Help Beat Cancer, without running a step of the Great North Run

This month on the 18th September, Corporate Risk System’s Richard Ball, takes on 54,000 other runners in Newcastle and Gateshead’s Great North Run. The 13.1 miles billed as the world’s most iconic half-marathon on the planet, is a great opportunity our the Head of Environment to put all his many miles of training into practice. His training runs are based around many of the CRS venues including his home area of Cannock Chase near Burton on Trent and across the country including York, Colchester, Reading, London and Durham.

This year Richard is running for Cancer Research a disease that in the UK, affects one in three people at some point in their lives. Every year, over 285,000 people are diagnosed with the disease, about the population of Reading. Many people believe that getting cancer is purely down to genes, fate or bad luck. But through scientific research, we know that our risk actually depends on a combination of our genes, our environment and aspects of our lives, many of which we can control.

Working in the environmental and occupational health sector, safety practioners understand the importance of risk management in areas such as asbestos, petro-chemicals or those staff working outside with higher levels of exposure to UV light all of which have the potential to increase cancer rates which is why Cancer Research seems a fitting cause. The HSE provides a range of guides on these areas so just click on the links for more information.
Cancer Research UK also advises that up to half of cases could be prevented by lifestyle changes, such as:

• not smoking
• cutting back on alcohol
• keeping a healthy body weight
• eating a healthy, balanced diet
• keeping active
• staying safe in the sun
  

So whether you choose to sponsor Richard, with whatever amount you can at www.runningsponsorme.org/richardball , review your organisation’s risk management programme for carcinogens or by moderating your lifestyle a little and promoting it with others, through a work wellness programme; you could help reduce the numbers who get diagnosed with Cancer each year without running a step of the Great North Run.

If your running in this years Great North run yourself why not give us a tweet @CRS_RISK

RIDDOR reporting extension to seven (7) days gets the green light

The reporting period for injuries sustained at work is to be extended from three to seven days, following analysis of responses to the consultation on RIDDOR carried out earlier this year.

At a meeting of the HSE Board today (17 August), it was decided to recommend to the Work and Pensions Secretary that the proposed change to reg.3(2) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 be carried into effect. The decision was based on 776 finalised responses to the consultation – held between February and May this year – among which there was a two-to-one majority in favour of the change.

According to the HSE, a majority of respondents felt the change would not have an adverse consequence on national statistics. Other positive key themes identified from the consultation were that administration burdens will be reduced; aligning the reporting period with that required under the new fit-note system will make sickness absence easier to manage; and the extended period will allow more time for employers to investigate the incident internally.

Concerns highlighted by those against the change included the likelihood of a negative impact on the health and safety culture of organisations, leading to a lowering of standards; less opportunity for duty-holders and regulators to spot trends and incidents that could have resulted in more serious injuries; and overall less compliance with RIDDOR – under which around half of all non-fatal workplace injuries currently go unreported.

Around 8 per cent of respondents felt the change would have no advantage for either their organisation, or the national health and safety system. A number of others, including IOSH, the CBI and trades unions, while supporting the change, called for a fuller review of the Regulations.  To this end, the HSE has signalled its intention to look at wider issues surrounding RIDDOR 12 months after the current amendment comes into effect, which is likely to be from 6 April next year.

Jason Cropper, a regulatory lawyer and director at DWF, said the move could mean that health and safety will no longer be at the forefront of duty-holders’ minds. Echoing his colleague Steffan Groch, who spoke on the proposed changes to RIDDOR at the SHP Legal Arena at the NEC in May, Mr Cropper said: “I think this change will diminish what health and safety is about, and affect how seriously it is taken in organisations.

“The quality of data collection, too, will be poorer, which will cause the HSE all sorts of problems. It will be less able to understand trends in injuries and occurrences and therefore affect how it strategically targets resources over the medium to long term.”

Given that under-reporting of injuries and incidents is already a huge problem, Mr Cropper said the change to the over-seven-day period is likely to make things “significantly worse”.

The HSE’s chief statistician, however, assured the board that the regulator would still be able to spot trends “for the whole of the workforce and each sector, and feed these into the HSE’s planning process.

To discuss the implication for your business, call CRS on 01283 509175 or via the links at www.crsrisk.com

What are the differences between the old Level 4 NVQ and the new Level 5 NVQ Diploma?

The latest Occupational Safety and Health Practice NVQ standards (now called the ‘Level 5 NVQ Diploma in Health and Safety’ 3654-05) were developed with Proskills and other awarding organisations to replace the previous standard (3644-40) with effect from April 2011. This is part of a regular evolution of the standards, which takes place every few years in the same way as the periodic changes to driving tests.

The new standards are aligned with the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), which is the framework for all recognised qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Qualifications are made up of units that are worth ‘Credits’.  The Level 5 NVQ Diploma in Health and Safety is worth 108 credits; each credit representing ten hours of work.

There are still ten Units, which are numbered 401, 501-508 and 601.  There have been minor amendments and changes to some of the ‘Assessment Criteria’ (formerly Performance Criteria) to reflect continual improvements, and these are available through the secure area of our website for enrolled candidates.

Candidates currently working towards the 3644-40 standard are assured that the qualification they are pursuing is at the same standard as the new Level 5 Diploma, and that when they have achieved their NVQ, they are eligible to apply to IOSH for Chartered Membership through the IPD route as previously.  There is no need to ‘upgrade’ from your current level 4 qualification to the new standard as some candidates have asked.  Candidates on 3644-40 should complete their work and have it assessed by 31 December 2013.

This summary provides the key changes to the NVQ qualification; you should contact your mentor should you have further questions.

Andrew Arkinstall CMIOSH
Centre Co-ordinator

Stephen Asbury's SHP article "Just the Job", August 2011

Stephen Asbury of CRS has written two (2) articles in recent months, both published in ‘SHP’ magazine, the official journal of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health IOSH, for Health.  Together, these articles advise safety, health, and environmental Practitioners how to properly apply for, and how to be successfully interviewed for a job in the SHE sector.
Stephen’s view are highly practical in that they are based on his experiences of short-listing and interviewing for Corporate Risk Systems Limited (CRS) during a recruitment campaign earlier this year.
The first article can be downloaded for review here , and the second article is available here Page 1, Page 2 and Page 3. Both articles have received rave reviews by practitioners, and are now in extensive use in schools, colleges, and private sector training providers for educating students on how to be successful in this regard.
Both articles feature prominently on the SHP website, and can also be reviewed here [links below].
http://www.shponline.co.uk/features-content/full/career-development-situations-vacant
http://www.shponline.co.uk/features-content/full/career-development-just-the-job