Continue reading »]]> When should I appoint a CDM Coordinator?

A CDM Coordinator must be appointed for every construction project that will last longer than 30 days, or 500 person days, except where the work is for a domestic client.

Domestic clients are people who have work done on their own home or the home of a family member, that does not relate to a trade or business.

The early appointment of a CDM Co-ordinator enables procedures to be put in place which get the project of to a good start.

The appointment of the CDM Coordinator should take place once the initial design has begun, once the project moves to the detailed design stage hazards become a lot more difficult to deal with and eliminate.

Continue reading »]]> What are Health and safety pre approval schemes?

Health and safety pre approval schemes such as CHAS assist in the health and safety pre qualification process. Once your organisation is registered under the scheme it shows that your health and safety procedures and documentation is to a nationally recognised and accepted threshold standard.

CHAS assesses applicants:

Health and safety policy statement;

Their organisation for health and safety;

Their specific health and safety arrangements to a standard acceptable to our buyers and to others.

Once your organisation is registered under such a scheme the amount of paperwork to complete when tendering for work with a client that recognises the scheme will be reduced.

How would Joining CHAS benefit my Organisation?

It is a highly recognised standard that will save you time with pre-qualifications for other organisations.

You will have access to many more customers, people who would not use you without CHAS Certificate or Accreditation.

It demonstrates your level of compliance with health and safety law.

You will have more opportunities to secure bigger and better commercial contracts that previously you may have not been short listed for.

What will CHAS assess?

The main areas which your organisation will be assessed on include:

Health and Safety Arrangements
Safety Policy Statement
Work Equipment Procedures
Health and Safety Training
Employee Consultation Arrangements
First Aid Provision
Fire Emergency Procedures and Fire Risk Assessments
Display Screen Equipment Assessments
Manual Handling Assessments
Electrical Safety and PAT Testing
Risk Assessments and COSHH Assessments
Asbestos Awareness Training and Management
Health Surveillance Arrangements
Accident Reporting Procedures
Work Equipment Inspections and Maintenance
Personal Protective Equipment PPE
Access to Competent HandS and Construction Advice
Contractor Management and Competence Assessment
Workplace Safety Inspections
Fire Risk Assessments
Monitoring Audit and Review Procedures

Continue reading »]]> An environmental policy is a written statement, which outlines your business’ aims and principles in relation to managing the environmental effects and aspects of its operations.

Management must be involved in producing the policy and must understand the principles and commitments in it. Although putting an environmental policy in place is voluntary, an increasing number of businesses are choosing to do so.

Continue reading »]]> What are the Legal Requirements?

A health and safety policy sets out your general approach, objectives and the arrangements you have put in place for managing health and safety in your business. It is a unique document that says who does what, when and how.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) section 2(3) requires that anyone employing five or more persons must:

Prepare a written statement of policy

Set out organisation and arrangement for implementing policy

Revise and update as necessary

Bring the policy and arrangements to the notice of all employees

Continue reading »]]> The Aims of the CSCS Test

The aim of the CSCS test is to examine knowledge across a wide range of health and safety topics in order to improve safety and productivity on site.

It is usually taken as a PC-based touch screen test at either a mobile testing unit or an accredited test centre.

Normally everyone applying for a CSCS card must pass the appropriate health and safety CSCS test as well as prove their competence in the appropriate way for the card they are applying for.

Continue reading »]]> Our O&M manual service

At LHT health and safety we produce O&M manuals for numerous clients in a standard easy to use recognisable format.

Most clients opt for our standard format, however we can also produce O&M manuals to your own bespoke and branding requirements.

Once all the information is collated and put into a manual format this can be issued as:

A paper copy

A CD / DVD copy

Published online

Majority of clients now opt for either the online facility or the CD / DVD copy, which satisfies the requirements of cdm coordinators.

Continue reading »]]> A requirement under CDM 2007

Under CDM 2007 the principal contractor has to produce a construction phase health and safety plan outlining the key arrangements to ensure that the work is carried out safely.

The client should not allow work to start on site until there is an adequate plan in place.

The principal contractor is required to ensure that a suitable construction phase plan (‘the plan’) is:

(i) prepared before construction work begins,

(ii) developed in discussion with, and communicated to, contractors
affected by it,

(iii) implemented, and

(iv) kept up to date as the project progresses;

The plan must also be tailored to the project, a generic plan will not satisfy the requirements of CDM 2007 and the CDM Coordinator.

Continue reading »]]> Our CDM Coordinator Service in London

We provide our cdm coordinator service to numerous clients in the London area and beyond. Our clients range from small scale property developments through to blue chip clients including major retailers, the NHS and local authorities.

All our CDM Coordinators have both experience and the qualifications required to act as your CDM Coordinator.

Our CDM Coordinators have experience of new build, refurbishment, fit-out, retail, health, education, property development, industrial and more.

Our CDM Coordinators are qualified to degree level, members of the Association of Project Safety (APS), on the APS register of CDM coordinators (RMaPs), and NEBOSH, backed up by an industry leading Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme.

Continue reading »]]> The CDM Coordinators duties under CDM 2007 include the following:

• Advise and assist the client with their duties

• Notify HSE

• Co-ordinate health and safety aspects of design work and co-operate with others involved with the project

• Facilitate good communication between client, designers and contractors

• Liaise with principal contractor regarding ongoing design

• Identify, collect and pass on pre-construction information

• Prepare/update health and safety file

The CDM Coordinator is an highly experienced construction and health &  safety professional, they ideally should have worked on numerous projects, this should also be backed up by suitable qualifications and membership of organisations such as Association of Project Safety (APS) register of CDM coordinators (RMaPs).

Continue reading »]]> Employers have a general duty of care to provide safe conditions in workplaces. Carrying out health and safety inspections and publishing the findings to employees are essential steps in ensuring safe conditions.

A selection of the areas to cover when carrying out Safety Inspections:

• Documentation – health and safety policy, risk assessments, CDM construction phase plans, HSE notifications.
• Accidents and Incidents – have any accidents taken place, have they been reported and investigated, and what if any remedial action has been taken.
• First Aid – what arrangements are in place regarding first aid, have the first aiders received up to date training.
• Fire – what procedure are in place, have emergency routes been planned and signed correctly, are fire extinguishers in the correct locations and are they maintained.
• Housekeeping – fire risks, obstructions, materials causing trips.
• Electrical – PAT testing, test certificates, overloaded sockets.
• Safety Signage – is the correct signage been used in the appropriate locations, has statutory signage been displayed?

The inspections can be carried out in house, by your health and safety consultant or by your CDM coordinator.