyone undertaking an activity. In light of Lord Young s report earlier in 2011 and the Lofsted Report which ended its consultation period at the end of October 2011. Both reports focus on the need to reduce the burden of Health and Safety on employers. The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor will continue to monitor the amendment bills as they progress through Parliament and update the Senior Management Team accordingly. 9
In conclusion, the Health and Safety culture within the College has notably improved. Managers and staff are involved in taking decisions about their health and safety and are safer and healthier as the result. Future reporting systems will provide outcomes of key performance indicators and year or year trend analysis. Liz Burley Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor November 2011 10