Any changes in your business activities may result in a need to review your Umbrella Risk Assessment or individual risk assessments to identify and put in place new safety measures. This may result in a need to update training and guidance to your employees (typically through your Employee Working Safely Guides and/or toolbox talks or briefings). It’s not a definite that these updates will be required, but if you don’t consider the changes and the effect they have on your employees and 3rd parties you may fall short of compliance and leave opportunities for accidents to happen. If we know about the changes we can advise you proactively and not reactively following an incident.
Changes in business activities that might impact on the health, safety and welfare of your employees or 3rd parties could include –
a new service you provide and the changes in what your teams do to fulfil this
a new product line and the associated work activities to create and fulfil the product
a new piece of work equipment – typically something different to what you currently have requiring training or learning to use
a new type of powered hand tool – new powered hand tools normal open the door to new types of work and new risks
change in shift pattern – different hours of working, possibly night working, different traffic movements at new times
new chemicals – need for updated and new COSHH assessments
a new premises – new layouts, different traffic arrangements, asbestos? fire safety to consider and more…
These are just a few of the triggers for reviewing risk assessments. All you have to do, is let us know and we can advise if the changes have an impact on your H&S and if so what steps we need to take.
Call or email your Safewell Retained Health and Safety Adviser, or use the contact form on the right or below.
We have worked with Safewell for many years and are retained clients, so we have developed an excellent working relationship with the team. However, this really came into its own when Covid 19 appeared.
As a Plumbing and Heating business, we were able to carry on working during the lockdown but only for responding to emergencies. We were obviously very concerned about the health and safety of our employees and before we even had chance to get in touch with Safewell, they had emailed us offering their assistance. It is hard to put down on paper how that made us feel - we like everyone else felt totally at sea, which way to turn, what to do? But Safewell were there guiding, supporting and being totally brilliant. Their attention to detail is very impressive and reassuring and we feel able to ask lots of questions without feeling silly.
During the pandemic Safewell helped us to write risk assessments, safety procedures and protocols. They kept in touch regularly, issuing new guidance as soon as it appeared and checking in with us. They held group Q&A sessions over Zoom which were helpful, and knowing other businesses were facing the same challenges and having the opportunity to discuss issues was invaluable. Their help during the preparation for a full return to work was brilliant, they enabled us to be fully prepared and feel in control, and when we had our first case of Covid within the team, because we had planned our response it felt ok.
I think our team felt very reassured by our robust approach and that our office was Covid secure. We are extremely grateful to all the team at Safewell
0 Comments