4 DAYS TO GO ……………………..

CRS are giving away 2 FREE VIP Tickets to the first Mighty Mini race of the season, Sunday 6^th April at Silverstone, to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize and  a chance to get up close and personal with Team CRSRISK and meet our driver Caroline Gilbert. Caroline won last season’s ladies championship trophy for the sixth year. The day will start early with the chance to meet the team and get a look at the garage and the pits (subject to race day rules), it promises a great day as the first race of the season all the drivers want to start collecting points in the first race.

To be in with a chance just answer this question:

CRS Racing Team offsets 100% of the carbon associated with its racing, testing and travel. To do this, we calculate the total miles travelled by the team, how many miles were travelled in 2013?

You can find the answer on our website www.crsrisk.com Email your answer to rs@crsrisk.com closing date 5p.m. 27^th March, winner will be notified by 28^th March.

And the winner ………. Louise

Friday (21^st March) saw Corporate Risk Systems attend the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce event held at Jurys Inn, Birmingham. The Chamber network event was well attended with over 200 attendees representing their companies looking to do business with other Chamber members. Ros Stacey who attended for CRS said “the event got off to a good start and there was a constant stream of visitors to the CRS stand interested in Health Safety & Environmental Training”. A prize draw was held and Louise Plaistowe – Office Manager for X2Print was the proud winner of 2 FREE VIP Tickets to any Might Mini race for the 2014 season. After the prize draw Louise (pictured) said “ I can’t believe I have won this, it is a tremendous prize and something a little different from the usual bottle of bubbly, but I fear I may have to hand over the tickets to my boss Clive Poole – Managing Director of X2Print who is mini mad”.

60 % of Environmental Professionals report a pay rise during 2013

Environment and Sustainability roles continue to prove as satisfying as they are varied, with more than two thirds of IEMA Members surveyed reporting high levels of satisfaction.

According to the latest results published today by IEMA from the annual Practitioners’ Survey, 70.1% of Members said they are either satisfied or very satisfied in their roles in environment and sustainability management. As a group the 41.7% of the respondents who consider themselves “career changers” - those who started professional life in non-environmental roles - are even more satisfied to have made the change, with 77% saying they are either satisfied or very satisfied. The reported levels of satisfaction have remained stable year-on-year since 2012.
The range of skills needed to work in an environment and sustainability role continues to be varied, demonstrated by the fact that 84% of professionals work across multiple work areas. Further results from the survey, carried out since 2007, reveal that almost six in ten (58.9%) environment and sustainability professionals experienced a pay rise during 2013, a figure which has increased by 2% from the previous year. For those who received a pay rise – in a profession where the average annual pay for a practitioner working in business and industry is £43,025 - the median increase in earnings stands at 3%.
Corporate Risk Systems are running a FREE Seminar on Friday 16^th May 2014  at Sahara Force India Formula 1, Silverstone where you can find out more about how to become an environmental professional through our IEMA – Full membership (MIEMA) to IEMA (incorporating Associate Certificate in Environmental Management) by Applied Learning which supports the development of environmental practitioners. A guest speaker from IEMA will also be giving a short presentation . If you are interested in finding our more come along on 16^th May and see how we can help you. To get on the guest list and for more information about the event contact Ros Stacey rs@crsrisk.com 01283 509175
Tim Balcon, CEO of IEMA, says: “I think these statistics not only demonstrate just how rewarding a career in environment and sustainability really is, but really drive home how environment and sustainability skills are being valued. With the economy so dependent on environmental skills, it’s great to see that many are seeing their unique contributions reflected in their pay.”
The Environment and Sustainability profession remains buoyant in line with the recovering economy, with 96.7% in employment, up 0.6% on 2013’s results. Those in work report stability in their roles, with 64.6% remaining in the same position as the previous year and a further fifth (19.2%) moving into a more senior role. The proportion of self employed practitioners has also risen for the third consecutive year, up by 0.8% to 9.3% over the last 12 months.
Tim Balcon believes that the overall stability and profile of the Environment & Sustainability profession is good news for the coming year: “IEMA members are incredibly talented and ambitious, their ability to work across many work areas coupled with their level of qualifications justifies that. As organisations worldwide are finally waking up to the value of environmental skills I truly envisage that the influence and achievements of IEMA Members will become even more apparent and appreciated than ever before. The future of the profession is looking bright.”

Source: IEMA

Environment Agency website to close

The Environment Agency has confirmed its website will close next month as its online guidance and services moves to gov.uk The regulator is following in the footsteps of government departments, including Defra and Decc, which moved across to the gov.uk website last year.
The agency has reassured users that, while its existing website will cease to exist, bookmarks and links saved to individual computers will still work, either redirecting to pages containing the same information on the gov.uk website, or to archived webpages. Online services, such as the agency’s flood warnings, for example, will not change and will remain accessible from the current URLs.
The new platform has been designed to work on mobile devices and also offers users the option to sign up to regular email alerts notifying them when content, such as guidance, has been updated.
The agency’s new web address will be gov.uk/environment-agency.

ISO 14001 Changes update – Free Seminar – Friday 16th May 2014

On the 3^rd May last year in our web article ‘ISO 14001 Changes due will affect all organisations’ we updated you on the proposed changes to the internationally recognised environmental management system standard.
The revised version of ISO 14001 has now received overwhelming support from ISO members, ensuring the draft international environmental management system standard will progress to the next step. More than 80 percent of ISO members who were balloted voted to move the revision of ISO 14001 to a draft international standard, or DIS.
CRS’S Head of Environment, Richard Ball commented ‘It is vital that at the heart of the EMS is a competent influencer, with the environmental knowledge and communication skills to ensure the new standard is integrated throughout the organisation. The current draft will require organisations to consider environmental issues as strategic risk and opportunities, requiring all managers to have a clearer understanding of sustainability issues.’
Martin Baxter executive director of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment and the UK’s appointed expert on the revision to ISO 14001, says the changes being proposed are significant, integrating environmental management into organization strategy and decision-making and adding more emphasis on improving environmental performance. According to an IEMA member survey, more than 90 percent supported proposals for aligning environmental management systems with an organization’s strategy.
A growing number of organizations are pursuing ISO 14001 certification. In its annual survey of certifications, the International Organization for Standardization said the number of ISO 14001 environmental management system certificates at the end of 2012 was up 9 percent to 285,844 over the previous year.
The current draft includes changes from two key sources, the first aligns the standard to the new ISO high level structure, the first of the main standards to do so. The new high level structure is a departure from the existing, policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action and management review model, replacing it with Leadership, Planning, support and operation, performance evaluation and improvement. This new structure will be used in all future ISO management standards e.g. ISO 9001.
 
In addition to the significant change of the new high level structure, the key new proposed alterations from these two sources of change include:

• A stronger integration of environmental management into the strategic planning of the organisation.
• Evaluation of Business Risk and Opportunities in an environmental context
• Life Cycle approach and Value Chain planning and Control
• Indicators and Communication

Corporate Risk Systems are running a FREE Seminar on Friday 16^th May 2014  at Sahara Force India Formula 1, Silverstone where you can find out more about the changes and the range of courses to support workforce development in environmental issues, and our IEMA - Full membership (MIEMA) to IEMA (incorporating Associate Certificate in Environmental Management) by Applied Learning which supports the development of environmental practitioners. A guest speaker from IEMA will also be giving a short presentation . If you are interested in finding our more come along on 16^th May and see how we can help you. To get on the guest list and for more information about the event contact Ros Stacey rs@crsrisk.com 01283 509175

Can you stock plasters in a first aid box?

In this blog, we present the results of a review by the HSE myth buster challenge panel of an enquiry regarding stocking plasters in a first aid box.

An employee had cut her finger in the workplace and a colleague tried to obtain a plaster from the first aid kit but there were none. The employee asked a manager if they could restock them but she replied that due to health and safety reasons (noted as “allergies”), plasters were no longer supplied for the first aid kit. The employee has since heard of other cases in workplaces that will not stock plasters in their first aid kits for similar reasons. She asked for clarification and whether this is just another myth.

The panel decided that there is no health and safety regulation which bans the provision of plasters, in fact HSE’s own guidance recommends that a first aid box should stock plasters. If the concern is about the small risk of allergic reaction to some types of plaster then this can be easily managed by stocking the hypoallergenic variety or simply asking the person being treated if they are allergic to plasters before they are applied.

West Yorkshire School breach Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

A Bradford grammar school has been fined after a PE equipment manager suffered multiple fractures when he fell nine metres from a climbing wall.

Stephen Painter, 30, from Haworth, was just days away from becoming a father when the incident happened at Thornton Grammar School on 3 November 2011. He broke a forearm and elbow, fractured two vertebrae and bit through his tongue.

A prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after inspectors identified serious safety failings at the school.

Bradford Magistrates heard that Mr Painter, who looked after resources and equipment in the PE department, had gradually got more involved in helping out with student lessons and had learned the basics of climbing a rigged wall and belaying techniques.

He was working his way up the wall to rig it for a lesson by threading the rope through anchor points. A colleague on the ground was belaying to provide added rope when needed, but minimising the amount of loose rope, which means a slip would only mean a drop of a short distance for the climber.

However, the technique failed and Mr Painter fell during the rigging, hitting the gym floor below. There were no mats or padding and he was not wearing a helmet.

The court was told HSE found the management of the wall and the safety system regarding it was almost none existent; the competence of the staff using it and providing instruction to others was an after-thought and not effectively put in place.

Thornton Grammar School, of Leaventhorpe Lane, Bradford, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £7,500 in costs after admitting breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

CRS comments “This was a serious incident that could have been prevented. The risks to those engaged in climbing are self-evident but those risks should be addressed in line with available guidance.

The training and development of staff in any situation is paramount in ensuring that everyone stays safe not to mention organisations will then steer clear of breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974” Find out how CRS can help you stay within the law with our complete range of Health, Safety & Environment courses www.crsrisk.com 

Builder in court for concrete burn failings

A builder has been fined after two labourers sustained second degree chemical burns after working knee-deep in wet concrete for more than four hours at a development in south west London.

One of the workers, who does not wish to be named, required skin grafts to both ankles as a result of his prolonged contact with the material at Stanley Road in East Sheen on 6 October 2010.

He and his colleague were left in severe discomfort after working as casual labourers for Geoffrey Cinko, 55, on a project to demolish five garages and erect two semi-detached homes in their place.

Mr Cinko was prosecuted today (11 March) by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found he failed in his duty of care as an employer to ensure suitable instructions, personal protective equipment and welfare facilities were provided.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard during a two-day trial that the two injured workers had been asked to assist with the concreting of a basement excavation.

The wet concrete was poured into the excavation and they had to wade amongst it to evenly distribute and smooth the material before it was left to set.

Some three hours into the work one of the workers complained of severe pain to his legs, exited the concrete, and attempted to find welfare facilities to wash the concrete off his legs. However, no adequate welfare facilities were available.   The labourers continued working in varying depths of concrete up to just below their knees for at least another hour before they finished.

Both had to seek hospital treatment that evening after experiencing painful burning sensations around their ankles and lower legs. They were diagnosed with chemical burns and were unable to return to work.

The HSE investigation found that prior to the work neither worker was briefed on the risks of working with wet concrete, which is a strong alkali that can cause serious burns and ulcers.

Furthermore, Mr Cinko failed to provide personal protective equipment for the workers, such as boots providing cover to knee level; and welfare facilities at the site were wholly inadequate.

Geoffrey Cinko, of Holmesdale Avenue, East Sheen, SW14, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs after being found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. IOSH Working Safety  NEBOSH Certificate in Construction Health & Safety